When I started this blog, I never thought I’d write about my career in pharmacy. It was supposed to be a place for me to document my journey through personal finance and debt repayment.

But I realized that my personal finance has a direct correlation to my career choices (both past and future). So I thought, what the heck, my job is half of my life so there was a lot to write on that.

However, what I didn’t realize was how many people would show such interest in my pharmacy profession when pharmacy has such a reputation for being a boring career.

But as evidenced by the fact that my posts related to pharmacy gets the most views and that I’ve received many comments, emails and Facebook messages regarding my pharmacy situation, clearly many people are interested.

I figured I’d write a little reflection on what life has been like a year after becoming a pharmacist and touch upon the questions that I’ve been asked the most by readers, such as how I am liking pharmacy now a year later, has my view of my profession changed since I last wrote Why I Regret Becoming a Pharmacist, and what I’d be doing instead if I wasn’t a pharmacist.

Did It Get Better?

The number one question I get from readers is, now that I’ve had more experience with being a pharmacist, has my opinion changed for the better?

To be completely honest, it is both yes and no. No in the sense that everything I had issues with that I mentioned in my previous post are still issues I face.

On one hand, I don’t come home as stressed as I was in the first few months since I first started. Which begs the question: Why was that? I mean all the issues I had to deal with then, I still deal with now. So why, a year later, do I feel like I’m in a better place now than I was then?

Yes, I did move from one retail chain to another. Some people will say some chains are worse than others, but to be frank, retail is retail. You will still deal with long lines, angry customers, drug abusers, and crazy doctors over-prescribing opioids no matter where you go.

After some deep introspection, I realized that the biggest change is that I’ve gotten used to dealing with those issues and have (sadly) come to expect them.

Phones ringing non-stop only for us to confirm if a medication is ready when the customer literally has just received a text message from the pharmacy saying their medication is ready? Expected.

Patients coming to complain about long wait time and no refills on a medication that their doctor was supposed to send in? Yes, we know what’s coming a mile away.

Doctor’s office promising to “send a message” to the doctor or medical assistant to call back to verify a medication in question and never calling back? Please, we know they only return 1/10 phone calls we make.

Conclusion: no, my job in pharmacy has not gotten better. But I have just come to expect these issues and diabolically enough have now come to see it as the new norm.

Back then, I didn’t know how these retail pharmacists could stay for so long. Now I see that most do not. The lucky ones find a job in a different sector. The others either burn out or they’ve adjusted to a new norm of constant stress and pressure.

Related posts:
7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Pharmacy School
7 Study Tips to Be Successful in Pharmacy School

What I Like About Being a Retail Pharmacist

While my job is still far from the general public perception of “you count pills all day and make bank”, there are still some things I enjoy about being a pharmacist (in a retail setting).

I think I was a bit unfair in my Why I Regret Becoming a Pharmacist post, only mentioning the bad aspects of retail pharmacy. Of course we remember the bad memories more vividly, but when I look back, there are some good times too.

Since I have very limited experience in other sectors other than a brief stint as a contract pharmacist in a PBM, my focus will be on retail pharmacy. So here are the three things I actually like about being a retail pharmacist.

1.  Sense of Accomplishment and Camaraderie

Now that I’m a staff pharmacist, I feel a greater sense of responsibility especially in running the business side of pharmacy. However this also comes with the reward of feeling a sense of accomplishment when the store meets goals that as a team we’ve worked hard on.

I feel a sense of camaraderie and truly believe that in a retail setting there is less drama between my coworkers (I obviously can’t speak for all pharmacies) as there is a sense of us (pharmacy team) vs them (customers we need to satisfy) that causes us to bond and bring us together.

I can attest to this based on my IPPE and APPE internship rotations at different pharmacy sectors that closed door pharmacy settings deal with more internal drama than retail pharmacy.

I think it comes from a bad place in human nature to always want to be dissatisfied with something. And if there are no customers to be dissatisfied over, you turn towards your coworkers for flaws.

I’ve also never felt the cubicle boredom syndrome and the sense that no one cares about you in an office setting as I am in constant presence and communication with the team.

