Military pharmacist

[jhawkins16]

I just finished the first semester of my P1 year, and I have been thinking about the future. I decided about a year ago that I wanted to go into clinical pharmacy, but I have been researching other areas. Are there any pharmacists in the Untied States Air force, Navy, or Army active on these forums that could talk about their experience with the military as a pharmacist? I realize that if I did decide to go into the military, I would be a soldier first and a pharmacist second, and would probably see combat. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated!

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[jhawkins16]

I''ve also picked up running about 2 years ago and have gotten my mile time down to about 5:50 and I recently ran a marathon, so I am in decent cardiac shape. I just could afford to gain a good 10 pounds of muscle. I have 3.5 years or so to reach this goal so I look in military shape. The fitness aspect isn't really a concern for me since I enjoy being active.

 

[Corytrade]

You will never see combat. The PT standards are not that difficult, you'd be fine. There are more than a few threads on this topic, run a search. You never knew what it means to be completely out of control of your life until you are in the military...remember that.

 

[ValeRx]

I tried to go the Army pharmacist route but it ended up not working out. I do have nearly a decade of military experience. Funny, "soldier first, pharmacist second." You would be so far away from combat. There was a member here several years ago that is still a pharmacist in the Army but he's been gone for quite some time.

 

[BC_89]

Military is currently going through many changes depending on branch your interested in. I’am medically retiring from the army as a pharmacy tech but have worked very closely with Navy / Airforce pharmacists and am now going to pharmacy school all expenses paid.

Without making my comment redefine “longetivity” here are a few individuals I know of currently serving as pharmacists in the uniformed services:

@giga : U.S. Public Health Service

@Caverject : Army

@dereku : Airforce

Speak with any of them concerning the in and outs. We all have different perspectives but keep in mind you will work odd hours and have mission metrics you’ll have to meet. Once you reach a specific rank your duties will be mostly focused on admin work and budget protocols for patient meds.

Your statement is broad so PM any of us or ask specific questions on here for specific answers. I hope this at least points you in the right direction

 

[jhawkins16]

Military is currently going through many changes depending on branch your interested in. I’am medically retiring from the army as a pharmacy tech but have worked very closely with Navy / Airforce pharmacists and am now going to pharmacy school all expenses paid.

Without making my comment redefine “longetivity” here are a few individuals I know of currently serving as pharmacists in the uniformed services:

@giga : U.S. Public Health Service

@Caverject : Army

@dereku : Airforce

Speak with any of them concerning the in and outs. We all have different perspectives but keep in mind you will work odd hours and have mission metrics you’ll have to meet. Once you reach a specific rank your duties will be mostly focused on admin work and budget protocols for patient meds.

Your statement is broad so PM any of us or ask specific questions on here for specific answers. I hope this at least points you in the right direction

I seriously appreciate this! I just now saw this, and I appreciate the information! I plan on following up.

 

[APN-59 rph]

Furst...Do you absolutely..positively want to go to pharmacy school? Second..It might be a good idea to join a local Air Guard unit (or Army I guess or Coast Guard) to get some REAL G.I. experience AND make some money towards school...You might get deployed..( The orange knuckle head might do anything...so you very well could see some shooting) but you get legal protection re: school status. It would give you a step up getting on board as a pharmacist G.I. AND..if you don't hack the enlistment physical you can dive out of pharmacy school..'cause it is mondo nasty out here and getting worse...

 

[Caverject]

I just finished the first semester of my P1 year, and I have been thinking about the future. I decided about a year ago that I wanted to go into clinical pharmacy, but I have been researching other areas. Are there any pharmacists in the Untied States Air force, Navy, or Army active on these forums that could talk about their experience with the military as a pharmacist? I realize that if I did decide to go into the military, I would be a soldier first and a pharmacist second, and would probably see combat. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated!

If you want to be clinical, then forget about joining the military. The military grooms you for leadership positions. Your first assignment MAY have clinical, but likely you will never see it again after that. Still a wonderful career though if it fits your lifestyle. I've yet to have a bad assignment. The whole combat thing, that was true ten years ago, but not so much now.

 

[Caverject]

Furst...Do you absolutely..positively want to go to pharmacy school? Second..It might be a good idea to join a local Air Guard unit (or Army I guess or Coast Guard) to get some REAL G.I. experience AND make some money towards school...You might get deployed..( The orange knuckle head might do anything...so you very well could see some shooting) but you get legal protection re: school status. It would give you a step up getting on board as a pharmacist G.I. AND..if you don't hack the enlistment physical you can dive out of pharmacy school..'cause it is mondo nasty out here and getting worse...

WTF are you talking about? Clearly, you get your info from watching MASH.

 

[APN-59 rph]

WTF are you talking about? Clearly, you get your info from watching MASH.

Yes! But not the TV..the movie is da bomb......an update......Rumour is that the services are moving away from commissioned medical service types i.e. "paging Captain pill walloper" may be a thing of the past. Not considered deployable. But I bow to your expertness.....

 

[APN-59 rph]

If you want to be clinical, then forget about joining the military. The military grooms you for leadership positions. Your first assignment MAY have clinical, but likely you will never see it again after that. Still a wonderful career though if it fits your lifestyle. I've yet to have a bad assignment. The whole combat thing, that was true ten years ago, but not so much now.

The "not so much now" is what git's ya 'all.....

 

[BC_89]

The "not so much now" is what git's ya 'all.....

No.

It’s being referred to deployability in a combat zone “not” the mentality of a pharmacist picking up his/her M16 and charging the enemy beyond the wire.

People’s input is appreciated, but your constant falsification with ideologies of pharmacists and the military needs to come to a hault.

