Poll: Which type of pharmacist
Started by dudecoolname
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Right now I am set on clinical, but after reading through these forums and doing some more research into it, I have decided to go in with an open mind. Amb care, academia, IHS, pharmaceutical industry, research, and managed care are on my radar but, who's to say I won't end up loving something else? The only thing I KNOW I won't do is work for CVS or Wags. I got a taste of that when I worked for Osco and it is not something I would be willing to repeat. If I end up in community pharmacy, it would probably be some rurally located indy or something like that.
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wish I could vote twice. clinical or research, depending on if my personality pivots towards being an introvert or extrovert through pharmacy school.
I wish I could vote 3 1/2 times. I'm going into a clinical research job eventually... no doubt about that. I'll most likely end up in industry but I'm open to the academia and other non-industry (VA, NIH, PBM, hospital, etc) clinical research job prospects too.
Maybe you'll go into clinical research and keep a normal,well-balanced personality! 😉
w3rd, I'm looking into a residency/fellowship if I decide against the PharmD/PhD program, but I don't see that happening. I really want to experience the PhD process.
lol, are you an academic masochist or just really interested in one area of the pharmaceutical sciences?
Just curious, what PhD area are you looking into?
both, I want to be a student for a while.
my school offers programs in med chem, pharmaceutics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacoeconomics/outcomes/pharmacy practice. there is a newer program called clinical pharmaceutics that is a collaboration between pharmaceutics/pharmacy practice that i'm interested in. I was given a position in a pharmacogenomics lab, which i'll be starting two months before pharm school concerned with two proteins involved with amphetamine/mph metabolism and transport that falls into this hybrid category. doing this specific joint program would allow for many opportunities in clinical research. if i'm not totally into it i think i'll do pharmaceutics or med chem. i have a pretty extensive background in molecular biology research from undergrad and would love to design RNA aptamers that can be linked to nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. i'm also interested in how epigenetic imprinting affects addiction in humans.
this might all change after I accrue 3-4 years worth of debt though. cash is king.
Since hospital staff monkey wasn't an option, I guess I had to go with "clinical." Even though all jobs are clinical...
how's the job hunt going?
Why isn't hospital an option on there?
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Poll fail. I want to do clinical, but I'm keeping an open mind. I just don't want to do retail unless I absolutely have to. Not my cup of tea at all.
Industry, duh. 😀
Why? One reason was that I didn't want to do retail full-time after trying it, and I always hated hospital. The other was the many really interesting possibilities that industry offered, allowing me to use all the different skills and explore all the different interests I have. Neither my skills nor my interests are limited to pharmacy. The opposite, in fact. Finally, the opportunity to work abroad was quite alluring. And the money/career growth opportunities are nice too.
Why? One reason was that I didn't want to do retail full-time after trying it, and I always hated hospital. The other was the many really interesting possibilities that industry offered, allowing me to use all the different skills and explore all the different interests I have. Neither my skills nor my interests are limited to pharmacy. The opposite, in fact. Finally, the opportunity to work abroad was quite alluring. And the money/career growth opportunities are nice too.
So you wouldn't even consider working at an independent?
One door closed today, but another very promising one opened. I dunno, we'll see.
I was under the impression that Hospital went under the "clinical" category, my bad
I constructed that poll from looking off of this site:
http://www.pharmacy-schools.us/types-of-pharmacists.php
If I had to do retail, I would probably look at independents. There are a couple I've heard really great things about, but I'm just not into retail. I also like Target. I did my IPPE there and wouldn't mind it too much. I just couldn't take CVS/Walgreens/Rite-Aid. There's some grocery stores where I go to school that have pharmacy, and they do like 60 a day. That would be okay with me too. I have classmates that are like "I can't work there. It's boring!" You know what? Boring is okay with me. I much rather work at a low volume store and be a bum when all the work is done instead of working in an environment where I'm constantly getting bombarded by tons of people and no room to breathe and having management breathe down my throat to get meds out as fast as possible. You can give more attention with less people.
