What are some of the biggest mistakes I can make in my first year (P1) of pharmacy school?

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Title says it all. I've been really stressed out ever since I started early last week, and I found a few google links to answer this question, but they were all generic mistakes that I already know not to do. I think some people on here can give me actual valuable answers from real experience.

Share an experience you learned/ached from, or just any valuable lesson you've learned over the year(s.)

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[Sine Cura]

Get someone pregnant

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Get someone pregnant

I want to hear the story behind this LOL! Please, elaborate...

 

[PharmtoCS]

Stay in pharmacy school

 

[sozetone]

Title says it all. I've been really stressed out ever since I started early last week, and I found a few google links to answer this question, but they were all generic mistakes that I already know not to do. I think some people on here can give me actual valuable answers from real experience.

Share an experience you learned/ached from, or just any valuable lesson you've learned over the year(s.)

1) you should have never started in the first place.

seriously though....no jokes at all....

2) Not choosing another field fast.......

 

[ImmunoglobulinE]

Stay in pharmacy school

1) you should have never started in the first place.

seriously though....no jokes at all....

2) Not choosing another field fast.......

you both beat me to what I was going to add

Student Pharmacists Current Job Market Outlook

 

[Momus]

Stay in pharmacy school

He already made it.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Believing anything your professors say about pharmacy.

 

[lord999]

He already made it.

Bit on the subtle side. STAY in pharmacy school (and get yourself into 200k+ debt with little job prospects). At least, that's the cynical reading of it as the implication is dropping out is the better solution.

I'll add, not looking after your own interests and priorities. Yes, you do sacrifice, but it shouldn't be beyond a certain amount.

 

[RxPreceptor]

Apply EVERYTHING you go over in pharmacy practice to a real world retail ("community") setting...#idealism, fantasy land, "no one ain't got time for that", etc.

Ex) Borrowing from another thread with the same concept...Inspect every diabetic patients' feet upon picking up a new script

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Apply EVERYTHING you go over in pharmacy practice to a real world retail ("community") setting...#idealism, fantasy land, "no one ain't got time for that", etc.

Ex) Borrowing from another thread with the same concept...Inspect every diabetic patients' feet upon picking up a new script

Not to mention the “teach-back” method to use when counseling patients. So ridiculous.

 

[Sine Cura]

I want to hear the story behind this LOL! Please, elaborate...

No it's just something I've witnessed among my former friends. Excessive drama, emotional pain from one person and the other person didn't care at all.

 

[DrVader]

Title says it all. I've been really stressed out ever since I started early last week, and I found a few google links to answer this question, but they were all generic mistakes that I already know not to do. I think some people on here can give me actual valuable answers from real experience.

Share an experience you learned/ached from, or just any valuable lesson you've learned over the year(s.)

If you are dead set on staying on this sinking ship of a profession. Then I would recommend that you get a business degree along with your pharmacy one. I would recommend that you get as much experience working in retail but more importantly working in a nonretail job. Join business orgs. The pharmacist who is going to get hit hardest when the bubble burst is the ones who know nothing out of retail.

Academically, make sure you know the difference between active learning and passive learning. I did poorly for a while because I would just read the knows and say I know the stuff when I really didn't. Once I starting making flashcards or quizzes I was getting As. I recommend anki or quizz let, get a group of 5 students making cards. That way you get a different perspective.\

 

[wagrxm2000]

He already made it.

How did you get on probation?

I've said a lot of things, seems pretty hard.

 

[Mambo#5]

Not listening to the advice of people in the field of pharmacy.

 

[gwarm01]

Ask a cool professor if they want to buy Adderall from you.

 

[AlwaysContrary]

Not apply to the intern program my first year. I really regret that one.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Stay in pharmacy school

Are you a drop out?

1) you should have never started in the first place.

seriously though....no jokes at all....

2) Not choosing another field fast.......

Hmm, interesting piece here coming from a pharmacist. Let's be more rational! Elaborate.

Believing anything your professors say about pharmacy.

