Pharmacy on the Rise!

[Iowafan180]

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Hey All-

I have been reading a lot of uneducated posts about the career outlook for pharmacy.

The pharmacy job market might be a little over saturated in some areas, but the majority of places are undeserved. Actually, the pharmacy career outlook is really good. The next ten years are going to be really exciting for pharmacists. With the baby boomer generation getting older and consequently sicker, the need for prescription medication is going to rise. Also, it is important to realize that we will need to replenish the retiring pharmacist who are also part of the baby boomers. I have especially enjoyed reading people fearing they will be replaced by a robot. That is not likely for the pharmacist, it is possible that techs will eventually be replaced. If we end up having an amazing robot that can dispense medications flawlessly there will still be a need for a pharmacist to run the robot, check the medications, balance drug regimes, educate people, and consult physicians. The field won't ever allow machines to completely replace humans. (Unless I am in the matrix right now)

I am not saying the field isn't going to change at all in the next 30 years. I am guessing the role of a pharmacist is going to shift more toward a clinical type setting, but the need for a specialist to understand drug interaction and regime will always be necessary. Physicians lack a full understanding of the medications and the healthcare team needs someone who has a complete understanding. So relax SDNers we are all going to be ok.

If you don't believe me? Believe the people who are supposed to figure this stuff out...

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm#outlook



Sorry for any errors in my spelling

 

[hillwilliam]

Yeah, the governement is always right.

Also, there is a discussion in another thread about some of the flaws in the BLS analysis. One of the factors that the BLS sites more than once in its rosy job outlook is "limited capacity of traning programs". I think this is very dated given the number of new programs that have rapidly come on line and the number of existing programs that have expanded capacity. Also, with the overall economy, retailers aren't expanding as projected.

I do believe that alot of boomers have put off retirement because of the slump in the market that has hit their 401K portfolios. So, some jobs will open when they do retire and leave the profession.

 

[DrBlondeMD]

balance drug regimes
Physicians lack a full understanding of the medications and the healthcare team needs someone who has a complete understanding.

What does "balance drug regime" mean? Do you understand the definition of the word 'regime'?
Are you trying to say that physicians have no clue why they prescribe a particular medication and how they manage treatments? LOL

 

[jpribilski]

What does "balance drug regime" mean? Do you understand the definition of the word 'regime'?
Are you trying to say that physicians have no clue why they prescribe a particular medication and how they manage treatments? LOL

Everyone back up, we've got one of them genius pre-meds in here, again. Come to school us right, I reckon. Guhhuh.

 

[Iowafan180]

What does "balance drug regime" mean? Do you understand the definition of the word 'regime'?
Are you trying to say that physicians have no clue why they prescribe a particular medication and how they manage treatments? LOL

I apologize,

I mean regimen.


What I am trying to say is that physicians lack a full understanding of the medication they are prescribing. Medical doctors are not supposed to have a full understanding of all the medications, that’s the point of a pharmacist. Physicians focus is not on medical chemistry, it is on the body.

Shadow a hospital pharmacist sometime, and watch the MD's come to them for advice, then you will understand.

 

[DrBlondeMD]

I apologize,

I mean regimen.


What I am trying to say is that physicians lack a full understanding of the medication they are prescribing. Medical doctors are not supposed to have a full understanding of all the medications, that’s the point of a pharmacist. Physicians focus is not on medical chemistry, it is on the body.

Shadow a hospital pharmacist sometime, and watch the MD's come to them for advice, then you will understand.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. My boyfriend is an MS2 and he has studied pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, PK, PD, Pharmacogenomics, etc., in med school in quite some detail. I am not saying that pharmacist don't have a role. They serve as an important facet of the health care system. However, to make a statement such as "medical doctors are not supposed to have a full understanding of all the medications" is absurd. This attitude is what gives pharmacists a bad name.

 

[Iowafan180]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. My boyfriend is an MS2 and he has studied pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, PK, PD, Pharmacogenomics, etc., in med school in quite some detail. I am not saying that pharmacist don't have a role. They serve as an important facet of the health care system. However, to make a statement such as "medical doctors are not supposed to have a full understanding of all the medications" is absurd. This attitude is what gives pharmacists a bad name.

Why is that absurd. They don't have time in medical school to fully comprehend all the medical chemistry. It's not about intelligence, its about focus and time. I am sure your boyfriend has a good understanding of medicine, I am not saying doctors don't, but their education isn't as extensively focused on medical chemistry.

I know a few pharmacist and from what I hear unfortunately there are some doctors who really don't have a clue. I am not saying this is a generalization, just in some cases.

 

[SHC1984]

OP, First of all pharmacy is not on the rise. Jobs are getting harder and harder to get. Does that mean you should stop pursing pharmacy? Not, if you love it. LOL...Does it mean you can't get a job for sure? No, not if you are the BEST.

