Advertisement

Blog Viewer

Pharmacy- job versus career?

By Amy Holmes posted 06-09-2014 22:24

  

A young pharmacist manager and I were having a discussion recently when he told me that we were considering changing the clinical staff pharmacists in our department from hourly to salaried.  He went on to say that pharmacists in our department did not feel like professionals because they “punched a time clock.”  This comment struck a sour chord with me and I began to poll my coworkers who do have to clock.  Of course they found the remark as preposterous as I did.  Our professionalism does not come from whether or not we punch a clock!

Although using a time clock does not affect the professional identity of pharmacists it started me thinking about the differences in some of the pharmacists that I have worked with over the years.  There were two prominent types that I could identify.

I have worked in a variety of positions, shifts, and pharmacy settings over the years with many pharmacists at different points in their career.  I have worked with one or two older pharmacists that came through the four year degree program all the way up to the newly graduated PGY2.  I have found a difference in pharmacists’ attitude toward the profession.  Despite their training there are many that see pharmacy as a job.  For them it’s a way to make a living.  Something they do from 7-3:30 everyday.  There’s nothing wrong with this approach.  Work-life balance is important.  Pharmacists are required to get continuing education credits every year at a minimum which hopefully keeps everyone from getting too stagnant.  Regardless, it’s been my experience that these folks still identify themselves as professionals regardless of whether they punch a time clock or not- and rightly so!

The flip side of the “job” pharmacist is the “career” pharmacist.  Career pharmacists are involved in professional organizations, they get involved in research, and they seek to improve their performance with activities that are not limited to the 8 or 12 hour shift to which they are scheduled.  It may be intellectual curiosity for some and a desire to provide better patient outcomes that drive others, but there’s something that distinguishes the “career” pharmacist from the 9-5er.

I’d like to challenge all of the graduating students and residents out there to be career pharmacists.  Don’t let yourself get stagnant.  Find a way to grow, make process improvements, and push the profession further.  Be proactive, not reactive.  Don’t wait for someone to ask for your input.  If you know a better way, speak loud and let everyone hear you!

3 comments
1862 views

Permalink

Comments

10-25-2017 14:09

​I have been in organizations where the pharmacists were both scenarios and it was more about timekeeping (which is also done for employed physicians and attorneys, I might add) than it is about professional status. A number of front line staff really look for this extra remuneration (OT and CT) and that's not a bad thing if you can push projects forward and get patients the care they need.

Over the period of time I have been in practice I have seen pharmacists that are more task oriented but were excellent pharmacists and I have seen highly educated pharmacists that bolted out the door or shirked their responsibilities. I think it has much to do with how happy you are with this professional choice (was this your first choice or 3rd?), your outside demands and what your professional vision has been.  I have had plenty of times when folks tell me they can't go to ASHP because no one will pay.  Well, this is my time to invest in me, so I have often gone on my own dime and I don't regret that at all.  It also re-charges me to get collegial with 5,000 - 30,000 of my closest pharmacist types and to see how far we have come since my career began.

I also believe that pharmacists need colleagues and mentors that influence them in positive ways.  We are blessed with that in VA, for sure.  Some of the programs I have implemented or practice changes or jobs I have taken were the result of exciting new things I learned from others.  I would encourage new practitioners and existing ones to connect with someone with relentless positivity and professional wisdom.  ASHP is full of these practice leaders if you just look around.  It has been a blast and thank you to my mentors. You know who you are :)

06-17-2014 08:24

In my career, I have been salaried and punched a clock. Neither of these payment models affected how "professional" I felt. Professional attitudes are created within, not by the manner in which your payroll is processed.

06-10-2014 15:45

Well said... The reality appears to be that, within healthcare, there will always be those for whom it is a job, and those for whom it is a mission, a commitment, a passion. I like the way Robert Frost says it [http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html] "... and I - I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."