Hahahahahah, I'm literally only 2 weeks into pharmacy school and I can actually believe this. We have a professor making us memorize and understand everything about the different websites you can use to pull up drug information. How ironic, since, you know, it's 2018 and we can throw all those sites in our favorites bar. Absolute waste of time, and brain space. I don't think I like that professor.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I'll add, not looking after your own interests and priorities. Yes, you do sacrifice, but it shouldn't be beyond a certain amount.

I like this. It made me realize that I'm actually not doing anything I used to have an interest in doing ever since I started orientation week 3 weeks ago. I'll definitely work on managing my time and ease into including my own interests in my schedule. Thank you!

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Apply EVERYTHING you go over in pharmacy practice to a real world retail ("community") setting...#idealism, fantasy land, "no one ain't got time for that", etc.

Ex) Borrowing from another thread with the same concept...Inspect every diabetic patients' feet upon picking up a new script

Not to mention the “teach-back” method to use when counseling patients. So ridiculous.

Hahah! I actually assumed that there will be things we are taught in the curriculum that I won't really apply in the real world. Good to hear from a pharmacist!

 

[PA_dud3]

How has your first few weeks of pharmacy school been? Is your school one where rotations start fairly early? At my school we will have a community rotation within the first few months I believe. What sort of classes will you be taking during your P1 year?

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

No it's just something I've witnessed among my former friends. Excessive drama, emotional pain from one person and the other person didn't care at all.

I will definitely NOT make this mistake lol.

If you are dead set on staying on this sinking ship of a profession. Then I would recommend that you get a business degree along with your pharmacy one. I would recommend that you get as much experience working in retail but more importantly working in a nonretail job. Join business orgs. The pharmacist who is going to get hit hardest when the bubble burst is the ones who know nothing out of retail.

Academically, make sure you know the difference between active learning and passive learning. I did poorly for a while because I would just read the knows and say I know the stuff when I really didn't. Once I starting making flashcards or quizzes I was getting As. I recommend anki or quizz let, get a group of 5 students making cards. That way you get a different perspective.\

hmm...I am dead set because I really don't have a back up plan, but if push came to shove and I actually witnessed a deep decline in the profession, I guess I'm still young and can choose to take another route. Thanks for the advice, though! My program actually offers duel degree's along with Doctorate of pharmacy degree, one of which is business. I might just do that.

As for experience, I am currently involved in retail, but, of course, like you said, I've been told to expand my experience. I'll be joining student organizations that can get me involved in the clinical side, and apply for research programs in the summer.

Also, you're awesome for bringing up active and passive learning. I caught myself doing a lot of passive shallow learning over my first week and a half, and I'm so glad I noticed it. I made sure to change it up quick, involving more actual drawing and/or writing in a notebook. I will definitely try out the two applications you recommend, and my study group is currently myself and 5 others, and we plan on comparing our objectives, so I think I'm on the right track so far haha!
Thank you!

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Not apply to the intern program my first year. I really regret that one.

Already did! Our school actually makes us do this. Where did you end up interning?

How has your first few weeks of pharmacy school been? Is your school one where rotations start fairly early? At my school we will have a community rotation within the first few months I believe. What sort of classes will you be taking during your P1 year?

Man, it's been CRAZY. Nothing in my entire 20 years of life has prepared me for the first two weeks. They are throwing an ungodly amount of information, quizzes, assignments, homework, due dates, meetings, mandatory events, etc. at us and we are expected to organize, prioritize, and down it. I feel like I only get 4 hours of studying a day with all the events going on, it's too extreme, and on top of that, exams are right around the corner. This will be a heck of a semester.

They haven't told us much about rotations so I'm not worried about them at the moment with everything else going on. I'm pretty sure we have some summer rotations though.

 

[PharmtoCS]

Are you a drop out?

See, the mistake is not dropping out during P1 and continuing on to graduate with $200k+ in loans and spend 4 more years in school only to be faced with poor employment prospects.

 

[DruggieDoRight]

Are you a drop out?



Hmm, interesting piece here coming from a pharmacist. Let's be more rational! Elaborate.


