Question about pharmacy

[hye345]

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I am at a crossroads, and trying to decide between dentistry and pharmacy. I have a few unresolved concerns about pharmacy as a career choice (I know I should shadow, but I am just a freshman in college, and haven't gotten a chance to do so; this thread is just to test the waters, so please excuse my naivety).

1. Whenever people mention the negatives of pharmacy, they usually start off with the claim that you guys have to work for corporations such as walmart. Is this as bad as its cracked up to be?
   
   
2. As a pharmacist, if you work retail, do you actually get a chance to work your brain and use most of what you learned in school, or is it just mostly issuing out drugs from written prescriptions (again, excuse my ignorance).
   
   
3. How common/easy is it for a pharmacist to find work outside retail (hospital setting, pharmaceutical company, etc...).

Thanks in advance to all who answer.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I am at a crossroads, and trying to decide between dentistry and pharmacy. I have a few unresolved concerns about pharmacy as a career choice (I know I should shadow, but I am just a freshman in college, and haven't gotten a chance to do so; this thread is just to test the waters, so please excuse my naivety).

1. Whenever people mention the negatives of pharmacy, they usually start off with the claim that you guys have to work for corporations such as walmart. Is this as bad as its cracked up to be?
2. As a pharmacist, if you work retail, do you actually get a chance to work your brain and use most of what you learned in school, or is it just mostly issuing out drugs from written prescriptions (again, excuse my ignorance).
3. How common/easy is it for a pharmacist to find work outside retail (hospital setting, pharmaceutical company, etc...).

Thanks in advance to all who answer.

You should use the search function for these questions. They've been answered before.

 

[sdn1977]

I agree - all the questions have been answered before, but it will require your patience since the search function is not very refined.

But...to add some perspective to the answers when you do find them...

1. The negatives of "corporate" (which actually is not true, but thats not where I'm going with this)....are you seeking out is there a choice between working for somone or working more independently? I think that is sometimes a perceived difference between the two work settings of pharmacy & dentistry. In that regard, dentistry will allow you to work far more independently - but at a very, very large price tag - you have to own your practice. If you don't, you work for someone & you do what they tell you & with what they tell you to use. My husband is a dentist & he's experienced both the solo practice & working for someone when he was younger. He prefers solo professionally, but has said countless times that he'd so much rather not have to be a business owner. Its a tremendous headache with work that never, ever ends. Also - he gets paid when he works & not when he doesn't work - no paid vacations. So - there are trade offs.

2. Do you work with your brain as a pharmacist? Again - answered many times. But, to again make a comparison, my husband & our close friend who works as a dentist in the same building with him both say I "think" far more in my job than they do in theirs. They don't mean they're not "thinking", but they're thinking procedurally - deciding what restoration to place, etc. They're long past "thinking" about the materials in a physics/chemical sense - they just have used them for so long, they know how they work & what to expect. As far as drugs - they prescribe about 5 or 6, so don't go beyond that & they learned those long ago. If a drug question comes up - they call me. Most dentists have a pharmacist locally they use for info. If there is a medical issue which might impact the dental care, the call the appropriate physician for input. They don't make that decision independently!

3. How easy is it to find work outside a retail setting? Depends on how well trained you are & willing to stay up to date & motivated to change, because some settings like hospitals change faster than retail. Now, to compare that to dentistry, since you are thinking about that as a choice, once you've put in the time & $$ into a private practice, you're not likely to change from general to a specialty. Likewise, if you've gone on to a specialty, you're not likely to go on to another (perio to ortho for example). There will always be someone who does, its just a long, long time to get it done. There are those who do choose to become very, very specialized - the oral surgeon DDS/MD - that is a new & popular combination, but again - requires long committment & you have to be able to get into medical school.

Dentistry is very $$$$ intensive in the real world practice (not just going to school). Its difficult to do part-time without working for someone (there goes some of your independence) or when you're getting ready to retire (but, you often can't do this since most buyouts are fast now).

I've often said - pharmacy & dentistry really are unique to different personality types & mindsets. They're equivalent in challenges, opportunities, professional satisfaction - they're just not interchangeable with regard to who goes into each one. If you like "gadgets", you'll love dentistry (but the gadgets cost $5K - $50K). For some reason, every single dentist I know - male & female love gadgets! There aren't many gadgets in pharmacy.

I couldn't ever do my husbands job - it would bore me to tears, make me crazy (that little small space) and I'd drown in all other non-dental stuff he has to wallow thru. But - he says he could never do my job either. He's always been jealous of me being able to work closely with others in my field - he'd like to talk "dentistry" with others daily...but, he's solo so there isn't anyone there.

Hope that helps a bit with comparisons.

 

[mustang sally]

Great post, sdn1977. I found it very interesting and informative, even though I am not considering dentistry as a career. I know we should all use the search function, but sometimes it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And sometimes we just want fresh fodder.

 

[Farmercyst]

The FAQ section should assist somewhat as well. If you don't want to or don't know how to use the search/advanced search options.

