Did I pick the right career?

[ChasingMyDreams]

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I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I love my job and I am very happy but I am at least 90% happy at least 90% of the time so I may just have too many endogenous endorphins. 😀 The great thing about pharmacy degree is that you can try so many different things, but the time you run out of options you either find something you love, or it will be time to retire anyway. 😀

All the job satisfaction surveys I have seen are a few years old (and we all know world has changed a lot since early 2000s), but I think pharmacists in the industry, like myself, had the highest job satisfaction, followed by consultant pharmacists...

 

[ChasingMyDreams]

So what is your typical day like?

 

[DYSF777]

I love my job as a pharmacy intern but maybe it is because they only have enough hours for me to work once every two months.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

So what is your typical day like?

I read a lot (both to answer specific questions and just to know what's going on in general), I analyze the information I find, and then I create spreadsheets and powerpoints that can be used by other people when making strategic decisions. And I sit in meetings a lot to discuss those analyzes and to learn what other people are doing and help make the decisions. Sometimes I travel for conferences where I listen to lectures and talk to people - the mix depends on the conference.

 

[Its Z]

I read a lot (both to answer specific questions and just to know what's going on in general), I analyze the information I find, and then I create spreadsheets and powerpoints that can be used by other people when making strategic decisions. And I sit in meetings a lot to discuss those analyzes and to learn what other people are doing and help make the decisions. Sometimes I travel for conferences where I listen to lectures and talk to people - the mix depends on the conference.

Didn't realize you and I do similar work tho different industries...

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Didn't realize you and I do similar work tho different industries...

Analysis is analysis, doesn't matter what exact questions you are trying to answer. 🙂 And it's fun to tell people what you think what they should do. 👍 Though I personally particulary enjoy shooting down silly overly optimistic ideas.

 

[jinga]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

Are you sure you aren't reading into things too much? Know what I mean? You should talk to some nurses lol...

 

[jinga]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

Oh, keep this in mind. I'm not a normal pharmacy student...I'm young (24), but I've worked in many..many settings. People complain about their jobs. A lot. Pharmacy is actually pretty cushy compared to other sectors. In construction, I've worked 14-16 hour days...and the bosses scream a lot louder than any customer or patient could. I've worked with cattle, and they kick in the shins, the stomach, and even the gonads. I've also spent a lot of time around pharmacy. I don't know as much as many on here, but I've worked hard from an early age.

Also, a lot of pharmacists, unfortunately, would rather complain like sissies than change their circumstances. Hate to say it.

 

[museabuse]

I read a lot (both to answer specific questions and just to know what's going on in general), I analyze the information I find, and then I create spreadsheets and powerpoints that can be used by other people when making strategic decisions. And I sit in meetings a lot to discuss those analyzes and to learn what other people are doing and help make the decisions. Sometimes I travel for conferences where I listen to lectures and talk to people - the mix depends on the conference.

Do you work in a cubicle? Your answer was really generic. Do you do 5 minutes of actual work a day and the rest of the time look busy and attend useless meetings? It sounds alot like office space actually.

 

[charfdorn]

Also, a lot of pharmacists, unfortunately, would rather complain like sissies than change their circumstances. Hate to say it.

Zing! It's a pretty soft profession. I think you can find joy in anything. I have noticed that the people happiest in their job at most of the places I've worked have been the ones making the least amount of money. In the gaming industry, for instance, the table games dealers make the most and whine the most. The housekeepers that do a shift down the street then come in and do another one just to make a third of what the dealers make seem to always have smiles on their faces. If you could figure out how to feel blessed with what you have instead of cursed by it, you could be very satisfied doing just about anything.

 

[PharmDstudent]

A patient sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to the pharmacy, because he was referred to the ER by the staff pharmacist. It turned out to be a serious problem that needed immediate attention, so: he was grateful and the pharmacist "genuinely felt like she was helping a patient". 👍

 

[jinga]

Zing! It's a pretty soft profession. I think you can find joy in anything. I have noticed that the people happiest in their job at most of the places I've worked have been the ones making the least amount of money. In the gaming industry, for instance, the table games dealers make the most and whine the most. The housekeepers that do a shift down the street then come in and do another one just to make a third of what the dealers make seem to always have smiles on their faces. If you could figure out how to feel blessed with what you have instead of cursed by it, you could be very satisfied doing just about anything.

I made 10.50 working in the warehouse at the Indy I worked at. I still communicate with some of the patients I met there. That's what it's all about.

