This just a random question that popped in my head but basically I was wondering if there was any kind of advantages or specifics differences between being a hospital Pharmacist VS being a pharmacist working in a community setting like wallgreens or CVS. Why did you choose one or the other?
hospital or community pharmacist?
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You should differentiate between "retail" (fake community) "independent community" (real community) and hospital. Two are quality career choices. One is an exceedingly lame excuse for pharmacy practice.
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Hospital, you get to use your brain.
Retail, do you want fries with that? (as you work the drivethru)
Seriously though, after working in both the last year, I feel retail is more a numbers game where you are not treated like a professional just a dispensing machine for the corporate beast. I will not sell my soul for a few extra thousands. I probably will do some PT to keep up but not as my primary.
Just work in both and you can see the difference.
Like most graduates I went to retail straight out of school. I did this because the pay in retail was a lot greater than hospital. After 10 years of doing retail I went to hosptial. The learning curve was huge. I've read some of the previous posts regarding this subject. I won't go as far as to imply or say that retail doesn't require you to use your brain, but there is little that challenges your pharmacy or calculation skills. After several years in hospital I finally went back to do some relief work in retail. The learning curve was almost non existant. (ie., no much had changed). Retail is still a great way to earn cash, but don't expect to be intellectually stimulated.
So if retail is suppose to be easier why do they get paid more? Also could you potentially earn more in a hospital than in retail after you've worked there for a while. What specifically makes working in the hospital more of a challenge?
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You're working with IV drugs that have to be calculated into specific concentrations, and many times these are stat orders that are needed for critically-ill patients. Also, if you mess up and send the wrong thing or make something too concentrated and it is administered, there's little time to fix that mistake because it's immediately in the bloodstream.
There's a whole other slew of reasons, but hopefully you get the gist.
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For one you wouldn't have the beaurocracy found in chain pharmacies, with the "fast-food" mentality of expediency equals profitability and "how many coupons/gift cards/dinners-and-a-DVD can we give out to get people in here?". I'm not saying ALL chains are this bad, but we all know of (mostly first-hand) the ones that utilize those methods and the "red light system" in order to increase the number of scripts filled daily in order to increase profit. You're right; on average you'll find more scripts cranked out at a chain pharmacy. But to go through all of that? To me, that's more stressful and the focus is in the wrong place.
You will find many specialty forms of pharmacy at independents. Sure, CVSs and Rite-Aids can have their hypertension/diabetes/immunization clinics here and there, but from my personal experience in my town, these are mainly student pharmacist run (our school holds these periodically at various chain pharmacies). In my town, there is one chain pharmacy (Rite-Aid; and by one, I mean one store, not one chain itself.) that has a full-time, separate pharmacist "clinic." I believe that independent pharmacies allow for more opportunity not only for specialty practices and services, but for the patient interaction that is not only taught to us but needed in our profession.
I no longer work retail and prefer never to again, so anyone working out there in it now can elaborate more. But, the comment that "the only real difference between the majority of most retail and independents is the number of scripts filled a day" is just not true.
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Yes, there is an emphasis on numbers but health care is a business period. You'd better have a successful business model if you want to stay afloat.
And sorry, to say there isn't enough time for patient interaction is an excuse. Its up to the individual pharmacist to determine how much time they want to spend counseling. I've never heard of a pharmacy supervisor reprimand a pharmacist b/c they were spending too much time with pts. On average, I'd say most places average around 250 to 300 scripts a day. If your staff is efficient, that should be more than enough time to counsel thoroughly to all who need / request it - unless you want to sit there and soap each pt.
I don't know what town you're from but the chains around here (N. CA) just have as many if not more clinics than the independents. It seems to me that independents nowadays are just staffed with pharmacists that should have retired 5 years ago or longer.
And sorry, to say there isn't enough time for patient interaction is an excuse. Its up to the individual pharmacist to determine how much time they want to spend counseling. I've never heard of a pharmacy supervisor reprimand a pharmacist b/c they were spending too much time with pts. On average, I'd say most places average around 250 to 300 scripts a day. If your staff is efficient, that should be more than enough time to counsel thoroughly to all who need / request it - unless you want to sit there and soap each pt.
I don't know what town you're from but the chains around here (N. CA) just have as many if not more clinics than the independents. It seems to me that independents nowadays are just staffed with pharmacists that should have retired 5 years ago or longer.
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You must be a professor or somewhere in academia. They are the only people on the planet that get to imagine the real world of pharmacy is so wonderful that an RPh gets to counsel everyone. Get real. You don't have time to counsel patients. You really don't. Because if you did, you'd get hours behind and the DM WOULD get complaints about it and he/she WOULD get on your ass about it.
Well, California is rather wacky. Perhaps out there Rite Aid/CVS/Wags actually does something good. Around these parts, they are just trying to make money without consideration to the fact that they are destroying our profession one gift card at a time.
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You've never heard of the term, "combat pay"?
Truly, retail takes a certain personality, especially in some chains where this situation comes up more often than not: line of customers is 10 deep, the phone is ringing off the hook, there are two people waiting to have their OTC question answered, the state Medicaid processor is down, and the cars at the drive thru are getting impatient and buzzing the call button. All that, and you are running on bare bones staffing.
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Actually, I shadowed a Walgreen's pharmacist once who's end of the year bonus was partially determined by her number of prescriptions checked per hour in the computer. I hope it was a big bonus because she more-or-less avoided/blew-off patients so she could get back to computer entering.
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Hospital or Retail?
Tough decision for some yet it doesn't need to be.
Do yourself a favor before you make that decision. Set goals. Career goals. Short term, midterm, and long term goals. What do you see yourself doing when you're 25, 30, 35, 40, & beyond.
The decision you make today has a strong influence on what you'll be doing in the future. Will you be satisfied and content with being a staff pharmacist when you're 45 rubbing elbows with brand new grads who'll most likely make the same salary as you? Will you be content with that 28 year old PharmD/MBA who'll be your boss?
Hospital or Retail...
Will you let your circumstances of today such as $15,000 sign on bonus shape your future? Or should you control your own destiny best you can?
Create your own path. Don't let the path dictate your future.
Tough decision for some yet it doesn't need to be.
Do yourself a favor before you make that decision. Set goals. Career goals. Short term, midterm, and long term goals. What do you see yourself doing when you're 25, 30, 35, 40, & beyond.
The decision you make today has a strong influence on what you'll be doing in the future. Will you be satisfied and content with being a staff pharmacist when you're 45 rubbing elbows with brand new grads who'll most likely make the same salary as you? Will you be content with that 28 year old PharmD/MBA who'll be your boss?
Hospital or Retail...
Will you let your circumstances of today such as $15,000 sign on bonus shape your future? Or should you control your own destiny best you can?
Create your own path. Don't let the path dictate your future.
ok I have an additional question, are there chances for salary increases where you can make as much as someone in retail or higher as you advance in the hospital sector? Why do some choose to eventually work in the hospital for those of you who made the switch frome retail?
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The people at my hospital who have 20+ years of experience make over $10/hour more than me...so I'd say "yes."
