Is pharmacy satisfying?

[matt46]

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I'm thinking of becoming a pharmacist and have a few questions:
1. Is pharmacy all about the routine and mundane dispensing? What makes it satisfying?
2. Is it a respected profession?

 

[TV09]

uh oh...

 

[Ethyl Methyl]

I think you will find out that pharmacy is a lot more than just "routine and mundane dispensing" if you spend a little time reading the posts on this forum especially the ones under pharmacy.

Whether it is satisfying or not is a personal preference. Some people are bored with pharmacy or at least they seem to have the impression that it is a boring profession (mainly due to stereotyping). Others, such as myself, view pharmacy as an exciting career. When I am working (a tech, right now), I don't get bored because I am constantly attending to different things all at once and I'm constantly reminding myself that whatever I'm doing can potentially harm a patient.

As for the respectability factor, pharmacists constantly rank high (top or second) among the most trusted professionals nationally.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I think the problem solving associated with the profession makes it rewarding. You have to figure out different things that are necessary for the patient to receive the right medication at the right time.

If you're worried about respect, get your MD. Pharmacists are respected, but they have to be one-on-one with people in ways that doctors don't. You're like a target in retail, because people will come to you about all kinds of stuff and they aren't always nice.
In hospitals, you have to keep up the formulary. Just because Doctor X likes Nexium, it doesn't mean that the patient gets Nexium if the hospital decides that they only want to use Prevacid due to costs. Most of the drugs can't be substituted like that, but it's still part of the job. That kind of stuff can lead to disagreements, conflicts, etc.

 

[Ethyl Methyl]

uh oh...

🙂

 

[matt46]

doesn't the doctor prescribe and teach the patient how to use the drug and the pharmacist just packages it?
THank you very much everyone here for helping me out.

I think the problem solving associated with the profession makes it rewarding. You have to figure out different things that are necessary for the patient to receive the right medication at the right time.

If you're worried about respect, get your MD. Pharmacists are respected, but they have to be one-on-one with people in ways that doctors don't. You're like a target in retail, because people will come to you about all kinds of stuff and they aren't always nice.
In hospitals, you have to keep up the formulary. Just because Doctor X likes Nexium, it doesn't mean that the patient gets Nexium if the hospital decides that they only want to use Prevacid due to costs. Most of the drugs can't be substituted like that, but it's still part of the job. That kind of stuff can lead to disagreements, conflicts, etc.

 

[hermit]

You have to figure out different things that are necessary for the patient to receive the right medication at the right time.

Doesn't the doctor do that? Unless you are talking about over the counter meds, where are you getting that the pharmacist is determining which meds a patient gets?

 

[ageldred]

Doesn't the doctor do that? Unless you are talking about over the counter meds, where are you getting that the pharmacist is determining which meds a patient gets?

The doctor prescribes meds. The pharmacist fills the prescriptions. So if the patient went to 2 different doctors and got very similar prescriptions, then the pharmacist needs to figure out what's going on. Not to mention making sure the correct medication goes in the correct prescription bottle. Counseling the patient on how to take the medication, or what side effects or drug interactions can occur... And that's just retail.

 

[nerv12345]

I'm thinking of becoming a pharmacist and have a few questions:
1. Is pharmacy all about the routine and mundane dispensing? What makes it satisfying?
2. Is it a respected profession?

like going to a party...it's whatever you make of it.

1. you could not like it and hate it for the rest of your life
2. you could not like it and change your priorities and like it
3. you could be indifferent and either like it or not later
4. you could love it

 

[JamesL1585]

Working at a high volume Walgreen's or CVS that is always shorthanded and always tries to save money by cutting down hours sure as hell isn't satisfyin...

 

[andrewattheU]

Doesn't the doctor do that? Unless you are talking about over the counter meds, where are you getting that the pharmacist is determining which meds a patient gets?

obviously you've never worked in hospital pharmacy

 

[sbomb]

Haha. One of the pharmacists I work with told me once, "welcome to the boring world of pharmacy". I think, in a way, pharmacy is pretty mundane and repetitive. The other way to think is its kind of like an air traffic controller who has to multitask quite a bit and make sure no one dies. But even air traffic controllers get bored of their stressful lives because they pretty much do the same stuff all the time however "exciting" being kept on your toes is. The only exciting thing about pharmacy seems to be is its kind of a way of life. It trains you to be highly focused and calm all the time. I think those are excellent qualities to have.

 

[nerv12345]

every job is boring, repetative, and mundane to a certain extent

 

[pharm friend]

pharmacy is satisfying b/c it allows you to work directly with patients (if you choose to), but still have a flexible lifestyle. i notice that pharmacy is becoming a much more recognized and respectable profession these days, especially since people know how competitive it is getting. the pharmacists of tomorrow will be more qualified and better trained, and i think people see that now with the younger pharmacists.

