What's good about it?

[vafcarrot]

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I've been lookin around and I've read a lot of accounts where people are complaining about working in retail and such because of the people they have to interact with. My question is, does anyone love their job as a pharmacist? Do you like getting up in the morning to go to work? Do you find it exciting and interesting or is it just enough of the balance of good and bad to keep you from running away screaming? If you could do anything different with your career choice, would you?

 

[sweetcalie08]

I've been lookin around and I've read a lot of accounts where people are complaining about working in retail and such because of the people they have to interact with. My question is, does anyone love their job as a pharmacist? Do you like getting up in the morning to go to work? Do you find it exciting and interesting or is it just enough of the balance of good and bad to keep you from running away screaming? If you could do anything different with your career choice, whould you?

Hmm, I'm a tech, and I probably shouldn't respond today after a very stressful day at work. But, to tell you the truth, I think any career will begin to feel like a job after awhile. I think there are very few people who love to go to work every single day. You've gotta somewhat like what you do, but I'm not expecting to love working. I'd rather just win the lottery. Anyway, somedays I more than like my job, and other days I get extremely frustrated and stressed. Doesn't this sound pretty normal?

 

[baggywrinkle]

I've been lookin around and I've read a lot of accounts where people are complaining about working in retail and such because of the people they have to interact with. My question is, does anyone love their job as a pharmacist? Do you like getting up in the morning to go to work? Do you find it exciting and interesting or is it just enough of the balance of good and bad to keep you from running away screaming? If you could do anything different with your career choice, whould you?

It's a job, that's why they call it WORK. Not all good, not all bad. I have been practicing now for twenty years, most of it in hospital, in many different places and practice settings across four states now. There are times when you find your groove and you are at the top of your game, other times every thing you touch goes sour - a tragic comedy of errors, and sometimes you just break even. If I had it all to do over again I would marry money and work for fun rather than to feed my family.

 

[Caverject]

It's a job, that's why they call it WORK. Not all good, not all bad. I have been practicing now for twenty years, most of it in hospital, in many different places and practice settings across four states now. There are times when you find your groove and you are at the top of your game, other times every thing you touch goes sour - a tragic comedy of errors, and sometimes you just break even. If I had it all to do over again I would marry money and work for fun rather than to feed my family.

You are the official father of the pharmacy forum! Nice to see you posting again!

 

[Modnar]

It's a job, that's why they call it WORK.

My thoughts exactly, baggy. I figure that if *any* job was fun, they wouldn't have to pay people to do it. 🙂

 

[vafcarrot]

If I had it all to do over again I would marry money and work for fun rather than to feed my family.

Ah... marry for money.... I'll remember that on my next marriage 🙂

Would you have gone elsewhere if the bad had outweighed the good rather than some of each?

 

[spacecowgirl]

Ok, I'm not a pharmacist, but a retail tech and have been for years. I also work in a hospital. I orginally went to the hospital to get away from what I thought I hated about retail. I'm bored to tears working in the hospital (but the money and hours are good, sigh). It gave me an appreciation for retail because:

1) You NEVER have a boring day, it's never the same thing twice. If you like troubleshooting and problem-solving it's a great job. You have to deal with everything from insurance errors, to computer problems, to illegible handwriting to "interesting" patients, and you do get to implement your clinical knowledge as well when you have patients on multiple meds.

2) Getting to know patients. When I went back to my old store after being at the hospital for 7 months, I had a lot of people say they were glad to see me back there. It's nice developing a rapport with customers (of course some are complete asses, but you gotta take the bad with the good).

3) It's fast paced. I like that. Some people don't and that's ok too. I like to be on my toes, thinking, working fast, etc. At the hospital, there are times we break out the Trivial Pursuit. Call me crazy, but I actually like to work at work.

But I agree all work is just that, work, I don't know anyone in any profession who wakes up at 3 am because they're so excited to work they can't sleep. Work should be tolerable, maybe even slightly likeable, but I don't plan on it being what fulfills me. I'm going into pharmacy to make the kind of money and have the kind of flexibility that allows me to have the lifestyle I want to have - that's what will fulfill me - while doing something that is a good service to the community and that I enjoy and find interesting.

However, if I win the lotto, I wouldn't be against retiring early 😀

 

[merlin17]

these are interesting responses...
i'm going into medicine because it is the one of the few things i can imagine doing each day where i would be excited to wake up in the morning to go to work. for many of my classmates, it is just that. we would do it even if they didn't pay us...hell, a huge chunk my classmates are planning to donate their services abroad. i read medical books, i watch discovery health...i just love all of it. it doesn't seem like i am preparing for a job...more like really expensive training for a hobby 🙂

my bf is a pharm student...he would hate being a doctor...i wouldn't say that he "has a passion for pharmacy" but i hope he will love it the way i love my field! spacecowgirl's post is encouraging!!!!!

 

[Glycerin]

At the hospital, there are times we break out the Trivial Pursuit.

Or in my case, I break out the physics book 😛

Hey spacecowgirl, you have a PM from me.

