what's it like to be a pharmacist??? (home, school) - City-Data Forum

lifuture · 01-12-2009, 12:01 PM

My girlfriend is looking to go to St.Johns to be a pharmacist but she doesnt know to much about the job. Shes curious to know what kind of job availability is on long island, what kind of hours pharmacist work, salaries, on going education, etc. If any pharmacist or someone who knows a lot about pharmacist have any information please reply to this Thanks

cottercutie · 01-12-2009, 05:06 PM

I'd suggest that if she doesn't know much she should research more. Go to a hospital and talk to a pharmacist there, one at like a CVS etc.. Maybe get a part time job as a pharmacy tech to see if it's a good fit. I've heard the schooling is quite tough, heavy on the science end.

There are many types of paths a pharmacist can have: the retail pharmacist who you see when you go to a CVS or Walgreens, hospital pharmacists, pharmacists who work for home infusion..........

Hours can vary with the job, but it's generally not a Monday through Friday gig, hospital pharmacies are open 24/7 and more and more retail stores are keeping their pharmacies open later.

That all said, the pharmacists I've worked with through the years all have stated they love their careers and seems like they have a high rate of job satisfaction.

sickofnyc99 · 01-12-2009, 08:47 PM

I used to work in a Pharmacy in a hospital. Lots of getting yelled at by Nurses with less education than you, so get used to that. The pay is generally not as good as retail but I've heard that they pummel you at the retail places. Other than that it's a good job. Good money and different opportunities. Good luck!!

longislandmike · 01-13-2009, 08:58 AM

When our local GENOVESE switched over to RITE AID they decided to put in a new computer system...and it was a nightmare.

I tried the STOP AND SHOP pharmacy and it's a great experience...there, you can actually accomplish something while you wait, and the waiting times are very short ! In addition, they have an automated refill system, that gives you a personal call from the pharmacist, an appropriate interval BEFORE it's up ! Considering they do 12 hour shifts, it's a PURE JOY !

stan4 · 01-13-2009, 09:00 AM

My friend does retail pharmacy (which usually pays more than at the hospital), works 40 hours a week, and makes 100k+.

I_Love_LI_but · 01-13-2009, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lifuture

My girlfriend is looking to go to St.Johns to be a pharmacist but she doesnt know to much about the job. Shes curious to know what kind of job availability is on long island, what kind of hours pharmacist work, salaries, on going education, etc. If any pharmacist or someone who knows a lot about pharmacist have any information please reply to this Thanks

If she gets through the 6 years of school, she WILL get a job on LI because there is always a need for pharmacists to staff the ever-increasing number of chain pharmacies popping up constantly. My town has 2 CVS's, one open 24 hours, near each other. What do they need that for? Obviously CVS is doing enough business at both locations.

As for the job itself, it's a racket! Right out of school, they are getting close to 6 figures. The pills are counted by machine, the labels are printed by machine and pharmacists have the laws set up so that they cannot be aced out of the equation in favor of much cheaper labor like pharmacy techs or assistants to run the pill counting machine and the label printing machine as at least one must be on duty in all stores, hospitals, etc. Perhaps once in awhile she will have to do some compounding (custom mixing of medications).

This is also a good career if she eventually wants to move somewhere else because there is a need for pharmacists everywhere.

So I would say it is a good bet unless the big corp's think up a con to save money and enrich the stockholders and top brass like having the "pharmacist" in India supervising pharmacy techs and assts in the USA over the phone. (Oops, I hope none of them read this because I might have given them an idea.)

AlexisT · 01-13-2009, 11:28 AM

In big pharmacies, pharmacists never counted the pills, anyway--techs did that and still do. (Though British pharmacies have the biggest racket--almost all the pills come in precounted blister-packs in boxes, so no one has to do any counting unless it's something very unusual.) They don't do it in smaller ones because the pharmacist can do the tech's job, but not the other way around, so if you can only have one person on duty, it's got to be a pharmacist. Bigger chain stores usually have a tech, IME, as it speeds things up.

The pharmacist's job is to check the prescription, make sure there are no errors or that the doc hasn't accidentally written an impossible prescription, check it against any other meds the patient has been prescribed (this can be a huge job, especially with sick or elderly patients who see 4 different doctors and have 10 different prescriptions) and answer questions. Techs can't do all that. Also, in many chains, pharmacists now do a lot of other things, which, thankfully, have to be done in person.

jmax · 01-13-2009, 11:55 AM

St. John's has one of the top pharmacy programs in the country - I dated a girl in college who was looking into the program there and remember her saying it was very difficult to get into. Call the school and ask them to give you a tour - they will answer your questions better than anyone on this site.

dman72 · 01-13-2009, 02:02 PM

Also, with a pharmacy degree you don't have to be a pill counter. You can work in the pharma industry or in a lab or any number of other things. And, as the economy goes bad, people will still be taking their meds. If you can get through the chemistry classes, it's a great job.