How stressful is pharm school and retail pharmacy?

[stdent9972]

Hi, I've recently decided to leave dentistry, and a large part of this was due to stress. I realize pharmacy school and retail pharmacy is no walk in the park, but would like input from people who have firsthand experience:

1. I realize that retail pharmacy usually entails 40-45 hrs per week, but judging by the posts here, it sounds as stressful and people who work 50-60 hours a week, since there is no downtime (and no lunch!!)

2. I realize that the first 2 years of pharm school entail similar subjects as other 4 year health professions programs, but how stressful is 3rd and 4th year? I believe that summers off help a lot though.

3. Are 3 year programs incredibly stressful? I'd prefer a 4 yr program if that is the case.

4. Is burnout in retail pharmacy a big issue? Is pharmacy a profession one can still pursue in one's 60's and maybe 70's?

5. How difficult is it to get into a state school as an out of state student? Which schools seem to let in more people from out of state. I'm an older student and would absolutely prefer to go to a state school (even with out of state tuition)

6. Anything else you can add to a newcomer to pharmacy?
Thank you very much.

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[GKK]

I was former dentistry (and medical) student also. I can sympathize with the stress involved in dentistry. I also didn't much enjoy the work involved. Wrt pharmacy school and the litttle clinical component I've had so far, I find it less stressful. I kinda consider pharmacy like being a theoretical physician. You know quite a bit but you don't have the close, direct everyday contact with patients and their families that you do with meds or dents. If you prefer this, you will likely prefer pharmacy over dents or meds. I definitely do.

Wrt jobs, if you work in big chains, I've heard like youself that it can be pretty stressful. But jobs are so high in demand, that's if you're patient you usually can find a pharmacy job to meet your needs. At least that's what we've been told. I hope it's true. My clinical placements so far have been in small independent pharmacies and there was no stress at all...only a bit of boredom, which is fine by me...Better than stress.

 

[loo]

Wow!

Would you mind sharing why both of you (stdent9972, GKK) decided to leave? I am very curious. Please pm me if you prefer.

Please keep in mind that this is strictly my opinion, so I hope others will add their experiences to round things out.
I feel that pharmacy school is "less" stressful compared to dentistry and medicine.
In pharmacy, your lab workload is significantly less than dentistry and you have the added bonus of professors not pressuring you or treating you like crap. (I hear that it is normal for dental students to hate dental school) Not so in pharmacy, for the most part. Graded lab practicals were the most stressful for me because you walked in and did 'em blind i.e. no information at all and you could not bring any extraneous material to lab. They would do this to get us used to the boards. (I attended school in New York state where there is still a wet lab). All in all, no problems.
As for informational material, I feel that pharmacy is "less" stressful than dentistry and medicine. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of material, but it is manageable.

 

[loo]

As to jobs.

Stress is relative. I work in retail and most of the stress I encounter is from people. If you can concentrate on the job you're doing and delegate things to your techs, then it is not so bad. You just have to realize that you have no control over when people and problems occur. You do have control over how you choose to respond to it. This is key. That and train and teach your techs right, and your life will be much happier.

Yes, you can have lunch! Don't let others dictate to you when you can eat. You must do it yourself. I wish our profession would stop letting others dictate to us their agendas and start standing up for ourselves. Oh, well that's another discussion....

Hope this helps!

loo

 

[loo]

stdent9972:

State schools. Let us know where you're interested in applying to so that current students can respond. What's your undergraduate/dental school GPA like?

By all means contact schools you are interested in to get more info. Visit them if you can.

I wish you good luck. It takes a lot of courage to admit to yourself that a career is not right for you.

loo

 

[stdent9972]

Originally posted by loo
Wow!

Would you mind sharing why both of you (stdent9972, GKK) decided to leave? I am very curious. Please pm me if you prefer.