Hahahahahah, I'm literally only 2 weeks into pharmacy school and I can actually believe this. We have a professor making us memorize and understand everything about the different websites you can use to pull up drug information. How ironic, since, you know, it's 2018 and we can throw all those sites in our favorites bar. Absolute waste of time, and brain space. I don't think I like that professor.

Half my graduating class didn't have jobs at graduation.

 

[mentos]

It's not too late to withdrawal from the program. Save yourself 200k+ in loans at a ridiculously high interest rate. Students who graduated the past few years are unemployed, imagine how much worse the job market will be when you graduate? CVS hires 2-3 interns per district out of 15+ interns. Walgreens doesn't give raises anymore and plans to start RPh salary at $51/hr. Every major chain has had restructuring and cut hours. Companies get bought out every year which means lay offs. All major pharmacy stocks have plummeted. Hospitals give preference to residents which is another scam. It's the Hunger Games out there.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Thank you to everyone who is genuinely trying to help by telling me to find another career and withdraw from my program as pharmacy is "plummeting." This, unfortunately, is a piece of advice I will NOT take, haha.

I may sound very overly confident as a P1, but I know exactly what I'm getting into. I already have a connection in the retail part of pharmacy, which is my back up plan as I plan on going into clinical, nuclear, or research. I've joined one student organization that will get me more involved in the clinical side, and I plan on finding a mentor within the year in that area. I plan on applying to research programs come the summer, and once I do then I'll find a mentor in that area as well. As for nuclear, I have no clue where to start, but I'll see if I can join any nuclear pharmacy organizations that will help me better understand the field. School, studying, and grades are important, but networking is key.

This thread is pretty much over for me, thanks to everyone who gave advice other than to withdraw from the program.

In case anyone comes here for serious advice, here's my take: I have asked so many pharmacy students and/or graduates this same question, and not getting involved was the most common mistake among graduates. Put yourself out there, get involved, find a mentor as soon as you can, and watch it all play out when you graduate. Good luck!

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

I may sound very overly confident as a P1, but I know exactly what I'm getting into. I already have a connection in the retail part of pharmacy, which is my back up plan as I plan on going into clinical, nuclear, or research.

Just wait until you start practicing (if you even get a job after graduation). Here’s a piece of advice that 95% of pharmacy students don’t understand: pharmacy is a business first and foremost, and is secondarily whatever it is they teach you it is in school nowadays.

The business reality of even “networking” is that 1. If there are no jobs, there are no jobs, and 2. The principle of “We good, ‘til we not good.”

Good luck on your pursuits.

 

[sozetone]

Title says it all. I've been really stressed out ever since I started early last week, and I found a few google links to answer this question, but they were all generic mistakes that I already know not to do. I think some people on here can give me actual valuable answers from real experience.

Share an experience you learned/ached from, or just any valuable lesson you've learned over the year(s.)

Elaborate? look i'm gonna shoot you straight ok? This field has been dying for some time. You NEED to research and understand what is going on out there. Do it just an intently as you would study for exams. Look around, listen to people.

There really are very few jobs left in retail pharmacy ( or any avenue for that matter) and most available jobs are extremely undesirable. I'm talking like working in nebraska as a floater for CVS Part time 48/Hr every 2 weeks, no benefits. Even if you do know someone and land an 80 hour staff or management job, you will lose it within 1-5 years almost guaranteed. You never know why , it just happens. Job security is absolutely ZERO now. if the cost for school were not over 100k per 4 years and something like 10-20K I would say give it a shot. The investment is not worth the reward anymore. NOT NEARLY. you can count on what i just said only getting worse as well. Bail out if you can. I PROMISE you will thank me no matter where you end up. Look back at all your sucker friends who stayed in 5 years later and see how they are doing. Please spread the word. your poor generation is already jilted enough!

 

[HandsomeVampire]

Get someone pregnant

how many p1s did you get pregnant?

 

[sozetone]

I will definitely NOT make this mistake lol.


hmm...I am dead set because I really don't have a back up plan, but if push came to shove and I actually witnessed a deep decline in the profession, I guess I'm still young and can choose to take another route. Thanks for the advice, though! My program actually offers duel degree's along with Doctorate of pharmacy degree, one of which is business. I might just do that.

