is pharmacy boring?!?

[fairysta]

hi everyberrybody....im new to this! well, i was looking through many of the pharmacy posts, but none of them reallly answer my ques. so can anyone advise me and tell me what they think about pharmacy in their daily lives'. thanks!

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[StevenS]

/me going to get some popcorn.

 

[BMBiology]

yes.

 

[fairysta]

haha....umm whuaaahhhh?????
so y is it boring and how do u know??

 

[LVPharm]

In retail pharmacy the work can be boring...or stressful (when you can't get a claim through with an impatient patient waiting for you), but the people I work with aren't boring. Hospital pharmacy can be downright boooring for a staff phramacist sitting in front of a computer terminal entering and checking medication orders, and can be quite hectic and stressful for charge pharmacists....running around like a chicken with its head chopped off, answering phone calls, verifying, etc...

But, all-in-all yes, pharmacy is boring
It's the people you work with that seem to get you through the day, though!

 

[fairysta]

thanks for the infO!....i was also wondering if anyone can tell me how many years it takes to become a doctor of pharmacy. i heard its 6 ...but then i heard its 8 ...

 

[LVPharm]

The actual professional program (to obtain a PharmD) can be 4 years, or 3 years in an accelerated program (my program is a 3 year program). Prerequisite courses for admission should take about 2 years of college work to complete. You probably heard "8 years" cuz most (though not all) pharm students have completed a bachelors degree prior to going to pharm school (like me)...that'll be 4 years undergrad + 4 years in the standard pharm professional program = 8. I've got classmates who did very well in their prereqs (they also had extensive tech experience and were all around good applicants), so they got into the program with only 2 years of coursework (no bachelors degrees, they just took their prerequisite courses).

 

[ucdbiochem]

fairysta: welcome to SDN! it's good that you're reading this forum to get more insight in pharm.
besides that, i'd recommend you to volunteer at a pharmacy setting, i.e. community Rx, clinical Rx, etc. that way you can get first-hand experience and decide whether pharmacy is really for you.
good luck.

 

[LVPharm]

I'll echo that...I always tell interested people to "look before they leap", find out about the profession first-hand...pharm school is a rather large investment of time, money, and effort.

 

[chitowngyrl]

If pharmacy is really as boring as you guys say it is, than why choose pharmacy? I mean, there are other careers to go into where you can make money?

Surely not all of the field is boring! Is it that "certain fields" of pharmacy are boring and if so what fields (in your opinion) are the most interesting?

I was looking into going into Clinical Pharmalogy and specialize in Peds. I was wondering if any one knows much about this field. Is this area also going to be boring?

I am scared of getting stuck in job that is.........well, boring. I tried volunteering, but it is hard finding opportunities. Please help me! Anyboby's insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dgroulx]

I guess it depends on your definition of boring. In lots of jobs, you just do the same thing day after day. I would consider that boring, but other people find security in rote routines.

I'd call retail pharmacy boring, but since you are kept busy, the day goes by quickly. I think that everyone just pictures that person behind the counter when they think of pharmacist. That's why it's important to do research on the career before you start.

Most people starting pharmacy school want to use their brain and there are those jobs out there, too. But, when you have student loans, the retail salaries are tempting. Some people enter retail to pay off the loans, but end up staying there. If you want to specialize in pharmacy, then you have to intern, which means working for low wages for another couple of years.

 

[Triangulation]

disclaimer: this is my opinion

it's not boring at all. I haven't had thirty seconds much less days where it's been boring for a second. If it's boring you're probably not doing something right.

Granted filling precounts after the pharmacy has closed isn't the most glamorous, but you hardly notice because pharmacists are pretty clever people and it's fun to hear what they have to say. There will be some pts that make it rough, but i love the staff i work with: the clerks, the techs, and the pharmacists have, to a man, been hella cool.

Bottom-line: If you've got these questions, you shouldn't listen to anything you read. You need to get some experience. Volunteer somewhere, shadow a pharmacist at a retail joint (if they'll let you.) It's an incredible investement in time/money, make sure it's what you want.

 

[LSUMED2006]

Originally posted by chitowngyrl
If pharmacy is really as boring as you guys say it is, than why choose pharmacy? I mean, there are other careers to go into where you can make money?

Surely not all of the field is boring! Is it that "certain fields" of pharmacy are boring and if so what fields (in your opinion) are the most interesting?

I was looking into going into Clinical Pharmalogy and specialize in Peds. I was wondering if any one knows much about this field. Is this area also going to be boring?

I am scared of getting stuck in job that is.........well, boring. I tried volunteering, but it is hard finding opportunities. Please help me! Anyboby's insight would be greatly appreciated!

Of course all fields aren't boring. Some CAN be, such as getting "stuck" at a very low volume pharmacy in a grocery store can be boring to some (it really does depend on your idea of boring). I think many would agree that clinical pharmacy is less "boring" (whatever that is) to most people. I wouldn't let what a handful of largely anomyous people say have any significant impact on your decision. Volunteering in any setting available and speaking to pharmacists would do you worlds of good.

 

[chitowngyrl]

Thanks for the insight! Yeah, I guess it's all about your personalty and what you like to do! My uncle was a retail pharmacist and he absolutely loved it. He's now retired though. But me and him have two totally different personalties and what is good for him, might not be suited for me at all. I know I don't want to go into retail. I don't have anything against it or anything. It's just that I want more patient contact and I heard clinical pharmacology provides that. I know I have to do a residency. But I was wondering does anyone know anything else about the actual field.

