Should I hold two jobs as an intern?

[Traziiramate09]

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I am currently a rising PY4 intern and I was lucky enough to be blessed with two positions before graduation. One is in retail and one is in hospital. I just got the job offer for the hospital. My folks keep asking me if I'll leave the retail job but i don't want to do that for multiple reasons. One is because I have only been there for 6 months, and if I leave now it would probably leave a bad taste in my employer's mouth. Pharmacy is a small world too so I wouldn't want to take any chances. Secondly, given the increasingly competitive nature of the market, I feel like I would have an edge over other students because I have two jobs, so it means that I have more experience in multiple areas and that I am an organized and dedicated worker, which I think my future employers would value. It wasn't a totally unfounded assumption, given that after I got into pharmacy school, I had trouble due to my lack of experience when applying for jobs. I faced rejection after rejection until I got my first job in retail. When I told my aunt this, she laughed in my face. She's a healthcare professional in another field, so I wanted to take her reaction seriously. Of course, I could be totally wrong, and having two jobs wouldn't put me at an advantage, but I really want to get out of retail, and also keep my options open. Is it worth it holding two jobs if I can somehow dedicate enough time to my classes as well?

 

[SunshineDays84]

I'd say keep both positions. You ARE lucky to have an opportunity to have your feet in both retail and hospital.
Even if they are intern positions, you won't be guaranteed a pharmacist position after graduation, so don't go all in for one side.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Keep both positions - technically I had a similar experience - albeit both positions in the same hospital. I worked at the outpatient pharmacy in the hospital for about 6 months before adding inpatient experience. Which then lead to increased responsibilities, and you could argue I had a third position (controlled substance inventory management/reconciliation. It is good to keep contacts in different areas. It will help you decide what area you want to go in, and keeps doors open. As long as the jobs don't adversely affect each other from a scheduling perspective - go for it!

 

[PharmDBro2017]

Keep 2 and go for a 3rd. Srs.

 

[297point1]

Keep them both, but good grief DON'T tell the community pharmacy job that you are also working at a hospital. You will no longer be sufficiently "pure" in the DM's eyes - they will think you have been tainted by hospital pharmacy and will jump to the first open hospital job you are offered (and you might). Because of this, you may get dropped down the list (or off of the list entirely) for people under consideration for a job as you approach graduation.

I never advise lying to supervisors or hiring agents. But you don't have to tell them everything either - keep your hospital job to yourself. The chain DMs are always going to do what is in their best interest. You should do the same; little good is going to come of you sharing the news that you have a hospital job - contrary to what you believe, it does not make you more marketable to a community pharmacy hiring agent - it has no impact or makes you less marketable. So don't tell them.

Good luck to you.

 

[Hedgehog32]

Yes, take both jobs, especially if you aren't sure whether or not you want to do a residency. I will be graduating from pharm school next month and started a hospital intern position (inpatient) during my P2 year. It eventually got to the point where I could literally work as many shifts as I wanted, and since I wasn't interested in retail pharmacy on any level, I turned down an offer I received by the local CVS DM to work as a pharmacy intern for CVS.

Well, I ended up not matching for residency and the hospital system I worked for just recently implemented a strict policy of hiring only residency-trained pharmacists for all positions (even PRN), which means I'm now out of the running for the PT weekend pharmacist job they had talked about hiring me into upon graduation. Also, the job market in my area as well as in surrounding areas is so saturated that even retail chains are requiring applicants to have either intern or pharmacist experience to even qualify to be considered for a pharmacist position.

So in summary, I'm now in the unenviable position of having neither a hospital nor retail pharmacist position secured post-graduation, and not having the credentials or experience to qualify for either. On the other hand, if I had accepted the CVS DM's offer to work as a retail intern, that would've at least left open the possibility of getting a CVS pharmacist job (even though I have zero interest in working retail) upon graduation, although there are currently no pharmacist positions posted on CVS' website for my area so it's maybe it's all a moot point anyways. At this point, I'm now in the predicament of not qualifying for any pharmacist jobs at all except for chain retail positions posted in very rural, isolated areas.

Moral of the story: get work experience and build a network in as many different pharmacy practice domains as possible so as to maximize your chances of getting SOME kind of pharmacist job offer when you graduate.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Keep both jobs. When you are a pharmacist, take hospital full time, and keep retail per diem or part time. You will thank yourself later when you will always have opportunities in pharmacy due to having experience in both.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Keep both jobs. When you are a pharmacist, take hospital full time, and keep retail per diem or part time. You will thank yourself later when you will always have opportunities in pharmacy due to having experience in both.

agreed - I used to moonlight retail, mainly to remind me why I took a paycut to leave - ironically now my hospital job pays 18 a hour more than retail is starting with.

 

[Traziiramate09]

Yes, take both jobs, especially if you aren't sure whether or not you want to do a residency. I will be graduating from pharm school next month and started a hospital intern position (inpatient) during my P2 year. It eventually got to the point where I could literally work as many shifts as I wanted, and since I wasn't interested in retail pharmacy on any level, I turned down an offer I received by the local CVS DM to work as a pharmacy intern for CVS.

Well, I ended up not matching for residency and the hospital system I worked for just recently implemented a strict policy of hiring only residency-trained pharmacists for all positions (even PRN), which means I'm now out of the running for the PT weekend pharmacist job they had talked about hiring me into upon graduation. Also, the job market in my area as well as in surrounding areas is so saturated that even retail chains are requiring applicants to have either intern or pharmacist experience to even qualify to be considered for a pharmacist position.

So in summary, I'm now in the unenviable position of having neither a hospital nor retail pharmacist position secured post-graduation, and not having the credentials or experience to qualify for either. On the other hand, if I had accepted the CVS DM's offer to work as a retail intern, that would've at least left open the possibility of getting a CVS pharmacist job (even though I have zero interest in working retail) upon graduation, although there are currently no pharmacist positions posted on CVS' website for my area so it's maybe it's all a moot point anyways. At this point, I'm now in the predicament of not qualifying for any pharmacist jobs at all except for chain retail positions posted in very rural, isolated areas.

Moral of the story: get work experience and build a network in as many different pharmacy practice domains as possible so as to maximize your chances of getting SOME kind of pharmacist job offer when you graduate.

lMAO THAT completely sucks that the hospital changed its hiring policy right before you graduate. Im sorry due. I'm hoping i can use my experience now to maximize my chances of getting a nontraditional role.