Pharmacists admitted to BSN Program

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I am a pharmacist cant get job and want to be a nurse. Any input?

17 hours ago, amoLucia said:

All the glorified, most desirous positions out there are LIMITED. And applicants may be very reluctant to seek out alternative, less glory positions.

I'm not sure why OP can't find a job, unless expectations are NOT negotiable. For whatever reason. There COULD be some in a tight market as you identify.

^^^ EXACTLY THIS. This goes for many professions - not just medical ones. I notice this quite the bit even here on AN. Many new grads wanting to hold out for their "dream job," but don't want to take the residency/job they were just offered because it's not their "dream job." Sometimes you just gotta pick up and move and go to where nobody else wants to go. Is it ideal? No. But you have to start somewhere. Heck, even for a year at least you'll get experience.

I'm pretty sure there are places in Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Northern Michigan, and Montana that would love to have new medical professionals come in. Nobody wants to go there - especially Alaska because it's so far. Everybody forgets Alaska, ?.

By no means am I ragging on the OP, but I do agree w/ you @amoLucia that for some people, their expectations are not negotiable and that's when you run into a crisis. I'll admit, I've even done this myself and had to wait more than I wanted for jobs a few times in my life.

@CYNTO Y is there any way to go back to medical school and become an Internal Med. or Family Practice MD? Or are you just burnt out on that?

2 Votes
On 4/11/2020 at 8:25 PM, TDB said:

Pharmacy is not easy to get into at all. There is no job guarantee and many kids get out with 100k in loans and no job.

For hospital, you need a residency (preferably two), experience and to know someone. It is virtually impossible for any new grad (right out of school with no residency) to get a job right now. It looks good but without experience they won't even look at you. And, most jobs are going to people already holding either PRN positions or PT positions already. Unless you want to go way out, then maybe you have a chance.

I am a 20+ yr pharmacist who will do nights (hardest shift to fill), has all hospital experience. I have two BPS certifications and have had a hard time getting a new job. Am not looking to move to management, just what a regular staffing job. This is looking in two states. (No, I have no past history that would preclude getting a job). The job I did get had over 100 applications and they interviewed 4 of us. The few interviews I got, all told me the same thing 50-100+ applicants for 1 job.

It is a hard field and in many areas there are too many pharmacists. They opened too many schools and there are not enough positions, especially for young pharmacists. Schools want the $$ and people are not being told the truth about the market and the reality of the real possibility of getting a job. If I were starting school now there is no way I would Pharmacy. It would be medical school or nursing. For the amount of school and financial investment you might as well be the MD.

If I were young, nursing would be an option. You have way more opportunities all the way around! You can work anywhere and can also do things such as become NP or CRNA (and probably things I don't even know about!) Job options for nurses are way better; floor RN, ER , trauma, school RN, MD office, clinic, flight RN... And the list goes on and on! Salary may look better for pharmacist (remember the only degree we have is PharmD now so 7-8 yrs of college, which would be like coming out as NP or CRNA ... Or MD for that matter) but both listed advanced degrees make as much or more then Rph. ** Many of those listed salaries are not what a new grad would be offered.

Of course this is my perspective of what it is to be a pharmacist. So there may be nothing wrong with the poster at all because it is really that hard to get a job, irregardless of the # of jobs on indeed.

I know. I've worked in pharmacy for many years and work w/ a new PharmD grad right now. He's staring down the same hole the majority of other new PharmD grads in a saturated market are. Still. Move. Get a job in Minnesota or whatever. I'm kidding about MN, I have no clue where the actual need is but I've heard many times that if you're willing to move, you can get a job.

Guess what they were telling us nurse grads when I graduated? Move. The market's supersaturated here. Go on to get a higher degree or move. You won't get a job w/out experience. So... not seeing a big difference between the job prospects as a new grad in either profession. Going to nursing school would just = more debt. The OP should find a job as a pharmacist wherever he/she can. They can always move back to wherever they want to be once they have a couple of years of experience.

3 Votes

I’ve heard tale before a stint in Alaska can help get years under the belt.

0 Votes
Specializes in anesthesiology.

Accelerated BSN -> ICU -> CRNA. CRNA job market is fantastic right now (well minus the COVID thing). Your educational background would complement wonderfully, LOTS of pharmacology in anesthesia. Accelerated BSN should be easy for someone who just went through PharmD school.

2 Votes
5 minutes ago, murseman24 said:

Accelerated BSN -> ICU -> CRNA. CRNA job market is fantastic right now (well minus the COVID thing). Your educational background would complement wonderfully, LOTS of pharmacology in anesthesia. Accelerated BSN should be easy for someone who just went through PharmD school.

I hadn’t thought of that. Man, that is wonderful advice for the original poster.

2 Votes

Thanks for all your comments. I sincerely appreciated. Stay safe.

1 Votes

DON'T DO IT! Become a PA but don't become a nurse!!

3 Votes

I can also support OP’s claims about there being a limited pharmacists jobs. I was a pharmacy technician at CVS just a couple years ago, and the pharmacists there said the same things— that there were too many new pharmacy schools leading to many new grads and not enough pharmacy jobs. Many pharmacists I have worked with were “floaters” meaning they did not report to the same store everyday. They only floated around part time and had been doing so for YEARS. Pharmacists who were full time were also being cut hours. According to the Employment Development Department of California, pharmacist jobs are only expected to increase 8.2% or 2,400 jobs. This is in contrast to expected job increase for nurses at 16.2% or 45,800 jobs.

3 Votes
Specializes in Supervisor.

Don't do it. Wait until you find a pharmacist job.

0 Votes

Thanks for your comment. If you don't mind, what is the rationale for your input?

0 Votes
Specializes in anesthesiology.
On 4/14/2020 at 10:15 PM, mykr said:

DON'T DO IT! Become a PA but don't become a nurse!!

Also good advice

1 Votes
On 4/16/2020 at 9:01 AM, CYNTO Y said:

Thanks for your comment. If you don't mind, what is the rationale for your input?

Search this forum for "I hate nursing" or "burnout". There are a ton of threads about how much people hate their jobs because bedside nursing is drudgery for which you have an enormous amount of responsibility and very little to no authority.

I honestly cannot think of a number that would make me move to bedside nursing in a hospital - not kidding, even if I was offered 300k/year, I wouldn't do it. Here's an example from when I was on rotation, how do you feel about spending some quality time with an alcoholic on lactulose 30ml BID and a rectal tube? Guess what? Rectal tubes leak. Imagine the smell of their breath, the leering comments and the knowledge that everything you're doing to treat them (virtually all of which must be ordered by a provider - you're just a nurse) is useless because this person has a disease that will cause them to continue to poison themselves. He's been in the hospital a million times and he'll keep coming back until he's dead.

If you love the hospital setting (strong overhead lights, beeping machines, squeaky floors, smell of disinfectant and poop, fear, hope, dread), you enjoy people so much that you don't mind when they're disgusting (which is frequent in the hospital), and you're totally cool with doctors and prescribers giving you orders that you must follow while you have no authority, than maybe it's for you.

I'd strongly suggest shadowing a nurse if you can before jumping into anything.

1 Votes
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