So which one is it really... is there not enough relief pharmacists or are there too many pharmacists in your area?? You seem to be contradicting yourself in your two previous posts. Or are you trying to say that you are the only competent pharmacist left in your area??
Sorry to take so long getting back.
It is a bit of a dichotomy here. It really is actually both - there are not enough pharmacists to do some of the jobs & too many looking for full time work.
For example, over the summer, in the retail location I've been a fill-in PIC for a friend, there has been an open full-time position. There were 12 applicants. One was really great & would have been a good fit. But, this applicant was a new grad, was able to take the NAPLEX & CPJE - but apparently there was "questionable activity" when the applicant took it & now has to retake. The applicant wanted me to hold the job ..... hmmmm - no.
Of the remaining 11 - most had unreasonable expectations - no weekends, no holidays, no work during school break sessions of children, etc... Some really were not qualified - were not EC or immunize trained. Some were just filtered out by the dm as being unpleasant personalities or came with poor recommendations (remember - we talk among ourselves - very "unofficially"). So - I just kept the position open - filled it with relief pharmacists which is possible during the summer easily. Its not good for the store, but thats what had to happen. After interviewing many more (& I don't do all the interviews - only a few since the dm filters most of these out), I finally hired one. The individual has been great & will be a perfect match for the PIC when that person returns.
In my hospital location, there are fewer really good hospital pharmacists with experience who can shift between hospital areas (like ICU one day, SNF the next, MHU the third, etc..) Sometimes too much specilization restricts you. If you want to do hospital work, you really need to get experience & interning is the best way to do that - graduate interns are great!
There are lots of people looking for full time work here who had previously only wanted part time because of the mortagage situation here - which is a different thread entirely. These are the same people who will be competing for full time jobs with new grads once they get licensed, but they'll have more experience. Actually, a very similar situation to when I graduated & I had to take a job that had me commuting 1-1/2hr each way with a crazy rotating schedule.
But - now that flu shots have started, our floating pharmacists are becoming less available than they were in the summer since there are more needs. But, this will last for 2 months at most. My hospital has a group of part-time people like me who pick up extra shifts when they need it. They don't use relief.
So - thats the crazy staffing situation here right now. I'm sure you were attempting to be snide when you referred to me being the only competent pharmacist in my area. It may have felt good when you posted it, but that attitude won't help you when you do actually become licensed. But, you have to make your own choice - my dm passed over applicants who have had this same attitude & it didn't get them anywhere. I'm certainly not the most competent pharmacist since I work with a whole hospital staff full of them & know far more beyond just that staff. But, I know I'm good at what I do & over the years, I've learned that working with the system, working with the politics & being flexible is the way to learn & get ahead. Getting angry about an uncontrollable situation is understandable. Lashing out because you're angry is not.
Good luck!
