Published by Computachem Services

P.O Box 297.
Alstonville. 2477
NSW Australia

Phone:
61 2 66285138

So I haven't put you off leaping straight out of your postgrad year, or whatever you guys call it now, and into locum work, which you think will give you some "experience" before you launch into your own business.
Let me express a personal opinion first.
You probably have this dream of owning your own pharmacy. This has always been the ultimate ambition of all pharmacists.
My personal opinion is that the days of the one-pharmacist-pharmacy are finished.

You don't want to buy into this kind of life!
Have a look up and down the main street of the towns near you.
Many have three or four pharmacies within a few hundred metres.
I know of one situation where there are two pharmacies right next door to each other - their front doors face into each other!

The situation is worse in the cities.
I know of an intersection which has three pharmacies on two of the corners, and another 100 metres away. I can drive past on a Sunday - they are all open and all three are empty!

Then there are the suburban pharmacies where they do provide a service to the community, but in many cases they are unviable, and owned by a pharmacist who is well past his use by date.
You all know these situations.

There is a net loss of 3.1% (Ortiz et al) in the number of community pharmacists every year.
This is not going to improve so long as we continue to do business the way we do.
Trading in these cut throat competitive situations encourages script factories, and the profession is not allowed to make a fair return on our investment.
The profession will become more and more stressed, because of the falling number of pharmacists prepared to work in these environments.

Common sense should tell us that this situation cannot continue.
Pharmacy is no different to other professions and businesses.
Market forces will impact on of us all.

Young Pharmacists will not look at buying pharmacies who are trading in these situations.
Have you noticed how the prices of the <$1m turnover pharmacies is falling? - I wonder why!
I think these same market forces are catching up on the <$2m turnover pharmacies.
They may be viable for the 60yr+ owner, who has small borrowings, but are really not an option for the young pharmacist who needs to borrow a $1,000,000 to buy them.
OK - interest rates may be low at the moment, but will they stay down?

May I advise all thinking young pharmacists to think carefully before going off down the traditional road of owning your very own pharmacy.
Doctors stopped doing that years ago, and the one man medical practices are today unsaleable and are closing, because doctors don't want to work these hours on their own.
Doctors and pharmacists are professionals, who spent at least five years at university
We are entitled to a fair return on our investment, and to a decent quality of life.

So…. John ….. by all means give the locum thing a go, but only to broaden your experience.
However, you should realise that doing locum work will not teach you how to run a business - you are "only" the Pharmacist in Charge.
Most pharmacies will survive for a couple (or four) weeks with good staff, but all pharmacy owners know what it's like to come back from holiday, to face a mountain of business decisions etc.

What I am saying mate, is don't even think about owning your own pharmacy - it is WRONG - there are very very few proprietor pharmacists who are bursting with joy at the moment!

If I had my time over, after registration, I would look at working for/with someone who I respect as a person and a pharmacist.
Work for/with the guy for a year or so.
Make sure you soak up some of his experience and expertise.
To get the most out of this, you will need to want to get involved in the running of the business and "give" as well as "receive"
I would probably not find the right guy first time, but I would not sell myself to the highest bidder.
I would move on to the guy who has most to offer ME!
I would be completely open and honest about what I am trying to get out of life.
From the employer point of view, he gets a full time pharmacist for a year at least.
That is a long time in these days of a chronic shortage of pharmacists.

Eventually you will team up with the right guy, and a partnership will be offered and acceptable.
You will buy this guy out over a number of years, and then you would repeat the process with your own young pharmacist.
You will be able to do this because that pharmacy can support two pharmacists.
Your quality of life will be much better, and more secure than the proprietor pharmacist, and you will have a saleable asset into the future.
You will have the time to work ON your business and not just IN it.
You will have more time to be a Pharmacist, and be also able to work OUT of the pharmacy on more professionally rewarding stuff like Domiciliary Medication Management Reviews (DMMRs) etc.

Here is the message, John.
Start out your career aiming for a partnership.
You will find the right partnership if you choose carefully.
Good Luck

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