2. Work Hours Are Not So Bad Now

I work 4-5 days a week which I actually like despite the possibility of earning more if I worked 5 full days every week. With the saturation in the pharmacy field, getting a full 40 hours is now becoming less and less the norm.

Most companies will consider 30-40 hours a week full time so even if you are hired as a full-time pharmacist, you may not be getting paid a full 40 hours/week.

Some people enjoy working less, some want more hours. I don’t mind either. Since I am a staff pharmacist, I have an almost-set schedule every week so while I still have to work some nights into closing time, I at least know what days they are and can make plans around it.

3.  Money Is Ok

I like that while I’m still in negative net worth as I’m still repaying my student loans, I never feel like I’m broke. I do live paycheck to paycheck as I try to put as much money to my student loans as possible but that’s a choice I’ve made.

I have booked my first ever international trip that is all paid through my own money this year! And I’ve made it my goal is to travel out of the country at least once a year from now on. That is only possible due to the money I am able to earn from my career.

However, I know that you don’t have to be a pharmacist to be able to afford an international vacation so I don’t quite attribute my pharmacist salary to be the sole reason I am able to afford travel.

It’s more like I actually have a job now instead of living off student loans that I’m able to spend some money.

Related posts:
How I Paid Off $50,000 Debt in 7 Months
5 Steps to Handle Student Loans After Graduation
Should You Take a Gap Year Before Grad School

Things I Dislike About Retail Pharmacy

To be completely honest, there are more things I dislike than like about being a pharmacist. I’ve talked about some in my previous post but these are some that come to mind right now that I haven’t mentioned before.

1.  Standing on My Feet All Day

I get so tired after every shift because I stand on my feet all day, 8 hours a day. This was honestly one of the hardest adjustments to make after graduating pharmacy school.

I was so used to sitting 8 hours/day in class then all of a sudden I had to stand all day long so needless to say the first few months were rough.

I’ve gotten more used to this now. However, my back and neck are feeling stiffer these days and my feet still gets sore after a long day. That can’t just be due to old age right?

I can definitely say standing on my feet 8 hours a day takes its toll on the body. But it also takes a toll on the mind.

I feel exhausted after the end of my shift and don’t feel like going out. In fact, just yesterday I denied a hangout session because I anticipated how tired I would be at the end of the work week.

I have made more efforts to YOLO and go out after my shifts even if I feel tired. I just have to keep remembering that those times I have decided to go out have almost always been worth it.

2.  Managing Technicians

As a staff pharmacist I have more responsibility to train and manage my (some very new) technicians to make sure that the pharmacy runs smoothly. This is such a hard task for me because I obviously have a Pharm.D, not a degree in management.

I’m also very likely the least bossy person you’ll ever meet. And a definite follower. There I said it, no shame, I’m a follower.

So it’s hard for me not only to figure out what’s best for the team but to also make sure the team executes the plan.

3. Unreasonable Business Expectations

Let’s face it. The pharmaceutical industry is a billion dollar industry. It’s a business, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. As a healthcare professional, my number priority will always be to provide patients with the best clinical services.

But I can’t help but think when we’re disturbing patients on the weekend to make sure they pick up their medications, it’s not just because it’s in the patient’s best interest to stay adherent to their medication.

It’s because we have to keep our return-to-stock numbers down. It’s because management hounds us to make these calls or else we’ll get coaching.

So there are definitely times when I feel conflicted. In the perfect world all I’d have to worry about is taking care that patients are getting the right medication, the right dose, for the right patient. But instead management wants to take our focus away from the clinical to build even more profit for the company.

Things I’ve Learned From Being a Retail Pharmacist for 1 Year

More than likes and dislikes, I will say my first year as retail pharmacists was full of learning opportunities that I will forever be grateful for, no matter where my career takes me in life.

The best part of these learning opportunities is that they absolutely translate to real life and I’ve used these new skills not only in work but at home.

So here are the four life lessons that I’ve learned from being a retail pharmacist.

1.  Time Management and Efficiency Skill

Hands down the number one skill I’ve come to learn working in retail pharmacy is time management. It is one thing to learn time management in school and how to prioritize studying one subject vs another.