 

[phar]

Nobody can define "boring". If X is bored in SEX, Y is not always bored in SEX. In other words, no two persons are alike.

My above statements may not have any reference to this thread-discussion. Just my thought.

 

[StevenS]

if you are very ambitious and like to blaze your own path, chances are most (regular) pharmacy positions will seem boring to you. even clinical(a lot of clinical pharmacists spent much of their time on boring paperwork). if you want to give orders, not take them, and still want to do something in healthcare, maybe look into something like PA, or NP, or hell, MD. but it really all depends on you. this is not something you do to look cool. it's your life. you shouldnt be afraid to admit to yourself things that you wouldnt tell to others. some people are perfectly fine with doing boring, repetitive, simple and unchallenging tasks as part of a comfortable and secure job.

 

[LVPharm]

Working as a hospital staff pharmacist can be (and often is) boring, IS repetitive, but is not always simple, and can be challenging...

Some people thrive on repetitious work (particularly work free of customer related hassles), and for pharmacists, there is probably no better place to do that kind of work than "mail-order pharmacy"....one of the biggest facilities in the world is a 1/2 mile from my apartment!

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by StevenS
if you are very ambitious and like to blaze your own path, chances are most (regular) pharmacy positions will seem boring to you. even clinical(a lot of clinical pharmacists spent much of their time on boring paperwork). if you want to give orders, not take them, and still want to do something in healthcare, maybe look into something like PA, or NP, or hell, MD. but it really all depends on you. this is not something you do to look cool. it's your life. you shouldnt be afraid to admit to yourself things that you wouldnt tell to others. some people are perfectly fine with doing boring, repetitive, simple and unchallenging tasks as part of a comfortable and secure job.

I don't think that someone who wanted to "give orders" would fit the profile of a PA. Even the name, "Physician's ASSISTANT" implies that you would be subordinate to the physician (and you would be, as would an NP). As far as your comment: "some people are perfectly fine with doing boring, repetitive, simple and unchallenging tasks as part of a comfortable and secure job", I highly disagree and I'd say that if there was an ANTI-pharmacy school, you'd be going to it. If you think pharmacy is "simple and unchallenging", why not go into something like pediatric pharmacy, oncology, or anti-retroviral therapy? Maybe nuclear? I highly doubt that you would find those simple and unchallenging. Are you planning to go to (or enrolled in) pharmacy school? Are you just passing by?

Jd

 

[StevenS]

JD -
PAs have a high degree of autonomy in today's healthcare(and who knows how much more in the future). you WILL be filling medication orders written by PAs and NPs. yes orders.

and like many before you , you misinterpret my statements of fact as negative opinions. they are not. when you eat something that does not taste good, and you say that it does not taste good, you are merely making an observation not badmouthing the chef.

also, do you know the percentage breakdown of the various places where pharmacists work? i doubt there are more pharmacists doing oncology then there are doctors doing brain surgery. in terms of percentages to the overall number of professionals in the respective fields.

 

[LVPharm]

I'd say 1 out of every 4 or 5 new scripts I see are from an NP or PA. In many group practices, they seem to have a great deal of autonomy. PAs and NPs used to work under physician-directed protocol, but I don't think that's always the case these days. The NP I used to work with at a diabetes clinic in Anaheim, CA was under very indirect supervision of the clinic physician. She assessed and treated patients like any other physician would, and the physician would be at the clinic maybe three times a week (I thought he spent most of his time golfing ).

Steven, out of curiosity, what's your background?

 

[jdpharmd?]

For anyone curious about PA or NP, I would look in the PA or NP forums. I just finished reading several threads over there, and I don't think that I want to get involved in that business. They do have some interesting points, but also a lot of immaturity and flames. Seems like the MD/DO students like to creep over there and crash the party too. Also, I was surprised by the salary. I thought that most PA's made 100k+, but this doesn't seem to be the case. Come on, at least take a look, it's interesting. It's like peeping on your neighbor, not that I would know...

Jd

 

[LVPharm]

Yeah, the salaries for PAs are WELL below 100k...just one of the reasons group practices and HMOs love to use 'em as "gatekeepers"...they're cheap (monetarilly speaking, of course!)

 

[Dr JPH]

Yes

 

[Dr JPH]

Originally posted by LVPharm
Yeah, the salaries for PAs are WELL below 100k...just one of the reasons group practices and HMOs love to use 'em as "gatekeepers"...they're cheap (monetarilly speaking, of course!)

Not true.

Surgical PA in Connecticut. Urological surgery office, 12 physicians. She works 4 days and is on call every other weekend.

Salary $125,000

 

[LVPharm]

Your picking out an example from the far end of the bell curve...average salaries for PAs are most likely anywhere from 50-80k per year. By "cheap" I mean cheap in comparison to the yearly salary of a primary care physician; and we are talking about primary care, not specialty areas like urology. And you are right, SURGICAL PAs make better money than their primary care counterparts. Even so, primary care PAs make a good salary...still below 100k

 

[Dr JPH]

Originally posted by LVPharm
Your picking out an example from the far end of the bell curve...average salaries for PAs are most likely anywhere from 50-80k per year. By "cheap" I mean cheap in comparison to the yearly salary of a primary care physician; and we are talking about primary care, not specialty areas like urology. And you are right, SURGICAL PAs make better money than their primary care counterparts. Even so, primary care PAs make a good salary...still below 100k

Agreed. Primary care salaries are far less impressive, but a decent living nonetheless.