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The common line I hear from them is: "Why should I do it? Why should I take on the extra responsibility? Why do I need to do extra when I'm already so busy?" And some of these are people I know that graduated WITH me and are pretty much fresh out of school; not just the old-timers. What almost every chain pharmacist fails to understand is that these things are NOT extra. They are part of your daily routine and responsibility as a pharmacist. And if you don't do them, not only are you short-changing your patients, but head-office will eventually look at you and wonder why you're worth your $40/hour. I also feel that chains exploit every loophole in the system to extract the most money possible (eg. loyalty points, Airmiles, half-assed incomplete med reviews, encouraging using private flu stocks vs public flu stocks to make more money, forcing stores to meet a quota for injections, etc.) and compromise ethical boundaries just as much (if not more) as any "shady" independent pharmacy. Chains just have a larger market share and more power in the industry and can get away with things more easily. If push comes to shove and headoffice tells chain pharmacists to do something or risk losing hours or their job, what do you think the majority of them would do? Money is king even in the health care system. The problem here is really complacency in our profession - too many people that are not held accountable BECAUSE too many pharmacists work for chains. If you own a pharmacy, you are automatically held accountable and are motivated to work harder as compared to working at a chain simply because your livelihood depends on it. Our prices for Rxs are generally the same and there is no way we can compete selling OTCs vs the buying volume of a chain. The only thing we really have left is to work our asses off and provide better service. But I completely agree with you that it really is a crapshoot as far as finding a good pharmacist. There are good and bad ones EVERYWHERE and it really comes down to the individual vs blatant generalization. The busier pharmacies are also generally the ones less willing to help. Head offices will schedule the minimum # of pharmacists to cover a certain Rx volume. It is not based on patient care whatsoever, unfortunately. |
lol if i was a pharmacy graduate, i'd be working with a crooked lab technician... lol. |
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But I agree with most of you other points as well. My dad owns an independent pharmacy and I work there two days/week. We go way over and beyond what is required of us for our patients, and that's how we managed to stay in business despite all the competition and with no points/rewards system. We have patients who have been with us for 30 years, have moved to another part of the lower mainland and still come in to us for their prescriptions, because they appreciate the level of service. |
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Like I said before, it's the person, not the company... if you have a good pharmacist, it doesn't matter where they're from. I work for a big chain myself, and do the same things everyone else does, if not more. I provide immunizations. In fact, I am an immunization trainer certified with the APHA that trains other pharrmacists to provide immunizations. My company is very keen on providing immunizations, and at least 95% of the pharmacists working in the company are trained to give shots. I provide medication reviews. I was the first one in my company in all of BC to provide a medication review, and probably one of the first in BC period to provide them. I am also part of the medication management pilot, and conduct thorough discussions with my patients where problems are always found. I run off site flu shot clinics, I write articles for magazines, I teach pharmacy students and certified technicians, I do presentations and talks in the community for corporations and community groups, I'm trained in central aortic blood pressure screening, and I'm an editor for a new publication coming out. Thing is, most of these opportunities to go above and beyond clinically, and for the community/patients, were facilitated and encouraged through the "big faceless company" I work for. Head office is pushing hard for Pharmacists to perform clinical services, because that is the future. They know that also. I told head office that I wanted to have a computer setup in my counselling area so I can use it during my sit-down medication consults. And BAM! I get a new computer installed. So what's the take home message? I believe it's not a matter of where or who you work for that determines the quality of the pharmacy care you provide. It depends on the pharmacist. So I still stand by the concept that as a pharmacist, if you're good, you can be good no matter where you work. If you don't give a shit, and are complacent, and could care less, then you'll suck even if you are put into the most clinical of all clinical pharmacies in the world. No disrespect to independents, or chains alike. It doesn't matter what environment you work in because that part is just the job part. We all work wherever we can find someone to pay our wage... That part I understand. If you are committed to your patients and to good patient care, then you will earn their respect and mines. So that's about it. On a side note: we've begun a gift pile at my work for christmas to see how tall it gets before the new year. We're keeping it in plain view, and I think that's helping it get bigger because alot of people never think about thanking their pharmacy staff for all their help in the year... at least not until they see our gift pile hahaha... :D |
great to hear a lot of pharmacists here. I am planning to get in a program either in BC or somewhere in canada in a few years. A main thing that i have learned here is not to be a dick and enjoy what I do in the future. :D thanks |
^ that goes for all health professions. don't be a dick and you may actually enjoy your job by helping people. many health care professionals lose sight of why they entered into their specific field in the first place. i believe you get paid substantially less, but i have the most respect for clinical pharmacists =) |
clinical pharmacists get paid more than us in the community... at least in Vancouver :( Work is work... you work to live, not live to work... I've had so many friends graduate, thinking there should be some sort of profound satisfaction and fulfillment of their inner soul associated with their jobs... and then when they realize it's not really that profound, and it's really just a job, then they become unsatisfied and unhappy... but this is mainly because they put such high expectations on their work and what they want to get out of it that it's sort of unrealistic... It almost seems like people are expecting to everyday save a child's life and have their parents profess their eternal gratitude for your amazing skills and talents as a healthcare professional or something... but realistically sometimes the biggest differences we make are the little things that happen day to day. The other day I had a gentleman come to the counter and whip out a list written in my handwriting for some supplies and drugs to pack when going on a trip. He came and said "Oh! you wrote this list for me of things to bring on a trip... can you help me round