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What challenges did you face in studying pharmacy?
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Goals and Strengths as a Pharmacist
- Thread starter atnguy13
- Start date
This reeks of a homework assignment, but what the hell.. I had a glass of wine.
Professional goals: Nothing too lofty and I'm not trying to change the world. I want a comfortable career with above-average pay and an agreeable schedule. My trajectory thus far has been Hospital pharmacy tech --> Hospital pharmacy intern --> Clinical pharmacist --> Informatics pharmacist. I could easily see myself settling into an informatics manager position at a larger health system. I've thought about going back into the clinical route because the work was more stimulating, but the stress and irregular hours just aren't worth it. To summarize: I'm trying to make this a career that fits the lifestyle I want because I found that making my life about my career was not the path for me.
Strengths: Attention to detail, obviously. I also pride myself on being flexible and willing to compromise. I was the kind of person who followed the spirit of the law if not the exact words of it, which helped my relationship with the medical staff. Always look towards the big picture and try not to get bogged down on insignificant details. That's how you become the pharmacist who pages doctors over saline drips.
Greatest challenges: The rote memorization. I'm the type of learner who needs to understand how and why something works, which is probably why I did so well in pharmacology. The problem with pharmacy is that you have to memorize thousands of details. Brand name, generic name, therapeutic category, drug class, dosage form, doses, metabolic pathway, drug interactions, etc. There is no reasoning behind most of it. This chemical is known as Brand Name A, Generic Name B, comes in these dosage forms at these strengths, is given at these doses this many times a day. I struggled with that and made a habit of checking references for most orders until I became very comfortable with them through repetition.
Professional goals: Nothing too lofty and I'm not trying to change the world. I want a comfortable career with above-average pay and an agreeable schedule. My trajectory thus far has been Hospital pharmacy tech --> Hospital pharmacy intern --> Clinical pharmacist --> Informatics pharmacist. I could easily see myself settling into an informatics manager position at a larger health system. I've thought about going back into the clinical route because the work was more stimulating, but the stress and irregular hours just aren't worth it. To summarize: I'm trying to make this a career that fits the lifestyle I want because I found that making my life about my career was not the path for me.
Strengths: Attention to detail, obviously. I also pride myself on being flexible and willing to compromise. I was the kind of person who followed the spirit of the law if not the exact words of it, which helped my relationship with the medical staff. Always look towards the big picture and try not to get bogged down on insignificant details. That's how you become the pharmacist who pages doctors over saline drips.
Greatest challenges: The rote memorization. I'm the type of learner who needs to understand how and why something works, which is probably why I did so well in pharmacology. The problem with pharmacy is that you have to memorize thousands of details. Brand name, generic name, therapeutic category, drug class, dosage form, doses, metabolic pathway, drug interactions, etc. There is no reasoning behind most of it. This chemical is known as Brand Name A, Generic Name B, comes in these dosage forms at these strengths, is given at these doses this many times a day. I struggled with that and made a habit of checking references for most orders until I became very comfortable with them through repetition.
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What are your professional goals as a pharmacist?
To make a system where patient care is not adversely affected by either an incompetent or irresponsible pharmacist. We're (VA) mostly there with our distribution systems being pretty idiotproof (despite the nurses finding new and creative ways to screw up), we're working on phasing out clinical judgment variability between pharmacists through clinical decision support and follow-up care systems. Eventually, to start getting rid of pharmacists who don't want to work for a living and bring KPI metrics more in line with retail pharmacy (which I consider their ruthless economy efficiency to be something of real value) and to determine operational metrics for hospital pharmacy.
What strengths do you use to practice pharmacy?
My laziness (not joking). I tend to work on automation of rote tasks. I'm removed from day-to-day patient care unless you count the times when I volunteer as a nuke.
What was your greatest challenges in studying pharmacy?
Going to classes that I knew were further behind the times than what I learned the practical way working for Good Samaritan (the major hospital in my school's area) and Walgreens. Having to deal with professors who I'm glad taught and didn't see patients. Knowing that the hardest part of the practice is enduring it for 30 years (from studies done on pharmacists tracing from the 1970s, the majority do not make it to the 25 year mark).
To make a system where patient care is not adversely affected by either an incompetent or irresponsible pharmacist. We're (VA) mostly there with our distribution systems being pretty idiotproof (despite the nurses finding new and creative ways to screw up), we're working on phasing out clinical judgment variability between pharmacists through clinical decision support and follow-up care systems. Eventually, to start getting rid of pharmacists who don't want to work for a living and bring KPI metrics more in line with retail pharmacy (which I consider their ruthless economy efficiency to be something of real value) and to determine operational metrics for hospital pharmacy.
What strengths do you use to practice pharmacy?
My laziness (not joking). I tend to work on automation of rote tasks. I'm removed from day-to-day patient care unless you count the times when I volunteer as a nuke.
What was your greatest challenges in studying pharmacy?
Going to classes that I knew were further behind the times than what I learned the practical way working for Good Samaritan (the major hospital in my school's area) and Walgreens. Having to deal with professors who I'm glad taught and didn't see patients. Knowing that the hardest part of the practice is enduring it for 30 years (from studies done on pharmacists tracing from the 1970s, the majority do not make it to the 25 year mark).
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Well, I'm not a pharmacist yet, but permit me to chip in a little.
Professional goal:
Some handy strengths any pharmacist should possess or develop:
Greatest challenge in pharmacy school?
Professional goal:
- With a little luck, I hope to retire as an informatics pharmacist someday.
Some handy strengths any pharmacist should possess or develop:
- Common sense (believe it or not), patience, effective communication skills, and ability to follow instructions & pay attention to detail.
- Personally, I have a large stomach for nonsense, and it has been VERY useful in retail, believe me.
Greatest challenge in pharmacy school?
- Time management. I was almost sure that 24 hours in a day was an incomplete invention....almost.
- Not sure if this counts as a challenge, but it was (still is) my least favorite thing: journal club presentations.
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what specifically do info pharmacists do?
Mainly post on SDN and read Reddit.
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In modern day pharmacy, you will be quite successful if you know how to use computers & technology to your advantage. More than ever, pharmacy is about becoming efficient with what little resources you have & how you organize tasks in a timely manner.
Also, in retail pharmacy, one of the most important skills is being able to motivate techs, keep high morale, and hold their respect. If you can do this you will be successful. I've seen the exact same staff at their best and at their worst depending on who the pharmacy manager was at that time period.
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Challenges:
Denying the urge to leave Earth in a spaceship to search for a giant dumpster floating in space, which I would then return with and toss the entire Earth into.