I float at a retail store here for extra internship hours and yesterday I gave a little girl some ointment for a nasty bug-bite. Boom. Made my day. Forget the bipolar lady who was having a manic episode lol.

 

[pinipig523]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

I really don't see why you would think that god-like MDs are people to loathe. We're not god-like and from my experience, pharmacists are pretty autonomous within reason. I take their input very seriously because that's what you clinical pharmacists are there for, your specialty are drugs while mine is figuring out where the patient fits in the arsenal that we have.

I think that being surrounded by pharmacists (fiance and brother), I have sufficient evidence that retail is currently in a recession, but clinical pharmacists are still in similar demand as they were the last couple of years.

 

[ucrx]

I really don't see why you would think that god-like MDs are people to loathe. We're not god-like and from my experience, pharmacists are pretty autonomous within reason. I take their input very seriously because that's what you clinical pharmacists are there for, your specialty are drugs while mine is figuring out where the patient fits in the arsenal that we have.

I think that being surrounded by pharmacists (fiance and brother), I have sufficient evidence that retail is currently in a recession, but clinical pharmacists are still in similar demand as they were the last couple of years.

From what I've noticed (in general), newer doctors are open to working with pharmacists. This is probably because many new doctors trained with pharmacists during intern/residency years. Unfortunately, there are still some doctors who won't listen to input from anyone (nurses and other doctors included). They've done something this way for years and it has never been a problem, so it has to be the best and only way to do it.


In community pharmacy, it is very easy to let the angry, screaming customers get to you. When I started at my first pharmacy job, my boss told me to always remember that people coming into the pharmacy are sick, tired, depressed, or taking care of someone who is sick/tired/depressed. While they're in the pharmacy, problems come up that they don't understand (insurance). All you can do is try your best to help them and make their day a little easier. Remind yourself of this every time someone yells at you or makes you mad in the pharmacy. It makes it a little easier to deal with them. Even if it isn't true for every customer and they shouldn't take it out on you, it takes some of the frustration out of the situation. You never know what else is going on in someone's life .

Unfortunately, many people only talk about the more difficult parts of their jobs. This includes clinical pharmacists (with the couple doctors who don't listen to anyone) and community pharmacists (with the customers screaming at them). Ask the pharmacists if there are any positive aspects of their jobs. You might be surprised at how much they like, especially if you talk to them when they aren't busy.

 

[Rebel78]

You have to find what makes you happy, what makes somebody else happy isn't necessarily for everybody. IndustryPharmD obviously loves their job, but making spreadsheets and lots of travel wouldn't appeal to me at all.

Don't worry about it at this point, now is the time to see all the different aspects of what you can do and decide. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

 

[RxMTM]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

I'm going through the exact same thing as you. It is a coincidence but I am your age and am doing an internship also. They have me working 40 hour weeks. However, I can't see myself doing this kind of job for the next 20-30 years of my life. I would rather quit school with my debt and choose a career that I am passionate about but make less money. Standing in front of a computer all day and verifying scripts is deathly boring.

I am currently in the process of getting into a different program that is not related to pharmacy. If you are interested sharing experiences just send me a message.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Do you work in a cubicle?

Who do you think I am? I have an office with a door AND a window. And the view of the mountains, though they are puny New York mountains. Santa must have missed the end of the sentence, where I asked for the Alps specifically. 😡

Your answer was really generic. Do you do 5 minutes of actual work a day and the rest of the time look busy and attend useless meetings? It sounds alot like office space actually.

How did you guess? I've got a sweet job, almost as easy as pharmacy school. But pharmacy school is easier still - you don't even have to look busy, all you need is remember to pay your tuition twice a year and you zip right through.

 

[RxMTM]

Who do you think I am? I have an office with a door AND a window. And the view of the mountains, though they are puny New York mountains. Santa must have missed the end of the sentence, where I asked for the Alps specifically. 😡

How did you guess? I've got a sweet job, almost as easy as pharmacy school. But pharmacy school is easier still - you don't even have to look busy, all you need is remember to pay your tuition twice a year and you zip right through.

All that matters is that you are happy. EVERYONE is different and every job is not for everyone. Why do we even argue about which job is the most boring. "One mans garbage is another's gold" and vice versa.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I'm going through the exact same thing as you. It is a coincidence but I am your age and am doing an internship also. They have me working 40 hour weeks. However, I can't see myself doing this kind of job for the next 20-30 years of my life. I would rather quit school with my debt and choose a career that I am passionate about but make less money. Standing in front of a computer all day and verifying scripts is deathly boring.

