The Happy PharmD Blog
We Get Pharmacists Jobs They Love
The Great Pharmacy Job Migration
Is This Why Pharmacists Have No Job Security?
The Secret of Overcoming Pharmacy Job Rejection
Your Approach to Hiring is All Wrong
Your approach to hiring is all wrong -- neither your gut nor peer advice will get you the caliber people you need. Most owners trust their gut to determine how to locate and hire the best possible candidates for any job opening. Others seek advice from more...
Four Ways to Retain Good Pharmacy Employees After the People Have Been Hired
Graphic Pharmacy – Awards and Celebrations
Graphic Pharmacy – Graduation
Using Externship Instead of Standard Hiring Practices to Determine the Best Candidate for the Pharmacy Job
Graphic Pharmacy – Rotation Advice
One of the most important lessons I learned in becoming a pharmacist was not taught in school; it was rubbed in my face at the beginning of my rotation year. What is your advice to your younger self before they start rotations?
Graphic Pharmacy – When Pharmacists Do Cancer Talk
https://flic.kr/p/24JjbGt Let's just say when pharmacists talk about cancer, we tend to focus a bit more on the drug side effects than the cancer itself, no matter how trivial it is.And in reality, that is usually how we find some crucial information from patients...
Oh! The Pills You Will Fill!
Oh the pills you will fill, on your pharmacy stoo After completing 7 years at your pharmacy school It may take even longer, it could take a whopping 8 years! And you may graduate someday in debt, right up to your ears. It may feel as bleak as a father seated in 3rd...
A Review of Indispensable; Reflecting Back on How Its Innovative Tools Enhanced my Pharmacy Career
By Daniel Shifrin, R.P., M.S. I started my career as a pharmacist in 1979. I had my license and had just graduated from pharmacy school. I had no restrictions as to when I wanted to work. I was available to work days, evenings, and even nights. Weekends and...
The Happy PharmD 2019 Q1 Report
How To Transition Out of Retail Pharmacy
Invest in Yourself: Take the Leap into Coaching Today
How this Pharmacist Created a Successful Medical Writing Business While Working Retail
Consider These Options Before Quitting Pharmacy
Quitting CVS – How this Pharmacist Transitioned into a Happier Pharmacy Job
John, previously a pharmacy manager at CVS Health, knew he wanted something more out of his career but efforts to challenge himself by taking on additional responsibilities had yielded little result. He was looking for a change but didn’t know where to go or how to...
The Problem In Pharmacy That Nobody Is Talking About… And Why I Wrote A BOOK About It!
How One Pharmacist Moved Into Hospital Pharmacy with No Prior Experience
Graphic pharmacy – Evidence-based Medicine
https://flic.kr/p/RnoahT Evidence-based practice is the core of modern pharmacy, and it has been droned and droned on students throughout pharmacy school. Regardless, there are some instances where the practice is... not really evidence-based at all.
The Best Primer to Learn Pharmacy Entrepreneurship
Finding A Pharmacy Dream Job is Possible!
Burnout rates for pharmacists are high in both hospital and community settings. Pharmacists everywhere seem stressed and unhappy with the unrealistic demands and working conditions of their positions. So what can we do about it? What are the steps in a pharmacy career...
Six Methods That Motivate Your Pharmacy Staff and Increase Departmental Morale
By Daniel Shifrin, R.P., M.S. In 2003, ABC came up with a game show called, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” It was a simple concept; answer 15 multiple choice questions on a wide array of topics, with each correct answer bringing the contestant closer and closer to...
Graphic Pharmacy – All About Pharmacy in Comic
Six Points That Help Your Pharmacy Staff Achieve a Successful Pharmacy Inspection
Back in high school, I had several substitute teachers. In order to get out early, I sometimes set the clock ahead 10 minutes fast. It seldom worked. When it did, the teacher saw the clock, didn’t realize it was set fast, and let the class leave early. I always...
Be Happy and Be a Pharmacist: How You Can Become Both, Again
Prior to reaching out to The Happy PharmD for guidance, Shama was a compounding pharmacy supervisor at a fertility company. She learned a lot of great things at the beginning; it felt like a whirlwind with organizational things to accomplish and patients to take care...
