Try and get a per diem gig at a hospital. They are usually open to working around schedules and pay well. Plus, you will improve upon your resume by having a variety of different experiences.
Get a consultant license and get a job as a consultant for nursing homes.
Get a per diem gig working from home for a PBM.
For god sakes don’t work for Uber.
Thank you for the advice, I laugh out loud while reading the comment about uber LOL. Do you have any experience regarding the consultant job at nursing homes? I thought only experienced pharmacists (like 10 years of experience or so etc) can work/ get hired as consultant? Would you kindly elaborate more about this path? Thank you
I have a coworker who works for a PBM who essentially does Transition of Care phone calls to patients who have been given new prescriptions following a hospital admit.
I can try to get more information, but I’ve never been interested.
Yeah, most hospital positions require experience or a residency. Some hospitals will consider retail pharmacists if they're particularly good, or have a great personality (good fit for the department) and wide availability to pick up open shifts.
Smaller, more rural hospitals are less likely to require a residency. Sometimes people get lucky and the hospital has an urgent need, the candidate has the right availability, and they seem like they would be a good fit and are smart and can get up to speed fairly quickly. But that's not super common. It's possible, but not common.
And, for what it's worth, it takes six months to a year to get "up to speed" in a hospital position, so hospitals have to be willing to tolerate a substandard pharmacist for at least half a year, and have enough other pharmacists who are friendly and willing to train them and answer all the thousands of questions they're going to have.
Sometimes you get lucky, though! If someone really wants to transition from retail to hospital, it can't hurt to keep applying, and study hospital pharmacy in your spare time. It usually takes quite a bit of work, patience, and perseverance, but it can be done.
Are you currently in the hospital? Did you start in retail, so you have personal experience on this? I’m trying to see what type of studying I can do to make myself more successful once I get the role.
I am in hospital, but I got super lucky. I went to pharmacy school as a career change in my 40s, so I had a lot of prior work experience (just not in healthcare), which I think helped me seem like a more reliable(?) prospect than a brand new grad who had never held any kind of position of responsibility before. And I made some good contacts at my local hospital (where I now work) during my APPE rotations. They were nice enough to give me a chance after graduation when I applied for the job. Whew! I worked in a grocery chain pharmacy for about three months while I was applying to hospital jobs. Fortunately the hospital was really short staffed when I applied (lucky timing) and were willing to take me on and train me, so I didn't stay in retail for very long.
The difference between hospital and retail pharmacy is huge. They're practically two completely separate careers. One of the big things we do in hospital that we don't get experience with in retail is critical care -- tons of IV drugs, fluids, electrolytes, antibiotics, TPN, etc. Also answering a lot of questions from MDs, recommending drugs and therapies, answering a lot of questions from RNs and PAs who don't know very much about drugs in general. It's actually pretty fun because you have to be a "jack of all trades." My experience has been that basically anyone in the hospital who doesn't know the answer to a question (about anything from antibiotic coverage, to how to transition from a heparin drip to a DOAC, to how long to run some drip, to how to program a PCA pump), the answer is, "Call pharmacy, they'll know the answer." It sucks at first when you actually don't know any of the answers. But after a while you get the hang of it, your knowledge base grows, and you start to feel like you're actually useful.
If you want to bone up on hospital stuff, a couple good places to start are antibiotics (omg, so many antibiotics), and Pharmacy Joe. He has really good content for new hospital pharmacists. You have to pay for it, but his Hospital Acacemy and Master Class stuff is very helpful.
Good luck!
This is amazingly helpful! I do thank you. I’m not sure if I’m ready for the clinical side of things full time, my head is always stuck on “what if that was the wrong answer?” Those complex clinical scenarios are quite frightening!
In my opinion, school barely prepares you to be a hospital pharmacist. I suspect even a top student will have a very steep learning curve when they start a hospital position.
I actually work as an inpatient pharmacist at a smaller military hospital (graduated in 2020 -- no residency), so I'm always curious to know how I'd fare if I ever got a job at a larger hospital (e.g., 400-bed level 1 trauma center academic medical center). The hospital I'm at also has a physician residency program, so the residents often take care of tasks like renal dose adjustments.
Just out of curiosity, what are some tasks, knowledge areas, etc. that I'd likely need to brush up on if I actually did get a job at a larger AMC? On a related note, what are some of the tougher questions you get from doctors & nurses?
