Could Pharmacy Work Be The Perfect Prescription For Your Career?
When we’re young, many of us dream of being doctors or nurses. We dream about making a real difference in people’s lives. And yet, when the reality of 12-hour shifts and harrowing patient stories becomes a reality, many of us turn away from the medical world for less involved careers.
This can lead to dissatisfaction, and it’s an issue which is easily offset by opting for pharmacy work as a medical alternative. Standing behind the counter at your local drug store might not be the scrubbed hospital position of your younger dreams, but this is often the ideal compromise.
Pharmacists do, after all, still play their part in saving lives and making a difference. They simply do it with more manageable hours, and one step removed from those emergencies which send fear into your heart.
Even better, pharmacy work comes with unique benefits, a few of which we’re going to look at here.
A chance to be at the front of healthcare
Like any industry, healthcare is on the brink of constant changes. New medications are forever coming to the fore, as are new machines. These changes can take a while to trickle into the hospital system, meaning many doctors have to deal with outdated methods even after new industry releases.
By comparison, pharmacists are often at the forefront of shifts like these. They see the newest medications long before many doctors. Pharmacists also have the benefits of the latest technologies.
Thanks to communications with various hospitals and surgeries, they typically get the most recent online software. Many pharmacists are also given access to the latest machinery, from a pharmacy-specific vial filling machine to the newest testing devices out there. It all starts behind that pharmacy counter.
The perfect career cocktail
Any healthcare career promises variety, and pharmacy work is no different. As a pharmacist, you’ll be required to display all manner of skills, ensuring that no two days look the same.
You could even argue, in fact, that pharmacists see more daily variety than most doctors and nurses.
That’s because, in a pharmacy, you could go from dealing with customers, operating a till, or managing prescriptions and talking with doctors.
The job requires skills like empathy, customer service, mathematics, and medication knowledge. The rotation of tasks you’re sure to see should certainly hold your interest for a long time to come.
Substantial salaries
Money is, of course, another significant consideration in any career choice, and pharmacy positions don’t disappoint here, either. Average pharmacist salaries come in at around the
$112883 mark. This field also has plenty of opportunity for growth, with professionals who have worked within different pharmacies or completed specific training able to demand even higher wages. While it isn’t quite the heights of a doctor’s salary, then, you could argue that the shorter hours make this career well worth the money.
If you had near enough given up on your medical dreams, then you might want to prescribe your career with a healthy dose of pharmacy work.