I need honest answers from current pharmacists

[alprazolamborghini]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi,

I am currently interning at CVS. Just quick question,

Do you like your job? Would you be a pharmacist again if you were to go back in time? I am asking this question because many pharmacists I have talked to regret about becoming a pharmacist. Also, when I work in CVS, I feel like I am a robot doing same sh-it over and over again. All the studying I have done is for this crap? With all the debt I m gonna have after I graduate and current job market, is this worth it? I m serious about quitting the program and become a dentist.

 

[owlegrad]

When people say they regret going into pharmacy, what do they wish they had done instead? Personally it is about everything I expected it to be. A well paying job without much physical exertion and quite rewarding sometimes.

Nothing wrong with being a dentist, but personally the thought of working with teeth...no thank you, I will stick to pills.

 

[Jibby321]

Dentistry is saturated. 🙂

 

[alprazolamborghini]

Dentistry is saturated. 🙂

good point

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I wouldn't say that dentistry is as saturated as pharmacy (getting there, though). One big plus for dentistry is that it is still relatively common to run your own shop.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

I wouldn't say that dentistry is as saturated as pharmacy (getting there, though). One big plus for dentistry is that it is still relatively common to run your own shop.

yup, its not like booming chain retails as pharmcy

 

[BenJammin]

If you told me that my first job out of college would be CVS instead of the clinical pharmacist job I snagged at a hospital in Texas, I would have dropped out. You're feeling the way you're feeling because CVS is a terrible company.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

If you told me that my first job out of college would be CVS instead of the clinical pharmacist job I snagged at a hospital in Texas, I would have dropped out. You're feeling the way you're feeling because CVS is a terrible company.

Should I quit cvs and try to get hospital internship? I am afraid that I am gonna burn the bridge..

 

[Jibby321]

I wouldn't say that dentistry is as saturated as pharmacy (getting there, though). One big plus for dentistry is that it is still relatively common to run your own shop.

I have a dentist in the family. So that's one reason why I didn't go into dentistry. Although he was very very VERY successful in his practice he never reccomended dentistry to me or anyone I knew.

 

[Jibby321]

Should I quit cvs and try to get hospital internship? I am afraid that I am gonna burn the bridge..

Stick it out for the summer and resume another search in the fall.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

Stick it out for the summer and resume another search in the fall.

THANKS!

 

[SELDANE]

I think your questions regarding pharmacy and the future of the profession are well founded. Considering how you feel at this state of the game, If I were you I wouldn't spend any more time and money pursuing pharmacy, rather I'd look at requirements for dental school and make arrangements to take the DAT.

 

[Angela1234]

I wish I hadn't become a pharmacist. If I could have predicted spending years of my life thousands of miles away from everyone, no way. Now I am living in poverty and struggling. I haven't paid my 200k loans in 2 years.

 

[molyhelp]

Do you like your job? Would you be a pharmacist again if you were to go back in time? Also, when I work in CVS, I feel like I am a robot doing same sh-it over and over again.

Any job has pros and cons. Some chains are more aggressive at watching the numbers and you feel constant threat to perform which makes us wonder how long we will last if the boss is very watchful and aggressive. You mentioned CVS which many of my friends voiced that they feel under extreme pressure all the time. Perhaps, before quitting pharmacy totally, try a different chain or independent pharmacy to find out about working atmosphere at other places?

Another note,

I m serious about quitting the program and become a dentist.

Just sharing from a human to a human, dentist has highest suicide rate as presented at this web site:
http://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-commit-suicide-2010-10?op=1
(Article is attached here.)

 

[mustang sally]

If you told me that my first job out of college would be CVS instead of the clinical pharmacist job I snagged at a hospital in Texas, I would have dropped out. You're feeling the way you're feeling because CVS is a terrible company.