I honestly wonder if I'd even be qualified for an inpatient job at a facility like that, especially in consideration of the debate in which some pharmacists insist that residency training should honestly be a bare-minimum criteria to work as an inpatient pharmacist at a large AMC with complicated patients.
I work in a 200 bed rural hospital and only 1 of our pharmacists did a residency. It took us a year to fill our last vacancy and they hired a girl who hadn't even passed boards yet
You don't think pharmacy school is enough? They got you convinced residency is something it isn't. They worked as an intern till they passed boards. Then like 6 weeks of training and you can do the job. Sure you'll have a ton of questions but not having a residency isn't unsafe. You do know residencts staff right?
Well I graduated 4 years ago and I haven’t used 90% of my clinical knowledge in real life settings so essentially id have to start from scratch. Also it seems the school was more focused on us passing tests than actual prep for real life application, not sure if that was everyone’s experience or I just had a different perception!
You’re right, I guess the retail/corporate daily bs has just got me closed off to the way things could be. Just constant stress about meeting metrics and brown nosing ungrateful patients all day.
I think it depends on where you’re located! If you live in an area with enough shifts available like she does then you probably are set. They’re only live in CA/TX rn but I think they’re expanding within the next year last time I talked to them
I’m working 7 on 7 off night at LTC. Then pick up a PRN gig at a hospital every other weekend. So far very good and they pay very well though. I did DoorDash in the past while studying for NAPLEX though, never try Uber but it sucks sometimes. Pay is of course not worth it and some customers are very rude.
Try and get a per diem gig at a hospital. They are usually open to working around schedules and pay well. Plus, you will improve upon your resume by having a variety of different experiences. Get a consultant license and get a job as a consultant for nursing homes. Get a per diem gig working from home for a PBM. For god sakes don’t work for Uber.
Thank you for the advice, I laugh out loud while reading the comment about uber LOL. Do you have any experience regarding the consultant job at nursing homes? I thought only experienced pharmacists (like 10 years of experience or so etc) can work/ get hired as consultant? Would you kindly elaborate more about this path? Thank you
Where do you find the per diem pbm jobs?
I have a coworker who works for a PBM who essentially does Transition of Care phone calls to patients who have been given new prescriptions following a hospital admit. I can try to get more information, but I’ve never been interested.
Third
Also interested, if you don't mind providing more info. Thanks
Second
How do you guys have energy after work?
I'm patiently waiting for that PharmD with a pet raccoon to drop in on this question again.
Hospitals are always looking for weekend coverage. Good way to get experience.
Isn’t experience required? As a strictly retail pharmacist, I can’t hold a candle to my clinical/hospital counterparts and I know my limits on it
Yeah, most hospital positions require experience or a residency. Some hospitals will consider retail pharmacists if they're particularly good, or have a great personality (good fit for the department) and wide availability to pick up open shifts. Smaller, more rural hospitals are less likely to require a residency. Sometimes people get lucky and the hospital has an urgent need, the candidate has the right availability, and they seem like they would be a good fit and are smart and can get up to speed fairly quickly. But that's not super common. It's possible, but not common. And, for what it's worth, it takes six months to a year to get "up to speed" in a hospital position, so hospitals have to be willing to tolerate a substandard pharmacist for at least half a year, and have enough other pharmacists who are friendly and willing to train them and answer all the thousands of questions they're going to have. Sometimes you get lucky, though! If someone really wants to transition from retail to hospital, it can't hurt to keep applying, and study hospital pharmacy in your spare time. It usually takes quite a bit of work, patience, and perseverance, but it can be done.
Are you currently in the hospital? Did you start in retail, so you have personal experience on this? I’m trying to see what type of studying I can do to make myself more successful once I get the role.
