Residency or retail position?

[strp]

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Or retail? I currently am a P4 on rotations.I have worked in the retail setting for 5+ years now. I never really considered a residency, and have really enjoyed my time at my current employer. I likely will receive a job offer for the coming year. I would be working for a local independent chain. The stress level is low and you are given a good amount of help. I just finished up a managed care rotation and now I am reconsidering residency. I found the managed care setting interesting and I could see myself working in managed care long term. I am concerned that I may become burnt out in retail and regret no trying to get a residency later on. But I don't want to burn bridges with my current employer either. I also am concerned about the job prospects in managed care after a residency. Any input and thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks

 

[Lnsean]

Residency...because that is the norm now. Get it over with. It's super hard to go back later and try to get a residency.

But....always a but...if you love retail and where you are and see yourself doing it for 30-40 years then don't bother with residency.

 

[cj98]

If I were you I would just apply for residency and see what happens. You don't want to close any doors so early on in your career, especially with the way the job market is going now. However, managed care is very specialized so you'd have to match with a reputable program for good job prospects

 

[ldiot]

I'd just stay at the indi chain you'll make way more money and already know what to expect

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Managed care residencies are mostly cush... do that and work prn at the independent for extra cash.

 

[DrNyvia]

I struggled with the decision like you did my P4 year. I didn't put too much consideration into residency until I had a great ambulatory care rotation at the VA. Prior to that, I liked working for my retail and had several job offers lined up for me in many respectable chains. After gaining insight from my pharmacy managers and many other pharmacists I've worked with, the answer was clear. If I worked retail, I'd be satisfied, but would always wonder if I would have been even more satisfied if I did residency. If I did residency and didn't like it, retail would always be there for me to fall back on (especially since I have a good retail reputation) and at least I would know that I gave something else a shot. It was a win-win situation to do residency because 1. you open more opportunities to fields you may like better than your current job, 2. if you don't like it, you at least know now and won't regret never doing a residency, and 3. it's always easier going from a clinical position to retail than the other way around. If you don't mind the pay-cut for 1-2 years, then go for it.

I'm currently doing a VA residency now and also moonlighting at Walgreens. It's very tough, but I know it will be worth it.

Hope this brings clarity!

 

[Sine Cura]

You would have retail to fall back on only if you can actually leverage your "good retail reputation." Otherwise you would be competing for any desirable retail job (not at CVS, not in the boonies) with pharmacists with actual retail competence (I say competence because there are a lot of incompetent pharmacists out there who still have a job).

 

[strp]

I struggled with the decision like you did my P4 year. I didn't put too much consideration into residency until I had a great ambulatory care rotation at the VA. Prior to that, I liked working for my retail and had several job offers lined up for me in many respectable chains. After gaining insight from my pharmacy managers and many other pharmacists I've worked with, the answer was clear. If I worked retail, I'd be satisfied, but would always wonder if I would have been even more satisfied if I did residency. If I did residency and didn't like it, retail would always be there for me to fall back on (especially since I have a good retail reputation) and at least I would know that I gave something else a shot. It was a win-win situation to do residency because 1. you open more opportunities to fields you may like better than your current job, 2. if you don't like it, you at least know now and won't regret never doing a residency, and 3. it's always easier going from a clinical position to retail than the other way around. If you don't mind the pay-cut for 1-2 years, then go for it.

I'm currently doing a VA residency now and also moonlighting at Walgreens. It's very tough, but I know it will be worth it.

Hope this brings clarity!

Thank you for the response. I am leaning more and more this way. I would likely really enjoy a career in retail. But, it would be much easier to make the transition from managed care back to retail than the other way around.

 

[gwarm01]

Thank you for the response. I am leaning more and more this way. I would likely really enjoy a career in retail. But, it would be much easier to make the transition from managed care back to retail than the other way around.

If you want to play the odds, just check these forums and compare the number of "how to break into hospital from retail" threads to "how to break into retail from hospital."