Agreed. If I had to work where I did my internship (Wags), I would probably not be happy as a pharmacist.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

Agreed. If I had to work where I did my internship (Wags), I would probably not be happy as a pharmacist.

so what are some good chains to work for ? in ur opinion

 

[Jibby321]

so what are some good chains to work for ? in ur opinion

Grocery chains from what I hear aren't bad. SAMs club and Walmart aren't as big on metrics as cvs and people are usually shopping in those stores so they don't mind a > 20 min wait time which is nice.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

Grocery chains from what I hear aren't bad. SAMs club and Walmart aren't as big on metrics as cvs and people are usually shopping in those stores so they don't mind a > 20 min wait time which is nice.

I heard costco is the best retail ever but there isnt any opening since nobody quits that company

 

[LovenoxAQ]

I work as a clinical specialist at a large academic medical center and love my job. It is professionally satisfying and allows me a great deal of flexibility. Every time I interact with a miserable chain pharmacist I feel thankful for my job, but I also understand that I choose to pursue years of additional training in order to be treated like a professional (rather than a white-collar slave at a large chain). At the same time, I have chosen a career that does not stay at the hospital and often do some sort of work in the evening from home but I don't mind this (and would prefer it to staffing a 12 hour day at a chain).

As others have said, you are currently working in the worst of the worst. Dispensing jobs may be the most common (and high paying) positions, but they are definitely not your only option. I am not sure what year you are but I am guessing you have already invested several years of time (and money) into pharmacy education. Do you really want to start over from the beginning with dental school? The grass is always greener on the other side. As a side note, I remember one of my pharmacy school professors saying dentists had the highest rate of suicide of all the medical professions (though this was back when chain pharmacies were still attending career fairs and offering signing bonuses).

 

[JustAnotherRph]

I do not work in either hospital or retail. I started out in retail as a technician but after I graduated pharmacy school, I went into hospital and floated in retail like 1-2 shifts a month. I currently work in a PBM and really enjoy my job. I really enjoy my job and what I do.

 

[mustang sally]

so what are some good chains to work for ? in ur opinion

I just prefer hospital myself, but if I were going to do retail I would probably go with an independent pharmacy. And if not that, then grocery chains as others have said.

 

[KidPharmD]

so what are some good chains to work for ? in ur opinion

Going to throw grocery chains in there as well. My classmates who went to work for Kroger, Target, and Walmart are much more satisfied in their jobs than those that went to work for the big three. Although, I can think of two working for CVS that still enjoy working for them. I, however, did not as did several others.

 

[alprazolamborghini]

I work as a clinical specialist at a large academic medical center and love my job. It is professionally satisfying and allows me a great deal of flexibility. Every time I interact with a miserable chain pharmacist I feel thankful for my job, but I also understand that I choose to pursue years of additional training in order to be treated like a professional (rather than a white-collar slave at a large chain). At the same time, I have chosen a career that does not stay at the hospital and often do some sort of work in the evening from home but I don't mind this (and would prefer it to staffing a 12 hour day at a chain).

As others have said, you are currently working in the worst of the worst. Dispensing jobs may be the most common (and high paying) positions, but they are definitely not your only option. I am not sure what year you are but I am guessing you have already invested several years of time (and money) into pharmacy education. Do you really want to start over from the beginning with dental school? The grass is always greener on the other side. As a side note, I remember one of my pharmacy school professors saying dentists had the highest rate of suicide of all the medical professions (though this was back when chain pharmacies were still attending career fairs and offering signing bonuses).

Thanks for the story! I will try to find some other companies other than cvs.

 

[pezdispenser]

To do well in retail pharmacy, you mostly need to be good at customer service, conflict resolution, and be fast and accurate at the very repetitive and simple task of dispensing.

Is this what you expected when you decided to become a pharmacist?

Do you have these attributes or does pharmacy school prepare you for this type of work?