I would urge you not to give up on pharmacy just because you find one aspect of it boring. Have you seen anything besides retail yet? Because this is by far not the only thing you can do with a PharmD.

What do you like to do? There is probably an aspect of pharmacy which would fit your interests. Just tell me what you ideal job (key word: job, keep it realistic 🙂 ) would look like, and I probably know someone with a PharmD who does something very similar. 😉

 

[RxMTM]

I would urge you not to give up on pharmacy just because you find one aspect of it boring. Have you seen anything besides retail yet? Because this is by far not the only thing you can do with a PharmD.

What do you like to do? There is probably an aspect of pharmacy which would fit your interests. Just tell me what you ideal job (key word: job, keep it realistic 🙂 ) would look like, and I probably know someone with a PharmD who does something very similar. 😉

Well, in undergrad I was involved in research and loved it. I published papers also. Some people may think working in a lab up until midnight is boring but I absolutely loved it. The difference between that and pharmacy is that you get to implement your own ideas and nurture your own creations. I have so much creative energy pent up inside that it literally hurts. Normal retail pharmacy has no room for creativity. You just fill the scripts. I would like to implement ideas and feel appreciated for them. What is your take on that?

 

[Jbuprepharm]

I'm currently working at an independent pharmacy in a smaller town (I drive 100 miles round trip a day) and I love it. Lots of practice freedom (thanks to working protocols with the Docs in town) to give shots, compound, plently of time to counsel, etc.

Next March I start with the Air Force, so things will change, but I hope to enjoy that also.
I worked at CVS in school and vowed never to work for them as a pharmacist, they were always miserable, and could never muster anything more than "it's not that bad" when I asked if they enjoyed their jobs. Independent is the way to go for retail IMO

I also really enjoyed all of my primary care rotations in school (diabetes is a special interest of mine) so hopefully I can do some of that in the AF. Don't be discouraged, just find something you like. You won't find a job on earth that someone isn't going to complain about

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Well, in undergrad I was involved in research and loved it. I published papers also. Some people may think working in a lab up until midnight is boring but I absolutely loved it. The difference between that and pharmacy is that you get to implement your own ideas and nurture your own creations. I have so much creative energy pent up inside that it literally hurts. Normal retail pharmacy has no room for creativity. You just fill the scripts. I would like to implement ideas and feel appreciated for them. What is your take on that?

And I found lab research boring. I like talking to people. In fact, that's the only real skill I have. 🙂


As far as research, there are plenty of options:
- do research in academia as pharmacy school faculty - that can be bench science, or clinical (in the university hospital) or it can be pharmacoeconomics, or pharmacy administration type studies. Talk to your professors to see what they do and whether they will let you participate. Usually, they will be glad to have free labor, and you can get independent study/elective credit towards your graduation for that. And if they have grant money, you can get paid instead. I did that actually during my P-1 and P-2 years. Mainly to see whether I liked research. Turned out, I didn't.

- do research in pharmaceutical industry (this is more likely to be late stage/clinical)

- do research in managed care organizations - this would be more literature search, such as meta-analyses of published data

- do research for a pharmacy association. There are all kinds of surveys they run... though usually that's not a full-time job, you do something else with it.

- do research for the government (in CDC, or NIH, or FDA - they all have pharmacists there too, though I don't know whether you will find highly protocolized and regimented government environment too limiting on your creativity)


As far as creativity, does it matter what specifically you do which is creative? Because options are almost limitless. Setting up your business as a consultant pharmacist can be very creative. Working in a pharmaceutical company in marketing and designing sales aids can be very creative. Being on a clinical specialist team and creating new protocols can be creative. Writing for pharmacy publications, journals as well as trade magazines, can be creative. Doing custom compounding, especially in veterinary pharmacy, can be very creative.

 

[Farcus]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

thanks for posting what I wanted to say but don't know how to put it to words. Yeh Pharmacist please reply to this as serious as possible.

 

[Farcus]

Unfortunately, many people only talk about the more difficult parts of their jobs. This includes clinical pharmacists (with the couple doctors who don't listen to anyone) and community pharmacists (with the customers screaming at them). Ask the pharmacists if there are any positive aspects of their jobs. You might be surprised at how much they like, especially if you talk to them when they aren't busy.

I think people should start posting stuff like this, I don't want merry pictures or whatever but it just seems like this whole section of the forum is just interns/pharmacist get mad at their job/patients/co-workers/limitations.

