Is A Temporary Pharmacy Staffing Agency Right For You?
Many pharmacists are seriously considering seeking out new job opportunities, while others simply have left the profession to pursue other careers. Increasing evidence leads us to the realization that pharmacists are experiencing perhaps the highest work-related burnout and stress levels of any healthcare practitioner ever before seen in the US. Recent survey results have shown that over 60% of pharmacists reported experiencing a high level of burnout at their current jobs, and this rate is actually substantially higher than for surgeons, oncologists, and emergency-medicine practitioners, who historically have been the leaders regarding stress levels on their jobs and experiencing job burn-out.
Now, along with the ever increasing number of pharmacists who are considering switching to new work opportunities, many of the pharmacists who had decided to leave and switch professions are once again returning to the pharmacy workforce looking for employment. Whether switching jobs, or trying to get back to practicing pharmacy following a period of non-pharmacy related employment, many pharmacists will simply submit online applications as they did in the past and then wait for a response from a potential employer when attempting to look for new job opportunities that are available. Perhaps a much more effective solution is to ally oneself as a "job seeking pharmacist" with a reputable and nationally recognized Pharmacy Staffing Agency or Firm. The right agency can assist you in finding the exact employment opportunities that meet your professional goals, geographic requirements, and personal lifestyle choices. Many pharmacists who found that searching out new job opportunities was an extremely time consuming process that at times can seem rather daunting, found that engaging with a staffing agency was actually the key to them finding the perfect job or position in a timely manner.
Although staffing agencies are a proven success as a resource when it comes to searching for a new job, some pharmacists still may have some reservations about them. Misconceptions about pharmacy staffing agencies perhaps make some pharmacists hesitant to work with an agency or firm.
What Are Some Mistaken Beliefs About Pharmacy Staffing Agencies?
Some pharmacists simply won’t work with a staffing agency. Yet upon further discussion as to why, many have shared with us certain common misconceptions that other pharmacists also have shared when it comes to working with staffing agencies. Let's take a look at some of the more common ones in an attempt to discover if the issues that were cited for creating "Agency Hesitancy" are indeed real, or if they're really simply "myths" that have taken hold.
1.) Using pharmacy staffing agencies is a dead end.
The perception among some pharmacists is that agency pharmacists are less lucrative to clients looking to hire new talent. This assumption is based on the fallacy that agency pharmacists are less likely to get hired for traditional roles because their resumes may oftentimes have sizable gaps in regards to their employment history.
The reality actually is that many times the opposite holds true. Agency pharmacists are oftentimes preferred due to their proven adaptability and broadened skill sets (as that's a direct result of their varied work in multiple roles while working for an agency). Additionally, many employers now understand that "not one size fits all" anymore, and that an individual talented staff member may require periods of downtime in order to deal with the increased stress and potential burn-out that they face when doing their job.
Additionally, for those pharmacists who chose to leave the profession, re-entering the workforce by performing temporary staffing assignments for an agency is sometimes the easiest way to get their skills sharpened and to learn any new ones that the job may require.
Lastly, many pharmacists who work for agencies find that they can avoid any future work gaps on their resume by simply listing the staffing agency as their employer, instead of listing each individual work assignment separately.
2.) You will not learn any new skills working with agencies.
As alluded to in our first example of common agency misconceptions, some pharmacists are of the opinion that agency pharmacists don’t get enough varied opportunities to actually learn and develop new job skills of any value. Once again, when you examine the situation objectively, many find the opposite to be true. Since a vast array of pharmacy companies use staffing agencies, agency pharmacists frequently have the opportunity to work in a variety of different pharmacy types and settings. As an example, an agency pharmacist may have experience already with compounding, but the compounding pharmacy may need a vacant role filled temporarily, which allows the agency RPh the opportunity to learn any new skill set the job requires.
3.) Staffing agency pharmacists are directly competing against the current pharmacy talent on an employer's payroll.
Some pharmacists believe that they are competing with agency pharmacists for the same positions at their current place of employment. The reality actually is that agency pharmacists are only hired when staffing needs require them to be in order to meet the pharmacy operation's immediate needs. The most common examples are when a staff pharmacist goes on a scheduled vacation or leave of absence (such as maternity leave), leaving the remaining staff at times unable to cover that pharmacist’s duties. Agency pharmacists are commonly brought in on a temporary basis in order to fill the scheduling gaps and maintain the pharmacy's ability to provide enhanced patient care to its customers. Another good example are the emergency relief pharmacists that an agency can supply that oftentimes are the difference between a pharmacy having to reduce their hours or not.
4.) Agency pharmacists are not happy working for an agency.
Some pharmacists believe that agency pharmacists are dissatisfied with their work situations and that they "feel stuck" in their role as an agency pharmacist. The reality is that many agency pharmacists prefer to work for staffing agencies in temp roles, rather than working in long-term or permanent positions. A lot of adaptable pharmacists tend to enjoy changing environments, learning new skills, and meeting new people. Over the last several decades of constantly changing technology, some pharmacists known for being "early adapters" find themselves more satisfied with the lifestyle that doing temporary relief work grants them.
Is HCC Pharmacy Staffing the Right Choice For You?
Whether you're a staff pharmacist who is seriously considering a job change, or a pharmacist trying to reenter the profession's workforce following an absence, HCC Pharmacy Staffing may be the staffing firm that's able to meet your requirements and needs. For well over three decades now, HCC has been providing temporary staffing for pharmacies in all 50 states, plus providing relief pharmacy staffing during emergency situations. We work with every type of pharmacy business and operation, from the small independent retail community pharmacies to the large national pharmacy groups. We are therefore able to meet almost every individual pharmacist's specific needs when it comes to satisfying their personal work goals, geographical considerations, and lifestyle.
HCC not only services pharmacies in all fifty states in regards to their temporary staffing needs, but also offer pharmacists a wide variety of employment settings and types of pharmacies to work in, including community retail, infusion, compounding, specialty, hospital, and government pharmacies. You can depend on us to present temporary employment opportunities in almost every type of pharmacy setting that you may want to explore.
If you're interested in finding out how HCC can help you to meet your professional employment goals while still allowing you the freedom to meet your individual needs, then call us today at (800) 642-1652, or simply fill out our easy-to-use online form now, and an experienced, in-house HCC staffing expert will get back to you as soon as possible.
