Anyone else notice this?

[rifampin1984]

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I was just wondering if any accepted pharmacy students have had a similar issue at work.

So I got accepted to pharm school. Made the announcement at work a week later. Got Intern I status at work (which is really no different than the tech stuff I do now, just with a title and a slight pay increase). Everyone was happy and congratulated me...life's good right?

Fast forward to now, eight weeks later. I'm in a weird sort of limbo where very few techs even say "hi" to me anymore. And the pharmacists...save for the two that wrote me LORs...don't talk to me either.

Before all of this, I got along and was well-liked by everyone. My work ethic hasn't changed. I haven't talked about it excessively (for example, if someone asks about my school, I'll talk about it briefly) because I know that some of the other techs applied and are still waiting to hear back from their respective schools.

So has anyone else had this same problem?

 

[Pharmgrlnxdor]

Most human beings fear change. Your changing status at work makes those people that don't deal well with change uncomfortable.

Your previous co-workers see you as having moved above them, with the future bringing more advancement your way.

The current pharmacists might be people who base their self worth on the current work hierarchy, with you as a lowly tech. So, changes in that status might make them feel threatened.

Or maybe everyone is thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday...who knows. Ignore the ignorers and keep acting like your normal self and soon things should be back to normal. People eventually adapt. It is one of our greatest abilities. At least that is what my bio book says.

 

[pearljam5a1]

Excellent observations from Pharmgrlnxdor.

The techs are jealous even though they are probably happy for you. They know you've made it and probably feel anxious about their own chances. I wouldn't take it personally. I remember when two of my friends made it into school and I didn't. We were all techs and it made for a weird energy between us at work. That's probably what is happening in your situation as well. I would just keep working and try not to "rub it in" so to speak.

I'm really not sure about the pharmacists though. As was previously stated it might not have anything to do with you. Maybe they're having personal issues unrelated to your predicament. Be happy for yourself and associate with people that are genuinely happy for you.

 

[Passion4Sci]

They're jealous, they're nervous, they're anxious... all at once. And I'm sure there's a fair bit of cognitive dissonance wrapped up in there, too.

You're moving on, they're stuck in the same place, and will be stuck in the same place, that they are now. Yet, they know they should be thrilled for you.

I had the same luke-warm send off from the Army when I was clearing post. The very people I worked with, went to war with, called my brothers and sisters, many of them turned "cold" to me, much like you described, OP.


Illegitimi non carborundum, OP.

 

[UES Girl]

I've had a completely opposite experience: people wo have gotten accepted prior to me rubbing it in and fronting their acceptances right and left, making the rest of us feel bad. It had nothing to do with being jelaous, it was more about them being obnoxious and that's why I steered away from some after their acceptances.

OP: have you thought maybe you are doing something subconsciously without even realizing that may be taken the wrong way ?

We had one guy at my undergrad campus that went out and bought every piece of school memorabilia he could get his hands on, even pens. 🤣🤣So he would be wearing his school sweatshirt and taking notes in notebooks with school logo, writing with pens with school logos, almost a year before he was even about to start actual pharm school. 😆😆 Needless to say, everyone thought he was an obnoxious douche.

 

[pharm B]

You're now in the fun four-year limbo of being between positions as a tech and a pharmacist. Do you work with techs who are lifers or techs who are going to school, or a mixture?

 

[mletter]

Accepted or not, I didn't know you could get a pharmacist intern license before you even started your first year of pharmacy school...

 

[UES Girl]

Accepted or not, I didn't know you could get a pharmacist intern license before you even started your first year of pharmacy school...

It varies greatly by state. From what I have learned from SDN, some states you don't even get to be an intern until you second year.

At our school and state I presume, you get to become an intern during your first year. You apply for an intern license once the classes actually started.

This makes sense to me because I thought being an intern is conditional upon being a pharmacy student. Acceptances are provisional, based on your completion of classes. Suppose someone for an academic reason gets their acceptance withdrawn - what happens to their intern license then ?

 

[fenderbiz]

Right. You can't be an actual intern until you're a pharmacy student. That's the whole point of the title.

I'm going through the same thing right now, but nothing apparent has changed with anyone. If anything, the pharmacists should be talking to you more, asking you questions, and getting you to think more like a pharmacist. Maybe some techs will talk to you less because you're not in the same boat with them anymore.

This is most definitely what goes through most peoples' heads:

You're moving on, they're stuck in the same place, and will be stuck in the same place, that they are now. Yet, they know they should be thrilled for you. -Passion4Sci

 

[rifampin1984]

I've had a completely opposite experience: people wo have gotten accepted prior to me rubbing it in and fronting their acceptances right and left, making the rest of us feel bad. It had nothing to do with being jelaous, it was more about them being obnoxious and that's why I steered away from some after their acceptances.

OP: have you thought maybe you are doing something subconsciously without even realizing that may be taken the wrong way ?

We had one guy at my undergrad campus that went out and bought every piece of school memorabilia he could get his hands on, even pens. 🤣🤣So he would be wearing his school sweatshirt and taking notes in notebooks with school logo, writing with pens with school logos, almost a year before he was even about to start actual pharm school. 😆😆 Needless to say, everyone thought he was an obnoxious douche.

No, I haven't done anything like that. A guy I worked with last year did something like that when he got into med school and I thought he was complete douche too. Because of that I made a point to not go that far and not flaunt it. If someone asks me how school is going, I'll talk about my undergrad classes now, not pharmacy school next year. I know that if someone came in flaunting that they got into pharmacy school if I hadn't heard back yet, I would pretty much run to bathroom to cry. So I try to be considerate.

As for the make-up of my department: a mixture of lifers and students . Most are lifers though. Some of the students are in nursing school (?). 😕

Chebaruska, As for the intern thing. You are correct. My state doesn't give me an intern license until my second year. However, the workplace gives you the title of intern one (which designates that you are in or about to start you're first year of pharmacy school) but this job carries no intern responsibilities. Additionally, you pretty much work in central pharmacy (BTW, I work in a hospital, I forgot to mention that) doing the same things a technician would do. Sometimes they will give you "special projects" which means filing paperwork or making graphs on excel for the managers who don't know how.

I'm not sure how they got around the calling someone an intern without them having a license thing. But, basically, the title carries no legal responsiblities and I'm not recognized by the state as an intern, only the hospital.

Fender, I totally wish that the pharmacists would ask me more questions and make my time there a 'teaching' moment. Only one of them does, and he wrote me my LOR. But most of them are like "She got into pharmacy school. That's nice. I'll save the explanation for this crazy heart transplant patient's meds for...myself"

Anyway, I've always imagined myself coming back to the hospital but now I'm not so sure.

But thanks to everyone for the advice!