Interviewing at Retail/Hospital Positions in case I don't match

[eaglesfan1392]

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I know everyone is busy interviewing for residencies like me, but an opportunity came along that I'm not sure exactly how to address.

I applied to a retail store's staff pharmacist position to have as a backup in case I don't match. I was offered an interview this week and I have no idea what to do. Residency is always my first choice, but I figured it would be good to have a backup plan.

Can anyone offer any advice for me on how/if to communicate this with the retail chain? How do I handle any questions like "Are you serious about a career in retail?" when I honestly just want them as a backup in case I don't match. Also any advice on handling offers would be helpful too.

Thanks in advance!

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

id go to the interview, tell them you're srs about retail to get the offer. If you end up getting a residency you might burn some retail bridges, but who cares you're going clinical at that point.

 

[eaglesfan1392]

ok I was thinking the same thing, but let's say I get an offer next week. or sometime before the match. How long is it appropriate to wait and say yes or no?

 

[Caffeine QAM]

If you get an offer within a week, you should turn it down (but who knows, maybe you'll love them and they make you an offer you'd have a hard time refusing). In any case, it wouldn't be appropriate to make them wait 3-4 weeks for the match results to come out.

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

usually they give you about 3weeks to reply, if you will find out before that great, otherwise take the offer, and you always refuse if you match (assume it's an at-will offer)

 

[Caffeine QAM]

usually they give you about 3weeks to reply, if you will find out before that great, otherwise take the offer, and you always refuse if you match (assume it's an at-will offer)

True, 3 weeks is pretty much the margin of how long it is before it's considered inappropriate... would depend on the employer though. Personally, if it were me, I would not prefer to wait on an interviewee much longer than 2 weeks, but it also depends on how many other candidates are being considered. If you were the only applicant that they decided worthy enough to interview (not likely, in this market) or if you were exceptional and they really want you, then they might be willing to wait a month. Who knows?

OP, if the interview hasn't been scheduled yet, it might be a good idea to schedule it much closer to the match date. If it has already been scheduled, just ask if 3 weeks (or whatever amount of time left before the match) would be reasonble to make your decision.

And yes, you should present your desire to practice in a retail setting. If you do not get the residency, that's the setting you will likely be practicing in, so be positive, embrace it, learn what you can, make an impression, and reapply the next year for residency if you so desire. A lot of the issues that happen or cross over to retail/community are translatable to pharmacy practice and health care in general to some extent, and if you are able to understand those issues, you will be a better candidate for a residency program. So even if it's a job that you don't really desire, see it as a positive experience. You will not likely get the job if you come off seeing it as just being a backup (even if you do).

 

[eaglesfan1392]

Yea they scheduled the interview for this week unfortunately. Should I be up front and say I'm interviewing for residencies, but I'm still considering my options. To make it sound like I'm not sure?

 

[bacillus1]

If you get an offer within a week, you should turn it down (but who knows, maybe you'll love them and they make you an offer you'd have a hard time refusing). In any case, it wouldn't be appropriate to make them wait 3-4 weeks for the match results to come out.

No. Take the offer, then decline it if need be. The chains are screwing over our profession, nothing wrong with screwing them over a little bit. If you back out, it won't be too hard for them to find someone else.

 

[Caffeine QAM]

Yea they scheduled the interview for this week unfortunately. Should I be up front and say I'm interviewing for residencies, but I'm still considering my options. To make it sound like I'm not sure?

I wouldn't advise it. It really depends on the person hiring. Personally, if I were in a hiring position for a retail job, and I interviewed someone motivated to do residency, I wouldn't mind - in fact, I would do my part as manager to enable you. I'll even teach you. Ask me for a recommendation? Sure, provided you are a dedicated and competent worker who will do a good job. But people are not like me. Some people will drop you once they hear you want to do residency, knowing you may just be short-term if they do hire you, and uncommitted at that.

 

[eaglesfan1392]

For hospital positions, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the question "Did you apply for a residency?" or what if they ask "Why aren't you doing a residency if you want to work in a hospital?"

 

[Caffeine QAM]

For hospital positions, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the question "Did you apply for a residency?" or what if they ask "Why aren't you doing a residency if you want to work in a hospital?"

Just be straightforward...why didn't you? Your answer should probably convey your understanding that for most hospital positions (even just 100% straight "staffing" nowadays), while they don't require residencies explicitly, you're competing with residency-trained pharmacists. So in other words, what makes you as good or better as a residency-trained pharmacist? Maybe you have hospital experience or interned enough at a hospital to understand the pharmacists job responsibilities and felt you would be able to prepare for the job without a residency (be sure to back up what you did to prepare). Or maybe you intended to apply for residency and just didn't match or something happened that prevented you from applying for or entering a residency program.

