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I am not ignorant at all about what I stated. I know exactly what it takes to get a PharmD, as I have three generations of pharmacists in my family. I know about the difficult subjects they study; the clinical experience they must have; and the tough licensing exams they must pass.
I never said the preparation they go through was easy. So you're the one who's talking out of your azz, izannimda!!
What I said is that retail pharmacists who dispense meds in a pharmacy don't warrant the kind of salaries they get for what they do.
Those pharmacists don't do as much work as they used to. Nowadays, pharmacists seldom compound drugs anymore, since medications have been produced and standardized from drug companies for decades. Nor do they counsel patients about meds as much as they used to because medications come with prepared directions, contraindications, and warnings. Nor do they fill as vital a role as they once did in giving patients advice when doctors were few and most people had no health insurance, and therefore little access to medical care unless they had money; there are now more doctors, physician's assistants, and nurse practitioners who do this, and most people have some type of health insurance. And finally, retail pharmacists have a lot more help than they used to.
In my grandfather's day, he didn't have a team of pharmacy techs and interns helping him. He did everything himself, from compounding the drugs (including getting exposed to toxic substances as he made the medications); diagnosing sick people who couldn't afford a doctor, and giving them the right medication; instructing illiterate customers on how to take meds; and managing the entire pharmacy by himself.
I can understand high salaries for pharmacists who work in drug research & development, or are policymakers. But not the ones dispensing meds at the local chain pharmacy.
People get doctorates in difficult subjects everyday and go through arduous training. They don't get paid 150K or more just because they had a rigorous course of studies.
I worked in a retail pharmacy as a pharmacy tech in a small town in Wyoming. We still had several compound prescriptions to fill each day. There are numerous drugs that pharmacy techs cannot even touch. Pharmacists are still used to recommend different medications. Chain pharmacists still do everything your grandfather did.
I worked in a retail pharmacy as a pharmacy tech in a small town in Wyoming. We still had several compound prescriptions to fill each day. There are numerous drugs that pharmacy techs cannot even touch. Pharmacists are still used to recommend different medications. Chain pharmacists still do everything your grandfather did.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Of course the know it all isn't a pharmacist
but they know because grandpa was a pharmacist.
There were also far less drugs on the market during grandpa's time but no one will acknowledge that. Same with nursing, conditions that would have killed you 30 years ago are now treatable so the patients are sicker and need higher level of care but of course the "experts" never take that into account. There was a time when only an MD was considered knowledgeable enough to take a blood pressure. Now you have nurses managing patients who wouldn't have survived years ago.
The knowledge base of a nurse 50 years ago is equivalent to a patient care associate (glorified nurse's aide) of today.
When looking at a teacher's salary, should we also add in whatever they could make working a summer job? I agree the base salary is low for teachers, but you have to remember they don't work for a few months every year where they could bring in extra income.
I think hospital CEO's are ridiculously overpaid.
Teachers are underpaid. They need to teach our children to be up to date with the rest of the world plus look at some of the kids they have to teach! Some of these kids come from the parents from hell. Mind you I said, "some."
I used to think that actors/actresses in Hollywood (that make the big movies) and professional athletes were extremely overpaid. Of course a few are, but now I think that most deserve their salaries....
If you are talented enough that you make it, and are able to give so many people pleasure by performing at a high level while suffering in the public eye, then you deserve the money you get. The people who probably DON'T deserve the money they get are the agents/managers/producers/executives etc.. that just feed off the talent and hard work of others.
Of course, most actors and athletes (even Olympic caliber ones...) don't make any money.
You are kidding right? Nurses are pretty much the backbone of the medical field-so think about it the next time you are in a hospital and someone is giving you an I.V.-they have to make sure the doctor isn't going to kill you-and they have to make sure they don't kill you as well...
When it comes to my health and taking any kind of medications...please pay people well.
I agree. Nursing can be a very high stress job/high risk, and with cost cutting, nurses have to take care of more and more patients in less time. Burn-out is high, particularly with nurses doing hospital based care.
We have to be very careful at cutting back salaries too low in health care. Already most of my very bright friends in college decided against careers in medicine because the road was long, the training/work very tough, and the salaries (delayed for many years) are only going down. Not many families also want to struggle through the training path with you, so family planning gets delayed and relationships strained.
Do we really want our mid-tier college grads to be going to med school these days? Medicine is only getting more complicated, and we need smarter people in it. Instead, young people are thinking... why go into medicine and study/work like a slave for 10+ more years and end with $250,000 in debt and then work long hours with people yelling at you for being too slow and charging too much?
I agree that health care should be a right for everyone. But why do we really think that lawyers, consultants, finance folks should make the big bucks and doctors are paid too high? Your average medical doctor makes a lot less money then you might think.
Of course the know it all isn't a pharmacist
but they know because grandpa was a pharmacist.
It is not just my grandfather's experience that I'm speaking from, but also my brother's, cousin's and niece's. These discussions take place in my social circles all the time. So I do know what I'm talking about.
You can defend the salaries of retail pharmacists all you like. You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine.
Last edited by Sage 80; 06-30-2013 at 12:57 PM..
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