The ultimate reality of pharmacy profession 2014. Read here if you want to know the truth!!!

[trailerpark]

I did an APPE at a home infusion pharmacy and the newest hire was a RN. She said it took her 9 months to find a job and she got that job because the hiring nurse knew her mom. She said there were too many nursing school's in our city and everywhere wanted her to have experience, but she couldn't get experience without a job. She ended up being a great nurse at the home infusion place.

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[Amicable Angora]

What about RNs looking for jobs? Isn't there a surplus of RNs? There are a lot of RN schools, most community colleges, if not all, 4 year colleges, and even Ivy leagues have nursing program. Isn't Nursing worse than Pharmacy in terms of job outlook? My friend still got a job as a nurse. This is a bad economy. People just need to network and be passionate about what they do to get the job they want. Having good grades doesn't hurt either.

Nursing schools had spread lies about job opportunities (like pharmacy) upon graduation as well. It's becoming more and more well known that the job opportunities that are available for nurses are for experienced nurses and not for new graduates.

 

[Diamond1]

Lmao @ so posts here. If I read this post last two years, I'll buy into it but man! You article is total garbage!! I don't believe a word from it. I work in a hospital and I've seen pharmacist well respected and treated well....They make good money too. It's not that bad, the only problem is the loan. That's all I'm worried about. I'm currently applying and so excited about pharmacy school

 

[Diamond1]

Thank you! Respect is something you earn

 

[Amicable Angora]

Lmao @ so posts here. If I read this post last two years, I'll buy into it but man! You article is total garbage!! I don't believe a word from it. I work in a hospital and I've seen pharmacist well respected and treated well....They make good money too. It's not that bad, the only problem is the loan. That's all I'm worried about. I'm currently applying and so excited about pharmacy school

Thank you! Respect is something you earn

I read post which makes me wonder grammar. What job could he be have?

 

[aglo123]

I read post which makes me wonder grammar. What job could he be have?

Making fun of non-native English speakers about their English ability is always hilarious. Not to mention, it is mature, professional, and something a future pharmacist who's a true American should always take part in.

*sarcasm

 

[Amicable Angora]

Making fun of non-native English speakers about their English ability is always hilarious. Not to mention, it is mature, professional, and something a future pharmacist who's a true American should always take part in.

*sarcasm

You missed the point of the reply, he was being an ass:

"You article is total garbage!!"

Die in a fire idiot.

 

[lisinopril]

Next...

 

[Singuy]

I agree with the OP. Worked at Target and now in a hospital as a clinicial staff pharmacist. Target was all about getting the pt to apply for their credit cards.

Being in a hospital is much better, but overall pharmacy is a lame job.

I have done retail, emergency medicine, internal med rounding, OR pharmacy, and ICU pharmacy which led me to do a lot of things a normal pharmacist wouldn't get to do. I participated in codes, mixing IV drugs on the spot while programming pumps for trauma patients. I also do a lot of education for pts before discharge and go on rounds with the MDs.

I just feel that a pharmacist is not really needed. A good robotic program like SIRI + lexicomp can very easily replace a pharmacist.
When a physician asks you what is the half life of _____ or are drug A and B compatible...most will look it up..so what's the point of a pharmacist? Someone who look things up for nurses/MDs who are too lazy to look it up themselves? Do we really know anything more than lexicomp or a MD who has been in their respective field, prescribing the same 20 drugs all their lives?

It's a profession in which you are a jack of all trades, but master of none. You really bring nothing new to the table vs someone else who also read the same study/article you just read.

The profession is obsolete in the computer age..cash in now and do something else later.

 

[dosepak]

Hi Lisinopril,
Thank you for posting this information. Everything you wrote is completely true. Although I am not a pharmacist, I work at CVS as a technician. We are always understaffed, the pharmacists get yelled at by the customers when they don't get the CII they want. All 3 pharmacists I work with have said that the profession is super saturated and they are always complaining. They all said they should've gone into a different career. Us retail pharmacy employees are always having to answer 5 phone calls on hold, pushing how 400 rx's/day, answering questions like, "Where is Plan B?", being looked down upon since we work in a retail setting, etc. Thank you for getting the word out of the reality of what it is like to be a retail pharmacist.

