making the switch. how to?

[vardenafil]

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hello. to try to make a long story short i graduated from pharmacy school about three years back. i wanted to do hopital//clinical work from the get go but i was a new grad and had no money to my name and did the unthinkable and sold my soul to a retail chain for 3 years for a nice sign on bonus. with out the bonus i would of never been able to put a down payment on my house. but here is my delema. im not happy in retail. i want to be more clinical in nature. i want to use my education that im paying the next 30 years of student loans for. my contract is up in 2 months im putting applications out for hospital work. but no one will even give me the time of day because i have no experience and i did not complete a residency how to i get my foot into the hospitals door? how do i convince someone to take a chance on me and give me on the job training? or let me work my way up to a clinical position? going back for a residency not a plausible option for me at this time in my life.

 

[bananaface]

Expand your search and be willing to move. Sometimes you have to go to the jobs.

 

[sdn1977]

Well - I disagree.

Most hospitals won't hire you if you have no experience & some won't hire you at all without a residence (NC).

So, depending on where you live, you'll have to suck it up & get that residency.

But, if you don't live in those areas (like CA for example), you first have to hire on as a relief pharmacist. Be willing to work every weekend, Christmas, Yom Kippur, Easter, Kwaanza....and every other holiday, graduation, baby's first birthday, weddings of second cousins...anything to get some experience.

Most places will let you work as a second pharmacist - often on the evening shift, which gives you less chance of making a mistake. They want to try you out to see what your knowledge base is (go back & relearn the basics of acute care pharmacy), how fast you learn, how well you fit into the staff, etc.

This puts you again in a financial dilemma. You have to be willing to be available short notice & basically have no life.

But - the choice is yours. You've got to get that experience because your retail experience does not translate into hospital work.

Epic can chime in here. He will often hire a good trainable pharmacist rather than a residency trained pharmacist with an "attitude" I think.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

There are tons of unfilled hospital jobs all across my state. My hometown hospital has two positions that have been vacant for three years. I haven't lived in that town for almost 15 years but I'd consider it after graduation if things would work out for my husband. It's a nice town to raise a family, etc. Nice regional hospital too (cancer center, NICU, etc).

I second what bananaface said. If you can relocate, you can probably find a hospital job. Or do the residency if you are more geographically constrained. But there are many areas of the country where residency trained pharmacists are rare. That is changing but not overnight.

 

[konkan]

There are tons of unfilled hospital jobs all across my state. My hometown hospital has two positions that have been vacant for three years. I haven't lived in that town for almost 15 years but I'd consider it after graduation if things would work out for my husband. It's a nice town to raise a family, etc. Nice regional hospital too (cancer center, NICU, etc).

I second what bananaface said. If you can relocate, you can probably find a hospital job. Or do the residency if you are more geographically constrained. But there are many areas of the country where residency trained pharmacists are rare. That is changing but not overnight.

I think he is talking about specialist position. Indeed, it's virtually impossible to find spec. position without residency on your resume.

 

[tussionex]

Well - I disagree.

Most hospitals won't hire you if you have no experience & some won't hire you at all without a residence (NC).

So, depending on where you live, you'll have to suck it up & get that residency.

But, if you don't live in those areas (like CA for example), you first have to hire on as a relief pharmacist. Be willing to work every weekend, Christmas, Yom Kippur, Easter, Kwaanza....and every other holiday, graduation, baby's first birthday, weddings of second cousins...anything to get some experience.

Most places will let you work as a second pharmacist - often on the evening shift, which gives you less chance of making a mistake. They want to try you out to see what your knowledge base is (go back & relearn the basics of acute care pharmacy), how fast you learn, how well you fit into the staff, etc.

This puts you again in a financial dilemma. You have to be willing to be available short notice & basically have no life.

But - the choice is yours. You've got to get that experience because your retail experience does not translate into hospital work.