As for experience, I am currently involved in retail, but, of course, like you said, I've been told to expand my experience. I'll be joining student organizations that can get me involved in the clinical side, and apply for research programs in the summer.

Also, you're awesome for bringing up active and passive learning. I caught myself doing a lot of passive shallow learning over my first week and a half, and I'm so glad I noticed it. I made sure to change it up quick, involving more actual drawing and/or writing in a notebook. I will definitely try out the two applications you recommend, and my study group is currently myself and 5 others, and we plan on comparing our objectives, so I think I'm on the right track so far haha!
Thank you!

your first paragraph tells me you haven't done your research, the field has not only declined, it has died. You should be on ANOTHER ROUTE already. i understand you have worked hard for THIS, but THIS is only an illusion....And forget the business degree, they are like driver licenses now a days. Everyone has one. Means nothing. Open your own business, be your own boss, make your own fortune. Try a methadone clinic. Most people laugh, but with the new control over opiods these days, the use of heroin will skyrocket. It will be needed EVERYWHERE....and addicts never stop coming back for more. That's actually what im getting into after this sham of a manager position at wal mart falls through...just an idea, one of many...but you need connections with doctors

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Elaborate? look i'm gonna shoot you straight ok? This field has been dying for some time. You NEED to research and understand what is going on out there. Do it just an intently as you would study for exams. Look around, listen to people.

There really are very few jobs left in retail pharmacy ( or any avenue for that matter) and most available jobs are extremely undesirable. I'm talking like working in nebraska as a floater for CVS Part time 48/Hr every 2 weeks, no benefits. Even if you do know someone and land an 80 hour staff or management job, you will lose it within 1-5 years almost guaranteed. You never know why , it just happens. Job security is absolutely ZERO now. if the cost for school were not over 100k per 4 years and something like 10-20K I would say give it a shot. The investment is not worth the reward anymore. NOT NEARLY. you can count on what i just said only getting worse as well. Bail out if you can. I PROMISE you will thank me no matter where you end up. Look back at all your sucker friends who stayed in 5 years later and see how they are doing. Please spread the word. your poor generation is already jilted enough!

your first paragraph tells me you haven't done your research, the field has not only declined, it has died. You should be on ANOTHER ROUTE already. i understand you have worked hard for THIS, but THIS is only an illusion....And forget the business degree, they are like driver licenses now a days. Everyone has one. Means nothing. Open your own business, be your own boss, make your own fortune. Try a methadone clinic. Most people laugh, but with the new control over opiods these days, the use of heroin will skyrocket. It will be needed EVERYWHERE....and addicts never stop coming back for more. That's actually what im getting into after this sham of a manager position at wal mart falls through...just an idea, one of many...but you need connections with doctors

Alright so, it's not that I don't believe you, or that I'm stubborn enough to think that I of all people will end up with a job upon graduation, it's that I have literally worked for this ever since I stepped foot outside of high school, and I have no back up plan, no plan B. What else do you expect me to do at 21 years of age? How am I going to start my own business? How am I going to get connections with doctors? How am I going to get involved with ANY clinic? I'm one out of millions of students. I don't have anything that puts me above others. That's why I'm going for Doctorate of pharmacy. To have something to my name, and from there I don't have to necessarily go into pharmacy, I can work towards going up the manager hierarchy, I could do research, I could do a lot more than just community pharmacy.

You need to understand that you're talking to a 21 year old who has nothing to his name, except maybe "pharmacy intern" right now lol. I'm in no position to do any of those things you're recommending. My job is a full-time student. Once I attain my PharmD, I'll do 2 years of residency, and THEN from there I can work to start my own business, be my own boss, or even move to Dubai or literally any uprising countries around the world and join one of the emerging pharmacy businesses there. I don't know how you expect me to do any of that right now when I have zero credibility with any company, like every other pharmacy student.