Please keep in mind that this is strictly my opinion, so I hope others will add their experiences to round things out.
I feel that pharmacy school is "less" stressful compared to dentistry and medicine.
In pharmacy, your lab workload is significantly less than dentistry and you have the added bonus of professors not pressuring you or treating you like crap. (I hear that it is normal for dental students to hate dental school) Not so in pharmacy, for the most part. Graded lab practicals were the most stressful for me because you walked in and did 'em blind i.e. no information at all and you could not bring any extraneous material to lab. They would do this to get us used to the boards. (I attended school in New York state where there is still a wet lab). All in all, no problems.
As for informational material, I feel that pharmacy is "less" stressful than dentistry and medicine. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of material, but it is manageable.

How much lab work is there in pharmacy? That is a major reason why i left dentistry. Is it like chemistry/ ochem lab and would you need precise yields and results.

It would be very stressful for me to need to isolate and purify a specific compound with amazing purity and yield to pass a practical.

Dental profs do treat you like complete crap. It is like you get your 4-year residency in dental school. Students have been told to shave, scolded for not having a perfectly pristine area and worst of all, getting faculty approval after completion of 100% of all projects. Most will not sign if there is a 3% error and you will have to start over. Some have attempted over 15 times!!

 

[stdent9972]

So GKK and others, how stressful is pharm school vs med or dental? Is it significantly easier, a just a little easier? How high is the stress in pharm school?

From most of the posts, retail pharm sounds as stressful as lawyers who work a 60 hour week. Is retail pharm a highly stressful position?

I'm apply to state schools in the NE and Midwest. I'm interested in Maryland, Wisconsin, perhaps schools in PA, NY, MA, MI, IL and OH.

Many of these schools seem to only let in a few out of staters.
My science GPA is a 3.75, however, i have heard that pharm schools have so many appilcants that it still can be difficult to get in. My dental grades were all passing except 1 lab class (a 69), around and 80-81, decent/good but not stellar.

Other questions:

1. How are the retention rates in pharm school. I heard at my local state school (many years ago) that dropout rates were high.

2. Which courses are helpful to take? I know I need microbiology, but what about p-chem and pharmacology classes. I know this is a good idea from experience, because without previous exp, anatomy/physiology/histology was extremely difficult for those w/o previous exposure.

 

[stdent9972]

one last question, is it possible to get more than 2 weeks vacation a year in retail pharm? (at a cut in pay, most likely)

I like to travel, and 4 weeks a year really adds to my quality of life!

 

[loo]

stdent9972:

1. Make sure that pharmacy is right for you--you're already taking the first step by coming to this forum
2. Check out your state schools first. Tuition is cheaper. Keep in mind where you would ultimately want to live. Establish residency and apply there--unless of course, it's private and it doesn't matter! Go to school where there is a good fit between yourself and the curriculum.
3. Once you have your list of schools, do your research and find out what prereqs you may still need to take. Take them as cheaply as possible and do well. Beware of limitations imposed on credits from JC's.
4. By all means, talk up and e-mail admissions offices. Yeah, they want to help you! They can put you in touch with alumni.
5. Not counting your basic sciences, you will have labs in your pharmacy classes. Pharmaceutics, professional practice, pharmacology, etc. They are definitely not like dental school in that there is much less stress and you will not be punished for getting less than a 100% yield. Prepare and you'll do fine! Don't worry.
6.Dropout rates are relatively low. You'll drop out if you hate chemistry and think that you can just slide by. "Most" pharmacy students hang together and help each other. Every class has *****ic gunners. You will make some great friends.

 

[loo]

Oh, yeah...vacation!

Pharmacy jobs are plentiful at the moment, so you can negotiate your vacation. When I hired on at my present job, I told them that I would need 3 weeks vacation. I made the point of stating that stressed pharmacists tend to leave bad environments and I had just left a bad environment. If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Damn, got what I wanted!

Of course, that is not always the case. There are always alternative solutions to problems. You can make deals with your partner or become a floater and make your own schedule. You are only limited by your level of creativity.

loo

 

[loo]

Burnout:

You can get burned-out in pharmacy very quickly if you choose to work long hours. Find an environment you like, whether it be hospital, retail, long-term care, etc. You do have options.

People can stresss you out. Don't let let them. Easier said than done, but it can be done. Have a life outside of your job! Learn how to delegate and train.

Don't let people rush you. If someone complains, just ask them if they want it fast or if they want it accurate. It usually shuts them up.

