Five questions about pharmacy field

[jjoeirv]

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I have the following five questions about the pharmacy field:
(1) Society stereotypes pharmacists as professionals who get big bucks for counting pills. How true is this oversimplification?
(2) What is the easiest job (with the least amount of responsibility) that one can get with a PharmD?
(3) What is the typical workflow for a pharmacist in a retail setting?
(4) Is being a pharmacist a highly stressful job?
(5) What are the threats to the future job prospects of pharmacists?

 

[vafcarrot]

For #1----
Completely wrong. The techs are the ones that get paid big bucks to count pills all day long. Pharmacists just look at all the pretty colored pills.

For #2---

You can go ahead and spend lots o money getting your Pharm D degree and then go on welfare. That's pretty easy. And while you're at it, pop out a few babies and make your husband take care of them but still collect money for them. Oh, and then sue McDonalds for making you obese.

Or you could actually do your job which had lots of responsibility regardless of what field you work in. A pharmacist is the final key to making sure a patient has a healthy and successful treatment. That's a hell of a lot of responsibility.

 

[laura_mideon]

#1 - Untrue. Pharmacists do not sit there and count pills all day. Considering the technicians are the one's who count the pills. The pharmacists are the ones who take them. Just kidding. Pharmacists can be a million things; a facilitator between doctor and patient, and patients source for medical advice....etc. They are not just pill poppers!! I mean pill counters!
#2 - Here we just get a bachelor, not a pharmD, but I'll just discuss this. The easier of the jobs to me seems to be working for a big drug company and doing the selling. Aside from the fact you have to travel (and be a salesperson), it is easier because people's lives and lifestyles are not directly in your hands, the only thing that concerns you is recruiting pharmacies or whatever to your company, it's all about mula. Therefore you have a lot less responsibility (in my opinion).
#3 - I don't know if you can say there is a "typical" workflow. They are all different, depending on the chain (or whether or not it is a big chain) and the location. I've been to ones that constantly have at least 3 or 4 pharmacists and 6 or 7 techs on at all times and are constantly busy and I've been to ones where there are 2 or 3 people watching paint dry all day. It totally depends. I would say a steady stream is probably the most common though.
#4 - It depends on how serious you are and how your attention to detail is. If you don't really care, then it's not a stressful job, but if you actually care about your customers/patients then it is more stressful because you will pay more attention and put more of yourself into your job. (I hope most people do).
#5 - I guess as mentioned in a previous thread, it's the chance of an overloaded market, too many pharmacists coming in. Or maybe it's those robot technicians who will become pharmacists and run us out the next movie will be called, "I Robot Rx". Just joking. I have a lot of faith in this field and I don't see too many threats.

Hope this helps!

 

[bananaface]

(1) Pharmacists did perform mostly dispensing tasks once upon a time. When counseling became commonplace techs ended up becoming the primary counters. Pharmacists just cost too much not to delegate this duty out. A good retail pharmacist will keep busy when his/her primary duties are all done. So a retail pharmacist should be doing a little prescription filling. it would be true to say we are professionals who can get big bucks for overseeing the filling and dispensing of medications.

(2) No matter what you do with a Pharm.D. you are going to have responsibilities. How easy your job feels really depends on the person. Being interested in your practice area makes the job feel easier and can make your responsibilities feel less confining.

(3) In the retail setting a pharmacist can do a few things that a technician cannot: counsel patients, check off prescriptions, and recieve new phoned in prescriptions. Counseling encompasses not just discussing prescription medications, but helping patients decide if an OTC prodict is right for them. Pharmacists are also responsible for ensuring that the medication dispensed is safe for the patient and for overseeing pharmacy staff members and pharmacy operations. Beyond that, workflow is defined at the store or corporate level.

(4) It can be. For me, I don't find retail stressful because I genuinely enjoy the interactions that I have with my patients. Stress level is a very individualized thing.

(5) Perhaps increasing technician responsibilities could be considered a type of threat, eventually. I suppose in-office dispensing, if it ever became more widespread, could be a threat. As our job roles are expanding and we are in high demand/short supply, threats are inconsequential at this point in time.

 

[goUSA]

I wonder how many pharm schools are there in the USA as of this point 2004, either accredited or not... Anyone? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks...

GO USA!!!