Possible to work part time as a community pharmacist?

bo0li5eumx12kp

angeldelight wrote: »

It is possible... I currently work 49 hours a month as a community pharmacist - one day a week 9am-7pm and one weekend day of 9am-6pm per month.

In a case of never being happy it kind of limits me as I don’t particularly enjoy working as a pharmacist but if I was to go back and retrain I wouldn’t be able to work such limited hours and earn enough to make it worth my while. First world problems

Again, this sound tailor made for me, and exactly the insight I'm looking for.

And you can pay the bills okay with income proportional to this roster?

Did you find it difficult to establish such a part time position?
Or just offer your services in that capacity and it came along easy enough etc?

What do you not enjoy about being a pharmacist?
You get to keep up with latest drug developments, got full background training in everything pertaining to pharmacy/pharmacology/drug therapeutics obviously ("the scientists of the high street, as one website quotes"), and work in a pleasant environment dispensing invaluable information to the public;

So I'm to take it that perhaps even with a limited 2 day schedule, perhaps you still find it an overly intense job role perhaps? Too much responsibility/stress?
Working day is too long?
Or as others say, no lunch/bathroom-breaks, just sucks?


In contrast to the working life, how did you find completing the pharmacy undergrad itself?
Really full on/intense course and requires utmost dedication?

For all intents and purposes, just let's say I have an evening job that I have to work 6 to 10 pm every evening in, and 3 hour per day weekends also - as that's the typical additional time commitment I require.

Would you say doing that in addition to a pharmacy university program may be.... just too much work, potentially compromise exam outcome etc - as pharmacy simply requires that level of time dedication?


I suppose just to clarify exactly what I'm trying to determine here from this thread, the bolded text above sums it up pretty well.

GalwayGrrrrrl

“A pleasant environment”
This is where you are wrong. Standing all day, no breaks, constant queues of people with no appointment needing your attention while the phone is ringing and a barely trained counter assistant needs your supervision. Mending tills, trying increase sales revenue, speakng with a GP about a dose of a drug, trying to placate an angry customer who needs a refund on perfume. Oh and the one staff toilet needs mending and you are “in charge” so need to get that fixed ASAP. And hurry up with that Methadone as the addicts are due in the next 5 minutes.
There are some lovely small village pharmacies which are nicer to work in but they are generally owner-occupied and don’t need a second pharmacist.
Spend a day work-shadowing a pharmacist and then come back to me with your pleasant environment.
I worked in community pharmacy when i was first qualified and would not go back to it now for double the salary.

bo0li5eumx12kp

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

“A pleasant environment”
This is where you are wrong. Standing all day, no breaks, constant queues of people with no appointment needing your attention while the phone is ringing and a barely trained counter assistant needs your supervision. Mending tills, trying increase sales revenue, speakng with a GP about a dose of a drug, trying to placate an angry customer who needs a refund on perfume. Oh and the one staff toilet needs mending and you are “in charge” so need to get that fixed ASAP. And hurry up with that Methadone as the addicts are due in the next 5 minutes.
There are some lovely small village pharmacies which are nicer to work in but they are generally owner-occupied and don’t need a second pharmacist.
Spend a day work-shadowing a pharmacist and then come back to me with your pleasant environment.
I worked in community pharmacy when i was first qualified and would not go back to it now for double the salary.

Interdasting.

Honestly I've always got a real upbeat, busy, energetic feel from community/shop pharmacists when I show my face in the place.

I say that as I'm serious trying to question whether this is a case of "one mans poison is another mans pleasure".

But for the chill-life, naturally there's been several accounts that, community pharmacy isn't really it.

In terms of setting up that "shadow" situation, to really get emphatic answers to at least the working life question, I think that's what needs to be done.

Probably have to wait a month or so until corona restrictions ease but, I mean what - I assume I call ahead, outline I'm a graduate considering returning to study pharmacy etc....... or that gets setup, how exactly would you recommend?

Cause of course I can't imagine any pharmacist is about to let some random dude from the street in back amongst all their controlled drugs.

I don't attend any specific pharmacy either so don't have a rapport such that someone I know would/could really help me out there either.

So - call ahead, explain, ask - to set that up?

angeldelight

Jamir Substantial Ladybug wrote: »

Again, this sound tailor made for me, and exactly the insight I'm looking for.

And you can pay the bills okay with income proportional to this roster?

It works for us - my husband works full time and we have young children so it’s a good balance for us at the moment

Did you find it difficult to establish such a part time position?
Or just offer your services in that capacity and it came along easy enough etc?

