The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (StudentsReview)

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Date: Mar 20 2017
Major: Pharmacy (This Major's Salary over time)
I would advise prospective students to realize that the profession has changed dramatically over the years from when I first began. Reimbursements are so low from insurance companies that employers (specifically chain Pharmacies) work you 12 to 13 hour shifts with minimally trained support staff. Basically, you are working alone! Errors abound from techs that don't have your focus or care; so be extra diligent in catching these errors before they reach the patient! You are on the receiving end of rude & aggressive patients who scream at you for the inefficiencies of the Pharmacy. Mail-Order pharmacy cuts into the business of the independant Pharmacy who struggles to survive. Boards of Pharmacy don't crack down on mail-order which is frought with problems of waste & lack of "continuity of care" for the patient. Drug Companies expect your support, but make back-room deals with insurance companies on reimbursements.

So…the Pharmacist is a puppet in this world! You spend 180K to get a degree that finds you in the hell of stress, aggravation, and business/professional/insurance realm who DO NOT appreciate the EDUCATION YOU EARNED!! You are a "pill-counter", "label sticker", face behind the counter. Yet, you have to make sure you are checking for drug interactions; drug allergies/problems; make sure your medication managment cases are completed on time; administer immunizations; call insurance companies for patient coverage information; etc…the list goes on! You will get a decent salary, but you EARN EVERY PENNY OF IT!

If you think Pharmacy will be an easy & lucrative profession, look somewhere else!

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The bottom line is money…as the drug companies & insurance companies make deals with each other the reimbursements to the Pharmacy are going down. In order for the business to make a profit they have to "squeeze" in other places. So…you won't get a raise; good luck if you get any benefits; expect to work holidays, weekends, and 13 hour days; be prepared to work with inexperienced staff and short staffed; be prepared to be responsible any & all actions of your staff near you & 40 feet away from you; be prepared to have store managers giving you grief over a cash register; don't forget angry, irate, rude, and loud customers; and the drive-thru, too !

In the midst of all this hopefully you will do correctly what you have been trained to do: fill prescriptions; look for drug interactions; duplications; document adverse reactions; counsel patients; talk doctor phone calls; manage your staff to make sure the right medication gets to the right patient; keep an ear on your register person to make sure they arent' violating HIPAA and getting the right med to the right patient; give immunizations as they walk in; monitor inventory to make sure meds are getting reordered; document & inventory narcotics; don't forget to eat your lunch at 4PM & run to the bathroom !

OH…I forgot…you have to monitor your EQUIPP scores which are your scores given to you by the insurance companies ! If you don't have your patients compliant with their statins & BP meds or anyone is on a "high risk" medication your scores won't be good ! Then… your employer will have to pay the insurance company back in DIR fees because of your incompetence! You can be sure your upline manager will be contacting you about your inefficiency !! So…all in all… the profession of Pharmacy is going to the dogs ! It was never like this…it was a respectable, efficient, enjoyable, and do-able profession. IT IS NOT, ANY LONGER ! BEWARE !!

DO NOT CHOOSE PHARMACY - AS OF TODAY - AS YOUR CAREER CHOICE UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO WORK 14 HOUR DAYS; NEVER TAKE A LUNCH; HOLD YOUR BLADDER FOR HOURS; ANSWER HUNDREDS OF QUESTIONS & PHONE CALLS; RUN THE PHARMACY BY YOURSELF WITH NO CASHIER & MAYBE 1 TECH; WORK WITH TECHS WHO ARE MINIMALLY TRAINED/DON'T FOCUS/DONT CARE; WONDER IF YOU KILLED OR HARMED ANYONE BY ERRORS GETTING BY YOU!!! DON'T DO IT - & DON'T WORK FOR A CHAIN !! YOU WILL BE SORRY YOU DID!!

I am sorry that you are not satisfied with the choice of your future profession. I'm also a student and now I'm confused. I think about what stage I should start to develop.

Good day friends! Every time I am asked to write a difficult job I go to the online essay writing service, there are many different options, but I think the best site is www.writing-expert.com. I have been working with them for more than one month and every time they surprise me with their professionalism! I wish you a good study!

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