Pharm Technicians in Pharmacy School

[technician107]

Okay I have a question. I'm about to start my P1 year in August. I know the thread below this deals with P1's and false hope, but whatever, I've been working for this for 5 years and I am not giving up, I love the field. I've been a pharmacy technician for 6 years. I took the job when I decided to go to law school when I was 21 to just get some extra money. Ended up loving pharmacy - law school wasn't thrilling as much as I thought and I changed my track after a year, heading into my pharmacy pre-reqs.

Anyways...
I've done retail for 3 years (lead tech for 1 & 1/2 of those years) and for the past three years I have been doing order entry for long term care. Since November when I was accepted into pharmacy school, the IV pharmacist in the morning has been teaching me IV's - mixing, dosing, etc. He's taught me enough to the point where my pharmacy director has asked me to be the IV intern at my current job throughout pharmacy school. His hope is that I will be the IV pharmacist at night. I know that pharmacy school will not be easy at any stretch, but I just wanted to know HOW much will my past 6 years help me out in school?

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[Corpseman]

Okay I have a question. I'm about to start my P1 year in August. I know the thread below this deals with P1's and false hope, but whatever, I've been working for this for 5 years and I am not giving up, I love the field. I've been a pharmacy technician for 6 years. I took the job when I decided to go to law school when I was 21 to just get some extra money. Ended up loving pharmacy - law school wasn't thrilling as much as I thought and I changed my track after a year, heading into my pharmacy pre-reqs.

Anyways...
I've done retail for 3 years (lead tech for 1 & 1/2 of those years) and for the past three years I have been doing order entry for long term care. Since November when I was accepted into pharmacy school, the IV pharmacist in the morning has been teaching me IV's - mixing, dosing, etc. He's taught me enough to the point where my pharmacy director has asked me to be the IV intern at my current job throughout pharmacy school. His hope is that I will be the IV pharmacist at night. I know that pharmacy school will not be easy at any stretch, but I just wanted to know HOW much will my past 6 years help me out in school?

Is this a joke post? How much will 6 years of pharmacy experience in pharmacy school help you....hmmmmm

C'mon, of course it will help, a lot. You will be familiar with most of the top drugs, their indications, and whatever else. You will be familiar with compounding math and more.....that is pretty much all of first year of pharmacy school.

 

[technician107]

Is this a joke post? How much will 6 years of pharmacy experience in pharmacy school help you....hmmmmm

C'mon, of course it will help, a lot. You will be familiar with most of the top drugs, their indications, and whatever else. You will be familiar with compounding math and more.....that is pretty much all of first year of pharmacy school.

Hey I don't know what to expect. I've talked to two people that I went to school with that were a year ahead of me, just finishing their P1 year. What they told me is that it will help with drug card memorization. Granted, they have not stepped into a pharmacy. I just wanted to know if it will help with more than just that.

 

[Corpseman]

Hey I don't know what to expect. I've talked to two people that I went to school with that were a year ahead of me, just finishing their P1 year. What they told me is that it will help with drug card memorization. Granted, they have not stepped into a pharmacy. I just wanted to know if it will help with more than just that.

Biochem classes and the like is where it won't matter if you have ever set foot in a pharmacy.

 

[technician107]

Biochem classes and the like is where it won't matter if you have ever set foot in a pharmacy.

Yeah. I started reading some biochem material over the summer. I want a certain residency by the time I graduate, so I'm trying to be at the top of my classes as much as I can. I never got to take biochem in pre-reqs unfortunately, I didn't have enough time.

 

[nscoope]

I can only imagine that your experience will help a ton when starting pharm school. I can't really say because I'm only pre-pharm right now but being able to apply what you learn in school to what you're doing on the job should help tremendously.

 

[BlkBryPrl]

Congratulations on your acceptance.I was accepted into FAMU pharmacy program for 2013. I have been working as a pharmacy technician for walgreens for 7 years. They immediately coded me as an intern upon receiving my acceptance letter. Many pharmacist have told me that our experience will help only on a minimal level. You will be familiar with the drugs and have a little more to relate the information you are studying to as opposed to someone who doesn't have a clue what lisinopril or atripla is or any other medication. While some will have a hard time just pronouncing these drugs we will be able to focus more directly on the more in-dept information right off. (Its like when u read the bible in genesis... all the names you cant pronounce get you all confused and you become lost. Well we wouldnt be lost, we'd be like.. oh, that this guys uncle and cousin.. lol) Our experience will help us, but dont expect it to be a piece of cake.

 

[technician107]

Congratulations on your acceptance.I was accepted into FAMU pharmacy program for 2013. I have been working as a pharmacy technician for walgreens for 7 years. They immediately coded me as an intern upon receiving my acceptance letter. Many pharmacist have told me that our experience will help only on a minimal level. You will be familiar with the drugs and have a little more to relate the information you are studying to as opposed to someone who doesn't have a clue what lisinopril or atripla is or any other medication. While some will have a hard time just pronouncing these drugs we will be able to focus more directly on the more in-dept information right off. (Its like when u read the bible in genesis... all the names you cant pronounce get you all confused and you become lost. Well we wouldnt be lost, we'd be like.. oh, that this guys uncle and cousin.. lol) Our experience will help us, but dont expect it to be a piece of cake.

Congrats to you too . They won't code me an intern at my job until I step foot in school August 19. I figured it wouldn't be a walk in the park in pharmacy school but I was hoping something more than drug cards would help but you're right. At least we know drug classes and sigs before others. It's going to fun lectures watching the professors go over sigs!

 

[xiphoid2010]

I imagine it would help. However, don't get your hopes up. You will have an easy time memorizing the top 200 drugs and during compounding lab, maybe jurisprudence as well.

However, for me at least, those were easy classes. It's pharmacokinetics, therapeutics that will be the hard ones to get A's in, and you don't learn these as a technician. If you want to be at the top of your class and go for residency, then you'll still need to get daily study habits together.