hospital pharmacist experience.

[ntpd]

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Hello guys,
I have Bachelor's in pharmacy and currently working for CVS. I do not enjoy working for this chain, or any retail. So I am enrolled now in non-traditional doctor of pharmacy part time to get PharmD degree, which will allow me to practice pharmacy in the hospital after residency.

Does anybody know if all this is worth it? To get PharmD from Rph(Bachelor'son pharmacy) will cost me 20.000$ and 3 years part time. Is working in a hospital as a clinical pharmacist any better?

I want to get away from retail because I:
--stand on my feet 8-12 hours
--get yelled at by patients
--do not use my knowledge and feel like I am getting less knowledgable(forgetting).

I LOVED pharmacology in school, and I love analysis in clinical pahramcology. I am hoping that hospital will fullfill my expectations on that.
I heard from several people that atmosphere in a hosptal is "UNHEALTHY". That nurses and pharmacists compete who is"above who", and that everybody is ready to backstab.

Anybody knows anything about it?

 

[EddieL]

Hello guys,
I have Bachelor's in pharmacy and currently working for CVS. I do not enjoy working for this chain, or any retail. So I am enrolled now in non-traditional doctor of pharmacy part time to get PharmD degree, which will allow me to practice pharmacy in the hospital after residency.

Does anybody know if all this is worth it? To get PharmD from Rph(Bachelor'son pharmacy) will cost me 20.000$ and 3 years part time. Is working in a hospital any better?

I want to get away from retail because I:
--stand on my feet 8-12 hours
--get yelled at by patients
--do not use my knowledge and feel like I am getting less knowledgable(forgetting).

I LOVED pharmacology in school, and I love analysis in clinical pahramcology. I am hoping that hospital will fullfill my expectations on that.
I heard from several people that atmosphere in a hosptal is "UNHEALTHY". That nurses and pharmacists compete who is"above who", and that everybody is ready to backstab.

Anybody knows anything about it?

Not sure how much this will help, but I did shadow in a few hospitals, and a lot of the pharmacists (BSPharm ones) there worked in retail for quite some time (10-20 years) and switched over to hospital pharmacy without doing a residency. However, they were staff pharmacists, not clinical ones.

 

[type b pharmD]

I can tell you not all hospitals are bad places to work. I for one have worked in an outstanding hospital, 2nd best job I've ever had in the pharmacy field. At mine, the pharmacy staff was like a really close knit family, we all worked really hard for each other, partied together after work, had pharmacy events, went to each others family events, etc. Also we had a great relationship with the 3 or 4 staff physicians at our hospital, they always came to us for advice, and frequently delegated their work to our pharmacists to come up with new therapy options, make changes, provide opinions, etc. The nurses on the other hand... you will get complaints about the interaction between nurses and pharmacy staff at most if not all hospitals. In the hospital i worked at, and at my friends hospital job, there is an "us against them" mentality with nurses vs pharmacists. They dont want to be told what to do by anyone other than nursing supervisors, and a lot of times will play passive aggressive games with calling the pharmacy staff for help or when it comes to ignoring pharmacy directives. Ah well, its the way it is.

Go for the clinical pharmacy track. Getting a non traditional pharmD is not that hard, there are still clinical pharmacist jobs open. You WONT have to be on your feet all day (pharmacists i worked with probably only stood 15% of their day), and you'll have the opportunity to do much more varied, and interesting work. Even if you cant find a clinical job or dont do a residency, look for a combined clinical/staff job. At small hospitals, they dont often have the budget for clinical pharmacists, but at the same time the hospital maybe doesnt have specialist MDs, so a lot of times the doctors came to us for help in the pharmacy with problems, and the pharmacists spent a lot of time problem solving and working on patient cases, whether it be warfarin, antibiotics, pain meds , or uncommonly, working with complex conditions and rare drugs. If you're looking for such a setting, try to look for a job at an LTAC (long term acute care, basically a small hospital for critically ill patients who need long term supervision).

