Pharmacist in charge

[sousou]

Hi all,
What are the pros and cons of pharmacist in charge position?

Thanks

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[npage148]

Pro: you get paid a little more
Con: you have to deal with everything you don't want to deal with

 

[farmadiazepine]

It depends what you are a Pharmacist in Charge of..

CVS, Walgreens, or some other corporate chain? which is a lot different than being the SP of a independently owned pharmacy.

And I'm guessing there is some sort of SP in LTC and whatever other areas of pharmacy there are..

 

[Farmercyst]

Pro: you get paid a little more
Con: you have to deal with everything you don't want to deal with

This.
More stuff to worry about, no time to do anything about it.

 

[xiphoid2010]

This.
More stuff to worry about, no time to do anything about it.

No time? Isn't that why they pay extra? Think of it as overtime pay for the extra work.

Now the question really is how much extra time it takes for the extra pay. Does it come out to average a decent $ per hr.

 

[Chris co2012]

No time? Isn't that why they pay extra? Think of it as overtime pay for the extra work.

Now the question really is how much extra time it takes for the extra pay. Does it come out to average a decent $ per hr.

Work an extra shift as a pharmacist-not-in-charge (PNIC). Problem solved. You get paid extra and you don't have to deal with the crap that the PIC has to deal with.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Hi all,
What are the pros and cons of pharmacist in charge position?

Thanks

All cons. Not a single reason I can think of to be a PIC.

 

[Its Z]

All cons. Not a single reason I can think of to be a PIC.

It depends on the setting.

I enjoy being the PIC.

 

[Justherewhynot]

All cons. Not a single reason I can think of to be a PIC.

I'm going to discuss chain retail here:

There is some thought out there that if you were to ensure a full-time position for yourself as a PIC, that, going forward, you may have a bit more job security than a part-timer or staff rph would if the pharmacist market tanks. Now, I don't buy the hype that demand is tanking, but it may be a factor down the road if chains decide, say, with all the new grads pumping out each year, that everyone but a PIC only gets part-time hours/little benefits or some kind of scenario like that. You never know.

Second, and perhaps more immediate, is that depending on the level of inter-connectivity of the chain you work for, if you establish yourself as a quality PIC with skills, you might have a little more flexibility to dictate where you want to move if you need to change stores or if you need to make a drastic change in your work template. It's been my experience that higher-ups notice quality pharmacy managers and try to keep them happy more so than they do staffers. (My own DM has mentioned to me that staffers are a dime a dozen and have no power to dictate anything...food for thought.) And believe me, quality managers are by no means a dime a dozen.

Other than that, agreed with other posters: little benefit

 

[Farmercyst]

No time? Isn't that why they pay extra? Think of it as overtime pay for the extra work.

Now the question really is how much extra time it takes for the extra pay. Does it come out to average a decent $ per hr.

Depends on your setting. I walked into a hole and had no authority to change much of anything. 400 rx/day with 2 licensed techs (3 hour overlap 4 days/week) and 1 pharmacist meant no time to look at my budget, work on reorganizing the pharmacy for efficiency, train my non-licensed personnel, learn the system, etc. Add to that that I think my patients should be counseled on new meds, not get blind recommendations, etc and I spend 16 hours on a 13 hour shift and can't keep up with my staff duties, let alone my PIC duties. Glad I'm no longer PIC in that environment. I'd do it at my current store, but not where I was.

 

[iFarm]

you might have a little more flexibility to dictate where you want to move if you need to change stores or if you need to make a drastic change in your work template.

I agree with this.

Gaining exposure to some of the non-dispensing details of pharmacy is a benefit from my point of view. Why would you NOT want to learn more about your field?

I also prefer to have an office. Makes it easier to get something done if you can escape to a quiet workspace.

 

[MountainPharmD]

It depends on the setting.

I enjoy being the PIC.

Different time, different era, different circumstances.......its a whole new ball game now.

 

[sousou]

Thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. I'm still thinking about it........