You know you want a career in healthcare where you can travel to different locations throughout the U.S., but you are struggling to decide exactly what you want to do. Perhaps you’ve worked for years as a pharmacy tech, and you want to further your career and become a pharmacist. Or maybe you have no experience working in a pharmacy, but you have always thought it would be a good fit for you. If you are considering becoming a travel pharmacist, it is important to first know the pros and cons of the job. Although there are many rewards to working as a pharmacist, just like with any position, there are also negative aspects to pharmacy work that you should be aware of before you commit. There are also specific benefits and struggles to allied travel worker jobs. If you are considering becoming a pharmacist, make sure you first consider the rewards and challenges of travel careers in pharmacy.
Top 3 Benefits of Travel Careers in Pharmacy
1. Plenty of career opportunity
If you choose to work as a pharmacist, you can work in a variety of different settings. For example, although most pharmacists, about 45 percent, work in independent or retail chain pharmacies serving the broader community, others work in hospitals, nursing homes, colleges, and schools. If you choose a travel career, your opportunity in pharmacy jobs will only grow. On Allied Travel Careers, there are currently about 680 job postings for travel careers in pharmacy across the U.S.
2. Work directly with patients
As a pharmacist, you get to work directly with patients and help them understand how to take their medication and the dosage requirements. If you are working in a retail pharmacy setting, some people will routinely be in for their prescription, and you’ll have the opportunity to build a friendly relationship with your customers.
3. Important piece of the healthcare team
Pharmacists play a critical role in the healthcare team because they are the person that often maximizes health outcomes. Pharmacists get to interact with both physicians and patients, and the presence of a pharmacist on hospital rounds has shown to prevent medication errors and reduce costs. Pharmacists have a lot of knowledge about medications, how they interact with each other and signs and symptoms of disease or infection that could be linked to bioterrorism. Although the physician prescribes medication, it is the team effort between them and the pharmacist that often ensures patients are administering the medication safely.
Top 3 Challenges of Travel Careers in Pharmacy
1. It can be dangerous and confrontational
Of course, you’ve heard by now about the opioid pain pill and heroin epidemic plaguing the U.S. Since there are an increased amount of people misusing or becoming addicted to prescription pain pills, this has had a negative impact on pharmacy workers. For example, they have to confront patients who they know are pill shopping, and there are also more pharmacies being robbed. Most pharmacists in the U.S. also have to enter all drug information into a database that tracks the distribution of narcotics in an effort to catch more people who are doctor or pill shopping to feed their addiction. This is definitely a challenge to be aware of if you are considering travel careers in pharmacy.
2. You may work long hours
Pharmacists are on their feet all day, and they most likely are working long hours. Since there always has to be a licensed pharmacist working when the pharmacy is open, there’s a good chance many of your shifts will be open to close. If you don’t like the idea of being on your feet all day, you should steer clear from pursuing travel careers in pharmacy.
3. Lots of responsibility
Pharmacists continue to have increased responsibilities – with more prescriptions coming through the pharmacy and more regulations forcing them to track the distribution and sale of medications, as mentioned above. This puts a lot of pressure on pharmacists and is, in some cases, forcing them the added expense of furthering their education.
Now that you know about the benefits and challenges of travel careers in pharmacy, if you still want to become a pharmacist, there are jobs available. Fill out an application and start your travel pharmacy career!