I worked as a locum/part-time pharmacist for years and basically picked and chose when I wanted to work. It wouldn’t be for everyone but worked out well for me

What do you not enjoy about being a pharmacist?
You get to keep up with latest drug developments, got full background training in everything pertaining to pharmacy/pharmacology/drug therapeutics obviously ("the scientists of the high street, as one website quotes"), and work in a pleasant environment dispensing invaluable information to the public;

The job is pretty tedious day to day. While there will be a handful of new drugs which come along each year the vast majority of the time you’re dispensing the exact same small cohort of drugs to people who have had them for years already... there’s not much sense of making a difference on a daily basis. The general public can be draining to work with also! There is so much bureaucracy and paperwork with the HSE too which takes up a huge portion of time

So I'm to take it that perhaps even with a limited 2 day schedule, perhaps you still find it an overly intense job role perhaps? Too much responsibility/stress?
Working day is too long?
Or as others say, no lunch/bathroom-breaks, just sucks?

I don’t think it’s too intense at all to be honest - I work somewhere which is adequately staffed, nice boss, grand clientele... it’s just not very satisfying. No lunch and bathroom breaks does suck but I’m used to it, and again because I work part-time it’s not too taxing.

In contrast to the working life, how did you find completing the pharmacy undergrad itself?
Really full on/intense course and requires utmost dedication?

The course is very interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed it and the breadth of knowledge gained. I’ve lost a lot of it now as it’s just not needed for the day to day role of community pharmacist as it exists in Ireland currently. It’s definitely intense... the course structure has changed since I qualified but we would have had 35 hours or so contact hours a week and then all the actual work to do outside of that

For all intents and purposes, just let's say I have an evening job that I have to work 6 to 10 pm every evening in, and 3 hour per day weekends also - as that's the typical additional time commitment I require.

Would you say doing that in addition to a pharmacy university program may be.... just too much work, potentially compromise exam outcome etc - as pharmacy simply requires that level of time dedication?

That seems like a lot to fit in around the course. I would not have fancied having to work those hours alongside it

jlm29

I just read about your issues with time commitments. I don’t think you could do very well in a physio course while working those hours. I don’t doubt that you could scrape by. I also think you couldn’t work those hours while on placement

bo0li5eumx12kp

angeldelight wrote: »

It works for us - my husband works full time and we have young children so it’s a good balance for us at the moment


I worked as a locum/part-time pharmacist for years and basically picked and chose when I wanted to work. It wouldn’t be for everyone but worked out well for me



The job is pretty tedious day to day. While there will be a handful of new drugs which come along each year the vast majority of the time you’re dispensing the exact same small cohort of drugs to people who have had them for years already... there’s not much sense of making a difference on a daily basis. The general public can be draining to work with also! There is so much bureaucracy and paperwork with the HSE too which takes up a huge portion of time



I don’t think it’s too intense at all to be honest - I work somewhere which is adequately staffed, nice boss, grand clientele... it’s just not very satisfying. No lunch and bathroom breaks does suck but I’m used to it, and again because I work part-time it’s not too taxing.



The course is very interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed it and the breadth of knowledge gained. I’ve lost a lot of it now as it’s just not needed for the day to day role of community pharmacist as it exists in Ireland currently. It’s definitely intense... the course structure has changed since I qualified but we would have had 35 hours or so contact hours a week and then all the actual work to do outside of that


That seems like a lot to fit in around the course. I would not have fancied having to work those hours alongside it

Great reply - best one so far to be fair.

It reflects much more how I kind of perceived a pharmacists work to go to be honest.

Yeah coursework, 35 contact hours plus study on top of that - that's intense, no question - I mean I guess pharmacy is a prep for both dispensary and industry so you'd expect going the dispensary route there's gonna be a lot of information that, like you said, just doesn't get applied on a day to day basis.

I suppose the other side to it is, as seems to be the case with the majority of uni courses, the aim is to teach "critical thinking" by putting students through their paces in a variety of modules and disciplines, despite the potential lack of relevance to the practical day to day job role.

I'm sure there's something to be said for that on some level.

Around my area, like everyone else I drop in and out to different pharmacies for various items but, one pharmacist in particular clearly enjoys keeping up with the particulars of industry progression, drug mechanics and effects and seems to basically flow through the work cause, despite being basically ran off his feet in the busiest pharmacy in town, seems to make it look effortless.

But again I'm sure that varies from one personality to the next;
One persons "ran off your feet" is another persons "water off a ducks back".