Coming from someone who worked in industry, you don't want to work there unless you hate job security. Everything else you're looking for is pretty much in-line, but I'm not sure how much opportunity for advancement there is for a PharmD in industry. A PhD, MD, or MBA will probably help you advance more in industry.
From what you're describing, sounds like you may want to look into hospital or clinical pharmacy. I can't imagine why someone would go into pharmacy if they don't want any patient interaction.
My plan is retail to learn the business, then own my own independent, and finally teach towards the end of my career.
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You're working on a PharmD here, correct? I think that having a PhD and PharmD will allow a good chance at advancing in industry. I knew a lot of people where I worked that had PhD from other countries, and I don't think it hindered them at all. Especially if you get a PharmD from a US institution. I don't think it will be too hard for you to get into industry with these credentials, just be very careful with which companies you decide to work for. Look at some of the top companies and top up-and-coming companies and find out where their research headquarters are located. Their HQ will be the least likely to be affected in the event of a layoff/merger. If you don't mind moving a lot, then this will be less of a criteria.
I will be pursing an MBA along with my PharmD. I would really like to get invovled with Regulatory affairs in the industry. I am an oddball who actually enjoys paperwork, believe it or not. I think the PharmD/MBA combo is very well suited for the Pharma Industry. I could have pursued a Ph.D. but the though out a disertation peeves me. Plus I would always like the opportunity to work retail prn on weekends.
I also think there are plenty of pharmacists who enjoy little to no patient interaction. I.E. Nuclear, Infustion, Mail Order, Etc
What do you want to do in industry? If you want to do research, PharmD isn't going to add anything to your chances, in fact, it will put you at a disadvantage vs someone who has spent the 4+ years you spent on your PharmD doing research in their area, gaining expertise and getting published. If you are looking to do clinical research, then your previous experience writing research protocols, handling projects, etc. may be useful - but not too useful, from what I know. And for any jobs outside research, your chemistry PhD isn't probably going to do much for you other than, if you end up being hired on other merits, it would help push your starting salary towards the top of the bracket for that position.
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Not quite true. In many cases, not true at all.
If you want to do regulatory affairs, why are you pursuing an MBA? To keep your options open? Or because of genuine interest in business? Regulatory has very little to do with commercial, and a Master's in regulatory affairs (some schools do offer it) would help you more. Not easy to get into Reg Affairs right out of school with a PharmD. Unless you do a fellowship, you may be out of luck. You cost too much to be hired for the very lowest worker bee level, and anything else requires at least one year of direct experience. Even transferring internally into regulatory can be quite a feat, they tend to be suspicious of anyone coming down from the commercial side, in my experience (and an MBA smells of
Yes I am trying to keep my options open. I will be starting a program in Boston mid-fall that places interested pharm students with industry pharmacists. I'm not 100% sure where I want to go into in the Industry, but from my understanding an MBA never hurts. I would like to pick your brain a little bit about your experiance. If I PM you, could we maybe set up a time to chat? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your insight.
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I'm independent retail until March 2011, then active duty Air Force
retail all the way, i cannot stand clinical pharmacy
Given what you said here, I don't see how an Australian pharmacy degree would help you in US pharmaceutical industry. Your best chance is using your science degree. Getting into any position not requiring particular credentials is very tough in this market, especially since you don't have relevant experience.
What pharmacy practice is not clinical?
Veterinary?
Mail order?
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nuclear?
Because all the US pharmacy degrees are Pharm.Ds these days and that I will be outcompeted by the American graduates?
Curious. If you enjoy retail the most how come you're mainly working hospital right now?
I wanted a change, which the retail I work now is much different. The retail I work now does about 1/4 of the scripts of the WAG I used to work at. Another thing is working in many different settings makes me enjoy them more, not getting in a rut. The hospital I work at has me rotating through positions, kinda filling in where needed. I pick up on stuff pretty quick so I've kinda been assigned to filling in where needed. I actually ran a Coumadin clinic for a week a couple of weeks ago. It was boring, but something different. Last week I worked inpatient and rounded with the family medicine residents.
I do enjoy the retail position the most, but I really like changing it up all the time. No way I'd go back to a retail only setting, I've gotten really spoiled the last year.
