Tell me about....Chicago!

[confettiflyer]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I happened to enjoy my time there and wanted to know all there is to know about pharmacy in Chicago/surrounding area as my expertise is strictly based on the west coast.

1) Licensure requirements
I was skimming the application and it doesn't look like "outside intern" hours are required, is this correct? Are the "1200 hours" listed simply certified by the school, or are other "outside" hours required? Other SDN folks have posted no.

2) Saturation (retail/hospital)
How's saturation on the retail side of things? How far out would one have to go from the city center to find non-floating FT work? Where do you think this is headed in 2-3 years?

3) Neighborhoods
I spent most of my time in the "river north" section of the city. I'd like to be in/close to the city, what other neighborhoods are safe/desirable/close to the city?

Any other discussion/random thoughts on Chicago from everyone (tourists included) are welcome. Yes, I already know Chicago winters can be brutal.

 

[StaviZFingerZ]

I don't know much but I'll be there July 24th.

 

[genesis09]

1. The state of Illinois does not require a set number of intern hours. There was once a requirement, but with the introduction of the PharmD, they stopped recording hours. The number of required hours was less than the number of hours required by the ACPE for P-4 year. Just get the form signed by your school, and you'll be fine.
One little caveat when taking the IL MPJE is that IL Pharmacy Practice Act was recently revised, and only now are questions being added about the new law.

2. There are effectively no jobs available in the area. You might be able to find some part-time floating or per-diem type jobs. It has been tough for a lot of UIC/Midwestern grads. Most though have been able to find jobs. To find non-floating retail work, you'll have to go to NW Indiana, Kankakee, DeKalb, or Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha area.

3. There are many nice areas. I know some who live in University Village (UIC area), Wicker Park, South Loop, Lincoln Park, and other north side neighborhoods. Avoid going to the west side beyond the hospitals and certain areas of the south side.

 

[type b pharmD]

1. The state of Illinois does not require a set number of intern hours. There was once a requirement, but with the introduction of the PharmD, they stopped recording hours. The number of required hours was less than the number of hours required by the ACPE for P-4 year. Just get the form signed by your school, and you'll be fine.
One little caveat when taking the IL MPJE is that IL Pharmacy Practice Act was recently revised, and only now are questions being added about the new law.

2. There are effectively no jobs available in the area. You might be able to find some part-time floating or per-diem type jobs. It has been tough for a lot of UIC/Midwestern grads. Most though have been able to find jobs. To find non-floating retail work, you'll have to go to NW Indiana, Kankakee, DeKalb, or Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha area.

3. There are many nice areas. I know some who live in University Village (UIC area), Wicker Park, South Loop, Lincoln Park, and other north side neighborhoods. Avoid going to the west side beyond the hospitals and certain areas of the south side.

I heard there are still jobs available out in chicagoland (ie the suburbs) a reverse commute perhaps?

 

[IrishHammer]

http://www.hulu.com/marriedwith-children

All you need to know about Chicago.

 

[museabuse]

I heard there are still jobs available out in chicagoland (ie the suburbs) a reverse commute perhaps?

According to my friend and genesis09 who are both uic 09 grads there are no jobs in city or suburbs just small cities more than 1 to 2 hours away. But according to bigpharmd there are at least 3 jobs in one hospital. And bigpharmd doesn't think anyone should have a problem finding jobs in Chicagoland because there is no saturation. Maybe big pharmd doesn't realize that maybe the hospital had 3 openings but doesn't need to rush to fill them because they have plenty of staff and are taking their time to find best applicant out of several pharmacists applying for the job.

 

[bigpharmD]

According to my friend and genesis09 who are both uic 09 grads there are no jobs in city or suburbs just small cities more than 1 to 2 hours away. But according to bigpharmd there are at least 3 jobs in one hospital. And bigpharmd doesn't think anyone should have a problem finding jobs in Chicagoland because there is no saturation. Maybe big pharmd doesn't realize that maybe the hospital had 3 openings but doesn't need to rush to fill them because they have plenty of staff and are taking their time to find best applicant out of several pharmacists applying for the job.

Maybe that maybe that maybe they offered me the job and I turned it down....and all of these jobs were residency preferred 😀 (the one I applied for was 2 years required)....and I know someone else who just got a job at a downtown hospital...also residency trained

 

[confettiflyer]

Hey Z -- Grab some Giordano's deep dish + Garret's "chicago mix" popcorn while you're there.


I was thinking about the reverse commute....if I'm going to live in Chicago, I'd like to be right in the city, not in the suburbs. If I'm going to be in the 'burbs and commute to the outlying towns, I might as well go back to CA where I have a home waiting for me.

It's just an idea right now, I'm keeping my options open...with UIC and Midwestern there, makes sense the market is saturated retail-wise. So consensus would be residency training would open me up to more? Then again, that's common sense in any city.

Ok fun stuff....anything else I should check out when I head back this fall? Already did taste of chicago, bean, walking up/down michigan ave, river tour, navy pier, brunch at john hancock ctr, giordanos (ie touristy stuff).

 

[Maxpwer222]

Ok fun stuff....anything else I should check out when I head back this fall? Already did taste of chicago, bean, walking up/down michigan ave, river tour, navy pier, brunch at john hancock ctr, giordanos (ie touristy stuff).

Michigan Ave
Cubs game
Buckingham Fountain
Millenium Park
Navy Pier
Sears tower
Museum of Science and Industry (kid stuff)
Art Institute
Lincoln Park Zoo
Shedd Aquarium

👍 Chicago is good times. There are more things you could do, but these are the most tourist friendly.

 

[genesis09]

The UIC Pharmacy residents were having trouble finding jobs in this market in the Chicago area. A number of them did not have a job upon completion.
I really mean there are very few openings, hospital, retails, LTC, etc, for pharmacists in Chicago and the suburbs.