Hospital Pharmacy: Residency requisite?

[eleanor_rigby]

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Should Pharm.D students pursuing careers in a hospital setting decide to enter a Residency program? Would it only benefit those seeking to work in a particular practice(oncology, pediatrics, etc)? Would it be difficult to find a job at a hospital after graduating without being in a residency program? Would a Pharm.D/MBA dual degree benefit me if I were to seek a management position in a hospital?

It's difficult to find an opportunity to ask the staff pharmacists and interns questions at the hospital since they put us student volunteers in the backroom and give us busy work.

 

[sdn1977]

Yes - a residency now is very valuable.

That's not to say you won't get a hospital job without one...but, you won't go far.

As for MBA.....thats still debatable & depends on where you live. An MHA is valuable, but an administrative residency in a well known institution might give you the same opportunities a generic MBA would.

As for retail.....yeah - even there a residency is a good thing if you ever want to get away from checking fills & the fill machines.

 

[SELDANE]

If you plan to stay within the hospital setting and try to branch out (ie., director or assistant director of pharmacy, clinical position etc...) then I would say definately go ahead and complete a residency. If you plan to stay in retail then I don't think the residency will be of much benefit. However as one of the previous posters pointed out ( I believe SDN1977) if you get tired of working retail it's really nice to have the option to apply for a pharmacy postion outside of retail and be competative.

 

[gaba101]

If you plan to stay within the hospital setting and try to branch out (ie., director or assistant director of pharmacy, clinical position etc...) then I would say definately go ahead and complete a residency. If you plan to stay in retail then I don't think the residency will be of much benefit. However as one of the previous posters pointed out ( I believe SDN1977) if you get tired of working retail it's really nice to have the option to apply for a pharmacy postion outside of retail and be competative.

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[sdn1977]

SDN1977, for someone who plans to go straight into retail after graduation...if one does not want to complete a residency but would like to stay competitive in case opportunity comes knocking on the door, would you say being a manager at a retail pharmacy for a few years be a good approach? (even though it is pretty painful). I ask because I do know a few pharmacists who have been PICs for a few years and am just wondering if I were them (several years into my career already) and some wonderful opportunity outside of retail opened up, how competitive would I be? Can't wait to be done w/ school already!! 😍

Well....if you're in CA....you'd be short sighted in my opinion not to do a residency.

Retail, even being a PIC (which is nothing more than being the signatory on the DEA forms, assigning "shifts", dealing with complaints, meeting economic goals....) is going to be a limited job in the future unless you become skilled in ambulatory extended care practices.

If you're still a student...join your student chapter of CPhA - go to meetings - hear what is happening in retail. We're going to become much more involved in the actual pharmaceutical "management" of patients.

There will be always a need for that pharmacist to check the tech's fill - unless it comes from a central fill facility. If all you want to be is a PIC - you won't need anything else than your 3-4 years & your license. But....I think corporations will look for PIC's who will actually be "motivators" for community involvement & more patient specific interaction.

You need the education & experience to be competitive - being a PIC is not going to give you that.

 

[gaba101]

Well....if you're in CA....you'd be short sighted in my opinion not to do a residency.

Retail, even being a PIC (which is nothing more than being the signatory on the DEA forms, assigning "shifts", dealing with complaints, meeting economic goals....) is going to be a limited job in the future unless you become skilled in ambulatory extended care practices.

If you're still a student...join your student chapter of CPhA - go to meetings - hear what is happening in retail. We're going to become much more involved in the actual pharmaceutical "management" of patients.

There will be always a need for that pharmacist to check the tech's fill - unless it comes from a central fill facility. If all you want to be is a PIC - you won't need anything else than your 3-4 years & your license. But....I think corporations will look for PIC's who will actually be "motivators" for community involvement & more patient specific interaction.

You need the education & experience to be competitive - being a PIC is not going to give you that.

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[gaba101]

...

 

[sdn1977]

OK - I'm not sure at that point you'd want to do a residency. Perhaps you'd want to do a fellowship. But....all this depends on mobility, which some people don't have. Its hard to be mobile the longer you are out of school.

