Hi everyone,
After a few years of lurking on SDN and reading up on other threads, I finally thought that I would post something since I'm hoping to get some honest opinions of other people who probably been in a similar situation.
Currently, I am working for a major chain pharmacy in a major metropolitan city in CA state after graduating last year. The pay is great and higher than what I know my other friends are getting in their respective living locations, but lately, I've been just feeling very unsatisfied with the job.
I rose up through the ranks fairly quickly from floater to staff with a promotion in a few months and currently work at a pharmacy that averages 400 scripts a day that is manageable with the current staff, meaning the queue is clear by the end of the day. However, there are a lot of days in which I wake up and dread going to work be it dealing with all the crap that comes with retail. In addition, it always seems like there is another metric or some other program that requires good numbers that my partner pharmacist will push despite overworking the technicians. There are moments when I will have to tell the partner pharmacist that technician A is doing this, this, and that, so why don't you give technician A a moment to do that before adding to her work. Sometimes I will also have to tell the other pharmacist, this, this, and this didn't get done last night because you scheduled extra help in the morning so I was left with less than usual help in the evening because you didn't want to over schedule technician hours, and so on. If anything, it has become more a situation where the technicians will come to me to ask for help dealing with the other pharmacist.
I have been looking for other jobs, but the area that I live in usually requires residency or some prior hospital experience.
I possibly may be able to land a LTC job with similar or slightly less pay that would require to relocate a few hours away from my current place, but I have been a bit undecided because of the following reasons:
1. My parents are concerned that I am running away from the retail job just because I don't like it and that the same situation will occur with this LTC job if I end up not liking it. They say that any job will have some negatives, and retail pharmacy isn't worse than any other retail job. Some of this may be true, but at the same time, when I think about where I will be in the next five years, I don't see myself or can't imagine myself being in this pharmacy answering another late night phone call about whether or not someone should be drinking expired coconut water. In addition, moving up corporate ladder to become a DM doesn't really appeal to me. Being a DM doesn't seem to be a great job in that you are stuck between pharmacies and corporate constantly juggling both sides.
2. If I were to get this job, I wouldn't be able to make get a job in a few years allowing me to move back to my current location because the LTC experience wouldn't be considered enough to land a hospital job.
3. Technically, I have been with this major chain pharmacy for a few years as a student, but only about half a year as a pharmacist and concerned that I may become blacklisted if I were to resign now.
4. I am possibly considering trying for a residency in the following year, so would it be better to stick it through retail and apply, or work for this LTC and then try since it would have a more clinical background?
If anyone has any thoughts or opinions on the matter, please feel to add your two cents!
I've asked my pharmacy school friends, and they all say go for the LTC job.
After a few years of lurking on SDN and reading up on other threads, I finally thought that I would post something since I'm hoping to get some honest opinions of other people who probably been in a similar situation.
Currently, I am working for a major chain pharmacy in a major metropolitan city in CA state after graduating last year. The pay is great and higher than what I know my other friends are getting in their respective living locations, but lately, I've been just feeling very unsatisfied with the job.
I rose up through the ranks fairly quickly from floater to staff with a promotion in a few months and currently work at a pharmacy that averages 400 scripts a day that is manageable with the current staff, meaning the queue is clear by the end of the day. However, there are a lot of days in which I wake up and dread going to work be it dealing with all the crap that comes with retail. In addition, it always seems like there is another metric or some other program that requires good numbers that my partner pharmacist will push despite overworking the technicians. There are moments when I will have to tell the partner pharmacist that technician A is doing this, this, and that, so why don't you give technician A a moment to do that before adding to her work. Sometimes I will also have to tell the other pharmacist, this, this, and this didn't get done last night because you scheduled extra help in the morning so I was left with less than usual help in the evening because you didn't want to over schedule technician hours, and so on. If anything, it has become more a situation where the technicians will come to me to ask for help dealing with the other pharmacist.
I have been looking for other jobs, but the area that I live in usually requires residency or some prior hospital experience.
I possibly may be able to land a LTC job with similar or slightly less pay that would require to relocate a few hours away from my current place, but I have been a bit undecided because of the following reasons:
1. My parents are concerned that I am running away from the retail job just because I don't like it and that the same situation will occur with this LTC job if I end up not liking it. They say that any job will have some negatives, and retail pharmacy isn't worse than any other retail job. Some of this may be true, but at the same time, when I think about where I will be in the next five years, I don't see myself or can't imagine myself being in this pharmacy answering another late night phone call about whether or not someone should be drinking expired coconut water. In addition, moving up corporate ladder to become a DM doesn't really appeal to me. Being a DM doesn't seem to be a great job in that you are stuck between pharmacies and corporate constantly juggling both sides.
2. If I were to get this job, I wouldn't be able to make get a job in a few years allowing me to move back to my current location because the LTC experience wouldn't be considered enough to land a hospital job.
3. Technically, I have been with this major chain pharmacy for a few years as a student, but only about half a year as a pharmacist and concerned that I may become blacklisted if I were to resign now.
4. I am possibly considering trying for a residency in the following year, so would it be better to stick it through retail and apply, or work for this LTC and then try since it would have a more clinical background?
If anyone has any thoughts or opinions on the matter, please feel to add your two cents!
I've asked my pharmacy school friends, and they all say go for the LTC job.
