A job interview tells you how a pharmacy describes itself. A few weeks working there tells you what it is actually like. That is the point of a temp-to-perm arrangement: you start on a temporary assignment, the pharmacy sees how you work, and a permanent hire happens only if both sides want it. For a pharmacist weighing a move, the temporary phase is the most useful due diligence available — if you use it deliberately.
Things to watch during the trial
- Workload and staffing. Is the technician support you see on a normal day the support you would have permanently? Watch a busy day as well as a quiet one.
- How problems are handled. When a claim rejects, a prescriber does not call back or an error is caught, what happens — and who backs you up?
- Ownership and management. At an independent, the owner's approach is the culture. Notice how decisions get made and whether the pharmacist's judgement is respected.
- Systems and workflow. Is the dispensing software and workflow something you would be content to use every day, or something you are tolerating for a few weeks?
- The commute, honestly. A drive that is fine for three weeks can feel very different over three years. North and Central Jersey traffic varies sharply by time of day.
- Patient population and services. Does the pharmacy's mix — community, infusion, a health center program — fit the practice you want to be doing?
Questions to settle before converting
When both sides are ready to talk about a permanent role, the terms of that role are between you and the pharmacy. Be clear about schedule, compensation and benefits, PTO, expectations around pharmacist-in-charge responsibilities, and any restrictive covenants in the employment agreement before you accept. Do not assume that the terms of the temporary assignment carry over.
Licensure
Practising in New Jersey requires a New Jersey pharmacist license, issued by the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy within the Division of Consumer Affairs. If you are licensed elsewhere, the board's guidance on license transfer is the place to start; registering with us while your application is in progress is normal.
Temp-to-perm through HCC
We are building our pharmacist team across New Jersey. See the temp-to-perm postings for Newark and northern New Jersey and South Jersey, or the per-diem postings for Middlesex County, Union County and the Jersey Shore.
Register as a pharmacist with HCC and tell us you are interested in temp-to-perm. The temporary phase goes through HCC as an independent-contractor engagement, and you hear the pharmacy, the schedule and the terms before anything is sent on your behalf.