Choosing an Employer for PRN Role

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y0ssarian87

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10+ Year Member
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Hi guys, I’m hoping to get some insight from you guys on selecting an employer. I am currently an industry fellow in clinical development, and I want to pick up a few hours of work as a pharmacist to both supplement my income and to keep abreast of clinical practice and patient care. I have been applying to PRN inpatient positions, and I was fortunate enough to receive two offers in the past couple of days. When choosing one offer over the other, what factors do you recommend considering more heavily than others?

Hospital A: about 45 min from my apartment without traffic; pays $5/hr less; has a more recognized name; is an academic teaching hospital with 500 beds; I know some of the pharmacists there and like them, and I enjoyed everyone I met at the interview (met about 5 pharmacists and 3 techs)

Hospital B: about 5 min from my apartment without traffic (I could even walk there); pays $5/hr more; is a community hospital with 250 beds; I know no one there, but I enjoyed everyone I met there too (met 3 pharmacists and 1 tech)

Any recommendations on other things to consider when making this decision? Both offer flexible on boarding training and scheduling of hours. Both use EPIC. I obviously get no benefits as I’m only a PRN.

Thanks!
 
Hospital B: about 5 min from my apartment without traffic (I could even walk there); pays $5/hr more; is a community hospital with 250 beds; I know no one there, but I enjoyed everyone I met there too (met 3 pharmacists and 1 tech)

Any recommendations on other things to consider when making this decision? Both offer flexible on boarding training and scheduling of hours. Both use EPIC. I obviously get no benefits as I’m only a PRN.

Thanks!

Go with Hospital B. You can't beat walking to work and having friends close by.
 
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Hi guys, I’m hoping to get some insight from you guys on selecting an employer. I am currently an industry fellow in clinical development, and I want to pick up a few hours of work as a pharmacist to both supplement my income and to keep abreast of clinical practice and patient care. I have been applying to PRN inpatient positions, and I was fortunate enough to receive two offers in the past couple of days. When choosing one offer over the other, what factors do you recommend considering more heavily than others?

Hospital A: about 45 min from my apartment without traffic; pays $5/hr less; has a more recognized name; is an academic teaching hospital with 500 beds; I know some of the pharmacists there and like them, and I enjoyed everyone I met at the interview (met about 5 pharmacists and 3 techs)

Hospital B: about 5 min from my apartment without traffic (I could even walk there); pays $5/hr more; is a community hospital with 250 beds; I know no one there, but I enjoyed everyone I met there too (met 3 pharmacists and 1 tech)

Any recommendations on other things to consider when making this decision? Both offer flexible on boarding training and scheduling of hours. Both use EPIC. I obviously get no benefits as I’m only a PRN.

Thanks!

My experience: teaching hospitals are overrated. You get bigger egos and more incompetent/confused people.

You don't need friends at work, you need people you can work with.
 
Are you purely staffing in the main pharmacy at both hospitals? Will one hospital give you a greater breadth of experience with emerging therapies you may be dealing with in your fellowship?

Yes, purely staffing at both locations. It’s possible I was told that I *may* get to staff in the oncology pharmacy at the academic medical center, but it doesn’t seem likely to be a regular experience. I’m interested in continuing my clinical development career in oncology.
 
If all you care about is money and working on the front lines of inpatient pharmacy then chose B and don't read further.

Are the staffing models similar between both options?. Hospital A could be the Independent that fills 200/day with 3 pharmacists while Hospital B is the CVS that fills 4k/week with no overlap.

As a PRN are you going to be working any more than 2-3 days per months? Or anything other than weekends? Maybe that's worth the 45 minutes to potentially work in an area of interest.

Hospital A may also have some sweet free resources and discounts if it's academically affiliated.