That is one down side of late entry into the career with a family already. Often, we can convince our families to do the 4 years of school since the obvious end is apparent. And...right now - becoming a retail pharmacist is easy & pays well - and probably will for the next forseeable future.

The issue is - will you still be interested 20 years from now, not the pay. The job may still be there, but its going to be a boring job if all you do is check rxs a tech or machine fills. But....some like that - look at the mail order pharmacists. What is boring to me is great for them! Those jobs will be there. The question will be - is the job going to be what makes you want to get up & go do it....because after a certain period of time, the money won't be your motivator - in fact, it will make you bitter.

But...for a graduate who must enter the job market without further training...get that job and do absolutely every aspect of that job. Be a PIC - thats great experience to have. It is real life to have techs argue about who works the AM shift & who works the PM shift - look back over some of Zpaks posts. Get as much experience as your family schedule allows & broaden all aspects of your professional life by doing EVERYTHING.

But....while you're working - also network. Join your APhA, CPhA and I'd also suggest joing ASHP. Yes - its expensive, but it keeps you up to date. Go to your local meetings, meet the people there, offer to join a subcommittee, get to know what is going on politically in your state (CA???), take the classes these associations have to offer & think about taking a certification exam in geriatrics or something else. Like many professions, down the road is not what you know - its who you know.

This gets more into another thread that someone started about juggling family & the career. Unfortunately, that was a limited discussion because it was treated lightly & was kept to just the "job" & the relationships. But...you'll have to balance this ability to keep yourself abreast & active, while working & you'll have to negotiate this with your SO all the while you're figuring out your finances.

Good luck! As long as there is time ahead...there's time to do what you want. You may not take the traditional route, but....there are many ways to get there!

 

[consultantrph]

Hospitals and residencies... the short answer is... it depends. If you want to work at a large hospital or a university teaching type hospital, then you better do a residency/fellowship. If you want to work at a local community hospital, you probably don't need a residency. I haven't done a residency and I know I could go to any of the 3 community hospitals near me on Monday morning and be working as a pharmacist there by Tues morning. It just depends where you want to work and what you want to do.

 

[MokaBear]

hi im new at the idea of residency/fellowship for graduating pharm students. are these two things relatively recent and opened up options for pharm students? I know med school students have to do residencies so they can get more experience about working as a doctor. I have a great interest in working in hospital and clinical settings and being able to provide more involved direct healthcare for patients and ppl in general so I would like to get trained and have more experience in that. I will be entering pharm school this fall, and was wondering how I should prepare to apply for residency/fellowship in the future? like get high grades in pharm school, etc.. any advice and help is appreciated! =D

 

[dgroulx]

hi im new at the idea of residency/fellowship for graduating pharm students. are these two things relatively recent and opened up options for pharm students? I know med school students have to do residencies so they can get more experience about working as a doctor. I have a great interest in working in hospital and clinical settings and being able to provide more involved direct healthcare for patients and ppl in general so I would like to get trained and have more experience in that. I will be entering pharm school this fall, and was wondering how I should prepare to apply for residency/fellowship in the future? like get high grades in pharm school, etc.. any advice and help is appreciated! =D

During your first two years of school, don't worry about residencies. Concentrate on what you're learning and keep your GPA above 3.0 Join ASHP and attend meetings at your school. Run for office.

 

[rxlynn]

hi im new at the idea of residency/fellowship for graduating pharm students. are these two things relatively recent and opened up options for pharm students? I know med school students have to do residencies so they can get more experience about working as a doctor. I have a great interest in working in hospital and clinical settings and being able to provide more involved direct healthcare for patients and ppl in general so I would like to get trained and have more experience in that. I will be entering pharm school this fall, and was wondering how I should prepare to apply for residency/fellowship in the future? like get high grades in pharm school, etc.. any advice and help is appreciated! =D

Hi - once you are in pharmacy school, you will probably find that your school provides some opportunities to learn about residences. I'm a P1, and there have been a couple of things so far that you could attend if you were interested in a residency. Later in March there is going to be another event sponsored by the ASHP chapter where they are going to bring in current pharmacy residents to talk about what they are doing.