All in all, I'm taking it step by step. I'm not thinking four years ahead, as I literally just started. Literally. Your advice may be indeed very true, and I thank you for looking out, but I need to climb this ladder before worrying about climbing other ladders later on in life.

 

[PA_dud3]

Alright so, it's not that I don't believe you, or that I'm stubborn enough to think that I of all people will end up with a job upon graduation, it's that I have literally worked for this ever since I stepped foot outside of high school, and I have no back up plan, no plan B. What else do you expect me to do at 21 years of age? How am I going to start my own business? How am I going to get connections with doctors? How am I going to get involved with ANY clinic? I'm one out of millions of students. I don't have anything that puts me above others. That's why I'm going for Doctorate of pharmacy. To have something to my name, and from there I don't have to necessarily go into pharmacy, I can work towards going up the manager hierarchy, I could do research, I could do a lot more than just community pharmacy.

You need to understand that you're talking to a 21 year old who has nothing to his name, except maybe "pharmacy intern" right now lol. I'm in no position to do any of those things you're recommending. My job is a full-time student. Once I attain my PharmD, I'll do 2 years of residency, and THEN from there I can work to start my own business, be my own boss, or even move to Dubai or literally any uprising countries around the world and join one of the emerging pharmacy businesses there. I don't know how you expect me to do any of that right now when I have zero credibility with any company, like every other pharmacy student.

All in all, I'm taking it step by step. I'm not thinking four years ahead, as I literally just started. Literally. Your advice may be indeed very true, and I thank you for looking out, but I need to climb this ladder before worrying about climbing other ladders later on in life.

Man I just wanna work at CVS

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Man I just wanna work at CVS

According to the statistical fellow SDNers here, your chances will be close to 0% in 4 years, good luck! lol

 

[owlegrad]

CVS will always be hiring. If you can make a career at CVS you will always have a job.

The only way that won't be true is something truly dire, like being legislated away or replaced by technology.

 

[gwarm01]

Well bless your heart. Best of luck, it's cutthroat out there right now. I can only imagine how it'll be in four years.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

CVS will always be hiring. If you can make a career at CVS you will always have a job.

The only way that won't be true is something truly dire, like being legislated away or replaced by technology.

I've hard so many crappy stories about CVS!

Well bless your heart. Best of luck, it's cutthroat out there right now. I can only imagine how it'll be in four years.

Haha, thank you! You need to tell me that story about offering to sell a cool professor some adderall lmao.

 

[PA_dud3]

CVS will always be hiring. If you can make a career at CVS you will always have a job.

The only way that won't be true is something truly dire, like being legislated away or replaced by technology.

I'm not gonna lie, having a gig like WVUPharm wouldn't be that bad. If I can get in good with my store as a tech and intern I hope I can have a good chance at securing a position after graduation. Retail seems to be my niche.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I'm not gonna lie, having a gig like WVUPharm wouldn't be that bad. If I can get in good with my store as a tech and intern I hope I can have a good chance at securing a position after graduation. Retail seems to be my niche.

Yeah that's what I was thinking as well, staying active and on good terms with my current store's pharmacy manager & store manager. I've been with the store manager in 2 stores for about a year now, we both quit at the first one (she was a shift leader at the time,) and she really liked having me around. I wasn't even expecting it but next thing I know, a few months later, she gives me a call (professionally) that she now landed the store manager spot at a different Walgreens and she wants me to come work for her, and I was ecstatic. So I like to think that I have a strong relationship with her, hopefully she's still there in four years haha.

That being said, I do want to try getting into clinical or research pharmacy fields as a first priority, while keeping retail as a rebound.

 

[PA_dud3]

Yeah that's what I was thinking as well, staying active and on good terms with my current store's pharmacy manager & store manager. I've been with the store manager in 2 stores for about a year now, we both quit at the first one (she was a shift leader at the time,) and she really liked having me around. I wasn't even expecting it but next thing I know, a few months later, she gives me a call (professionally) that she now landed the store manager spot at a different Walgreens and she wants me to come work for her, and I was ecstatic. So I like to think that I have a strong relationship with her, hopefully she's still there in four years haha.