Burn-out is relative. Happiness is up to you.

loo

 

[GKK]

Originally posted by stdent9972
So GKK and others, how stressful is pharm school vs med or dental? Is it significantly easier, a just a little easier? How high is the stress in pharm school? Which courses are helpful to take? I know I need microbiology, but what about p-chem and pharmacology classes. I know this is a good idea from experience, because without previous exp, anatomy/physiology/histology was extremely difficult for those w/o previous exposure.

Overall, I'm finding pharm school a bit easier (at least so far) in comparison to meds or dents. The students are also a bit more laid back and less competitive than either meds or dents. First year dents was harder and also more boring than either first year pharmacy or meds. Physiology was the only course I enjoyed in first year dents. I hated all the core dentistry lab or theory courses. Teeth just didn't do it for me.

Wrt courses, the more background you have, the easier the pharmacy (or any) program is, especially if the school gives exemptions. Physiology and pharmacology are especially useful but not necessary. I have found the chemistry courses in pharmacy school to be easier than in Arts & Science because they are not geared for chemistry specialists and are a bit dumbed down (less rigorous). We also had 2 core pharm labs this year with one involving a clinical placement and both have been pretty easy. I wouldn't say they were stress-free but they weren't too bad. The only course I despise this year is a professional communication course where you learn how to communicate in written and oral presentation, interview mock-patients while somebody observes you, etc. For some reason, I'm finding this by far the most stressful course. I think it's because I have a bit of public-speaking anxiety. Lucky, it's only a Pass/Fail course.

 

[jdpharmd?]

It's impossible to expect that any degree is going to be stress-free. I cannot think of a job or degree that doesn't involve stress, labs, exams, etc. Of course being a doctor or dentist is going to be stressful. It's part of the career, and of course it's not for everyone. While being a pharmacist might be LESS stressful than being a doctor, it certainly is not stress-free. In fact, the higher than average suicide rates for pharmacists are frequently related to job stress and the need to be 99.99% accurate at all times. It's not unrealistic for professors to expect that you can perform a simple lab or practical exam. Contact with people is part of both the job and curriculum.

Of course chemistry majors have harder chemistry classes. That's why they get degrees in chemistry. The math majors have harder math courses, and the physiology majors have harder physiology classes. That's common sense. BUT do the chem majors have physiology classes, or the phys majors have compounding lab practicals? Much of pharmacy school is made up of a mosiac of other courses. That's what makes it so interesting and also challenging.

If it was easy, everyone would do it.

 

[michelleca4]

My manager at Savon is only stressed when it comes to scheduling. She had a month off for her honeymoon, a week for the carribean and a weekend at NY. The other Pharmacist went to LV twice, Palm Springs and Europe for a week or so. Each pharmacist had all of these vacations in one year. I hear Target is 50 Rxs a day, that's too boring. My store only has 250 scripts a day, with one pharmacist, and clerk/tech to handle all of it. We still read magazines during down time and chit chat. I love my job! The stores with more than 500 scripts and poor techs are the most stressful situations to deal with.

 

[rxforlife2004]

Michelle..you rock, girl!!!

May I see your photo ?

 

[SteveL]

Originally posted by michelleca4
My manager at Savon is only stressed when it comes to scheduling. She had a month off for her honeymoon, a week for the carribean and a weekend at NY. The other Pharmacist went to LV twice, Palm Springs and Europe for a week or so. Each pharmacist had all of these vacations in one year. I hear Target is 50 Rxs a day, that's too boring. My store only has 250 scripts a day, with one pharmacist, and clerk/tech to handle all of it. We still read magazines during down time and chit chat. I love my job! The stores with more than 500 scripts and poor techs are the most stressful situations to deal with.

Agreed. it's all about the tech help. If you don't have ppl competent enough to answer basic q's (insurance or not) or who can't run the computer, then 250 script/days can even be stressful. If you have competent ppl and ppl who stay on task things get handled easily and stress level is significantly reduced.
Our store does about 500 on a monday which isn't too shabby. As long as ins problems stay minimum, it's really not that bad.