 

[owlegrad]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

I don't know if you will find this helpful or not but I just wanted to say: everyone complains about their jobs. Everyone. You can go into any field and the people in that field will complain about their jobs. Make up your own mind about what the pharmacy world is like. This is pure speculation, but I suspect that people who worked in unrelated jobs before pharmacy school will enjoy it more than people who have nothing to compare it to. I am interning at both retail and hospital right now and I love them both, for different reasons. Just try it out for yourself and make up your own mind.

 

[owlegrad]

I think people should start posting stuff like this, I don't want merry pictures or whatever but it just seems like this whole section of the forum is just interns/pharmacist get mad at their job/patients/co-workers/limitations.

Well it's kinda natural for this kind of forum to select for people who have the strongest opinions. Sadly that often means mostly negative opinions.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I suspect that people who worked in unrelated jobs before pharmacy school will enjoy it more than people who have nothing to compare it to.

Ain't that the truth. I worked in a call center the summer before undergrad and the Fall semester of my freshman year and I took so much verbal abuse at that job (I got to hear everything - billing problems, technical problems, service problems...) that working in a retail pharmacy felt like being in heaven by comparizon. I think for the first year and a half, if not longer, I thought just how amazingly nice all the customers were... 😀 Though that was also in the days before the three-tier copays and prior authorizations.

 

[Caverject]

I've worked retail for 12 years and I am a military pharmacist now. I've never woken up and said I hate my career! In fact, I love my job. How many pharmacy jobs PAY you to be qualified to shoot a weapon?!?

 

[CUpharmD2013]

There are so many things that you can do with a PharmD, it's up to you to figure out where your niche is. I worked in industry for 6 years and it wasn't for me. The pace was slow, you interact with the same people every day (some days no one but yourself), and it's very chaotic these days with lots of mergers/acquisitions/layoffs/relocations which means uncertainty. I now have an internship in a retail setting and absolutely love the pace and the patient interaction. If you try something and find that it's not for you, try something different until you find where you'll be happy. If you try retail and don't like it, try to get into a hospital. Do you find yourself helping your fellow students? Go into teaching. Do you think you would like to work with patients, but in a more relaxed setting....look into ambulatory care. I chose to pursue a PharmD because of my love of the Pharmaceutical Sciences, my love of serving people, and the flexibility it offers. I know that I won't work retail for the rest of my life, but right now I enjoy the experience and learning the ropes as I hope to one day open up an Indy. I would also like to teach one day down the road. Try to figure out why you went into Pharmacy and hopefully that will lead you to where you want to be within the profession.

 

[healthymind]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

Honestly, if you really really enjoy everything about pharmacy and CANNOT see yourself in another healthcare profession, then might as well stick it out. But there is truth to what you are hearing and reading about this profession. Working in retail you'd probably only use about 10-20% of what you actually learned in school; in hospital is it a lot more. Maybe you should try and find an intern job in hospital. only thing i should warn you about hospital is that you'd probably have to do a residency after your pharmD b/c of all the competition from other graduates will make getting those jobs harder. Advocates of pharmacy will tell you that pharmacy has many avenues and fields that you could possibly go into, but note that the probability of getting these jobs will be harder b/c there are not a lot of them out there compared to retail or hospital. so don't think that the solution to avoiding customer contact will be in mail order pharmacy or nuclear pharmacy, b/c you have to take into account the probability of getting these positions.
if you enjoy healthcare in general and want to help people medicinally, then there are other areas of healthcare you could go into such as MPH, MD, PA, nursing, dental optometry...the lists goes on. its never too late to change your mind, b/c if you are not happy now, no amount of money will make you happy 5, 10 years from now. so do whatever makes you happy. the reason why i am tying this into your request is that being scared about your future profession b/c of what you hear tests how much you want this profession. so you can handle all of the negatives about pharmacy then your obviously in the right field. if all the negatives are really getting to you and you are seriously doubting continuing then maybe there are some underlying personal conflicts you may have with the profession.

 

[Humper]

...... its never too late to change your mind, b/c if you are not happy now, no amount of money will make you happy 5, 10 years from now. so do whatever makes you happy......

Actually, money is the source of happiness for me and all people that I know. So, getting a job that makes 100 grand every year will grantee the happiness.

It is hypocrisy to say that choosing a career is purely based on your love for that profession.

 

[owlegrad]

Actually, money is the source of happiness for me and all people that I know. So, getting a job that makes 100 grand every year will grantee the happiness.