That being said, I do want to try getting into clinical or research pharmacy fields as a first priority, while keeping retail as a rebound.

That's where I'm torn, I like retail, but I'd also like to pursue something residency based (Infectious disease) but if I get a FT offer upon graduation I'd probably just take that to play it safe.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

That's where I'm torn, I like retail, but I'd also like to pursue something residency based (Infectious disease) but if I get a FT offer upon graduation I'd probably just take that to play it safe.

Don’t bother thinking about clinical subspecialties when you’re a student. Worry about getting that PGY-1 first, because if you don’t land it then you have no pathway to becoming a specialist.

 

[PA_dud3]

Don’t bother thinking about clinical subspecialties when you’re a student. Worry about getting that PGY-1 first, because if you don’t land it then you have no pathway to becoming a specialist.

Yeah, definitely. I was just saying eventually what I would hope to pursue. Have to have that PGY-1 general clinical residency first, though.

 

[mentos]

I'm not gonna lie, having a gig like WVUPharm wouldn't be that bad. If I can get in good with my store as a tech and intern I hope I can have a good chance at securing a position after graduation. Retail seems to be my niche.

Overnights used to be pretty chill but not anymore. You're going balls to the wall the entire shift. Readyfills have basically doubled for most stores which means more day 14s to return, more robot cells to refill, more supplies to refill, more trash to take out, etc. 3 years ago my store had 6-7 pages readyfill, but after CVS and Walgreens closed nearby 24 hour stores (we absorbed more customers) and added readyfill enrollment at the register and on the app, it's at 12-14 pages and keeps climbing. The managers don't understand and think everything should still be done in the morning no matter what. Of course they keep cutting rph and tech hours for day staff so the queue is always crazy when your shift begins. There's no telling when they'll close more 24 hour stores (why pay a Rph to do readyfills when a few techs can get it done in the morning?) so there's no job security either.

 

[APN-59 rph]

Title says it all. I've been really stressed out ever since I started early last week, and I found a few google links to answer this question, but they were all generic mistakes that I already know not to do. I think some people on here can give me actual valuable answers from real experience.

Ok...here's a "valuable lesson". In the heavy duty real world tunnel vision is a mondo killer..and some of you guyz have a bad case of it...I would strongly suggest that you set up a counseling session with some big shot in a completely different industry or have someone you know who knows such a big shot get you a meeting and describe your case of anomie...( I love that talk)...Do more listening than yapping and don't for the sake of Vishnue whine about pharmacy...No one has any idea of what flogging pills is like (esp your profs)...THEN..act on what you have been told...It's a much bigger world than spending 10 hour days behind some counter at (your letters here)...Pharmacy is an airplane in a death spiral...pull them handles......

 

[mentos]

Thank you to everyone who is genuinely trying to help by telling me to find another career and withdraw from my program as pharmacy is "plummeting." This, unfortunately, is a piece of advice I will NOT take, haha.

I may sound very overly confident as a P1, but I know exactly what I'm getting into. I already have a connection in the retail part of pharmacy, which is my back up plan as I plan on going into clinical, nuclear, or research. I've joined one student organization that will get me more involved in the clinical side, and I plan on finding a mentor within the year in that area. I plan on applying to research programs come the summer, and once I do then I'll find a mentor in that area as well. As for nuclear, I have no clue where to start, but I'll see if I can join any nuclear pharmacy organizations that will help me better understand the field. School, studying, and grades are important, but networking is key.

This thread is pretty much over for me, thanks to everyone who gave advice other than to withdraw from the program.

In case anyone comes here for serious advice, here's my take: I have asked so many pharmacy students and/or graduates this same question, and not getting involved was the most common mistake among graduates. Put yourself out there, get involved, find a mentor as soon as you can, and watch it all play out when you graduate. Good luck!

This thread follows the same formula as countless others.

-Pharmacy students asks for advice.
-Several working pharmacists give honest feedback about poor job prospects and tries to save student from drowning in debt.
-Pharmacy student ignores it because it's not what they want to hear. It doesn't apply to them, they worked too hard to get into pharmacy school, they work harder than all of their peers, they will differentiate themselves from the thousands of other PharmDs, they have "connections", they plan to be a clinical pharmacist, they are involved in student activities, they network, they think the job market will be better by the time they graduate...

