How’s hospital night pharmacist?

[cozypark]

I just applied for night pharmacist at hospital. Trying to move from retail to hospital..
Since I have no hospital experience, I first applied for night time..
But how is it? What do you do? Just filling rx from dr’s order?

Can someone explain what overnight hospital pharmacist in detail?
(No ReadyFill.. right?

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[BidingMyTime]

Actually, hospital wants night pharmacists who have experience. You are far more likely to get your first hospital job as 2nd shift or swing shifting. Or even PRN. Night's at hospital can be rough--with little to nobody else to ask advice of. All the heart attacks/codes/freak accidents, the esoteric IV's that nobody has ordered for the past 5 years (ie esmolol), and an occasional TPN's which 1st/2nd shift never have to think about because the tech's do it. Yeah, everything at night is STAT, most likely unusual or labor intensive, and usually nobody to ask for help.

 

[gwarm01]

Size of the hospital and metro area? This could make a big difference. Nights at a level 1 trauma center in a large city can be busy. You'll have nights where you struggle to stay awake, and others where its a non-stop funfest in the ICU. It also depends on the culture of the hospital whether you will sit in the pharmacy and process orders, or have to spend time out on the floors. Our ICU wanted a pharmacist at every rapid response, code, intubation, or procedure held in the unit. I did a lot of standing around "just in case" in my time.

 

[cozypark]

Actually, hospital wants night pharmacists who have experience. You are far more likely to get your first hospital job as 2nd shift or swing shifting. Or even PRN. Night's at hospital can be rough--with little to nobody else to ask advice of. All the heart attacks/codes/freak accidents, the esoteric IV's that nobody has ordered for the past 5 years (ie esmolol), and an occasional TPN's which 1st/2nd shift never have to think about because the tech's do it. Yeah, everything at night is STAT, most likely unusual or labor intensive, and usually nobody to ask for help.

Thank you so much.
Since the job posting did not require any hospital experince (which all
Daytime hospital posting requires), I thought it would be less clinical somehow.
I was totally wrong.

 

[cozypark]

Size of the hospital and metro area? This could make a big difference. Nights at a level 1 trauma center in a large city can be busy. You'll have nights where you struggle to stay awake, and others where its a non-stop funfest in the ICU. It also depends on the culture of the hospital whether you will sit in the pharmacy and process orders, or have to spend time out on the floors. Our ICU wanted a pharmacist at every rapid response, code, intubation, or procedure held in the unit. I did a lot of standing around "just in case" in my time.

It is pretty big hospital in suburban area.
Thank you for your advice. Maybe I should start lookig for small hospital in rural area job first..

 

[gwarm01]

It is pretty big hospital in suburban area.
Thank you for your advice. Maybe I should start lookig for small hospital in rural area job first..

Nah, dive in headfirst. Take what you can get and run with it.