get the MBA?

[badxmojo]

I'm a first year. I want to go into clinical pharmacy, and then work my way into administration (director of pharmacy) , I don't wanna jump into an administrative position (ex pharmacy manager, or assistant director) I'm pretty sure I wanna practice clinical pharmacy in a hospital for a few years. I've been told that an MBA will definetly help me to land that director job when i decide i want it. Do you think someone in my position should work on the MBA while I'm in pharmacy school? My school offers a manegment pathway which would let me finish up alsmost half of the MBA while i'm in pharm school and the courses would count towards my pharm D as well. I'd be able to finish up almost all of the rest of the courses online from anywhere in the country. What you guys think? I think it'd be nice to finish it up as quick as possible and the thought of going back to school after i've been working doesn't appeal to me. However I don't feel I'll be using the MBA degree much at first since like I said I wanna practice as a clinical pharmacist for a few years. What would you do if you were in my position? Work on the MBA in pharm school or wait till later?
thanks

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[chunkyb]

That's something that I was wondering too.
One of my professors is trying to spearhead a joint MBA/PharmD. program and is working on setting up the MBA curriculum that will be shorter than the regular MBA program by itself ( offerred through the Business faculty at my school). I figured that since my tuition is capped after 14 credit hours, I might as well take a few MBA courses here and there to get up to the 19 credit limit in order to stretch out my tuition dollars. It doesn't hurt to have an MBA and it will certainly open doors to perhaps an industrial residency, if the hosptial thing doesn't work out. It might be a good thing to learn a few business models.
My only worry is that it may take me away from doing my best in the PharmD. program and lower my grades.

 

[LVPharm]

I'd probably work on it now that you have the chance (and if you can handle it)...how long will it take to finish up the remaining portions of the curriculum online?

I don't know if it's any indication of its worth...the director of pharmacy at the hospital I work at has an MBA, as does 3 out of 4 of the pharmacy supervisors.

There is another route you can take. Some residency programs offer a second year advanced specialty program in pharmacy management (Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles comes to mind). You can do this after your 1 year pharmacy practice residency.

Another thing to consider...
One of my school's clinical faculty is an assistant director of pharmacy for one of Las Vegas' newer hospitals...he never did a residency and he doesn't have an MBA. He was only a few years out of the Idaho pharmacy program when he got the gig. He'll probably end up in a directorship of a pharmacy without that MBA. An MBA might "shave off" a few years of required management experience needed for a manager/director position.

 

[chunkyb]

I've decided that I don't really care whether or not an MBA will get me into a director or supervisor position. i just figure that I may as well do it, since it will probably end up costing nothing to me if I decide to do it anyway. I am actually hoping to learn something and start something on my own, one day, if I ever can muster up the capital.

Most of the courses are online, so I could probablly do one or two courses per semester and then more in the summer. I suppose it might take me about 2 years to finish, depending on how many courses my professor is able to shave off for pharmD. candidates, when he meets with the business dean.
He mentioned that in my final year of school when I do clerkships, I might be able to do a round at Pfizer in Kalamazoo and that would count towrds my clerkship and to my MBA.

 

[jdpharmd?]

Chunky,

Do it. I know your school, faculty and program. If you're paying that much, get the most out of it. MBA will be a cakewalk.

 

[SteveL]

I'm already half way into an MBA (due to my change in career path) and will probably get one when I'm out of school and all my loans are paid off. An MBA really doesn't count for jack in the pharmacy world, although it's always a good step toward regional management (in retail). In terms of what the MBA will actually be able to do for you...probably not much. Most of the people I know who have an MBA don't use many of the skills they were taught. Some of the people skills stuff can be picked useful, but a lot of what you will need to know is learned on the job. The exceptions of course are skills like: Basic computer skills (which can easily be learned by anyone), accounting skills (which they have CPAs for anyway) and maybe a couple others. As mentioned though, it's mostly about the piece of paper.

I'm planning on finishing mine up just for the hell of it. Do I want to become a regeonal manager...not really (it's not that much more than what a regular pharmacist gets anyway). The perks are better benifits, and you get to travel around (usually on company wheels/gas). Other than that...eh, not a lot. I work with a pharmacist (she works part time) and her husband is regional manager (Kroger Co.) and all I see (and hear about) is a stressed out guy who doesn't have as much time as he did to enjoy his money. As mentioned though, I just like the education...so I'm finishing mine up...it's something to do.

