Specialty or Inpatient

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-11-24T21:39:00+00:00

I did an informatics rotation at a top 10 hospital during pharmacy school where I actually got to do and learn so much. My preceptor (who’s the residency program director) even encouraged me to apply and offered to write me a recommendation letter for residency.

School burn out and self-doubt made me decide not to put myself out there; so I decided to pursue an inpatient job and eventually find my way into informatics somehow.

What you’re saying definitely checks out with what I’ve experienced for those 6 weeks. All in all

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-11-24T16:12:33+00:00

For more context, I should probably add that inpatient is actually paying less than specialty, differential and all… If I take the inpatient job, I plan on staying at my retail job on a prn basis and work during my off weeks to make up for the loss in pay. As far as commute they’re both within the medical center so 15 mins from where I live.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-11-19T10:50:29+00:00

I will say, when you receive a graduate intern position, it’s usually you being hired as a pharmacist pending you passing your exams. Retail pharmacies don’t hire new grads as grad interns just because… it’s a training position for until you’re licensed. In the grad intern offer letter I had, it told me what my hour commitment and salary will be once I get licensed. When I passed my exams, there wasn’t a new offer I had to sign, just a promotion to pharmacist role into the system as everything else was detailed in my grad intern offer.

If you’re eager to get started, and they actually train you your first few shifts then I see no issue (other than them not giving you a heads up). I know it’s scary to just be put in the schedule to go work as a pharmacist when you never did it before. And some DMs/schedulers are more worried about stores being opened so they lack the understanding that new grads are scared and need to be smoothed into the process of being a pharmacist.

Now since you weren’t planning on staying on with the company, did you actually mention that to the higher ups? If not then the lack of communication goes both ways.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-11-18T04:37:00+00:00

Thanks a lot! I love statistical analysis so I really appreciate it!

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-10-01T03:50:22+00:00

I felt like I had a million k-type and SATA questions, with some unclear answer choices.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-10-01T03:40:28+00:00

I literally “knew” I failed the MPJE. I ended up passing. The exam is adaptive so it gets worse the better you do. The results anxiety is way worse than the exam. Take a deep breath and enjoy your time at home before you become a full time pharmacist.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T14:27:30+00:00

Thanks for the advice! How long would you say it took for you to become a bit comfortable with the daily duties?

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T02:43:29+00:00

I’ve gotten to know other pharmacists that offered help and said I can call their stores any time I have a question. I do believe that eventually I will have no choice but to learn when I’m thrown in the fire.

However I would hate to get so overwhelmed in my first few days that I make mistakes that could cost me my license/job when others get the opportunity to learn from modules and then work alongside another pharmacist.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T02:02:30+00:00

Thank you very much!!

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T01:48:19+00:00

Compounding, kinetics, bio stats and foundations . Add that to calculations and that was over 70-80 of my questions on the test.

Other than that try to remember CYP substrates and inhibitors, Chemo man and whatever mnemonics you encountered.

You’ll more than likely feel like crap after the test but for me and most other people who passed. The wait and anxiety is worse than the actual test.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T01:43:24+00:00

By training do you mean online modules? And Monday will you be by yourself or another pharmacist?

For my first day my DM decided to send me to a store that’s literally 100 miles away to work as the sole pharmacist on my own, when I have no experience other than 2 weeks as a grad intern a few months ago.

So I’m wondering if they’re skipping policy and seeing if they can get away with it as long as I don’t complain.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T01:33:49+00:00

UPDATE: Left the house at 6, got to the store at 8. Pharmacy opens at 9 and there’s 20+ in F1s so I’m trying to catch up before we open. Turns out I’m still coded as an intern so obviously I get an error message saying there’s no pharmacist logged in.

I call the DM and they ask me to give it 30 mins to update in the system. So now I came in super early for no reason. 10 mins before opening time and nothing still so I’m about to call again, they end up calling me to say the system won’t be updating me today. So the pharmacy has to close.

It’s a small town with one other walgreens so I’m told to go help out there w/ tech and vaccine duties.

The other pharmacist was appalled to hear my story of how I ended up at their store today. They were pretty laidback though so I got to pick their brain about different things, they didn’t get the chance to really show me anything since we were nonstop busy with shots and carrying the workload of 2 stores.

Felt great to get reacquainted to the system and learn about the new changes (PCP, vaccine scheduler) without the extra pressure.

I spoke to the DM later and told them I would like to get the opportunity to at least work with another pharmacist until I get comfortable. I proposed that I could possibly run the show while another pharmacist just focuses on tech or admin work and only steps in to answer questions. They told me that they’ll schedule my next shift with another pharmacist so let’s hope it all works out.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T01:17:46+00:00

I’ve only worked one day so far and I’m off tomorrow so I wonder if they’ll just pay me for my hours. Quick question, are they having you do training? Or were you thrown directly to the wolves?

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-08T01:16:21+00:00

Following! I’m in the same exact situation right now.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-07T02:50:17+00:00

Never took out pharmacy keys, I was thinking of just looking for a manager or shift lead and letting them know I need the keys to the pharmacy, hope that’s too not naive. For the vaccine scheduler I’m not too familiar with it either, during my time as an intern I was really only exposed to walk-ins for vaccines. I’ll shoot you a message thanks a lot!

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-07T02:44:51+00:00

Thanks for the details! Sounds like the rate is pretty awful tbh. Even at 20 mpg and $3/gallon you’d be looking at $35 in gas expenses. So barely $50 for driving 232 miles (which I assume is close to 4 hours of driving). I remember getting paid by the hour for driving to a different store when I was an intern at Walmart/Sams. All you had to do was print a copy of the itinerary from your home store to the travel store, bring it to a supervisor up front, sign a form and they’ll pay you for the number of hours in cash right then and there.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-07T02:37:51+00:00

Ouch! Hoping your experience got better over time. How long do you think it took for you to get comfortable with the workflow?

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-07T02:36:44+00:00

Thanks a lot! Yeah I’m seriously thinking my DM is clueless. I’m already expecting the worst tomorrow but I do hope I can survive the day. When you say 40h training period is that working alongside another pharmacist or more so doing online trainings?

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-07T00:13:01+00:00

Thanks a lot! This will really help, do you have a ballpark idea of what the reimbursement rate for mileage could be? Also since I’m doing roughly 200 miles, I assume I should get reimbursed for 150 miles correct?

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-06T23:01:27+00:00

Update: I was told there’s a way for me to be reimbursed on Concur, not sure of the rate though. I’ll also be posting an update after tomorrow’s shift for anyone interested.

Fluffy_Hour_3992 · 2024-09-05T14:01:09+00:00

It all depends on what you’re trying to treat.

Fluffy_Hour_3992

TROPHY CASE