FT PIC in retail and 2 per diem jobs

[sdh0202]

Currently a PIC in retail pharmacy and I have been with this company for about 3 years since I graduated... retail sucks but it was doable - until we started doing these COVID vaccines with no extra rph. Every day feels like a circus on fire; we are days behind in queue (over 500 rxs behind), customer complaining/swearing on us day and night, md office/ER asking us why is medication not ready, etc. I'm both physically and mentally exhausted.

I started a per diem job with cannabis pharmacy last month - difference in pay rate is only about a dollar/hr from PIC rate. Job is easy and chill.. they did have a FT position opening but I'm not really ready to make that switch to non-traditional FT job yet. I only work here for couple shifts a month as a side gig.

I also got a per diem clinical rph job offer from area's biggest health network - I applied for FT position initially but director told me they don't hire FT externally and all of their per diem rphs are transitioning into FT position when they have an opening. I plan to stay in hospital job as long as I can and hopefully I can make that switch from retail to hospital when the opportunity comes. For those of you who made a jump from retail to hospital, how difficult was it for you to keep a per diem job/land a FT job offer? I can't really imagine myself staying in retail for another year or two.. this job is really taking a toll on me lol.

Thanks for your advice!

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[mentos]

I did it for 2 years but full time hospital job never opened up. I gave up my weekends for nothing basically. Fortunately I got into a LTC and was able to leave retail, and I didn't care about the per diem hospital job after that.

 

[projektreverb]

Why not hop onto the cannabis gig?

 

[mentos]

Why not hop onto the cannabis gig?

What is a pharmacists role here? Can't they just hire anyone for this? Why pay someone 6 figures?

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

What is a pharmacists role here? Can't they just hire anyone for this? Why pay someone 6 figures?

Don't most states require a pharmacist on site? I know mine does

 

[oldgalpharmacist]

I worked FT for a big retail chain and PRN with our local area small hospital OUTpatient pharmacy. That was easy to do as I already knew outpatient pharmacy well. Some months I only had 2 or 3 days off the entire month between the two. Did this for 2 years and let a couple of of FT inpatient positions open up, come and go through the hospital. I have 20+ years retail experience, no PharmD and it’s been YEARS since I’ve been in school... BUT I was able to establish some connections within the hospital and proved myself to be a hard worker and teachable learner. I’m happy to say that this year an inpatient position opened up that looked tempting (4 ten hr shifts no weekends) so I inquired. I’ve been in this new job for about 3 weeks and I am learning so much. It is exciting, rewarding and a lovely change of pace. I put my major retailer job on as PRN but I don’t expect that to last long. This has been the best decision I could have ever made in my career. Well worth it if you can manage the sacrifice of holding two jobs for awhile.

 

[JustFillIt]

I did it for 2 years but full time hospital job never opened up. I gave up my weekends for nothing basically. Fortunately I got into a LTC and was able to leave retail, and I didn't care about the per diem hospital job after that.

LTC is a breath of fresh air from retail. However, ltc is getting worse every day. CVS now has a controlling stake in omnicare and Walgreens has a large stake in Pharmerica. It’s only a matter of time before it’s just as bad.

 

[sdh0202]

What is a pharmacists role here? Can't they just hire anyone for this? Why pay someone 6 figures?

In my state, medical marijuana dispensary needs healthcare professional (RN, PA, MD, or Rph) on site in order to operate the business. The pay rate where I work at is pretty high compared to other dispensaries but basically I check patient certifications, mandatory counseling (for first time customer), as well as answering any cannabis-related questions. Job is chill and I'm mostly bored to death though

 

[sdh0202]

Why not hop onto the cannabis gig?

Not sure how my resume will look when I jump into the FT position - it's non-traditional job and there are uncertainty about job security too

 

[sdh0202]

I did it for 2 years but full time hospital job never opened up. I gave up my weekends for nothing basically. Fortunately I got into a LTC and was able to leave retail, and I didn't care about the per diem hospital job after that.

Damn I hope I don't have to wait that long lol... but I live 1.5 hours away from big city (and 30 minutes away from the mountain) so it seems like there area more job opportunities available.. finger crossed

 

[projektreverb]

Not sure how my resume will look when I jump into the FT position - it's non-traditional job and there are uncertainty about job security too

This is America, there’s no such thing as job security anymore.

 

[Alexis_pharmD]

I did it for 2 years but full time hospital job never opened up. I gave up my weekends for nothing basically. Fortunately I got into a LTC and was able to leave retail, and I didn't care about the per diem hospital job after that.

I did same exact thing for 8 months for LTC. I worked there almost every other weekend and some weekdays. At the end it was bought out by omnicare and they did not transfer the current staff.

 

[Rybko90]

Currently a PIC in retail pharmacy and I have been with this company for about 3 years since I graduated... retail sucks but it was doable - until we started doing these COVID vaccines with no extra rph. Every day feels like a circus on fire; we are days behind in queue (over 500 rxs behind), customer complaining/swearing on us day and night, md office/ER asking us why is medication not ready, etc. I'm both physically and mentally exhausted.

I started a per diem job with cannabis pharmacy last month - difference in pay rate is only about a dollar/hr from PIC rate. Job is easy and chill.. they did have a FT position opening but I'm not really ready to make that switch to non-traditional FT job yet. I only work here for couple shifts a month as a side gig.

I also got a per diem clinical rph job offer from area's biggest health network - I applied for FT position initially but director told me they don't hire FT externally and all of their per diem rphs are transitioning into FT position when they have an opening. I plan to stay in hospital job as long as I can and hopefully I can make that switch from retail to hospital when the opportunity comes. For those of you who made a jump from retail to hospital, how difficult was it for you to keep a per diem job/land a FT job offer? I can't really imagine myself staying in retail for another year or two.. this job is really taking a toll on me lol.

Thanks for your advice!

How are you handling being a PIC and working PRN per diem?

I'm a full-time retail staff Rph and I work PRN clinical.

I'm interested in becoming a PIC but only if I can still keep my PRN clinical gig.

Do you make it work? I feel like the PIC responsibilities -- managing the staff, hiring, making schedules, being on conference calls -- would increase the workload too much to allow for the PRN job.