 

[BMadjuster]

You WONT have to be on your feet all day (pharmacists i worked with probably only stood 15% of their day), and you'll have the opportunity to do much more varied, and interesting work.

I would say 16.5% would be more accurate from my experience, give or take a few minutes.

 

[ntpd]

thank you very much for your input, guys! I appreciate it!!!

 

[sundogoh]

I am a pharmacist who worked retail for 8 years (at CVS) before moving to hospital pharmacy. I had absolutely no experience in hospital except for the rotations I did in pharmacy school. I've been a staff pharmacist in a hospital now for 7 years. I had a BS degree when I started at the hospital but just graduated this past December with a non-traditional PharmD. About half of our pharmacy staff have BS degrees and probably half of those originally worked retail. It was a huge adjustment going to hospital from retail. It felt like I was in school again. Getting a PharmD hasn't changed what I do, but it was well worth it just gaining more knowledge.

I agree that you will definitely be sitting a lot more at the hospital. I also agree there is much more variety in the work I do now.

At the hospital I work at, a PharmD alone won't necessarily get you a clinical position. A residency or BCPS is required as well for the most part. However, all of our staff pharmacists (including the BS pharmacists) get to do some clinical work.

I don't feel like there is any competition between the nursing and pharmacy staff. I actually feel like the hospital has a healthier atmosphere. Quality of life certainly is better for me.

Good luck!

 

[SELDANE]

Like several of the previous posts I too worked retail before moving over to hospital. If you are wanting to complete a non-trad PharmD for the sake of knowledge then go for it, but having a PharmD is really not necessary if all you're wanting to do is find a position as a staff pharmacist in a hospital. What employers are looking for is a current license to practice pharmacy and someone who is willing and patient enough to go through training. As for competition between nursing staff and pharmacists I really don't see anything like that. Granted every profession/career field has their share of nitwits.

 

[ntpd]

Sundogoh and Seldane, thank you very much for your input! I will defenately look into getting a job in a hospital pharmacy more vigorously with BS while in the process of completing PharmD.

From my experience with job search, the requirements to work in a hospital in big cities like Los Angeles or Chicago are more stringent and strict. When I was looking for a job, you either had to have PharmD on top of hospital expericence, or just the PharmD alone with residency. I bet in smaller towns it will not be that strict, but I can not relocate to a smaller town becasue of all my ties. But, again, I'll do more search! Maybe I'll ask the hospital if they would consider taking me for a probationary period with no pay for like 3 months! Good idea!

Well, thank you for you input again!!!

 

[xiphoid2010]

Sundogoh and Seldane, thank you very much for your input! I will defenately look into getting a job in a hospital pharmacy more vigorously with BS while in the process of completing PharmD.

From my experience with job search, the requirements to work in a hospital in big cities like Los Angeles or Chicago are more stringent and strict. When I was looking for a job, you either had to have PharmD on top of hospital expericence, or just the PharmD alone with residency. I bet in smaller towns it will not be that strict, but I can not relocate to a smaller town becasue of all my ties. But, again, I'll do more search! Maybe I'll ask the hospital if they would consider taking me for a probationary period with no pay for like 3 months! Good idea!

Well, thank you for you input again!!!

Definitely depends on the location and how big the institution is. You'll be lucky to even get a staff position with just pharm.d lone at the OSU medical center, even 1 year residency doesn't assure you of a clinical gig (in fact, they only hired 1 clinical specialist with a PGY-1 in the last several yearss). PGY-2 is practically required for those. Riverside hospital is kind of of the same thing, retail pharmacists need not apply. PGY-1 are hired on as staff, then you wait until a clinical position opens up.

Mean while, a retail pharm.d with 0 hospital experience at my walgreens just got a clinical job at a small hospital in a small town outside of columbus. Of course his friend was working there, so...nepotism, it never gets old.