 

[baggywrinkle]

these are interesting responses...
i'm going into medicine because it is the one of the few things i can imagine doing each day where i would be excited to wake up in the morning to go to work. for many of my classmates, it is just that. we would do it even if they didn't pay us...hell, a huge chunk my classmates are planning to donate their services abroad. i read medical books, i watch discovery health...i just love all of it. it doesn't seem like i am preparing for a job...more like really expensive training for a hobby 🙂

my bf is a pharm student...he would hate being a doctor...i wouldn't say that he "has a passion for pharmacy" but i hope he will love it the way i love my field! spacecowgirl's post is encouraging!!!!!

I tried "going elsewhere" for years, then got over it. My conclusion is that being disillusioned is a phase everyone goes through. This is different from
burnout and is IMHO just part of growing up. Doing it because you want to rather than because you have to is a large part of it. Boredom and stress factor in. My own resume looks like a patchwork quilt after job jumping every 2-5 years. Much true burnout can be traced back to factors that have nothing to do with the job itself such as regulatory environment or corperate greed. My wife works with a former ATTORNEY who threw in the towel and now works as a pharmacy technician. My brother, an airline pilot hated his job yet loves to fly (he got over it when he made captain). A highschool buddy and family practice military physician fumed because policy only gave him X number of minutes per patient and he felt pressured to properly do the job he wanted to do. I look forward to launching a second career and perhaps one day doing just enough pharmacy to stay current and proficient.

Yeah, I love chocolate cheesecake too, but not as a steady diet.

 

[spacecowgirl]

these are interesting responses...
i'm going into medicine because it is the one of the few things i can imagine doing each day where i would be excited to wake up in the morning to go to work. for many of my classmates, it is just that. we would do it even if they didn't pay us...hell, a huge chunk my classmates are planning to donate their services abroad. i read medical books, i watch discovery health...i just love all of it. it doesn't seem like i am preparing for a job...more like really expensive training for a hobby 🙂

my bf is a pharm student...he would hate being a doctor...i wouldn't say that he "has a passion for pharmacy" but i hope he will love it the way i love my field! spacecowgirl's post is encouraging!!!!!

It's great to hear this level of enthusiasm, but with all due respect, I would be interested to hear your perspective after being a practicing physician for a few years. Based on my encounters with MDs, I have had the feeling that lots of them would rather be anywhere else but there. Don't get me wrong, I hope you continue to feel that way, but as passionate as I am about pharmacy as a profession, there are the everyday annoyances and problems that can be trying. There are many different subjects/careers that excite me, but I can't think of anything that I would do for free 😀 Just my opinion of course.

 

[merlin17]

It's great to hear this level of enthusiasm, but with all due respect, I would be interested to hear your perspective after being a practicing physician for a few years. Based on my encounters with MDs, I have had the feeling that lots of them would rather be anywhere else but there. Don't get me wrong, I hope you continue to feel that way, but as passionate as I am about pharmacy as a profession, there are the everyday annoyances and problems that can be trying. There are many different subjects/careers that excite me, but I can't think of anything that I would do for free 😀 Just my opinion of course.

you should come visit my medical school for a few days. a majority of the faculty at my school are in their 70s and have stayed around to teach because they love their field so much and want to instill that enthusiasm in the next generation and help prepare us to be leaders in our field. doctors who teach essentially do so for free, few are compensated much for it...

but i do attend a big research oriented medical school. everyone who works here has chosen to accept a lot less pay to be part of the academic medical scene. it is possible that these people are very different from doctors out in the community...but since these are the people i will be working with it isn't that naive to hope that i will have the same enthusiasm as my mentors...enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm 🙂

 

[spacecowgirl]

you should come visit my medical school for a few days. a majority of the faculty at my school are in their 70s and have stayed around to teach because they love their field so much and want to instill that enthusiasm in the next generation and help prepare us to be leaders in our field. doctors who teach essentially do so for free, few are compensated much for it...

but i do attend a big research oriented medical school. everyone who works here has chosen to accept a lot less pay to be part of the academic medical scene. it is possible that these people are very different from doctors out in the community...but since these are the people i will be working with it isn't that naive to hope that i will have the same enthusiasm as my mentors...enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm 🙂

I only hope that's true and wish you and your classmates the best of luck. As for being "possible" that it is different in the community, I can tell you for a fact that it is with some doctors. Granted there are people in every profession like this, I'm only saying that not every doctor treats patients as though this is their calling in life and they are happy to help them. I've experienced this with my personal physicians as well as in dealing with doctors at the pharmacy. But honestly, I hope that enthusiasm doesn't wane

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

I'd be curious to know how far along you are in your medical training? If you haven't made your way to the floor yet, then that might change some things for you.

Obviously medicine is fascinating or I wouldn't have chosen it for a career. However, it would be foolish IMHO to spend 11+ years of my post high school life working towards something and then not at least expect to get some level of compensation. The question that always comes up in interviews is "if doctors were paid like school teachers would you do it?" Absolutely not. No way would I spend that many of the best years of my life stuck in training and saddled with huge debt to make 40K a year.

I would imagine that Merlin and I will have different views on this partially because of our gender. Although a bit on the traditional side, I do expect that I will work and make a comfortable living to support my famiy.

Just my .02 🙂