....

35 contact hours plus study time (actual work, as you say).... 5 years.... plus additional commitments..... yeah, that's gonna be rough.
And again, that resonates with me as simply the reality I'll be facing with a pharmacy undergrad.

Way I'm thinking now is, physio.... hell I know dudes did that course and worked PT or coaching almost every evening of the week (i.e. heavy commitments in addition to hours + course work), partied, and still came out with a 2:1, 1:1

bo0li5eumx12kp

jlm29 wrote: »

I just read about your issues with time commitments. I don’t think you could do very well in a physio course while working those hours. I don’t doubt that you could scrape by. I also think you couldn’t work those hours while on placement

It's the travel associated with 6x 5 week terms of placement that concerns me.

If I was station in St James's for each placement, hey that'd be aces. It's basically a stones throw from where I plan on living if based in RCSI or Trinity.

But from what I understand, hell they can even send you overseas for placement, or anywhere in Co Dublin or around the country.

Again, I know dudes who have done that and still kept up with additional commitments dudes that do physio via being sports heavy, tend to do.

They manage.

Pffff - hard to tell.
I'm not gonna spend the rest of muh life working off a witchdoctor weekend cert so at some point I'm gonna have to anti up and simply commit to either pharmacy or physio.

.....

To physios reading, would it be out of the question you could comment on the contact hour vs course work vs placement time commitments you experienced/remember whilst doing your course?

Bear in mind, much of the "extra-curricular" investigation pertains directly to cellular function, nervous system so, it's not like it's entirely unrelated to health science based physio.
In fact the fact that physio has a large neurological component in addition to MSK is one of main attractions about that undergrad.

Water John

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

“A pleasant environment”
This is where you are wrong. Standing all day, no breaks, constant queues of people with no appointment needing your attention while the phone is ringing and a barely trained counter assistant needs your supervision. Mending tills, trying increase sales revenue, speakng with a GP about a dose of a drug, trying to placate an angry customer who needs a refund on perfume. Oh and the one staff toilet needs mending and you are “in charge” so need to get that fixed ASAP. And hurry up with that Methadone as the addicts are due in the next 5 minutes.
There are some lovely small village pharmacies which are nicer to work in but they are generally owner-occupied and don’t need a second pharmacist.
Spend a day work-shadowing a pharmacist and then come back to me with your pleasant environment.
I worked in community pharmacy when i was first qualified and would not go back to it now for double the salary.

In fairness, any retail job has most of these responsibilites and functions. The major diff would be, you're dealing with peoples health issues.

jlm29

Jamir Substantial Ladybug wrote: »

It's the travel associated with 6x 5 week terms of placement that concerns me.

If I was station in St James's for each placement, hey that'd be aces. It's basically a stones throw from where I plan on living if based in RCSI or Trinity.

But from what I understand, hell they can even send you overseas for placement, or anywhere in Co Dublin or around the country.

Again, I know dudes who have done that and still kept up with additional commitments dudes that do physio via being sports heavy, tend to do.

They manage.

Pffff - hard to tell.
I'm not gonna spend the rest of muh life working off a witchdoctor weekend cert so at some point I'm gonna have to anti up and simply commit to either pharmacy or physio.

.....

To physios reading, would it be out of the question you could comment on the contact hour vs course work vs placement time commitments you experienced/remember whilst doing your course?

Bear in mind, much of the "extra-curricular" investigation pertains directly to cellular function, nervous system so, it's not like it's entirely unrelated to health science based physio.
In fact the fact that physio has a large neurological component in addition to MSK is one of main attractions about that undergrad.

Both of those colleges are associated with hospitals in different parts of the country, so I’d say you’d be likely to get at least one, And possibly several placements outside of Dublin. Placements usually allocated based on clinical need first, geographical preference second.

It doesn’t matter what work you do in your spare time really, or what it relates to, you’ll still need to put in a lot of hours study in evenings and at weekends. I have had recent contact with physio students. The ones who do well on placement go home after a seven hour day on site and out in a few hours of study. The ones who do badly do not. In general.

bo0li5eumx12kp

jlm29 wrote: »

Both of those colleges are associated with hospitals in different parts of the country, so I’d say you’d be likely to get at least one, And possibly several placements outside of Dublin. Placements usually allocated based on clinical need first, geographical preference second.

It doesn’t matter what work you do in your spare time really, or what it relates to, you’ll still need to put in a lot of hours study in evenings and at weekends. I have had recent contact with physio students. The ones who do well on placement go home after a seven hour day on site and out in a few hours of study. The ones who do badly do not. In general.

