'moving up' in pharmacy field

[flipasta]

hey guys, ltrftp..

im the kind of guy who has been a premed his whole life and was actually admitted to med school a few days ago, but have almost completely decided to turn down the offer in favor of another career path (hey i could have already been in med school when i made the call, so it could have been worse.)

so now im looking to expand my knowledge on as many fields as i can, and pharmacy is one that im most interested in. im even planning on working a year as a pharm tech as i plan out my professional future.

anyway, the question i have is to other oppurtunities a pharm.d offers you outside of the clinical realm (which i hope to learn about over the next year.) in particular, pharmaceutical sales. i only heard this in passing, and didnt know if there was any truth in the idea that you could get your pharm.d and then get an mba and be able to enjoy an interesting life in this field.

i never saw this addressed in the forum and was wondering if this was actually a plausable career choice..

thanks in advance guys

edit:: sorry about the horrible title, the post started off one way and evolved in another direction and i forgot about changing the title.

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[ForcedEntry]

Former Hooter's girls make the best pharm reps. Cialis?

 

[KARM12]

You don't need to have a PharmD to be a drug rep. You also don't need an MBA to be a drug rep. You've just got to be good at sales (being good looking helps too!). Will having a PharmD help you as a drug rep? Yes, because you'll understand the drugs a little better, but the company is going to give you training in anything you need to know. I don't know if a company would be more likely to hire you because you have a PharmD. I know plenty of people from undergrad who are drug reps who had nothing to do with science in college.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Yeah, I got a cousin who barely graduated high school, let alone attended college, that becames a successful drug rep. She just wore a short skirt and that Protonix flew out the door.

 

[TheChemist]

I think the field you are talking about is a Medical Science Liaison (MSL). I'm studying for midterms right now so I don't have time to go into it but search the forums and you will find some information.

 

[J ROD]

You can also get a MBA or not and be a Director of Pharmacy or move up in a retail setting and become a Distrcit Manager or Regional Manager.

If you are really bold, you can open your own pharmacy too!

There are so many options available to a PharmD. One of the reasons I decided to go ahead and pick up the degree.

The other post is correct about the Liaison. We had one come and talk to us in school. They basically take MDs out to lunch and discuss the advantages of their new drug and try to promote its use.

The funny thing she told us was they are not allowed to ride with or have joint meetings with pharm sales reps. and MDs. She said it was not to "dumb" down their importance. To me that was not a good reason to reduce air pollution. But, whatever!

 

[Hpower12]

anyone know about moving up the ladder in the retail setting? How long it takes, what it takes, is it worth it? When I interned I heard some stories about district managers returning to being regular staff pharmacists bc it wasn't worth the hassle.

 

[slimcutt]

anyone know about moving up the ladder in the retail setting? How long it takes, what it takes, is it worth it? When I interned I heard some stories about district managers returning to being regular staff pharmacists bc it wasn't worth the hassle.

It seems to me that they will hire anybody for the pharmacy district manager position who is willing to do the job, at least for Rite Aid’s Northwest region. It’s definitely not a very desirable position. The pay is only slightly higher than that of a staff pharmacist’s and our PDM is responsible for all the stores in Washington, Oregon, and Nevada which means you are always traveling and never home. Consequently, we’ve had three different PDMs in the past 4 months.

 

[dr of rx]

anyone know about moving up the ladder in the retail setting? How long it takes, what it takes, is it worth it? When I interned I heard some stories about district managers returning to being regular staff pharmacists bc it wasn't worth the hassle.

District manager is not a smart move, IMHO. If you look at the actual hours worked (including working behind the counter) vs the income, I think they actually make less than a staff RPh.

The only people that make it above that position are the very, very lucky and the very, very connected. As a former district manager once told me on the day he quit "it is a dead end job, man. A dead end job."

If a store has a pharmacist(s) with real talent, brains, and a great work ethic they will never get promoted out of the store. It is just too hard to replace them. It sucks, but it is the truth.

 

[prlester]

whats the difference between district manager and area manager?

 

[Jitaka]

hey guys, ltrftp..

... admitted to med school a few days ago, but have almost completely decided to turn down the offer in favor of another career path

wow, how similar your story is to mine. I was pre-vet forever. I even applied to seven veterinary schools, and ended up with five interviews; however, by then I called the schools and told them I wanted to pursue a different career 🙂

I'm not sure how to answer your question. When I decided to switch to pharmacy, I just went out and found some type of shadowing/work that is close to my interest. In my case, I'm really into clinical pharmacy..so I had to work my butt off to shadow/volunteer with a pharmacist who specializes in cardiology (what a cool job she has).

 

[Jitaka]

hey guys, ltrftp..

iother oppurtunities a pharm.d offers you outside of the clinical realm (which i hope to learn about over the next year.) in particular, pharmaceutical sales.

My cousin graduated with a degree in communications and she is now a sales representative for the Merck Company. She doesn't know the difference between soluble and insoluble, but she is so good at running her mouth that she was able to move up the ladder to the point where she makes more than a retail pharmacist 🙂

 

[Mentis]

District manager is not a smart move, IMHO. If you look at the actual hours worked (including working behind the counter) vs the income, I think they actually make less than a staff RPh.

The only people that make it above that position are the very, very lucky and the very, very connected. As a former district manager once told me on the day he quit "it is a dead end job, man. A dead end job."

If a store has a pharmacist(s) with real talent, brains, and a great work ethic they will never get promoted out of the store. It is just too hard to replace them. It sucks, but it is the truth.

That sounds a bit depressing, but it's pretty much what I expected. Who needs management when you have almost no pharmacists? That's why I want to open my own pharmacy, so I don't have to deal with all the corporate crap.

PS: You see the new m3? 😍

 

[dr of rx]

PS: You see the new m3? 😍

of course 😀


maybe I'd take a district manager position if the company car was the new M....




.....but probably not.

 

[LECOMorBUST]

My cousin graduated with a degree in communications and she is now a sales representative for the Merck Company. She doesn't know the difference between soluble and insoluble, but she is so good at running her mouth that she was able to move up the ladder to the point where she makes more than a retail pharmacist 🙂

Funny stuff.

 

[HenryH]

Is it hard to land a Medical Science Liaison job even with a fellowship/residency? On every single job posting I viewed on the internet, previous experience as an MSL was required. Is it really a "if you're not connected, forget it" situation?