 

[badxmojo]

yeah i'm thinking getting the mba prob won't efect my work performance.. but "the piece of paper" might help me to get that director of pharmacy position. anyone think that some hospitals/companies might actually shy away from someone with a pharm d/mba because there overqualified? (meaning they figure the person will want to commant to high a salary?) just a thought.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Originally posted by badxmojo
yeah i'm thinking getting the mba prob won't efect my work performance.. but "the piece of paper" might help me to get that director of pharmacy position. anyone think that some hospitals/companies might actually shy away from someone with a pharm d/mba because there overqualified? (meaning they figure the person will want to commant to high a salary?) just a thought.

Naw, it's basically the entry level requirement to be "lead pharmacist"

Next question is why would you want the added stress? Please tell me it isn't for the pay.

 

[badxmojo]

why the added stress? hmmm well.. I think of it as more responsibility. I want to be at the top of my profession. I think that being a director of pharmacy will have a different type of job satisfaction thatn a clinical/hospital pharmacist. You might not get the immediate gratification of interacting with doctors and pateints, but you'll probably get a different type of satisfaction (for example implementing a new clinical pharmacy program in the hospital, or mentoring new graduates.) In addition the money is better i know not by much most of the times.. but I've seen some Director positions pay as much as 150G's.

 

[SteveL]

Originally posted by badxmojo
why the added stress? hmmm well.. I think of it as more responsibility. I want to be at the top of my profession. I think that being a director of pharmacy will have a different type of job satisfaction thatn a clinical/hospital pharmacist. You might not get the immediate gratification of interacting with doctors and pateints, but you'll probably get a different type of satisfaction (for example implementing a new clinical pharmacy program in the hospital, or mentoring new graduates.) In addition the money is better i know not by much most of the times.. but I've seen some Director positions pay as much as 150G's.

I know you think that the satisfaction would be good, but wait and see how you deal with being a pharmacist. It can be (and usually is) very stressful just as a 40hr pharm. Being a pharm manager (in a retail/hospital setting) is even worse because the resposibility of inventory, CII management, enforcement of policy, law, training of new interns/techs, sometimes even petty things like scheduling, keeping everything clean, are just some of the small, very tiring and tedious things you have to deal with. I feel bad for my manager almost every day. She works hard, knows every customer's name, has to deal with all of her lawful tasks, and keep everything going every day. When we have 400 PDA's that couldn't have been checked that day due to it being very busy, she takes them home. Her work follows her everywhere, and she is almost always underappreciated.

And this is just the pharmacy manager. That is not even the district man. And again, this is just retail. Hospitals have MANY more rules, guidlines, policies, and it's up to YOU to make sure it all gets done and followed. Is that kind of stress and time away from your family (wife, friends, parents, etc) really worth it to you.

I'll stick with staff pharmacist thank you very much.

 

[badxmojo]

but hospital is different no? It sounds like your pharmacy maneger that works retail is also doing the work of a regular pharmacist as well as being the maneger.. most directors of pharmacy do not do the work of a pharmacists.. they concentrate on others things.

 

[baggywrinkle]

Originally posted by badxmojo
but hospital is different no? It sounds like your pharmacy maneger that works retail is also doing the work of a regular pharmacist as well as being the maneger.. most directors of pharmacy do not do the work of a pharmacists.. they concentrate on others things.

Depends on the size of the hospital and the philosophy of the people that hold the purse strings.

MANY hospital pharmacy directors are also expected to log bench time as grunts in addition to their other duties. In some environments (for profits) they are part of the regular rotation and must squeeze managerial functions in where they can.

Only in the larger institutions will the director become functionally incompetent working the bench - and even in these positions a GOOD director will pull the occasional shift in each station to stay in touch with what is really going on. In military terms this makes the difference between a field commander whose men will follow him to the gates of hell, and a perfumed pentagon prince

It has nothing to do with the practice of pharmacy.
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Examples;
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Herb Kelleher former CEO Southwest Airlines (leader)
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