 

[APN-59 rph]

No.

It’s being referred to deployability in a combat zone “not” the mentality of a pharmacist picking up his/her M16 and charging the enemy beyond the wire.

People’s input is appreciated, but your constant falsification with ideologies of pharmacists and the military needs to come to a hault.

The POINT is that they will not be deployable because commissioned pharmacists...eye doctors..etc..may not even EXIST much longer.....go ask a medical recruiter...and it's platooooon HALT! not HAULT...jeeeze...

 

[APN-59 rph]

More Than 17,000 Uniformed Medical Jobs Eyed for Elimination

 

[BC_89]

The POINT is that they will not be deployable because commissioned pharmacists...eye doctors..etc..may not even EXIST much longer.....go ask a medical recruiter...and it's platooooon HALT! not HAULT...jeeeze...

Again, you don’t know what your talking about other than speculation from one or two sources.

No one is denying saturation of pharmacy, but everyone deserves input in specific settings (such as the military) from people currently serving and understand the in-out procedures of the AMEDD side of healthcare.

 

[APN-59 rph]

Again, you don’t know what your talking about other than speculation from one or two sources.

No one is denying saturation of pharmacy, but everyone deserves input in specific settings (such as the military) from people currently serving and understand the in-out procedures of the AMEDD side of healthcare.

What the military needs is pilots....see the ROTC boyz about that..get a BS in engineering or somesuch .....Pharm-D is a dead end....but maybe the BC-89 dude is right...however you are taking a mighty big risk....good luck

 

[Caverject]

The POINT is that they will not be deployable because commissioned pharmacists...eye doctors..etc..may not even EXIST much longer.....go ask a medical recruiter...and it's platooooon HALT! not HAULT...jeeeze...

Clearly, you're a troll. All of us, Army, Navy & Air Force, are, and will always be, deployable.

Yes, health services within the military are being reorganized to make all of us collectively more efficient. The 17,000 jobs being cut are mostly redundancy and attrition.

 

[DondeEstaElBano]

Clearly, you're a troll. All of us, Army, Navy & Air Force, are, and will always be, deployable.

Yes, health services within the military are being reorganized to make all of us collectively more efficient. The 17,000 jobs being cut are mostly redundancy and attrition.

Eh, my feeling is that the future of MilMed is somewhere between APN’s ‘sky is falling’ and what you have here.

I just don’t see attrition alone getting us there. Especially pharmacy - where each service is cutting ~35% of pharmacist billets. But I guess you never know. At the very least, I think the 18 year retirement option will be back in the near future.

 

[APN-59 rph]

Clearly, you're a troll. All of us, Army, Navy & Air Force, are, and will always be, deployable.

Yes, health services within the military are being reorganized to make all of us collectively more efficient. The 17,000 jobs being cut are mostly redundancy and attrition.

Clearly, you did not understand the comment. They will not be deployable because they will NOT EXIST IN THE FORCE to deploy. No service will be actively looking for Pharm D's to commission by the time a six year program is accomplished..starting now..

 

[Caverject]

Clearly, you did not understand the comment. They will not be deployable because they will NOT EXIST IN THE FORCE to deploy. No service will be actively looking for Pharm D's to commission by the time a six year program is accomplished..starting now..

I can read just fine. You just have no idea what you're talking about. I'm sure you'd make a great barracks lawyer.

 

[lord999]

Clearly, you're a troll. All of us, Army, Navy & Air Force, are, and will always be, deployable.

Yes, health services within the military are being reorganized to make all of us collectively more efficient. The 17,000 jobs being cut are mostly redundancy and attrition.

It's been a while, I hope Deutschland is agreeing with you and your family!

Some history though, they actually tried to do the civilian thing in CONUS with only civilian healthcare workers where possible in the 80s (except veterinarians for some reason that I cannot remember). This did not work out, because it is rather handy to repurpose medical staff officers for some other job. This was readily made apparent when Cohen did his RIF in the mid 1990s that cut the services to the bone.

Efficiency is a byproduct, this is just a cyclical reduction and internal power grab within ASD(HA) (last one was right after 9/11 when Ward Cassells had to be the hatchet man) that keeps field grade and flag grade from stagnating too far in their jobs as well. They are always going to overshoot, then there's going to be a big intake period. Hopefully, the planners made enough decent decisions that attrition will be sufficient and a RIF is unnecessary. I wouldn't count on it...If they do a RIF, this would be the first time since WWI a century ago where the uniformed services would be reducing into a recession.

On a different note though, where there is adversity, there is opportunity. It makes progression much easier if you are not eliminated first.

 

[Modest_anteater]

More Than 17,000 Uniformed Medical Jobs Eyed for Elimination

That might not be the military's only problem

>The services are facing a dwindling pool of largely obese, uneducated delinquents. Why?

>Here’s the arithmetic: one in three potential recruits are disqualified from service because they’re overweight, one in four cannot meet minimal educational standards (a high school diploma or GED equivalent), and one in 10 have a criminal history. In plain terms, about 71 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds (the military’s target pool of potential recruits) are disqualified from the minute they enter a recruiting station: that’s 24 million out of 34 million Americans.

>Then too, of the pool of remaining potential recruits, only one in eight actually want to join the military, and of that number, fully 30 percent of those who have the requisite high school diploma or GED equivalent fail to pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test (the AFQT), which is used to determine math and reading skills.

>That’s why the numbers are grim: “There are 30 some million 17 to 24 year-olds out there, but by the time you get all the way down to those that are qualified, you’re down to less than a million young Americans,” Marine Corps Major General Mark Brilakis says.