them all up?" So I put together everything on the list, and went over when and how to use them. Rang him up at the cash register, and before he left he said "Thanks so much for your help in this whole process! You're awesome" I'm happy for casual interventions like this, and why i'm more of a community pharmacy kind of person. Anyways, Sindragon, regardless of what profession you pick, just remember ultimately it's still a job. You can do good at your job, but make sure not to lose sight of your passions elsewhere. I go to work, do my 8 hours, then at 4 o'clock on the dot, i'm gone... out on the water, exercising/training, and enjoying the sun (i do alot of water sports). This kind of stuff is what keeps me sane... My gf is a physician, and i'm sure she saves tons of lives and things during the day, but still, work is work. The long hours still suck, and outside of work she balances things out with rock climbing, baking, and eating lots of candy. A job is just a job, if we had enough money we probably wouldn't work or work part time and just do things we enjoyed. Make sure not to lose sight of these things when you're pursuing your career. :D |
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What_the? --> It's obvious from what you do that you are a great pharmacist, but from my experience in working at a chain pharmacy, you are definitely an exception. I'm glad that you are getting support from your head office. When I worked at a chain, they were putting constant pressure on us to increase numbers. They cut a lot of hours from our staffing levels, and would constantly be hounding us why weren't doing as many adaptations, med reviews, recruiting new blisterpack patients etc. that they wanted. |
Damn, your getting put at the top payscale for the grade 1! We have a pharmacist at my hospital that also did a community -> hospital transfer after 9 years and ended up on the top payscale as well |
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I've had my fair share of working with pharmacists.. hospital, community, chain, independent. I agree that it's the person that fills the job that makes the difference. Same goes for any job really. |
^yup. you'll see tons of nurses that hate their jobs and tons that love it. those who hate it do it for the money and benefits and those who love it find the job less stressful. i've had nothing but good experiences from clinical pharmacists and they seem to enjoy their jobs. when i approach someone from london drugs, they don't seem to give a direct answer or look into the question if they don't know the answer. i'm not generalizing this to everyone, but this is strictly based on my own experience. |
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http://www.vancouversun.com/health/G...345/story.html |
heard the news last week through a friend, pretty brutal. was there any indication of this or just a sudden announcement? |
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Yes, that may be, but you can't say that having a higher salary trumps a fulfilling job in which you continually learn, are challenged, exercise your mind and actually use your knowledge. I still keep a casual position in a retail chain and can pick up 5-10 shifts if I feel like it. A foot in both doors helps me stay grounded and (regretfully) be reminded to avoid indifferent health care. |
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Anyways, if anyone is reading, please spend the time to click a few buttons to help out @ Stop unilateral wage rollback for BC Ask questions if you would like before you send away the letter, or draft your own. Quote:
The only problem is when people have mortgages that are dictated by their wage. A few % drop isn't the end of the world but double digits makes life difficult. |
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can't really call it a wage cut when it was offered as a bonus all along. the extra 14-15% was offered when there was a huge shortage of pharmacists. since that shortage no longer exists, it makes sense that they would remove that bonus. does it suck for pharmacists? hell ya it does. but to act like this was a wage increase instead of a bonus is wrong imo. there are however some pharmacists who didn't realize it was a bonus at all and those are the ones who are hit the hardest by this. also, don't forget, technicians are the ones who had their wages cut long ago and to this day have still not regained what they lost. they were also labelled as "glorified janitors" by Gordon Campbell. |
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When community counterparts are making ~%20 more to start, the adjustment was required to entice pharmacists into the hospital. This adjustment actually put the new grads closer to what can be made in the community and those with 6 years of experience, more than what community pharmacists make *IN THE LOWER MAINLAND*. Unfortunately with the union being BC wide, there is still a large difference between wages when you move North. So, who should we compare our wages to? Across Canada? Even with the current wages, BC Pharmacists are a few percent under the national average, with this wage decrease, they will be >15% below national average. Should we compare to our american counterpart - you don't want to see the differences. Quote:
Maternity leaves (female dominated profession now) and retirement (~20% of pharmacists are in the retirement window), leaves staff shortages. Yes, jobs are posted. No these jobs are not filled. It has been noted that >50 clinical pharmacist jobs are posted in BC, the only applicants at the hospital I work at are unqualified for the position. Is there still a shortage? It was discussed this wage decrease will save the government $8 million per year. I suppose it is up to you to decide if this is negligible to the >$62 billion budget. It is all relative and we pay a price to live in BC, but the idea is to get people informed about this and understand the value of pharmacists. I do note that there is very minimal claimed overtime by pharmacists and when someone calls in sick, there is no replacement (like physicians). Pharmacists are encouraged to claim overtime to show the financial impact of our extra work. Suffice to say that the impact is large. If you are interested in the actual wages made by pharmacists (no, they do not make $80/hr), you are welcome to view it here: Health Sciences Association of BC :: Health science professionals Anyways, I do not mean to attack your post, but explain where I come from on the issue. Many posts/people/comments like this wage roll back to a patient on insulin wrt their blood sugar. When you give insulin (wages), the diabetic is fine, so naturally you may assume you can withdrawal insulin (like in cats), but the diabetic patient still has diabetes and will soon have complications. |
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Speaking of USA.. anyone written the NAPLEX? which states are we eligible to work I'm sure the geography of where we are allowed to go has changed over the last 15 years. |
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but now i remember where i saw you! you were at burnaby hospital giving a presentation about careers in pharmacy. :yuno: tell us about this lol kidding aside.. the info we had then and the info we had a few months later was such a big difference.. |
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