Pharmacy is saturated, that's how it is. Does it mean it is impossible for someone to land a job? No, of course not...but that person has to be the BEST b/c they will be competing against TONS of other people for the same job. There are just too many people in pharmacy and very few jobs available. And again, you can get a job, BUT you just have to be the BEST, better than everyone else that applied for the job.

What you are saying about MD is very offensive. MD SHOULD have drug knowledge. They should know the details of all the drugs that they are prescribing. Yes, there are some clueless MD out there, just like there are clueless pharmacists out there too, but in general a MD (assuming you are a good one!) SHOULD know about drugs, should know all the details etc. about it. A pharmacist is there to check the MD and make sure there are no mistakes made (everyone is human, errors occur), but as a general rule MD should have drug knowledge too. It's covered in medical school.

 

[DrBlondeMD]

I am not saying doctors don't, but their education isn't as extensively focused on medical chemistry.

Are you saying that pharmacists are specialized in medicinal chemistry? Not so much, but nice try.🙂

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I'd rather see threads like these, but I can't fool myself; that source from BLS is out of date. :/

 

[Farmpharm]

Hey All-

I have been reading a lot of uneducated posts about the career outlook for pharmacy.

The pharmacy job market might be a little over saturated in some areas, but the majority of places are undeserved.

Metropolitan areas? GL getting a job there now. It's extremely competitive and with the additional schools, it's getting worse.

Rural areas? It's not AS bad, but it is getting saturated. Who wants to live out in rural areas in their mid 20's? Not me.

Back of the woods? Most likely the areas that are still untouched, but who wants to live in the middle of nowhere in their mid 20's? Put me in NYC, and I'll be happy.

The profession isn't going to die, but you have to realize that the days of every employer throwing bonuses from across the country are gone. You can't waltz into the heart of SF, LA, NY and expect 5000 job offers. Neither can you do that with any other medical profession. You gotta be COMPETIVE just like all the other professions, OR extremely specialized/rare (dentistry- endo-omfs-perio/medicine-derm-cardio-plastic come to mind).

 

[Iowafan180]

Metropolitan areas? GL getting a job there now. It's extremely competitive and with the additional schools, it's getting worse.

Rural areas? It's not AS bad, but it is getting saturated. Who wants to live out in rural areas in their mid 20's? Not me.

Back of the woods? Most likely the areas that are still untouched, but who wants to live in the middle of nowhere in their mid 20's? Put me in NYC, and I'll be happy.

The profession isn't going to die, but you have to realize that the days of every employer throwing bonuses from across the country are gone. You can't waltz into the heart of SF, LA, NY and expect 5000 job offers. Neither can you do that with any other medical profession. You gotta be COMPETIVE just like all the other professions, OR extremely specialized/rare (dentistry- endo-omfs-perio/medicine-derm-cardio-plastic come to mind).

Well even if there is a job saturation at this point, then this is the perfect time to start school. Every professional field is on a demand/supply curve. It gets crowded, so then less people become pharmacists. In 10-20 years people will be crying shortage again. Like in Dentistry, in the 80's they weren't even filling their seats, now it rivals med school.

Most Pharm companies are sitting on their huge cash reserves waiting out the recession. Older pharms are waiting to retire. Women who would normally work part time are working full time because a spouse is out of work. All of these components are on a short lived timeline. Heck, theoretically we should spread fear to decrease the number of students because that might shift the demand curve sooner, but the point is that the outlook is good overall. Maybe in the next 5 years things could be a little harder to find a job in some areas. (they aren't too bad in Iowa) But after that the market will restore itself and the outlook is good.


10 years ago, shortage

2 years ago balance

now, a bit saturated


5 years from now, balance

10 years from now shortage



Thoughts?



Interesting article:

http://www.pharmacistjobconnection.com/pharmacist-job-market-update-may2010/

 

[veyep]

Hey All-

I have been reading a lot of uneducated posts about the career outlook for pharmacy.

The pharmacy job market might be a little over saturated in some areas, but the majority of places are undeserved. Actually, the pharmacy career outlook is really good. The next ten years are going to be really exciting for pharmacists. With the baby boomer generation getting older and consequently sicker, the need for prescription medication is going to rise. Also, it is important to realize that we will need to replenish the retiring pharmacist who are also part of the baby boomers. I have especially enjoyed reading people fearing they will be replaced by a robot. That is not likely for the pharmacist, it is possible that techs will eventually be replaced. If we end up having an amazing robot that can dispense medications flawlessly there will still be a need for a pharmacist to run the robot, check the medications, balance drug regimes, educate people, and consult physicians. The field won't ever allow machines to completely replace humans. (Unless I am in the matrix right now)

I am not saying the field isn't going to change at all in the next 30 years. I am guessing the role of a pharmacist is going to shift more toward a clinical type setting, but the need for a specialist to understand drug interaction and regime will always be necessary. Physicians lack a full understanding of the medications and the healthcare team needs someone who has a complete understanding. So relax SDNers we are all going to be ok.