If you answered no to either of those questions, then I'm pretty sure you will be horribly dissatisfied in any retail setting, because you are not a good fit. However, around two-thirds of pharmacist jobs are in retail, and probably a lot of students are not cut out for retail pharmacy, so they will all be ramping up competition for non-retail jobs. Which is fine by me because I do like working in retail, so less chance a new grad will steal my job 😛

 

[bobanderson214]

I worked over 60 hours last week. During 4 of my shifts, I filled less than 40 scripts for the day. Felt like I watched more Netflix than actual work. Hard to not like that type of job.

 

[kendrick lamar]

I have a question for everybody who works in a hospital, what helped you secure the job you are in now? I just graduated and am applying as a staff pharmacist at hospitals considering residency in the future. I have not had any previous hospital/retail intern experience (although I tried tremendously to secure one). The clinical pharmacists I've done rotations with at the large academic hospital in my area are my two references (they seemed pretty satisfied with my work), and I am considering contacting them about some open positions at the hospital (if they may refer me or something). Otherwise, it is a little bit of a struggle and I am wondering what's the best route to get a staff pharmacist position at the hospital.

 

[littleowl]

I have a question for everybody who works in a hospital, what helped you secure the job you are in now? I just graduated and am applying as a staff pharmacist at hospitals considering residency in the future. I have not had any previous hospital/retail intern experience (although I tried tremendously to secure one). The clinical pharmacists I've done rotations with at the large academic hospital in my area are my two references (they seemed pretty satisfied with my work), and I am considering contacting them about some open positions at the hospital (if they may refer me or something). Otherwise, it is a little bit of a struggle and I am wondering what's the best route to get a staff pharmacist position at the hospital.

To be completely honest with you...it depends on the hiring manager. I worked for one of the largest hospital systems in the southeast for five years and the only two staff pharmacists to be hired during that time were a guy who'd only worked in retail for three years since he'd graduated (zero hospital experience) and a new grad who did a rotation in our department (no hospital experience and no residency.) The pharmacy supervisor hired the guy because she thought he was smoking hot and hired the new grad because she was her regular babysitter. The sup passed over a ton of qualified applicants simply because she had the power to do so and I was in charge of all paperwork/scheduling so yes I did see the other applications. I know it sounds harsh and I'm sure there are hiring managers out there who are actually screening applications based on qualifications and experience but you also have to be prepared for the folks like the above-mentioned supervisor who hire people based on their personal preferences.

 

[Ackj]

To be completely honest with you...it depends on the hiring manager. I worked for one of the largest hospital systems in the southeast for five years and the only two staff pharmacists to be hired during that time were a guy who'd only worked in retail for three years since he'd graduated (zero hospital experience) and a new grad who did a rotation in our department (no hospital experience and no residency.) The pharmacy supervisor hired the guy because she thought he was smoking hot and hired the new grad because she was her regular babysitter. The sup passed over a ton of qualified applicants simply because she had the power to do so and I was in charge of all paperwork/scheduling so yes I did see the other applications. I know it sounds harsh and I'm sure there are hiring managers out there who are actually screening applications based on qualifications and experience but you also have to be prepared for the folks like the above-mentioned supervisor who hire people based on their personal preferences.

So stop worrying about experience/credentials, and make yourself better looking, or if that doesn't work, become a babysitter. Got it.

 

[Jibby321]

So if I just become a baby sitter ill be the whole package. 😉

 

[littleowl]

So stop worrying about experience/credentials, and make yourself better looking, or if that doesn't work, become a babysitter. Got it.

I was actually kinda going for the "it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know" or "always be Brad Pitt or Batman" themes but this works too.

 

[kendrick lamar]

lmfao yeh I'm not surprised, I kno professors at my school who refused to write rec letters for some students for residencies but did so for others and it mostly seemed that it was on the basis of how well they got along with each other, not what a student rly brought to the table. I hear about people getting by with connections all the time. I guess it's a hit or miss lol (stuff they don't teach you in school 😳) )