Pharmacist Telling Employer I Am Leaving Job/Career for Medical School

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PharmDwithAdream

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I will be starting medical school at the end of August, but I have not told my employer or colleagues I am leaving the job soon for medical school.

How many weeks notice should I give? Two, three, or four weeks?

How should I exactly do it? In-person or both in-person and email?

Also will they be really upset with me for switching careers and leaving the company/hospital? I never had indicated to them the change of heart. Will it leave me with a bad reputation? I am in a tough situation...

Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

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Two weeks notice is standard.

They may be sad to lose you, but people leave jobs all the time. This isn't going to rock their world or ruin your reputation. In person is more professional.
 
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Also will they be really upset with me for switching careers and leaving the company/hospital? I never had indicated to them the change of heart. Will it leave me with a bad reputation? I am in a tough situation...

Any input would be helpful. Thanks!
Why are you asking and why would it matter? Would you not go if they are???

You made a choice when you decided to apply and not tell them what you were up to, either when you first made the decision, or when you received your first acceptance. You did this for obvious reasons, so that you would not be replaced before you wanted to leave.

Now you are going to spring this on them at the last minute. Maybe they will be cool, maybe they will be pissed. Depends on what kind of relationship they thought they had with you, and on how easy it is to replace you. Either way, it's not going to change what you are going to do, so what's the point of this post at this point in time?
 
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I am "just" a pre-med, but I submitted my two week notice yesterday (not medical school related) and this is what I did:

A few weeks ago, I sat down with both of my supervisors in person. I took my time explaining that I was leaving and WHY I was leaving. They both understood and even went as far as saying they would do the same if they were in my position. I work in a field in which the hiring process is extensive, so I feel like the ~1.5 month notice was appropriate, courteous, and professional. Yesterday, I submitted a formal two week notice along with a small gift card to both supervisors.

As long as you do what you believe is professional (don't burn bridges, etc), any animosity or bad reputation will be a reflection on them and not you.

Hope this helps.
 
Why are you asking and why would it matter? Would you not go if they are???

You made a choice when you decided to apply and not tell them what you were up to, either when you first made the decision, or when you received your first acceptance. You did this for obvious reasons, so that you would not be replaced before you wanted to leave.

Now you are going to spring this on them at the last minute. Maybe they will be cool, maybe they will be pissed. Depends on what kind of relationship they thought they had with you, and on how easy it is to replace you. Either way, it's not going to change what you are going to do, so what's the point of this post at this point in time?

I didn't want to say anything early on to them because I did not know what the outcome would be with COVID, taking the MCAT, and the status of getting private loans since I have a hefty loan amount from pre-pharm and pharmacy school. It came down to whether I would be attending the fall of 2020 or fall of 2021. Either way I didn't want to tell them then find out it would be the fall of 2021 that I would be attending and have them fire me or hold a grudge and have no job, which is already tough as it is for pharmacists. So this past week all the pieces fell into place, and my loans were approved. Thus, I had to come up with a plan for how to transition out from my current job to going back to school.

I work for the largest healthcare system in the country and everyone knows everyone. I would like to to work for them in the future but in the capacity as a physician in the same general region. So I want to approach this in the best way possible so I can come back but in a different role for them since I do like the company I work for currently. I also haven't left many jobs in the past, so the process of doing it isn't too familiar for me. Plus, it is just a matter of seeing how other students approached this and what their outcome was so, in a sense, I can do it the right way and not the wrong way.
 
Uhh as a professional, assuming you are working for a healthcare system as you alluded to and not like a riteaid, I would tell them ASAP with your expected leave date. This will give them more time to fill your spot and is just common curtesy. This isn’t McDonald’s, these positions can take longer than 2 weeks to fill.
 
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I didn't want to say anything early on to them because I did not know what the outcome would be with COVID, taking the MCAT, and the status of getting private loans since I have a hefty loan amount from pre-pharm and pharmacy school. It came down to whether I would be attending the fall of 2020 or fall of 2021. Either way I didn't want to tell them then find out it would be the fall of 2021 that I would be attending and have them fire me or hold a grudge and have no job, which is already tough as it is for pharmacists. So this past week all the pieces fell into place, and my loans were approved. Thus, I had to come up with a plan for how to transition out from my current job to going back to school.

I work for the largest healthcare system in the country and everyone knows everyone. I would like to to work for them in the future but in the capacity as a physician in the same general region. So I want to approach this in the best way possible so I can come back but in a different role for them since I do like the company I work for currently. I also haven't left many jobs in the past, so the process of doing it isn't too familiar for me. Plus, it is just a matter of seeing how other students approached this and what their outcome was so, in a sense, I can do it the right way and not the wrong way.
I TOTALLY get what you did and why you did it. Most of us would do exactly the same, including me!

My only point is that you are now pointing out some potential pitfalls, and asking for advice, as though there is anything anyone can tell you other than to give your notice and hope for the best.

What approach? You are going to med school in a few weeks and are quitting your job. There is no right way or wrong way. The time to have psoted this would have been six months ago, so you could have received opinions on whether or not to risk being let go before you were ready in order to give them a huge heads-up, or to do what you did in order to protect yourself at the risk of maybe pissing them off later.

That ship sailed a long time ago. Now, they will either understand, be supportive, and welcome you back in the future, or they will feel betrayed because they thought you would trust them enough to give them a lot of notice, and to put their interests ahead of your own. There is no way for any of us to know how they are going to react, and knowing that would not change what you have to do in any event.

The difference between 2, 3 or 4 weeks notice is as insignificant as your being unemployed for 0-4 weeks before starting school. No, you don't send them an e-mail or a text. You tell your manager in person, and you take it from there. Nothing else to say!
 
Uhh as a professional, assuming you are working for a healthcare system as you alluded to and not like a riteaid, I would tell them ASAP with your expected leave date. This will give them more time to fill your spot and is just common curtesy. This isn’t McDonald’s, these positions can take longer than 2 weeks to fill.
That ship already sailed. School starts in one month!!
 
You are in a transactional relationship. You are selling your labor for money. Employers have this strange way of trying to make the workplace feel like family, but they would fire you in an instant if required. You did the right thing by not telling them far in advance. You needed to keep your job. You do not owe them anything beyond a professional courtesy, but I agree with some posters that several weeks more notice could be useful if it is difficult to hire someone with your qualifications.
 
PharmDwithAdream said:
I will be starting medical school at the end of August, but I have not told my employer or colleagues I am leaving the job soon for medical school.

How many weeks notice should I give? Two, three, or four weeks?

How should I exactly do it? In-person or both in-person and email?

Also will they be really upset with me for switching careers and leaving the company/hospital? I never had indicated to them the change of heart. Will it leave me with a bad reputation? I am in a tough situation...

Any input would be helpful. Thanks!
Two weeks is the standard.
In-person fo sho
Shouldn't leave you w/a bad rep unless something happened that you haven't told us about
Good luck!
 
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