The 2019 Pharmacist Salary Guide
Looking for the 2022 Pharmacist Salary Guide? Click here. It appears that 2018 brought some much-needed good news to pharmacists. Salary.com reports that as of October 31, 2018, the average pharmacist salary in the U.S. was $129,718, with a range between $121,998 and...
Many Paths of Pharmacy
Ultimate Guide to Pharmacy Career Opportunities Not all pharmacy career opportunities are created equal. If you have a PharmD degree, your career options are vast and varied. From traditional pharmacy jobs to non-traditional jobs outside of the industry, your hard...
How to Find a Pharmacy Job After Graduation
No one can guarantee you'll find a pharmacy job after graduation. In fact, if you're tracking the statistics, the supply of pharmacists has steadily outpaced demand for several years. As new graduates flood the marketplace every year, the competition for existing jobs...
4 Questions to Consider Before Firing Pharmacy Employees
Firing pharmacy employees has never been one of my favorite tasks but it has always been necessary as part of my job. I try to seek alternatives in place of firing people because I consider it the final measure. I’ve fired several people during my career, but only...
The Investment That Can Impact Your Entire Pharmacy Career
The 2019 pharmacy residency application process has officially opened. You and thousands of other fourth-year students must begin the difficult task of assembling a bulletproof residency application packet while you continue to do the day-to-day work of...
Six Simple Steps: How to Find a Pharmacist Job
In 2000, the US Department of Health and Human Services predicted a shortage of pharmacists. In a study titled, The Pharmacist Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Pharmacists, HHS pointed to an “unprecedented demand for pharmacists,” and an “increased use...
Get off the Fence: How a Career Coach can help you transition away from a Pharmacist position but remain in the pharmacy field
I recently sat down with my client Tracy Dabbs to discuss how the services we provide at The Happy PharmD helped her transition into a more fulfilling career. Tracy loves being a pharmacist and had worked in the pharmacy industry for more than 15 years before losing...
The Pharmacy Side Hustle: How to Turn Your Expertise into Income
Success Story: From Community Pharmacist to Pharmacy Consultant
From Unemployed to Employed Pharmacist in 4 Steps: What to do NOW to get the Job
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the growth of pharmacy jobs over the next eight years would be slower than average. And no one should be surprised. It is no secret that pharmacy layoffs are happening all over the country at a time when there...
Understanding Pharmacy Job Trends and What They Mean For Your Career
The good news for pharmacists is that the job market appears to be holding steady, although many pharmacists don’t “feel” like opportunities are available. What I aim to show you is where the demand for pharmacists lie, where the over-supply is, and lastly,...
Most Valuable Takeaways From the FIP Congress in Glasgow
3 Facts About Pharmacist Shortages and the Current Surplus
The pharmacist surplus is an ongoing struggle for our industry. The surplus has existed for more than a decade, and it shows no sign of resolving itself. Everyone says, “There are too many pharmacists,” but I find this isn’t based on facts but subjective feelings...
Why Do So Many Pharmacists Experience So Much Stress?
Every job has stress. Given that the definition of stress is “strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances,” it isn’t a stretch to assume that work and stress almost always co-exist. While every job has stressful aspects, though, not every...
I Left My Traditional Pharmacy Job To Help You Do the Same
Personal Branding: Getting Started
Personal branding: where do we get started with this nebulous concept? Alex and I are interested in helping pharmacists create a personal brand that helps you: Stand out amongst the crowd in a way that does not compromise the authentic you. We want you to embrace your...
How I Left My Six-Figure Pharmacist Job to Hustle My Six-Figure Business
People ask me all the time how I made this transition, I suspect because they assume I had access to resources and help they don’t have access to. Many people are surprised to find that my story initially started the same way theirs did and that the key for me was...
5 Ways to Maximize Your Time Spent on LinkedIn
5 Ways to Maximize Your Time Spent on LinkedIn Is LinkedIn "just another social media platform"? "Is spending time on LinkedIn worth it?" "Where do I even start with LinkedIn?" I would argue that LinkedIn may be the most underutilized, inexpensive, and user-friendly...
