HOPA 2018 | Mid-career changes in the pharmacy field

My presentation’s sort of a platform presentation with three other colleagues and one theme will be burnout; the other theme will be individuals who are seeking mid-career changes, which in our profession, it’s becoming a sort of a larger issue where I think oftentimes individuals will practice pharmacy in a particular discipline or setting and sometimes within 8 to 15 years into practice, they’re seeking other challenges or other positions within the profession.

Over the past several years I was a member of the board here in HOPA, and one of the things that’s resonated within our membership over the past several years is this sort of need for change in career and oftentimes at the board level we’ll hear multiple things or multiple suggestions for topics of discussion. So, I think career development is one thing that’s resonated particularly as it resonates with some of our younger practitioners who were starting their career and they want to see what is out there at the mid-career level. So, I think that’s one of the things we’ve heard at the board level for several years now. Hopefully they’ll understand or be able to hear some career opportunities which are emerging.

So specifically, where I’m at, in a phase one setting speaking to some individuals here at the meeting already and ironically they said “yes I just have new funding. Our Cancer Institute is revving up phase one research and I’ve been appointed an FTE for pharmacists who participates in phase one research.” So, there’s not a specific training path for these individuals in our current profession so learning that you know there’s certain individuals who are participating in these type of endeavors, potentially establishing network connections to individuals who are currently in this practice in situations I think will help the membership understand maybe some opportunities out there, as well as who they can contact and maybe assist them and their development to a particular career change. At this time in the year particularly for some of our outgoing PY2 residents they’re seeking positions, and oftentimes even at that early stage in their career, they’re sort of being sort of transitioned to “okay do I need to do a bone marrow transplant job, am I more of an outpatient person, more inpatient” —so even at this point in some of our residents’ careers, they’re here at the meeting oftentimes networking trying to identify those positions.

I think most of our organizational individuals will say that there is traditionally at least one or two career transitions in their career, and I think oftentimes particularly in bone marrow transplant there’s been some data out there which shows that BMT pharmacists are under a great deal of stress, and oftentimes they transition to more of an administrative role or some other role. I would always highly encourage people to follow their passions. I mean, hopefully the burnout issue is not attributable to their career. Oftentimes, there could be personal circumstances that maybe could be addressed but I’ve always been a big proponent for professionals following their passions and I think the pharmacy world is so diverse right now with you know we have such a diverse membership as it relates to, you know, clinicians a variety of disciplines, administrative individuals who are oftentimes very diverse and their skill sets; we have some individuals who are more involved in clinical research, we have health outcomes-type individuals. So, the good thing with the pharmacy profession in general currently, is that there’s a wide diversity of facets they could go to and I think these individuals who are actively participating in HOPA and other pharmacy organizations have at least heard of those career changes that can occur. So, I think involvement with HOPA is a good thing and that they come to this meeting they interact with individuals and they network, and I think at least that self-awareness will allow them to see other opportunities that exist.