If you don't believe me? Believe the people who are supposed to figure this stuff out...

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm#outlook



Sorry for any errors in my spelling

there is nothing uneducated about the posts! we are living the reality! I find it hard that you believe BS.GOV more than those graduates that are telling you I can't find a job any where and if I do I have to float around the city for two years until get my own store and they are not giving me the hours, the pay rate or anything that is decent...just assuming you are lucky to even get this!! remember what they said about Nevada... biggest real estate growth the future is great, come put everything you have in it then everybody lost everything and it turned out it was one of the worse states to invest in! same exact situation just different fields.

 

[veyep]

well even if there is a job saturation at this point, then this is the perfect time to start school. Every professional field is on a demand/supply curve. It gets crowded, so then less people become pharmacists. In 10-20 years people will be crying shortage again. Like in dentistry, in the 80's they weren't even filling their seats, now it rivals med school.

Most pharm companies are sitting on their huge cash reserves waiting out the recession. Older pharms are waiting to retire. Women who would normally work part time are working full time because a spouse is out of work. All of these components are on a short lived timeline. Heck, theoretically we should spread fear to decrease the number of students because that might shift the demand curve sooner, but the point is that the outlook is good overall. Maybe in the next 5 years things could be a little harder to find a job in some areas. (they aren't too bad in iowa) but after that the market will restore itself and the outlook is good.


10 years ago, shortage

2 years ago balance

now, a bit saturated


5 years from now, balance

10 years from now shortage



thoughts?



Interesting article:

http://www.pharmacistjobconnection.com/pharmacist-job-market-update-may2010/

extremely saturated!

 

[veyep]

I am the president of multiple organizations and i am deeply involved with the pharmacy field. Here is my last comment on pharmacy's future! As I said before I can find a job with a phone call and without an interview, but there is only 1-5 students like me in every school! It is not a matter of being a bad pharmacist or good pharmacist, a matter of personality! it is extremely unfair to blame the students for the job market! Pharmacy students generally are very dedicated and professional! But if there are 1000 Excellent new graduates and there are 600 job openings, you can't say 400 of them didn't have the personality to get a job!! it's not a logical argument!! As long as there are new schools being allowed to open and make over 30 million dollars a year from pharmacy students and employers saving a lot of money because now they don't have to offer good deals to get pharmacist to work for them this profession will not have a good future. You cannot look at pharmacy as a business (alone), yes to some extent but not completely. There are many articles regarding this issue and apha and ashp have great articles that have stated their concern and wrote about the poor quality of professors as new schools open up! you can go read them if you are interested!

 

[jpribilski]

Are you saying that pharmacists are specialized in medicinal chemistry? Not so much, but nice try.🙂

Not quite sure if you're aware what "medicinal chemistry" is... To say that MDs have as vast knowledge in medicinal chemistry as pharmacists do is like saying pharmacists have as much knowledge in the diagnosis of disease because we have the "Physiological Basis of..." class. Sounds pretty dumb right? 👍 "Nice try..."

 

[Electrode]

This past economic recession played an important role in the shortage of desirable pharmacist jobs available. Then the expansion and influx of old & new programs, respectively, has done a more critical damage to that. But ultimately, geographical location has always been the PIMP in overall terms of job availabilities....and will continue to be.

There are still (moderately) under-served areas, while there also super-saturated (mostly metro) areas. So I don't think there can really be a conclusive argument of what the final situation is; because representatives from both sides will always have an "oil & water" view (ie constant disagreements).

I say if you're lucky, you're lucky. Otherwise, expand your geography or suck it up.

 

[rxlea]

Health professionals need each other. No one professional can know every facet of patient care. That is why different roles exist. So, let's chill out. The pissing contests are getting old.

 

[fauxden]

Well even if there is a job saturation at this point, then this is the perfect time to start school. Every professional field is on a demand/supply curve. It gets crowded, so then less people become pharmacists. In 10-20 years people will be crying shortage again. Like in Dentistry, in the 80's they weren't even filling their seats, now it rivals med school.

Most Pharm companies are sitting on their huge cash reserves waiting out the recession. Older pharms are waiting to retire. Women who would normally work part time are working full time because a spouse is out of work. All of these components are on a short lived timeline. Heck, theoretically we should spread fear to decrease the number of students because that might shift the demand curve sooner, but the point is that the outlook is good overall. Maybe in the next 5 years things could be a little harder to find a job in some areas. (they aren't too bad in Iowa) But after that the market will restore itself and the outlook is good.


10 years ago, shortage

2 years ago balance

now, a bit saturated


5 years from now, balance

10 years from now shortage



Thoughts?



Interesting article:

http://www.pharmacistjobconnection.com/pharmacist-job-market-update-may2010/

Thoughts? You're ridiculously naive. I don't get why you are trying to make yourself believe this stuff when people who are actually out here and are seeing whats going on are telling you how it really is. But, whatever- go for it. Thats Logical- just like your arguments.