It is hypocrisy to say that choosing a career is purely based on your love for that profession.

It is not hypocrisy if it's true, that is if the people who are saying that did indeed actually go into the field of pharmacy for the love of the profession. Lucky for them they also get a six figure salary. Must be icing on the cake I suppose.

I agree with you though, I enjoy making bank while I work. I don't why this is not true (supposedly) for more people.

I just want to add though that money doesn't grantee happiness. (Or does it? I don't know what grantee means.)

 

[rxlea]

It is not hypocrisy if it's true, that is if the people who are saying that did indeed actually go into the field of pharmacy for the love of the profession. Lucky for them they also get a six figure salary. Must be icing on the cake I suppose.

I agree with you though, I enjoy making bank while I work. I don't why this is not true (supposedly) for more people.

I just want to add though that money doesn't grantee happiness. (Or does it? I don't know what grantee means.)

If what makes you happy requires funds, then yes, I suppose you could say money buys you happiness....for instance, if traveling to remote parts of the country to help cure illness or saving the whales or whatever costs money, then how much you earn can be a limiting factor. I think there is a partial truth in saying, "Money can buy happiness." Should it be the only thing that makes you happy? No...because things like love don't cost anything (although this debatable ). I recall a recent thread talking about how expensive dating is 😀

 

[SHC1984]

Actually, money is the source of happiness for me and all people that I know. So, getting a job that makes 100 grand every year will grantee the happiness.

It is hypocrisy to say that choosing a career is purely based on your love for that profession.

I agree that money does bring happiness and is a BIG FACTOR in determining which career to choose. However you still have to pick a profession that you don't hate!

I was in dental school before pharmacy school. Dentists make more than pharmacists, but I really don't care b/c I hate being close to people/seeing blood etc. I don't care how much it pays.

I choose pharmacy because the money isn't bad. It isn't as good as dentistry but it isn't bad. And it's a much much cleaner field, I can avoid all patient contact if I choose to.

However the surplus does suck, but I am confident that I can find a job if I am willing to relocate. :/

 

[TemSirolimus]

In a market economy, such as the US, money to a great extent, does buy happiness. Not having to worry about money brings happiness in an of itself.

In the third world however, I have seen the happiest of people with nothing more than the bare essentials to show. And with a life expectancy of < 50yrs old, they live a short sweet life.

 

[iphetamine]

And I found lab research boring. I like talking to people. In fact, that's the only real skill I have. 🙂


As far as research, there are plenty of options:
- do research in academia as pharmacy school faculty - that can be bench science, or clinical (in the university hospital) or it can be pharmacoeconomics, or pharmacy administration type studies. Talk to your professors to see what they do and whether they will let you participate. Usually, they will be glad to have free labor, and you can get independent study/elective credit towards your graduation for that. And if they have grant money, you can get paid instead. I did that actually during my P-1 and P-2 years. Mainly to see whether I liked research. Turned out, I didn't.

- do research in pharmaceutical industry (this is more likely to be late stage/clinical)

- do research in managed care organizations - this would be more literature search, such as meta-analyses of published data

- do research for a pharmacy association. There are all kinds of surveys they run... though usually that's not a full-time job, you do something else with it.

- do research for the government (in CDC, or NIH, or FDA - they all have pharmacists there too, though I don't know whether you will find highly protocolized and regimented government environment too limiting on your creativity)


As far as creativity, does it matter what specifically you do which is creative? Because options are almost limitless. Setting up your business as a consultant pharmacist can be very creative. Working in a pharmaceutical company in marketing and designing sales aids can be very creative. Being on a clinical specialist team and creating new protocols can be creative. Writing for pharmacy publications, journals as well as trade magazines, can be creative. Doing custom compounding, especially in veterinary pharmacy, can be very creative.

How can become a clinical specialist for a pharmaceutical company and what does he do?

 

[IndustryPharmD]

How can become a clinical specialist for a pharmaceutical company and what does he do?

In a hospital, not a pharmaceutical company.

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

having a good paying career like pharmacy sure beats being unemployed doesnt it? stick with it. you might not believe me now, but even when youre done with pharm school you can always do a different career if you really want to.

 

[genesis09]

I really don't see why you would think that god-like MDs are people to loathe. We're not god-like and from my experience, pharmacists are pretty autonomous within reason. I take their input very seriously because that's what you clinical pharmacists are there for, your specialty are drugs while mine is figuring out where the patient fits in the arsenal that we have.