When I studied physio, I worked every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, full days. I often had to cut this back while on placement. I couldn’t have worked evenings as well and got a decent degree. An awful lot of my class mates worked summers only.

What college did you complete your degree at?

The timetables seem to vary pretty dramatically tbh, this is one I need clarified cause, way I worked it during my own undergrad was, got the majority of my work done during free hours.
Like I said, I don't ever recall staying later than 6 pm unless thesis completion or the week or two before exams.

Looking at the modules from UCD at least, stength and condition, MSK, neurology - these are gonna come easy to me.

Medicinal chem via pharmacy however - that's something I'd have to sit down and work as have limited exposure to actual molecular structuring etc.


As the other poster commented on pharmacy, can you comment on your number of contact hours including tutorials, labs etc? All in?
Not including "the actual work", i.e. study time.

Work in hospital. Absolutely love it. I'm quite specialised at this stage though. Money isn't particularly great in hospital compared to community. Be on just over 80k. Also, couldn't work part time initially.

bo0li5eumx12kp

The other thing that kind of turns me off about the idea of pharmacy is what one of the other recent posters alluded to;

You're in your pharmacy, you tend to dispense mostly the same drugs, lots of paper work to get through and, realistically time allocation to staying up to date with new drugs is probably gonna come by way of reading SPC's.

In other words, if you're ran off your feet dealing with the public and everything that goes along with being a community pharmacist, the opportunity to stay up to date with latest research, neurological modalities and whatever the latest drug target is etc, is probably gonna be limited.

Way I envisage things is, my own little research space (.... exotic plants..... good wine.....) that I can concurrently use to administer treatment (of whatever kind), as a means to pay the bills.
But essentially a direct intertwinement of personal interests with a means to pay the bills basically.

What pharmacy sounds like is, a little kind of a grind that may particularly limit your time to sit down a computer or with a book and revise the latest treatment mechanics - basically you're trained that way, but ultimately go into a commercial based role that doesn't really facilitate further forward progression in that sense.


Certainly that's what I was getting from "AngelDelights" post and again, watching community pharmacists, they're running about, that description resonates with me as almost certainly being the reality..... but I mean ultimately I don't know - does the above synopsis sound about right??

GalwayGrrrrrl

Why don’t you work as a researcher if that’s what you really enjoy.

bo0li5eumx12kp

GalwayGrrrrrl wrote: »

Why don’t you work as a researcher if that’s what you really enjoy.

Well, to be perfectly, I consider myself working in research currently, just my area is not industrialized really so there's no money.

But I get what you're saying and, industrial research (I have looked into it) is say, focused on one small part of one small project, super dialled into that exclusively.

Additionally, the core of medicinal chemical research is obviously molecular modelling and whilst sure I've looking at molecular nature of say, receptor-protein binding as regards neural function, that very specific organic/medicinal chemistry area isn't something I'm particularly well up on (nor does it benefit my ends to spend the time required to become well informed about).

I'm more concerned with general neural function primarily as to manipulation of gene expression and this lovely term I use called, "quantum neural function" basically concerning wave propagation via nerve and neural depolarization.

So by example looking at drugs and drug targets that implicate ion channels and resultant nerve function in that capacity is something that can lend insight; but without being in a position to effectively know about or synthesize novel compounds, I'd really only be working on the periphery of industrial research work as regards its current primary application and aims (drug synthesis), or maybe at best writing pharmacological reports in drug trials or something.

It compromises my intentions and area I want focus on, primarily cause it's so time consuming.

Thus, looking for a part time gig that's related to nerve function etc, but still gives me the scope to spend time on these somewhat novel endeavours - thus part time pharmacy - with high pay for the hours worked, sounded nice.

And physiotherapy, own clinic and maybe 1 or 2 days in a hospital setting etc, I think I could make it work.

Outside of that though, having browsed every under and post grad program available, I can't find much else appealing.


To be honest the part time pharmacy sounds perfect but, 5 "all in", around the clock consuming years to qualify is the piece I fall down on, plus first few years as a graduate you'd imagine is another learning curve.

Tree

I don't think research is going to live up to whatever you imagine research is either.

bo0li5eumx12kp

Tree wrote: »

I don't think research is going to live up to whatever you imagine research is either.

By all means fren, enlighten me.

Pharmacology research in the typical sense be it HPLC/assay's etc which is a large part of affairs, despite its relevance in one sense, ultimately isn't gonna behoove me to spend long days on.