5 Immediate Steps For Pharmacists Seeking More From Their Work
By most people’s estimations, you’re stuck. You’ve invested time and money into this pharmacy career that suddenly feels wrong; and you make such a great salary, walking away seems crazy. You can’t imagine staying and you can’t imagine leaving. I’ve been where you...
Pharmacist Suicide Risk: What We Know and Don’t Know
It’s no secret that pharmacists have work stress. What you may not know is the truth about pharmacist suicide risk. Anecdotally, I hear pharmacists saying, “burnout runs rampant through the pharmacy industry,” just as it does through other healthcare...
A Brief History of the Drive-Thru Pharmacy – Who Created It and How it Spread
Gary Clinton doesn’t think of himself as an innovator. He simply saw an opportunity to buy an existing space for his business venture, and he took it. The bank-turned-pharmacy building had a drive-thru window, so he incorporated the drive-thru into his pharmacy...
From Feeling Overwhelmed to Feeling in Alignment with Her Values
I recently sat down with Brittany to talk about what her experience with our coaching at The Happy PharmD. First, we started by reflecting on where she was as we started her journey. Brittany told me, “I felt very overwhelmed with my job.” While she felt trapped in...
The Ultimate Guide To Student Loan Repayment For New Pharmacists
You’ve worked hard to graduate from pharmacy school. Now, even though the hard work is finished, the challenges are just beginning. Somehow, you have to begin the process of paying off your pharmacy student loans. Given that the average pharmacy student accumulates...
Know Thyself: 7 Self-Assessment Tests To Take Before Your Next Interview
If you're in the job search, a few easy things that will make you stand out are 1) having strong self-awareness 2) fitting in with the team and 3) being about to tell others about your strengths as well as how you behave in typical work environments (note:...
How to Guarantee You’ll Hire the Right Pharmacist
Finding the right pharmacist for the right pharmacy position isn’t easy, but it’s crucially important. Lester Nathan, known as the Pharmacy Sage, understands the importance of the interview process because he has spent years helping pharmacists on both sides of the...
How One Pharmacist Launched Herself Into a New Career Trajectory
Recently, I sat down with my coaching client Liz to recap her story and journey through our coaching experience. Liz reached out to us at The Happy PharmD because she was feeling stuck in her career. "I felt like I had made all the wrong choices." She explained that...
Pharmacy Manager Proves You Can Manage Side Projects While Working Full Time
I recently had a conversation with Carlos Irula, a pharmacy manager with Kroger Pharmacy in Frisco, TX. Carlos graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2014 and has since launched a side business called Care Commute. He’s a great example of how...
An Open Letter to My Future Self
Disclaimer: This is not a typical HappyPharmD post. It was inspired by something I saw and started thinking very deeply about what I would want to tell myself in the future. I hope you consider writing the same letter. 🙂 Dear Future Self, I hope this letter finds...
Pharmacy Students Develop Phone App to Improve Adherence
Medication non-adherence plagues pharmacists in all kinds of settings. Sometimes patients don’t fully understand their instructions because they’re distracted at the pharmacy. Sometimes they forget their instructions and simply need a reminder. In some cases, the...
How to Enter Pharmacy Informatics Without an Residency
This is a special guest post by YouTuber Brian Fung, PharmD. He made a video on the subject, and together we collaborated to make it into a wonderfully instructive article. Here's Brian's bio: Brian K. Fung, PharmD, BCPS is a Medication Management Informaticist...
5 Easy Ways to Start Using LinkedIn More Effectively
By now, you likely have a LinkedIn profile, you have occasional connection requests come into your notification box, you scroll through your newsfeed occasionally and "like" posts, and you update your LinkedIn profile when you make a career transition. Is this enough?...
Pharmacy Student Advice I Wish Someone Told Me
With great power comes great responsibility. A favorite (and overused) spider-man quote. Like something your mom has told you a thousand times. I love spider-man. He is my favorite superhero. Young, intelligent, and fresh to his new responsibilities. But in your...