Every pharmacy student thinks they will work in a hospital. The reality is that the majority of them end up in retail, most likely at CVS or Walgreens where working conditions are awful and available hours are few and far between. No employer will care about whatever student activities you're involved with or mentors or research or whatever. It's good that you have a good relationship with your pharmacy manager but they are not in a hiring position for pharmacists. The district managers are the ones that hire pharmacists, so unless you are best friends or a relative of theirs and they are still there in 4 years, then you are not guaranteed a job in retail. 4 years is a long time for a district manager to be at the same position in the same company, BTW. They often step down, get a job at another company, or get laid off due to acquisitions or restructuring.

 

[rph3664]

Stay in pharmacy school

I had someone tell me this back in 1990. She had failed a P1 class and decided to change to a liberal arts major, and told me, "Get out now, while you still have brain cells to think with." She got a "real job" shortly afterwards, having just graduated, and quit her job at the restaurant where we worked and I never saw her again. If our paths ever cross again, I'll tell her that I did graduate with no regrets, and actively practiced for 18 years until I realized I could retire and proceeded to do exactly that.

 

[rph3664]

Apply EVERYTHING you go over in pharmacy practice to a real world retail ("community") setting...#idealism, fantasy land, "no one ain't got time for that", etc.

Ex) Borrowing from another thread with the same concept...Inspect every diabetic patients' feet upon picking up a new script

Oh, good heavens. We're not podiatrists.

 

[rph3664]

Half my graduating class didn't have jobs at graduation.

Too bad we don't have a "dislike" button. The only person in my class who didn't have a job for any reason other than not knowing where their SO would land had massive attitude problems. This was the person that I heard from more than one person took a yo-yo out during an interview and started playing with it.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

This thread follows the same formula as countless others.

-Pharmacy students asks for advice.
-Several working pharmacists give honest feedback about poor job prospects and tries to save student from drowning in debt.
-Pharmacy student ignores it because it's not what they want to hear. It doesn't apply to them, they worked too hard to get into pharmacy school, they work harder than all of their peers, they will differentiate themselves from the thousands of other PharmDs, they have "connections", they plan to be a clinical pharmacist, they are involved in student activities, they network, they think the job market will be better by the time they graduate...

Every pharmacy student thinks they will work in a hospital. The reality is that the majority of them end up in retail, most likely at CVS or Walgreens where working conditions are awful and available hours are few and far between. No employer will care about whatever student activities you're involved with or mentors or research or whatever. It's good that you have a good relationship with your pharmacy manager but they are not in a hiring position for pharmacists. The district managers are the ones that hire pharmacists, so unless you are best friends or a relative of theirs and they are still there in 4 years, then you are not guaranteed a job in retail. 4 years is a long time for a district manager to be at the same position in the same company, BTW. They often step down, get a job at another company, or get laid off due to acquisitions or restructuring.

Like I said, it's not that I don't believe you, it's that I have no back up plan. And who on this wide earth would ever drop out of pharmacy school just because someone told them the market is crashing/dead? I don't see what you expect me to do here, lol.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I had someone tell me this back in 1990. She had failed a P1 class and decided to change to a liberal arts major, and told me, "Get out now, while you still have brain cells to think with." She got a "real job" shortly afterwards, having just graduated, and quit her job at the restaurant where we worked and I never saw her again. If our paths ever cross again, I'll tell her that I did graduate with no regrets, and actively practiced for 18 years until I realized I could retire and proceeded to do exactly that.

That's hilarious! If she had continued she would've been a pharmacist during PEAK years. I wonder how school curriculum's were back in 1990 compared to how they are now.

Too bad we don't have a "dislike" button. The only person in my class who didn't have a job for any reason other than not knowing where their SO would land had massive attitude problems. This was the person that I heard from more than one person took a yo-yo out during an interview and started playing with it.

Finally, a positive person on this thread comment section. Cheers!