Going into Pharmacy Management

[bacillus1]

So I am still looking for jobs as good postings come by, and an inpatient supervisor position just opened at a hospital I used to work at. Only problem is, could I handle it with only 2 years of pharmacy experience (1 being a residency, the other being a hybrid pharmacist, usually decentralized but sometimes centralized)? Pay is pretty good in a city with great cost of living . I'd like some feedback from people who are in management and became managers after little pharmacist experience. How was the transition, and are you happy that you made the transition to management?

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[xiphoid2010]

So I am still looking for jobs as good postings come by, and an inpatient supervisor position just opened at a hospital I used to work at. Only problem is, could I handle it with only 2 years of pharmacy experience (1 being a residency, the other being a hybrid pharmacist, usually decentralized but sometimes centralized)? Pay is pretty good in a city with great cost of living . I'd like some feedback from people who are in management and became managers after little pharmacist experience. How was the transition, and are you happy that you made the transition to management?

I went into a hybrids clinical/manager position right out of residency, and went on from there.

A lot will depend on the size of the pharmacy and how much support/training they will provide. And of course your people skills.

For me, it was a small community hospital in an under served area. So they were willing to hire someone with less experience and give me time to learn on the job. The smaller setting also made managing people simpler.

Residency made targeting bad clinical practices improvements relatively easy. But the financial, quality, and regulatory pieces some time to get the hang of. In my case, the DOP and CEO were supportive and it took a bit less than a year.

Happy about the transition? Sometimes, not always. Right now i just feek it's different work. Rewarded and stressed in different ways. But earlier on, I really missed the clinical practice, made worse by how foreign the management stuff was. Some won't be comfortable with it and will step back down.

 

[Sparda29]

The people skills part is a big part of it. If you have staff pharmacists who graduated around the same time as you or even more important graduated many years before you, you are going to need to know how to interact with each set. You cannot act like you're the boss.

The older pharmacists, if you try to tell them what to do in a bossy manner they'll just laugh and ignore you.
The pharmacists your age, they'll get irked and resent you if you try to act like a boss.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Unlikely that a company you don't currently work for is going to hire you for a supervisor position without past management experience. There will be more qualified applicants.

Most people get their first break into management by getting promoted with their current company. I would talk to your current manager about taking on more responsibility in preparation for a supervisor role down the road. I don't consider PIC at retail to be management position but it can be a step toward management. PIC in other settings like home infusion or hospital can be considered a real manager job.

 

[bacillus1]

Unlikely that a company you don't currently work for is going to hire you for a supervisor position without past management experience. There will be more qualified applicants.

Most people get their first break into management by getting promoted with their current company. I would talk to your current manager about taking on more responsibility in preparation for a supervisor role down the road. I don't consider PIC at retail to be management position but it can be a step toward management. PIC in other settings like home infusion or hospital can be considered a real manager job.

This would be a "promotion within my current company". I currently work at a different hospital, but same organization.

Anyway, the goal right now is to be less stressed, not more, so not even sure if it's worth it...I am already trying to leave my job because of the stressful working conditions.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Then you should not look for a supervisor position it is more work and stress.