 

[hye345]

Thanks for your insight, SDN1977. Also, I have 2 more questions that I couldn't answer using the search function.

1. How common is it for a pharmacist to get fired if they work retail?

2. Compared to the other health professions, how strong is organized pharmacy politically?

 

[sdn1977]

Thanks for your insight, SDN1977. Also, I have 2 more questions that I couldn't answer using the search function.

1. How common is it for a pharmacist to get fired if they work retail?

2. Compared to the other health professions, how strong is organized pharmacy politically?

1. Its easy to get fired if you break the law - steal, commit fraud, lie during testimony, etc. Things that will get you fired in any job. An odd question to ask when considering the two professions, but there it is.

2. Strong pharmacy organizations are really based on where you live. They also wax & wane over time. Right now, I'd say our national pharmacy organization is pretty much lame. There are just too many balls they've dropped politically.

Personally, CA pharmacy is as strong as I've seen it in 30 years. We've moved far ahead on the clinical front and even farther ahead on the labor issue.

Your next question is why are the national organizations so far behind? There are so many reasons....you mix the individuals state orientations with the pressures other states feel from outside forces - right to life, big pharmaceutical companies which are in those states, just plain & simple passivity - and you get an organization which is reactive, not proactive.

Also realize that the APhA & the ASHP - the two main pharmacuetical organizations representing pharmacists hated each other for decades and wouldn't work with each other at all.

In fact, for decades hospital pharmacists & retail pharmacists looked down on each other with disdain. I think this still exists to some extent, particularly when I speak with my colleagues in the southeast.

So, you've got a divided organization, schools which often don't teach to reflect current needs and passivity among its members & you have a mix for a not very good national organization.

To put it in perspective with your original question of dentistry & pharmacy....the ADA is not a very strong organization politically either. You just don't see their missteps because dental issues have not been in the public eye. There have been many pharmaceutical missteps in which our national organizations have bumbled miserably!

 

[hye345]

1. Its easy to get fired if you break the law - steal, commit fraud, lie during testimony, etc. Things that will get you fired in any job. An odd question to ask when considering the two professions, but there it is.

2. Strong pharmacy organizations are really based on where you live. They also wax & wane over time. Right now, I'd say our national pharmacy organization is pretty much lame. There are just too many balls they've dropped politically.

Personally, CA pharmacy is as strong as I've seen it in 30 years. We've moved far ahead on the clinical front and even farther ahead on the labor issue.

Your next question is why are the national organizations so far behind? There are so many reasons....you mix the individuals state orientations with the pressures other states feel from outside forces - right to life, big pharmaceutical companies which are in those states, just plain & simple passivity - and you get an organization which is reactive, not proactive.

Also realize that the APhA & the ASHP - the two main pharmacuetical organizations representing pharmacists hated each other for decades and wouldn't work with each other at all.

In fact, for decades hospital pharmacists & retail pharmacists looked down on each other with disdain. I think this still exists to some extent, particularly when I speak with my colleagues in the southeast.

So, you've got a divided organization, schools which often don't teach to reflect current needs and passivity among its members & you have a mix for a not very good national organization.

To put it in perspective with your original question of dentistry & pharmacy....the ADA is not a very strong organization politically either. You just don't see their missteps because dental issues have not been in the public eye. There have been many pharmaceutical missteps in which our national organizations have bumbled miserably!

Thanks for answering these questions, but I think you misunderstood the first question.

Obviously, any employee will get fired if they commit illegal acts; what I meant was this: how common is it for the boss of a retail pharmacist (I assume this is the district manager) to fire the pharmacist because of his own 'corporate' motives (for example, because the pharmacist is spending too much time counseling patients and isn't writing prescriptions fast enough).

 

[PharmDstudent]

Thanks for answering these questions, but I think you misunderstood the first question.

Obviously, any employee will get fired if they commit illegal acts; what I meant was this: how common is it for the boss of a retail pharmacist (I assume this is the district manager) to fire the pharmacist because of his own 'corporate' motives (for example, because the pharmacist is spending too much time counseling patients and isn't writing prescriptions fast enough).

Really, those are the only reasons why a pharmacist would get fired. Since there is a shortage of pharmacists, they don't have to compete in a cut throat environment. Illegal acts are always good reasons to get fired.

 

[sdn1977]

Thanks for answering these questions, but I think you misunderstood the first question.

Obviously, any employee will get fired if they commit illegal acts; what I meant was this: how common is it for the boss of a retail pharmacist (I assume this is the district manager) to fire the pharmacist because of his own 'corporate' motives (for example, because the pharmacist is spending too much time counseling patients and isn't writing prescriptions fast enough).

Never, to my knowledge.

I know one who was fired because of error rate. I also know a few who were laid off & were told it was because of budget cutbacks, but in actuality they just didn't fit in (this was a hospital).

In retail, my experience is, if a pharmacist is just not fast enough or gets too distracted to complete the work in a timely fashion, they get moved to a slower store or go into the float pool & only float where they are not the only pharmacist on.