Are you a pharmacist who became a nurse? Switching Career

I see a lot of nurses went back to school to become a Pharm. D. Just curious. Has any Pharm D. considered going back to school to become a nurse?

I am an unemployed pharmacists (Pharm. D. from top 10 school, 7+ yrs of retail experience). I was let go from a big box retailer after I was in a non-job related accident. I need more than 1 month of LOA to recover, but retailer only offer 1 month of LOA max. I have been searching for a job for 2 yrs, but no luck. Can't move to remote areas because I do have a family.

Are you a pharmacist who became a nurse or started nursing school? Any regrets for doing it? Is your life as a nurse better than when you were a pharmacist? Has your job prospect improve? Do you see a nursing saturation in a couple of years?

21 Answers

I am a pharmacist who decided to pursue my RN degree after 6 months of looking for work. It is the best decision I could have made. I don't think the job market will recover for pharmacists in my life time and a nursing job is a wonderful job! I graduated in May, got my CDE along the way (with my pharmacist experience) and I have just accepted my first RN position. I was able to find a part time pharmacist job, but it is not enough hours to live on (12/week). I accepted a part time RN job in LTC because the RN job market is tough to break into in my area. I will be proud to work as an RN and my pharmacy degree got me many job interviews. School was tough, but I did well and the education was wonderful. I will get my RN experience and then see where my future lies in the profession. If I was a little younger I would pursue my NP degree in a second. Nurses are everywhere and the potential is unlimited. I do not know what the pharmacy profession was thinking when they opened up all these new schools. Working for a chain pharmacy can be exhausting so I wouldn't think that nursing is harder than that. It is probably the same understaffed situations. If you have been looking for a pharmacist job for 2 years(!) with no luck, I would get into nursing school as fast as you can. It is a big pay cut, but what difference does it make what you COULD get paid when there are no jobs to pay you anything? I wish you all the best of luck with your new career!!

On 11/21/2015 at 4:05 PM, bjr0311 said:

I am a pharmacist who decided to pursue my RN degree after 6 months of looking for work. It is the best decision I could have made. I don't think the job market will recover for pharmacists in my life time and a nursing job is a wonderful job! I graduated in May, got my CDE along the way (with my pharmacist experience) and I have just accepted my first RN position. I was able to find a part time pharmacist job, but it is not enough hours to live on (12/week). I accepted a part time RN job in LTC because the RN job market is tough to break into in my area. I will be proud to work as an RN and my pharmacy degree got me many job interviews. School was tough, but I did well and the education was wonderful. I will get my RN experience and then see where my future lies in the profession. If I was a little younger I would pursue my NP degree in a second. Nurses are everywhere and the potential is unlimited. I do not know what the pharmacy profession was thinking when they opened up all these new schools. Working for a chain pharmacy can be exhausting so I wouldn't think that nursing is harder than that. It is probably the same understaffed situations. If you have been looking for a pharmacist job for 2 years(!) with no luck, I would get into nursing school as fast as you can. It is a big pay cut, but what difference does it make what you COULD get paid when there are no jobs to pay you anything? I wish you all the best of luck with your new career!!

Hi, I know this is an old post, but I'd love to hear more from you. I am a pharmacist who graduated around the same time as you and could not find a job after 2 years! I was so depressed, went into a non-clinical career. I enjoyed some parts of it, but I have always desired to work clinically. I am trying to get back into a pharmacist role, but I don't feel like it will be easy. In retrospect I realized nursing would have been a far better profession for me than pharmacy. When I was in college, I was stubborn and was only thinking between medical school and pharmacy whereas I've worked with nurses over the course of the past few years and realize that's more in line with what I want to do. I have not heard too much about pharmDs going into nursing (seems like it's the other way around) but I wanted to know how others have done it. 

Specializes in retired LTC.

lost - have you been searching with the help of a professional recruiter or head-hunter agency? My RN sister was a CRA and used that route to find some nice positions. She worked with several PharmDs that were recruited thru agencies.

Those agencies prob could also help for sales - not the hard-sell kind of sales, but more like educational presentations to other providers.

You have the right creds - just need to find the right position.

Entry level nsg today just won't cut it for many second-career professionals.

On 3/13/2021 at 2:59 PM, amoLucia said:

lost - have you been searching with the help of a professional recruiter or head-hunter agency? My RN sister was a CRA and used that route to find some nice positions. She worked with several PharmDs that were recruited thru agencies.

Those agencies prob could also help for sales - not the hard-sell kind of sales, but more like educational presentations to other providers.

You have the right creds - just need to find the right position.

Entry level nsg today just won't cut it for many second-career professionals.

I would certainly take a look at recruiter agencies. I joined some after your suggestion-thank you so much! 

I'd take a look at sales but quite honestly, it's not what I'm interested in. I have a non-practicing job I am fine with now but if I found something in the hospital/clinical I'd be happier with the transition. I may even consider a pharmacist job at some of the insurance companies. 

Specializes in retired LTC.

Civil service (state DOH) has pharmacists on staff as surveyors and in forensics.

Again, going thru 3rd party recruiters might be an avenue here.

Hello, I am in a similar situation. I'm in my mid-40s & wondering if I should try to get into RN program so I can teach. I tried to send you a message here, but couldn't. I would really appreciate some advice from you. Thanks much

I am a pharmacist who became a nurse. I love it! I'm glad I made the switch. My pharmacy experience has come in handy (clinical, drug info and patient management). Go for it! 

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I don't know of any PharmDs who have become nurses but I do know a couple who teach and then work as pharmacists on the side. Do you realize that new RNs make about $60,000 a year for what I would describe in most cases as physical labor? I'm not thinking a few extra years of school to start a lower paying job really makes sense but wish you the best.

Also, there is already a "nursing saturation" in much of the country. Many new grads are having difficulty finding jobs. I agree that I'm not sure I see the sense in spending significant time and money to move into a lower-paying career doing stressful, hard physical labor.

Best wishes for your journey!

I spent a great deal of time and money to enter nursing when I wasn't even aware that nursing is not the path to employment that the media has always portrayed. From my personal experience, especially since you have a family, it would be better to be an unemployed or under-employed pharmacist, than to start down the nursing road. Yes, there are exceptions, but you have stated that you are not open to relocation, so it is best to be pragmatic now, while your investment is low.

Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

I do not advise it in your situation. I see a lot of money going out to then do a physically and mentally draining job without a reasonable return on such investments. If you decide to go this route, i wish you the best. But I would seriously explore and consider all other options first.

I seriously agree with elkpark. Nursing starts off as a concentration camp of learning while in nursing school. Then it turns to 12-15 hour shifts in which you are hungry, dehydrated, mentally & physically drained. Lunch breaks, breaks, and restroom breaks are a luxury. If I would have known how hard it was on the body, I would have chose a different profession.

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