A lot of self-studying can probably get you to a sufficient knowledge level as someone who went through residency. Be prepared to be tested clinically as well as in problem-solving/decision-making. The most basic stuff would be how to dose vancomycin and aminoglycosides, as many places have per pharmacy protocol. Antibiotic spectrum of coverage and appropriate usage would be another one I'd expect, since antimicrobial stewardship is pretty important, especially in California because of the CPDH mandate last year. Real-world application is important too...not just book smarts. If I gave a scenario involving a cardiac patient on multiple QT-interval prolonging drugs, I'd expect more than "that's a severe interaction, we need to call the doctor." I would ask on behalf of the hypothetical physician, "So what should we do? Discontinue all of them?" If you call the physician to tell them there's a problem, I'd hope you'd also have a solution in mind - at least ideas, if not definitive answers. That's one area where a residency-trained pharmacist or someone who already has experience holds a major advantage...it's not that you can't learn. It's just hard to convince hiring managers to take you over someone who already has that experience. I feel you'd need to study pretty hard and show that you're motivated to learn on your own. Also, be willing and motivated to help with projects and do work beyond your normal "daily routine".

 

[eaglesfan1392]

Just be straightforward...why didn't you? Your answer should probably convey your understanding that for most hospital positions (even just 100% straight "staffing" nowadays), while they don't require residencies explicitly, you're competing with residency-trained pharmacists. So in other words, what makes you as good or better as a residency-trained pharmacist? Maybe you have hospital experience or interned enough at a hospital to understand the pharmacists job responsibilities and felt you would be able to prepare for the job without a residency (be sure to back up what you did to prepare). Or maybe you intended to apply for residency and just didn't match or something happened that prevented you from applying for or entering a residency program.

A lot of self-studying can probably get you to a sufficient knowledge level as someone who went through residency. Be prepared to be tested clinically as well as in problem-solving/decision-making. The most basic stuff would be how to dose vancomycin and aminoglycosides, as many places have per pharmacy protocol. Antibiotic spectrum of coverage and appropriate usage would be another one I'd expect, since antimicrobial stewardship is pretty important, especially in California because of the CPDH mandate last year. Real-world application is important too...not just book smarts. If I gave a scenario involving a cardiac patient on multiple QT-interval prolonging drugs, I'd expect more than "that's a severe interaction, we need to call the doctor." I would ask on behalf of the hypothetical physician, "So what should we do? Discontinue all of them?" If you call the physician to tell them there's a problem, I'd hope you'd also have a solution in mind - at least ideas, if not definitive answers. That's one area where a residency-trained pharmacist or someone who already has experience holds a major advantage...it's not that you can't learn. It's just hard to convince hiring managers to take you over someone who already has that experience. I feel you'd need to study pretty hard and show that you're motivated to learn on your own. Also, be willing and motivated to help with projects and do work beyond your normal "daily routine".

To be clear, I did apply for residencies. I just want to know how to broach the subject on a hospital interview because they might think I'm not interested if they find out I did apply and am waiting. Honestly just want the offer for a backup in case all phases of match don't work out.

 

[gwarm01]

Be prepared to be tested clinically as well as in problem-solving/decision-making. The most basic stuff would be how to dose vancomycin and aminoglycosides, as many places have per pharmacy protocol.

This is precisely what I encountered on my first interview. A good mix of clinical questions and situational questions to see how you think and react to typical situations that would occur in a hospital pharmacy. Having intern experience in a hospital also helped immensely.

 

[NCW2401]

Residencies are not required for hospital. Keep in mind that if your hospital has cuts pharmacy wise, clinical is always the first to go.

 

[confettiflyer]

Residencies are not required for hospital. Keep in mind that if your hospital has cuts pharmacy wise, clinical is always the first to go.

It's a de facto requirement in impacted markets, not always de jure (we hire both depending on performance at like a 9:1 ratio)

Clinical first to go? Not if you have a hybrid model where there is no delineation between the old terms "clinical" and "staff" pharmacist.


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[NCW2401]

By "impacted" do you mean saturated? WTF. Of course every staff hospital pharmacist does both. I still can't figure out if you made any sort of relevant point or you just felt like saying weird ****.

 

[confettiflyer]

By "impacted" do you mean saturated? WTF. Of course every staff hospital pharmacist does both. I still can't figure out if you made any sort of relevant point or you just felt like saying weird ****.

Impacted = saturated. Reread my post, it makes sense.


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[NCW2401]

Impacted = saturated. Reread my post, it makes sense.


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I get what you are saying...just an odd choice of words