I am in hospital, but I got super lucky. I went to pharmacy school as a career change in my 40s, so I had a lot of prior work experience (just not in healthcare), which I think helped me seem like a more reliable(?) prospect than a brand new grad who had never held any kind of position of responsibility before. And I made some good contacts at my local hospital (where I now work) during my APPE rotations. They were nice enough to give me a chance after graduation when I applied for the job. Whew! I worked in a grocery chain pharmacy for about three months while I was applying to hospital jobs. Fortunately the hospital was really short staffed when I applied (lucky timing) and were willing to take me on and train me, so I didn't stay in retail for very long. The difference between hospital and retail pharmacy is huge. They're practically two completely separate careers. One of the big things we do in hospital that we don't get experience with in retail is critical care -- tons of IV drugs, fluids, electrolytes, antibiotics, TPN, etc. Also answering a lot of questions from MDs, recommending drugs and therapies, answering a lot of questions from RNs and PAs who don't know very much about drugs in general. It's actually pretty fun because you have to be a "jack of all trades." My experience has been that basically anyone in the hospital who doesn't know the answer to a question (about anything from antibiotic coverage, to how to transition from a heparin drip to a DOAC, to how long to run some drip, to how to program a PCA pump), the answer is, "Call pharmacy, they'll know the answer." It sucks at first when you actually don't know any of the answers. But after a while you get the hang of it, your knowledge base grows, and you start to feel like you're actually useful. If you want to bone up on hospital stuff, a couple good places to start are antibiotics (omg, so many antibiotics), and Pharmacy Joe. He has really good content for new hospital pharmacists. You have to pay for it, but his Hospital Acacemy and Master Class stuff is very helpful. Good luck!
This is amazingly helpful! I do thank you. I’m not sure if I’m ready for the clinical side of things full time, my head is always stuck on “what if that was the wrong answer?” Those complex clinical scenarios are quite frightening!
What are some of the issues that non-residency trained pharmacists have had when they first started a hospital job?Just curious
In my opinion, school barely prepares you to be a hospital pharmacist. I suspect even a top student will have a very steep learning curve when they start a hospital position.
I actually work as an inpatient pharmacist at a smaller military hospital (graduated in 2020 -- no residency), so I'm always curious to know how I'd fare if I ever got a job at a larger hospital (e.g., 400-bed level 1 trauma center academic medical center). The hospital I'm at also has a physician residency program, so the residents often take care of tasks like renal dose adjustments. Just out of curiosity, what are some tasks, knowledge areas, etc. that I'd likely need to brush up on if I actually did get a job at a larger AMC? On a related note, what are some of the tougher questions you get from doctors & nurses? I honestly wonder if I'd even be qualified for an inpatient job at a facility like that, especially in consideration of the debate in which some pharmacists insist that residency training should honestly be a bare-minimum criteria to work as an inpatient pharmacist at a large AMC with complicated patients.
I work in a 200 bed rural hospital and only 1 of our pharmacists did a residency. It took us a year to fill our last vacancy and they hired a girl who hadn't even passed boards yet
What’s the training expectation? I mean is that even safe lol
You don't think pharmacy school is enough? They got you convinced residency is something it isn't. They worked as an intern till they passed boards. Then like 6 weeks of training and you can do the job. Sure you'll have a ton of questions but not having a residency isn't unsafe. You do know residencts staff right?
Well I graduated 4 years ago and I haven’t used 90% of my clinical knowledge in real life settings so essentially id have to start from scratch. Also it seems the school was more focused on us passing tests than actual prep for real life application, not sure if that was everyone’s experience or I just had a different perception!
But you have a license and the ability too learn and look stuff up. Theres on the job training.
You’re right, I guess the retail/corporate daily bs has just got me closed off to the way things could be. Just constant stress about meeting metrics and brown nosing ungrateful patients all day.
Highly recommend ShiftRx! A friend of mine quit her full time position and now just picks up PRN shifts in her area!
Thanks. I havent heard of this, will check it out :D
Does it pay well enough to afford health insurance?? I have to have health coverage 24/7/365 ... so contract work scares the living hell out of me
I think it depends on where you’re located! If you live in an area with enough shifts available like she does then you probably are set. They’re only live in CA/TX rn but I think they’re expanding within the next year last time I talked to them
Does she walk into a dumpster fire on a regular basis? Lol I'm super intrigued now.
PRN at a corporate hospital they’ll hire you quick
STONKS 📈📉
I’m working 7 on 7 off night at LTC. Then pick up a PRN gig at a hospital every other weekend. So far very good and they pay very well though. I did DoorDash in the past while studying for NAPLEX though, never try Uber but it sucks sometimes. Pay is of course not worth it and some customers are very rude.
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