It’s a completely different ball-game managing tasks that need to be completed in the pharmacy.

Time management in pharmacy involves working efficiently. It’s about working smarter, not harder. And that’s truly a lesson I bring home with me.

How to clean my home more efficiently, how to cook more efficiently, how to prioritize all my errands efficiently. As crazy as I may sound to some people, I know there are many others who know exactly what I’m talking about.

2.  How to be a better manager

Even as a pharmacist, not a pharmacy manager, once you become a pharmacist you are automatically placed into a manager position when dealing with your technicians. This is obviously still a work in progress, but I can definitely say I’ve learned a lot in how to understand people, what motivates them, what encourages them and tweaking my managing and teaching style for different people.

3.  How to deal with stress, sucky people, and building thicker skin

I like to think that I don’t tend to get too stressed out and understand when the stress gets too much I need to step away and take a breather. But even I wasn’t prepared for the stress I had to deal with at the pharmacy.

The worst kind of stress in my opinion has always been ones that deal with people. And obviously in retail pharmacy, I deal with a lot of people. And some people are just plain sucky. They had a bad day and take it out on you.

As a people-pleaser I hate the feeling of anyone (even strangers) not liking me. But throughout this year I am pleased that my biggest personal development has been to not let the people that don’t matter get the best of me.

I can now say I have thicker skin and as long as I can live with the decisions I’ve made, I know that I don’t have to please everyone.

4.  The importance of showing confidence

As a fairly new pharmacist, my biggest fear is doing the “wrong” thing, whatever wrong means and whether I know it’s wrong or not. The thing with pharmacy that no one really talks about is all the gray areas, especially where the law is concern.

And the thing with drug abusers is that they will take advantage of new faces in the pharmacy and will no doubt try to take advantage of you if you show any uncertainty.

So I’ve learned to put my game face on especially in front of difficult customers, to be assertive and unchanging with the decisions I have made.

While displaying outer confidence is necessary I have also developed an inner confidence in myself that can only be gained through experience.

I used to be self-conscious when I do not know an answer to a question posed by either a customer or technician. Now I’m not afraid to tell patients or technicians when I do not know something and have to research it.

I believe it is actually a show of confidence to be able to say, “I don’t know but I will find out for you.”

Would I Pick a Different Career Path?

The second most popular question I’ve gotten from this blog is what other career paths would I choose to go into if not pharmacy? This is such a hard question for me since I absolutely love learning about medicine. I thoroughly enjoyed pharmacy school so for me hands down there’s nothing else I’d rather learn more about than medicine.

Obviously, my dream job would be to travel the world, read whatever books I want, and watch Netflix all day long. I mean who doesn’t want that? Oh wait, but that’s not a legit job.

See that’s where the issue is. The things that I love to do are not viable jobs. Hence why I decided to go with pharmacy. I thought, heck, I like learning about medicine enough and it pays well enough to let me do the things I truly love, such as travel.

More realistically, I have quite a few friends in the computer science field working as a programmer that sometimes make me wonder if I should have gone into that field. I believe the work environment would be more in line with my introverted personality. Fun fact: I think I would actually love a cubicle job.

But when I think back, I remembered that I did try a programming class as a freshman in college and miserably dropped out because I had a hard time understanding it. Then, I never tried again. So I probably would not have been a good programmer.

Anyways, that is all just a convoluted way of saying, I honestly do not know what else I would do. Yes, boys and girls, you can be in your mid-20’s and still not know what you want to do with your life. How’s that for a life lesson?

Anyways, let’s wrap this up as this post is already long enough.

All in all, I am about 70% satisfied with my career position at this very moment in life, which is about a 50% increase from where I was when I wrote that very dramatic Why I Regret Becoming a Pharmacist post.

I would love to branch out of retail pharmacy in 2019 if opportunity allows as retail is still not my first choice of profession in pharmacy. However, as I am currently staffed at a store that I actually quite like, it would have to be a full-time, permanent position at a field that I see myself breaking into and building a long-term career in to make me move.

So that is it, for my 1-year reflection of my pharmacy career!