I've been in my PGY1 residency program for 3 months. I've been a hard-working student/now-Pharmacist from the first day I started this career. I am a tech turned pharmacist and I do love my career. My goal, no matter what happens in the path of my career, is to be a good pharmacist.
My program, unfortunately, lacks appreciation for the clinical training component that residents sign up for. The ASHP goals and objectives touch upon patient care / clinical activities as the first goals drafted in the document. I spoke directly with my RPD yesterday and defended myself with these points. I said to her that I have appreciation of the administrative component as well, but that does not take dominance over the clinical activities that we are there to learn. We are shoved data reports that are extremely complex and time-consuming, and the volume and pressure to meet deadlines for these has become unreasonable. It has turned into an abusive behavior where we are constantly interrupted with our clinical activities on a day to day basis. I work 12 day-straight cycles, we staff every other weekend. I confronted my RPD yesterday and proposed to have one day off in the middle of this cycle, a Monday or Tuesday. She said to ask my preceptor if they could grant me this. I then said, "so your priority is that we staff and sacrifice a day of clinical learning?", she defended herself by saying that the program is there to prepare us to be pharmacists and staffing is a fundamental component. There is a reality here in my pharmacy department that suffers from being extremely understaffed and when I work on the weekends I make a lot of mistakes. One, because the training for staffing was ineffective (almost inexistent), second because we really are not learning but just verifying as fast as possible due to the volume of orders and technical issues that occur constantly. We also don't get treated with any respect, the morale in the environment is very low, and the pressure is just too much. I have been falling asleep while driving and my mental health is suffering as well.
I did not know that this program was not well-recommended, but I'm in it already and not sure what to do. I'm in the process of contacting ASHP to get more advice. I'm also thinking of calling a meeting with my Residency Advisory Committee to make proposals to change the structure of the program. If that doesn't budge, then I am going to proceed with my resignation.
Your thoughts and stories are greatly appreciated.
My program, unfortunately, lacks appreciation for the clinical training component that residents sign up for. The ASHP goals and objectives touch upon patient care / clinical activities as the first goals drafted in the document. I spoke directly with my RPD yesterday and defended myself with these points. I said to her that I have appreciation of the administrative component as well, but that does not take dominance over the clinical activities that we are there to learn. We are shoved data reports that are extremely complex and time-consuming, and the volume and pressure to meet deadlines for these has become unreasonable. It has turned into an abusive behavior where we are constantly interrupted with our clinical activities on a day to day basis. I work 12 day-straight cycles, we staff every other weekend. I confronted my RPD yesterday and proposed to have one day off in the middle of this cycle, a Monday or Tuesday. She said to ask my preceptor if they could grant me this. I then said, "so your priority is that we staff and sacrifice a day of clinical learning?", she defended herself by saying that the program is there to prepare us to be pharmacists and staffing is a fundamental component. There is a reality here in my pharmacy department that suffers from being extremely understaffed and when I work on the weekends I make a lot of mistakes. One, because the training for staffing was ineffective (almost inexistent), second because we really are not learning but just verifying as fast as possible due to the volume of orders and technical issues that occur constantly. We also don't get treated with any respect, the morale in the environment is very low, and the pressure is just too much. I have been falling asleep while driving and my mental health is suffering as well.
I did not know that this program was not well-recommended, but I'm in it already and not sure what to do. I'm in the process of contacting ASHP to get more advice. I'm also thinking of calling a meeting with my Residency Advisory Committee to make proposals to change the structure of the program. If that doesn't budge, then I am going to proceed with my resignation.
Your thoughts and stories are greatly appreciated.
