This year has been an interesting one.
This year I wanted to try to accomplish a goal that had been on my to-do list since 2013 when I completed my pharmacy residency. I have been playing with the idea of taking the BCPS since I gave away my resident code pager.
It took me a good while before I finally decided to take the BCPS exam.
I spent the early months of the year in the study rooms of a local college. I had to remember how to study, and moved from trying to study at home (not great), to studying at a cool but busy coffee shop (moderate success), to a private study room at the local university (best way for me to study).
I spent the months from December to May gradually intensifying my study schedule to make sure that I stood a chance in the exam.
Why did it take me so long to decide to take the BCPS?
Mainly because there wasn’t a lot of incentive to take the step toward getting board certification. While my workplace reimbursed pharmacists for the cost of the exam, there wasn’t a commensurate increase in salary or any other increase for the yearly fees associated with maintenance of the certification.
I sometimes felt like all the fees associated with the exam and recertification were a bit steep for the benefit conferred by the certification. Being a bit frugal, I couldn’t help but look at money as a deciding factor for making decisions related to long-term career trajectories. In that way the continuing fees over and above the test taking fee were a bit of a disincentive.
However, even with all those reservations, I decided to pursue the BCPS exam at year 5 of my clinical pharmacy career. I had to downshift from enjoying my downtime with Netflix and a life sized lifesavers gummies to figuring out what studying my schedule would allow. How would I balance long shifts and study sessions?
It ended up being a great refresher, and allowed me to get a great overview and dig a bit deeper into areas that I may not have had the opportunity to practice in because of my day-to-day practice setting.
The actual test date was nerve-racking. There were computer glitches that required a 15 minute break where nobody could access their test, and when they finally got the computer system back up, I was worried about how fast I completed the test. The material seemed a bit esoteric and I felt pretty unsure about where I stood when I walked out of the exam center.
Another great insight I gained from deciding to take the test was exactly how much down time I actually have. It made me realized that I have enough time to do whatever I might be willing to put the time towards. My next challenge is to figure out how I want to spend all the free time that I’ve discovered i have. What should I be working toward to improve my career trajectory.
What are you guys working on to increase the earning power of your degree?
ER