I think that being surrounded by pharmacists (fiance and brother), I have sufficient evidence that retail is currently in a recession, but clinical pharmacists are still in similar demand as they were the last couple of years.

Cook County Hospital is not a normal hospital. You have to remember several of their full-time pharmacist positions are paid for by UIC. There really isn't this huge demand for clinical pharmacist in most hospitals. Pharmacists cannot charge for services, and until we can, we have to be cost savers.

 

[fattunesy]

Full time clinical pharmacist positions are in even shorter supply than other areas in pharmacy! Just ask the recently finished PGY1 residents. Almost all of them I know went on to get a PGY2, not because they all really liked their practice areas, but because no clinical jobs were available. Pure clinical spots are highly sought after and highly competitive; it's getting to the point that residency trained pharmacists are taking any hospital job they can get.

Back to the main point of this thread: lots of people have already said it, you have to like what you do. The money helps, but you have to spend a lot more of it on junk if your job is making you miserable. For the most part I love my job. Sure I could go on and on about various docotors, nurses, administrators and the problems they cause, but the truth is that at the end of the day I am happy with how I earn my living.

Just rememeber, if it was all easy and enjoyable it would eb called "play" not "work"

 

[PharmaTope]

Cook County Hospital is not a normal hospital. You have to remember several of their full-time pharmacist positions are paid for by UIC. There really isn't this huge demand for clinical pharmacist in most hospitals. Pharmacists cannot charge for services, and until we can, we have to be cost savers.

very true. clinical pharmacists are like a nice perk. are they essential? that is debatable. like you said, they cannot charge for services and until they can (which i dont see happening since the pharmacy profession doesnt push to that direction) they are cost savers. cost savers is not as favored as someone who generates income to a hospital.

Full time clinical pharmacist positions are in even shorter supply than other areas in pharmacy! Just ask the recently finished PGY1 residents. Almost all of them I know went on to get a PGY2, not because they all really liked their practice areas, but because no clinical jobs were available. Pure clinical spots are highly sought after and highly competitive; it's getting to the point that residency trained pharmacists are taking any hospital job they can get.

Back to the main point of this thread: lots of people have already said it, you have to like what you do. The money helps, but you have to spend a lot more of it on junk if your job is making you miserable. For the most part I love my job. Sure I could go on and on about various docotors, nurses, administrators and the problems they cause, but the truth is that at the end of the day I am happy with how I earn my living.

Just rememeber, if it was all easy and enjoyable it would eb called "play" not "work"

i compare a clinical pharmacist position to that of a Pathologist. there is usually one per hospital and the people stay for a long time. there isnt a high turnover rate for them. if there is an open position in this market, they do not want fresh out of residency people, they want someone who is board certified and been doing it for a while. this is the reality. those clinical positions that your faculty in school talked about and the whole model they preached doesnt really exist.

 

[AcclratngCharge]

I'll try to be brief...I have just finished my first year of pharmacy school and was generally very excited until I started communicating with various pharmacists this summer while interning. I love every aspect of pharmacy I've learned thus far but I have been hearing (and reading) some very discouraging things. Retail pharmacists have been complaining about long hours, terrible customers, and not being able to use all of the wonderful things they learned in school (not to mention not being able to find a job anymore). Clinical pharmacists have been complaining of lack of autonomy and a general feeling of uselessness on rounds with the god-like MDs. I am unbiased in all of this, I just want to know the truth. So I guess the real question is: Is anyone happy with their career choice and present position? If so, please share your typical day and the things that you like about it. When was the last time you genuinely felt like you were helping patients (that's what we signed up for right?)? I guess I am just looking for a little encouragement in a world of pharmacy filled with discouragement (fear the surplus, hate the MDs, hate the customers, etc). I apologize for the length but can someone please help??!!??
Thanks in advance

I know exactly how you feel. In my opinion, pharmacists have much knowledge that they can't apply to take care of people. I went into pharmacy school thinking I was going to be the person deciding when patients needed certain drugs and be like a primary health care provider (I only shadowed a pharm tech for 3 hours for an interview...poor decision). Needless to say I don't ever see myself practicing pharmacy, rather, I'm applying to medical school. My grades and involvement in the college have been much better than most of my classmates, so I'm curious how they feel.

You don't sound like someone in love with their career, so I would say "No". I'm the type of person that is going to commit my life and give all of my effort to my profession, and I can't do that for pharmacy.

I don't want this to sound disparaging to pharmacists, pharmacy just isn't for me.