Epic can chime in here. He will often hire a good trainable pharmacist rather than a residency trained pharmacist with an "attitude" I think.

don't dump the newbies on the evening shift!

seriously, i agree with sdn...ANY place, including my hospital will hire per diem help more than happily. NY doesnt have a residency requirement, yet, and i hope not ever. my partner pharmacist and i have not been residency trained and we are both solid clinicians, as are the rest of the "clinical" and "non-clinical staff"

i am very anti-residency. i think it may be a good idea for those that want to specialize, but if you want to be a broad-based hospital pharmacist, there is no substitute for experience. start at the bottom, be helpful and positive...be willing to check cart, make IV's, mentor techs, work off shifts....i know my director and the directors in my area would rather hire someone who is willing to work hard and learn a new practice area rather than someone who walks in with a load of credentials and attitude that thinks they will walk onto the floor the first week they are there and magically be directing the prescribing practices of the whole house.
if you do get a residency...dont be a jerk about it. dont act like you're better than everyone else. you're the new guy no matter how many qualifications you have. be cheerful, helpful and positive and you'll be fine.

good luck, and congratulations on wanting to make the switch! 👍

 

[MountainPharmD]

Moving is probably your best bet. If you do a residency you will likely have to move anyway. Most people I know who did a residency applied for ones in state but ended up having to go out of state.

Because you took a sign on bonus I can only assume you work for one of the chain sweat shop pharmacies such as Walgreens or CVS. Don't give up on retail. I think some of the best things are happening in retail pharmacy, you just have to find the right one. There are lots of opportunities in MTM, immunizations ect. All thorugh pharmacy school I worked as an intern at a 600 bed hospital. I did not do retail untill my second to last rotation in pharmacy school and absolutly loved it. I could not imagine working for a hospital again.

 

[Epic]

Congrats on seeing the light!

Geography has a lot to do with it and the system you go into has a lot to do with it.

We could probably find you a "Director" job in a podunk nowhere...where you'll be on call 24/7... and they'll worship you in that town.

But you have bought a house and have settled down. You need to find the director who's willing to give you a chance. This means..as SDN said, you'll get stuck with crappy shifts and be willing to do the dirty work in the beginning, but not alone. I wouldn't let you work solo for at least 3 months to 6 months. Depends on your ability to learn and your knowledge of critical care drugs..

Call every hospital in your town...ask to speak to the director or mananger who does the hiring. Just be honest with them..that you have no hospital experience but willing to learn.

Once you're in, it's totally up to you. You need to volunteer to do things that will let the DOP know you're serious. Go home and write that protocol the hospital doesn't have. Modify and enhance pharmacy protocol/guideline that you think needs improvement. Volunteer to be on the Medication Error Review Committee. In a few years, you'll have enough experience and credibility to move up.

I was a brand new evening staff pharmacist in 1995...working 2:30 to 11pm and every other weekend. One day, I decided to write a Vanco and Aminoglycoside protocol on my own time...then volunteered to inservice the entire hospital..including the physicians... that was enough for the DOP to create a new job for me as the M-F clinical coordinator.

 

[vardenafil]

Because you took a sign on bonus I can only assume you work for one of the chain sweat shop pharmacies such as Walgreens or CVS.

yes i work for walgreens. i work anywhere from 8 to 14 hour days without lunch or any breaks of the sort. we usually only run 1 pharmacist on duty at any given time. we are so understaffed it is not funny. i am leaving walgreens because i am afraid (1.) for the saftey of my customers. (2.) im afraid that i may loose my pharmacy license by making a stupid mistake because we are so busy//understaffed.

 

[vardenafil]

funny you have mentioned that i have been offered a hospital job as an intern directory of pharmacy in a podunk town. but i would have to get my california pharmacy license and pick up and move. the only reason i am reluctant to move right now is that due to the recent real estate crash my house is worth about 15 grand less now than what i paid for it. but i guess i could always rent it out and make the move.

there are only 2 hospitals in a 50 mile radius of where i live. i have been applying for per diem jobs at both since i moved here 3 years ago. i put my application in every 2 months religiously.

 

[twester]

Bite bullet and take a hit - if it means much to you. Otherwise, suck it up and keep going to work.