What to choose community or hospital??

[Giggle46]

Hello, I am a third year pharmacy student and i have been working for Boots part time for the last 5 and a half years, and next summer (2010) is my last summer to get any experience of the different aspects of pharmacy.

I have had a Lloyds summer placement interview and am awaiting a reply but in the mean time have been offered a Boots summer placement.

I don't know whether to go for Lloyds if i get an offer as it is a company i haven't worked for before, whereas i know what Boots is like. However if i pick Lloyds over Boots and find out i dont like it then i will not be offered a pre-reg in Boots because i need to do the 8 week summer placement (which i think is unfair seeing as i have worked for Boots for so long) to be offered a pre-reg place!

Also i havent had any hospital experience and although i feel more geared towards community and can see myself being a community pharmacy, i worry that this is just because its my comfort zone, whereas hospital is unknown and daunting. But i don't want to feel later on in life i missed out on not seeing what hospital was like.

Just wondered if anyone can give me any info on what its like to work for lloyds? and if you think its better to experience a different company or stick with the same one?

Thanks

[manutd12]

erm in my opinion hospital is alot tougher than community, so if u wanna have a relaxed life go community. with regards to choosing lloyds or boots, it depends are you happy at boots, if you are i would stick with them, if not find out what lloyds can offer you.

i have a prereg interview with boots any ideas what i may get asked?
thanks,

[vanquish s]

on a personal note hospital and primary care are much more interesting to me unless you work in an independent. There are also alot more oppurtunities lile you can cross over to industry etc. But it does require further education and the money is less to start with. Around £28k including on call

[Nikolai]

erm in my opinion hospital is alot tougher than community, so if u wanna have a relaxed life go community.

Both environments have their own set of pressures. If you're the type of person that thrives in situations where you are intimately involved in patient care, prescribing decisions, or if you enjoy working with other health professionals on a daily basis, hospital pharmacy may be something to consider.

[caz]

Hi Giggle46,

I don't want to confuse you further, but I too had the same dilemma last year: having both community and hospital places.

I chose hospital. I am a third(ish) of the way through my year and it's the best decision I've made! I too had worked in community (Boots) for a while and felt comfortable and secure, and I knew hospital would be a challenge, but decided to go for it. The training is fantastic - I get to do different things every week, and have the flexibility of spending time in various parts of the hospital (its a large teaching hospital with regional specialties) if I want.

It's busy and poses new challenges everyday - but I love it! And it's where I'll stay as although, yes, the wages are lower but I know I'll never have a dull day!

I don't mean to confuse you(!), but hopefully this will help you make an informed decision.

HTH x

[PHARMAC1ST]

Hospital. If you don't like it, which i doubt, then you can easily go into community. However if the other way around then it would be a lot more difficult to get int hospital (still can be done but money, extra study, etc become barriers)

[Jiggsy]

I, having never worked in the community sector before, have just started to locum on my days off from full time work at my local hospital, and, although daunted by the OTC aspect (which we don't provide at the Oncology Centre I work in), I have found it very easy to slip into working in community - although I would never give up my full time job.

Had this been the other way around, and I had not done my pre-reg / clinical diploma in hospital, I doubt very much that I would be as comfortable. It's a pretty hard decision to make (not for me admittedly - I always favoured hospital pharmacy), but I find the learning experience provided in hospital is much better - particularly when I see some locum pharmacists in community struggling with basic pharmaceutical knowledge. It will also help with your pre-reg exam (i've already answered another query on this today) as you get a better clinical background (in my opinion - please don't shoot me down) when you can see the patient at the point of care and be involved in the treatment decision process.

This has probably confused you, and probably made me a lot of enemies, but as I say, it's up to you really - do you want the challenge of something completely different, or just want to slip into what you know?

HTH

James

[Teethlai]

I don't think hospital is a lot tougher! the workload in community is killing from what i can see.

[Pharmanaut]

I don't think hospital is a lot tougher! the workload in community is killing from what i can see.

From one who tried early on in career to move into hospital, the move to community from hospital is easier than the reverse.
If we had the luxury of choosing again - I would probably prefer hospital.

I worked a summer in a B***s then another summer in hospital pharmacy.
Did more pharmacy in my first hospital day than through the whole 8 weeks in retail.

[Defblade]

I find the learning experience provided in hospital is much better - particularly when I see some locum pharmacists in community struggling with basic pharmaceutical knowledge.

They are different jobs and require slightly different skill sets - I see hospital pharmacist locums in community struggling with basic business knowledge

Giggle - as the others have said, it is much easier to move from hospital to community once qualified for many many reasons so if hospital appeals at all, I'd say go for it.