I don't agree. I use things I learned in my PharmD all the time, even when I worked retail. The knowledge that pharmacists are expected to have, especially in a hospital setting or with MTM, includes knowledge of disease states, anatomy, physiology, all of which you get with a pharmD. Some of my classmates would scoff, "I've already signed with Walgreens. I'm never going to use this." but you really never know where you license will take you in the end and even working at a Walgreens type chain, I often had to pull therapeutics info to figure out problems or answer patient questions.

I do think requiring residencies, as ACPE seems to be leaning towards, may be overkill. I really see no reason to require a residency for pharmacy practice. People who do them say they learn a lot, but I question the "as much as experience as 2-3 years of work." I am a recent grad and in my experience with people who have graduated and done residencies, they are no better prepared than I am. The one thing they have is exposure to another practice setting, but you can get that from working and changing jobs.

In my opinion, residencies are perfect for those who want to be in academia, but I don't see the benefit to those who want to practice. I actually thought I wanted to do a residency until my fourth year when I met a lot of resident pharmacists and really looked into the programs.

I earned a BS in Pharmacy in 1970 and a PharmD in 2003. I have given up on trying to convince others of its value. I just know the difference it has made in the way I practice in my own community pharmacy and the opportunities it has opened up for me in so many other ways. Most patients like it and some MD's do also.

We all must come to the realization that the present system in retail pharmacy is broken. What it will evolve to, I don't know. But I feel good about my future because of the extra training.

None of our pharmacists have a Pharm. D. degree. However we did have one at one time and we finally got clinical stuff at our place but after she relocated to another state, the clinical stuff was abandoned/dropped because no one had the expertise or clinical experience that she had...I hope I worded that right? No offense to pharmacists who have BS. I have worked with many pharmacists and many have told me that they NEVER use all the training/education that they had to go thru in school.

As in many professions that involved considerable training, results often depend on the conscious level of utilization rather than the level of education. I graduated in the 80's with a BS and have worked retail exclusively, but have been intentional about proactive counseling regardless of the stress of the work environment. In the MTM vein, almost daily I intervene with a new or existing problem that involves pharmacokinetics, duplicative therapy, unneccesary cost burdens to patients, etc. Yeah, it takes extra time, but with a proper explanation both patient and provider are generally appreciative of the effort. And, you depart at the end of your work day satisfied that you have provided the best effort your chosen discipline demands.

In summary, perhaps oversimplified, USE IT OR LOSE IT!

I was just going over another contract from one of the insurance companies. They want to lower the rate again. I wonder why. Is it because we do a good job, maybe just as good as that robot or tech to process a prescription. The present pharmacy model is broken and if it continues the way it is going. Expect those salaries to drop through the floor. We need to step it up and use the training we spend so much time in school learning.

I use my PharmD in retail, certainly! It all depends on how much you are willing to put into what you do, how involved you get. I also think it is going to be an important battle ground in the future as health care begins to change and the physician-patient ratio becomes astronomical. A great solution would be giving Pharmacists the ability to monitor chronic disease states and adjust medications, and triage a range of minor illnesses (cold, flu, etc...). The Pharmacy is the first place a lot of people go anyway and some prescriptive authority would alleviate congested doctors offices which is only going to get worse.

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