 

[oldstock]

I agree with the OP. Worked at Target and now in a hospital as a clinicial staff pharmacist. Target was all about getting the pt to apply for their credit cards.

Being in a hospital is much better, but overall pharmacy is a lame job.

I have done retail, emergency medicine, internal med rounding, OR pharmacy, and ICU pharmacy which led me to do a lot of things a normal pharmacist wouldn't get to do. I participated in codes, mixing IV drugs on the spot while programming pumps for trauma patients. I also do a lot of education for pts before discharge and go on rounds with the MDs.

I just feel that a pharmacist is not really needed. A good robotic program like SIRI + lexicomp can very easily replace a pharmacist.
When a physician asks you what is the half life of _____ or are drug A and B compatible...most will look it up..so what's the point of a pharmacist? Someone who look things up for nurses/MDs who are too lazy to look it up themselves? Do we really know anything more than lexicomp or a MD who has been in their respective field, prescribing the same 20 drugs all their lives?

It's a profession in which you are a jack of all trades, but master of none. You really bring nothing new to the table vs someone else who also read the same study/article you just read.

The profession is obsolete in the computer age..cash in now and do something else later.

very well said !! pharmacists are there mainly because the system needs a check (an overeducated check) to minimize doctors' medication errors and abuses... but that is all there is to it...

 

[PharmDCandidate2014]

Going to a well established Caribbean medical school might be a better choice than going to pharmacy school. The reasons are two-fold:

1. Academic performance, i.e. good results on the Boards are correlated to a higher probability of landing a residency in the USA. In pharmacy school, all the students take a watered down NAPLEX, where scores are distinguished by Pass/Fail only. In other words, there is a means to separate the potentially great doctor from one who tries to barely get by. Stated another way, one is relying on careful planning and hard work rather than the lucky crapshoot it takes to get employed as a pharmacist.

2. Technology is going to crash the party REAL soon. Once corporations and clinics have confirmed that automation provides a better bang for their buck than the pharmacist, it's good game. If anyone watched the ending of SAW, one can think of that poor soul locked in the room as the pharmacist replaced by the machine, forever. Well, at least the pharmacist can try robbing a bank. That poor guy in Saw was locked in the room, left to suffer forever!

 

[SanMateoRph]

everywhere i look there is nothing positive about pharmacy any longer. i saw that lisinopril said a few things that my boss told me from duane reade. this really stinks that so many pharmacy students won't get jobs because a lot of them are my good friends

 

[JayHawks1983]

I'm sorry to hear about the many sad stories of graduating pharmacy students. However, today's pharmacy students have the Internet and more importantly a supply of pharmacists that tell them this is indeed a high risk and low reward career. No one to blame but themselves if they come complaining on the forum after graduation.

 

[UGAZ]

wow...4 years ago .... So many changes have occurred. Wondering where are the folks now?

 

[PharmtoCS]

wow...4 years ago .... So many changes have occurred. Wondering where are the folks now?

Probably too embarrassed to post here if they didn’t listen to us and went to pharmacy school anyway.

 

[redfish955]

I think a lot of it has to do with baby boomers. In may 2016 26% of pharmacists were over age 55 and should retire by 59.5. Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: Facts and Figures - DPEAFLCIO Not to mention the huge boost in the number of people over 65 that need pharmacists around.

 

[BRIGGSQUAD]

@stoichiometrist

Honestly I'd say the outlook is on track to be better than ever and here is my reasoning:

https://aamc-black.global.ssl.fastl...orkforce_projections_update_april_11_2018.pdf

The role of the pharmacist is about to start expanding if the expected shortage of physicians is realized (I'd say the report makes strong evidence for that). Provider status now has majority support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Multiple organizations such as NCPA are fighting against profit killing drivers such as DIR fee's and non-transparent pricing strategies originating from PBM's. Pharmacists in my opinion will begin taking on some tasks that doctors are currently doing. Read this article about a pilot-program which was tried out at an Idaho pharmacy, I see the direction of pharmacy shifting similarly as such:

Albertsons piloted Idaho expanded prescribing before July 1 enactment - Drug Store News

 

[PharmtoCS]

@stoichiometrist

Honestly I'd say the outlook is on track to be better than ever and here is my reasoning:

https://aamc-black.global.ssl.fastl...orkforce_projections_update_april_11_2018.pdf

