I have been working at a hospital as a new grad for two months now, but I still feel like I am barely efficient at what I am doing. I have been making many mistakes and I feel really down and discouraged about them that I feel it was a mistake to hire me. That being said, I prefer hospital so much more than retail-which is what I have been throughout school, and I do like being at the current hospital. Question is, how do I become more efficient? How is and how long is training typically like? In need of some pep talk here from wiser pharmacist.
On the job training
- Thread starter Akind00
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2017
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 118
Analyze your mistake, how did it happen? Was it careless mistake on verification, knowledge gap, or computer system? Learn from it and what you will do religiously next time to prevent it from happen?
Just getting used to everything since everything is just so new. I actually had to move far away from home for this rural job. So everything is a bit of a shock. I have improved, its just that Im upset at myself for not being able to pick up as fast as I wanted to. Thinking now, its my own duty to ask for feedback and how my training is going. Just wanted to know how others training was structured and how long it took for them to be independent.
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2017
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 21
First of all, I want to applaud your self-awareness. Sadly, most pharmacists don't care very much about their efficiency or number of mistakes as long as they get paid. I had a similar situation. Straight out of leaving 9 years of retail, I worked in a mail order call center. After a couple of months, I found that I was still on the lower end of the call metrics. I asked my supervisor if I could sit with one of the top performers for a few hours to pick up on some tips for increasing my numbers. I learned quite a bit and my numbers started improving.
Now that you have singled out your weaknesses (often the hardest part), make a plan for the best way for you to improve. Do you learn best by reading material, watching someone else or doing it yourself? Let your supervisor know that you plan to take action to improve your knowledge and efficiency. A great boss will be impressed with your eagerness to better your job performance. I am sure they will help you figure out the best tools for success. Maybe you need to sit with an experienced pharmacist for a day or maybe you can have one sit with you to check your work and give you advice.
Most companies give you anywhere from 3-6 months before critiquing your numbers. As a new grad, the learning curve is on the longer side. It took me over a year to be completely comfortable with making decisions on my own (I worked alone and did not have a tech). You should try to make the best impression on your first job out of school because you will need at least one reference from there. Good luck!
It was probably 6 months before I started feeling comfortable working alone. By one year you would have plenty of experience with most routine situations at your institution and should have developed the skills to handle any unique or strange things that might occur.
Lots of gratitude to the posters. I needed something to perk me up. Its hard and pretty lonely at times, and I was looking for support. Thanks so much PharmD.girl, youve made awesome suggestions, I will definetely follow through
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 414
I had a situation pretty similar to yours. Not all hospitals have well-structured training or have as thorough of protocols as you may be used to in the big teaching hospitals. For me, I had to learn alot of things on my own, and looking back, the learning curve can seem rough but is really not terrible. Just make sure to take your time and lean on your resources (Uptodate etc). What exactly are you struggling with?
You hit the nail on the head. Im so used to being fed and given information in a structured way, plus everyone does things a little differently. Im not making the same mistakes twice, but I guess Im sort of a perfectionist and if I dont get things right the first time the world is crashing down LOL. But Ive gotten used to our CPOE system, and pharmacy schedule. Even with the protocols, the math is so much different <equations> than what I learned in school. But Ive accepted, things have to settle in my brain with enough practice. Im just uncomfortable since everything is new in a new environment, its more taxing than I thought.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 4,260
- Reaction score
- 3,520
I would say 6 months minimum to be comfortable with most day to day things (but of course, there are always surprises popping up each day.) In a new environment mistakes are going to happen, because there will be so much you are unfamiliar with, and the brain tends to just see what it's familiar with . Make sure you have a power breakfast each day, and plenty of snacks.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2010
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 414
First 6 months you make alot of mistakes, but don't make them again, so you keep learning at a rapid pace.
after that it can become mind numbingly boring, especially if you are in a rural setting with relatively low acuity patients.
My friends in big clinical roles in the city hospitals seem kind of stressed though, so I shouldn't be complaining too much.
Living in a rural area gets old quickly though unless you truly like spending time by yourself.
after that it can become mind numbingly boring, especially if you are in a rural setting with relatively low acuity patients.
My friends in big clinical roles in the city hospitals seem kind of stressed though, so I shouldn't be complaining too much.
Living in a rural area gets old quickly though unless you truly like spending time by yourself.
Definitely. I feel very luck that my first job out of pharmacy school was with a hospital that had a very robust training program. I received a solid month of training before I was allowed to cover any of our clinical shifts and services. We had even started creating exams that pharmacists had to pass before being allowed to work in those areas. It felt like overkill, but was probably better than just throwing someone out there and saying "go on rounds with the oncologists and just figure it out!"
Thanks everyone again. Its a rural hospital, but its not small. It has all the usual departments and it is a hybrid position. I sometimes wish I had done a residency, it would have made everything much... smoother. Honestly, at this point it feels like a mini residency where Im doing my own catch up reading and trying to ingrain the policy and procedures down to my cells. its truly a humbling transition to the life outside of textbooks and school.
Also be open to feedback and continuously as for it. "If you feel theres something I could have done better please let me know in person or by email so I can do better."
Took me a year of white knuckle driving to work before I felt comfortably (straight outta school).
Took me a year of white knuckle driving to work before I felt comfortably (straight outta school).
owlegrad
Uncontrollable Sarcasm Machine
Staff member
Administrator
Volunteer Staff
Lifetime Donor
15+ Year Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2009
- Messages
- 25,393
- Reaction score
- 12,074
This advice is solid gold. We have some new people at work and I really wish they were more open to feedback from their colleuges because it sucks working with people who aren't on the same page as the rest of the team.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 4,260
- Reaction score
- 3,520
A lot of learning is thrown on people during residencies, and there is still a learning curve when starting a regular full-time job. Be glad that you are being paid a full-pharmacist wages for your on-the-job learning, as opposed to the 1/3 - 1/2 wages of a resident.