 

[pharm friend]

doesn't the doctor prescribe and teach the patient how to use the drug and the pharmacist just packages it?
THank you very much everyone here for helping me out.

no way! pharmacists are drug experts. doctor's can't possibly retain all that info in their heads along with everything else they learn in med school. they just prescribe medication, which is usually corrected by a pharmacist b/c they know drug indications better. the pharmacist is responisble for counseling the patient on the medication b/c again, doctor's don't always know this stuff. hello, i should know b/c i have 2 sisters that are doctors. they can't do everything.

as a future pharmacist, i'm just trying to stand up for my profession b/c people often misunderstand our importance and overrate a doctor's.

a good pharmacist really cares and tries to look out for any dangerous drug interactions or suspicious drug abuse. also, you need to catch these things b/c it looks bad on your part as a pharmacist if something goes wrong with someone's medication and it gets traced back to you.

 

[CanPharm]

I'm thinking of becoming a pharmacist and have a few questions:
1. Is pharmacy all about the routine and mundane dispensing? What makes it satisfying?
2. Is it a respected profession?

1) I find it quite satisfying. In terms of community pharmacy, there is the business/management aspect and there is the clinical aspect. With the management portion, the pharmacist needs to make sure everything is running smoothly. This includes making sure everything is stocked, all drugs are ordered, supervising pharm-techs, and problem solving when there are kinks in the system (for some reason there will always be something wrong). With the clinical portion, pharmacist will handle the stereotypical stuff, such as dispensing and validating Rx. This means the Rx should be the right person, drug, dose, indication etc. Usually Dr. don't say much about the drug and condition, and so its very common for the pharmacist to discuss the rationale behind prescribing, the benefits, possible side effects, and things to look out for in general. This will also inlcude modifying Rx's (in Alberta) or phoning the Dr. if something's not right. On top of this, the pharmacist is also a "generalist" meaning they will also provide education and recommendations on diet and nutrition, vitamin/mineral supplementation, OTC drugs and minor ailments (atheletes foot, warts, seasonal allergies - also knowing when to refer), non-drug recommendations (when patients don't actual need drugs), and common skeletal muscular injuries. Alot of pharmacies will also offer clinic days (where people book appointments to see the pharmacist for consultations on specific medical conditions such osteoporosis, diabetic foot care etc.) and give out flu shots.
In Canada:
On top of all that work, pharamcists are recieving an expanded scope of practice where prescribing is in the mist.
So not only can pharmacy be satisfying, its alo a very exciting time for pharmacists.


2) As someone said before, the pharmacist's work is starting to become more recognized, and the newer generation of pharmacists are getting more training just because of increasing involvement of pharmacy in healthcare. Essentially, the patient can talk about anything with us and I think alot of people appreciate that. Also, people are now more educated and so they like getting opinions from other health professionals.
In short, yes, I see an increasing level of respect for the profession (this also includes respect form other healthcare providers)
Hope that kinda answers your question.

 

[babietuan323]

doesn't the doctor prescribe and teach the patient how to use the drug and the pharmacist just packages it?
THank you very much everyone here for helping me out.

🙁

 

[sunwarrior86]

Something that I put in my personal essay in my application to pharmacy school is that the scope and practice of pharmacy has been expanding almost exponentially over the past years. What and who pharmacists are and are becoming is changing rapidly. In my personal opinion, pharmacy has been severely stereotyped because the common conception of a pharmacist is one who packages medication. Yes, there is still a need for pharmacists that does this task. There is also a need for pharmacists, i dare not use the "c" word, who works in a different setting, apart from the traditional dispensing practice, and makes therapeutic reccomendations to physicians rounding in hospitals. It was said once on this forum that all pharmacists are "clinical", and I agree.

Pharmacy is a profession in which the person can make what they want of it: If you want to work retail and deal directly with paitents, you can. If you want to work in a hopstial, rounding with physicians, you can. If you want to work in academia, you can. Granted, I have reduced the possibilites down to three, realize that there is more to pharmacy than these options. What you can do with pharmacy is more that any stereotype you can pin on it. Even working as a retail tech now as I am applying to pharmacy school, I can see the possibilties that pharmacy allows. There is even a new designation, in North Carolina, at least, called CPP (clinical pharmacist practitioner- theres the "c" word........). These pharmacists set up protocols with physicians in which they "refer" the patient to the pharmacist to manage their particular disease state. Again, the possibilites are great in number with the profession of pharmacy. Good luck on your decision!

 

[Toomeke]

I'm thinking of becoming a pharmacist and have a few questions:
1. Is pharmacy all about the routine and mundane dispensing? What makes it satisfying?
2. Is it a respected profession?

This is the wrong forum for this question. This is PRE-pharmacy... You should try getting your answers from actual pharmacists. I personally spoke with several while deciding whether or not to pursue pharmacy.