The role of the pharmacist is about to start expanding if the expected shortage of physicians is realized (I'd say the report makes strong evidence for that). Provider status now has majority support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Multiple organizations such as NCPA are fighting against profit killing drivers such as DIR fee's and non-transparent pricing strategies originating from PBM's. Pharmacists in my opinion will begin taking on some tasks that doctors are currently doing. Read this article about a pilot-program which was tried out at an Idaho pharmacy, I see the direction of pharmacy shifting similarly as such:

Albertsons piloted Idaho expanded prescribing before July 1 enactment - Drug Store News

LOL

The role of the pharmacist has been "about to start expanding" for the last 20-30 years.

 

[tittat]

LOL

The role of the pharmacist has been "about to start expanding" for the last 20-30 years.

Can I get someone’s serious advice and outlook on this? I am currently applying to pharmacy schools.

 

[redfish955]

Pharmacists Take this by one of your schools econ professors and ask him for his opinion.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Can I get someone’s serious advice and outlook on this? I am currently applying to pharmacy schools.

It’s something that pharmacy schools and academics have been trying to sell for the last 20 years or so. Now it’s provider status, before it was known as MTM, pharmaceutical care, clinical pharmacy, etc.

Even if laws allow for provider status privileges the future still depends on whether insurance will pay. Insurance companies would rather pay PAs and NPs for these services since they are paid less compared to pharmacists. Without reimbursements provider status won’t take off because let’s face it, most people don’t want to work for free.

 

[redfish955]

Based on the salary numbers from the link I posted above I would be super inclined to consider like chemical engineering and then a pharm d.

 

[NWIRPH]

kinda makes me laugh that a lot of these are super petty and have to do with the cafeteria and parking spaces

Wait until you work 10 years if you are lucky enough to get a job.

 

[BRIGGSQUAD]

Can I get someone’s serious advice and outlook on this? I am currently applying to pharmacy schools.

Do the research. There are major strides being made. Yeah there are jobs that make more money that's obvious to anyone that can search google, but pharmacists are still in demand. If you can't find a job it's because you didn't network hard enough and your personal skills are weak. The jobs are there. When someone LOL's at your response it's probably because they can't find a better position to stand on. I supported my claims with things that are actually happening and accredited research. Am I saying I'm the almighty all-knowing god of pharmacy because I can cite stuff? No. Far from it. However, I am capable of using my brain and running in the right circles with the right people to understand the market and job outlook of the future pharmacist from a reality standpoint.

 

[DruggieDoRight]

Wow, I remember this from 4 years ago.

It's all very true. More than half my classmates that graduated don't have a position with anyone.

 

[gwarm01]

Do the research. There are major strides being made. Yeah there are jobs that make more money that's obvious to anyone that can search google, but pharmacists are still in demand. If you can't find a job it's because you didn't network hard enough and your personal skills are weak. The jobs are there. When someone LOL's at your response it's probably because they can't find a better position to stand on. I supported my claims with things that are actually happening and accredited research. Am I saying I'm the almighty all-knowing god of pharmacy because I can cite stuff? No. Far from it. However, I am capable of using my brain and running in the right circles with the right people to understand the market and job outlook of the future pharmacist from a reality standpoint.

It's more likely they are LOLing because every year there is a new batch of students posting about how provider status is just around the corner, and new roles are going to expand the pharmacist job market in the near future.

I was sold the same story when I started pharmacy school a decade ago. It was already old news back then.

The provider status bill has had a pluarilty of senators and congresspeople for years now and still hasn't passed. Even if it does, I'm not convinced it will appreciably affect the iob market.

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions of your life. It will affect your financial standing, mental well-being, and your personal relationships. I wouldn't recommend basing this decision on something so nebulous as the potential for provider status.

Look at the reality of the profession. The vast majority of pharmacists work in retail. Due to the oversupply of pharmacists, almost every pharmacy chain is reducing hours and lowering pay. Many are freezing raises. This is the continuation of a trend that has been visible for years and will not stop anytime. This is where you will likely end up, only it will probably be worse in four years - after all, why would it get better? Trends like this don't reverse course without a reason.

Do not enter this field unless you are comfortable with this future.

 

[Melazine]

Wish I saw this post before I graduated in 2016!!