Pharmacy Tech Probs

[jammiez0404]

Please tell me someone has been in my shoes....

I'm a pharm tech at cvs, nationally certified, just got accepted to pharmacy school for fall 2016, I have a bachelors degree in communication, and I'm a parent.

But.

I am a god awful pharmacy technician, or so it feels. I know that I am not fast enough at production. I only work weekends so there's still a bunch of insurance issues I don't know how to resolve. I am a rule follower and ocd about labels, paper folding, organized shelves, etc. I knew going into this profession that I would not be a retail pharmacist but I thought I needed the experience. But good grief is it becoming miserable! Even my pharmacist is treating me differently.

What will be my options for interning other than retail? Does anyone think it would be better if I moved to a slower pharmacy or a pharmacy other than cvs? Because seriously, cvs and I are not compatible. My true interest is oncology. Suggestions, opinions, advice - help!

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[HawaiiLavender]

I used to volunteer at hospital pharmacy. But to get a job at least here in new York you would need at least a year or two in a pharmacy setting.
I have issues too like typing and insurance issues and the pharmacist would come and fix it for me. You will learn there's thousands of pharmacies to choose from. Ask if you can get transferred or get more hours. Volunteer at a hospital or research,pharmaceutical building in your area. There are many options but don't give up. Even interns don't know it all until there last couple of years and still new things come up, new drugs etc

 

[steveysmith54]

Please tell me someone has been in my shoes....

I'm a pharm tech at cvs, nationally certified, just got accepted to pharmacy school for fall 2016, I have a bachelors degree in communication, and I'm a parent.

But.

I am a god awful pharmacy technician, or so it feels. I know that I am not fast enough at production. I only work weekends so there's still a bunch of insurance issues I don't know how to resolve. I am a rule follower and ocd about labels, paper folding, organized shelves, etc. I knew going into this profession that I would not be a retail pharmacist but I thought I needed the experience. But good grief is it becoming miserable! Even my pharmacist is treating me differently.

What will be my options for interning other than retail? Does anyone think it would be better if I moved to a slower pharmacy or a pharmacy other than cvs? Because seriously, cvs and I are not compatible. My true interest is oncology. Suggestions, opinions, advice - help!

Depends.. how long have you been doing it?
You can't compare yourself to senior techs who have been the same routine for several years and full time. Sometimes it all takes longer for some than others. Sometimes you have to see the same insurance problem over and over again to remember it. Try writing things down when you get some free time at work or on your lunch break. Your goal should be continuously be improving and that you should judge yourself. Don't be scared to ask coworkers for help, thats the only way to learn. CVS is a hard place to work, you may be above average in slower pharmacies...

Hospital intern gigs are much harder to come by compared to Retail. If retail ain't your thing, concentrate hard your studies and apply for residencies. gl..

 

[Old Timer]

Please tell me someone has been in my shoes....

I'm a pharm tech at cvs, nationally certified, just got accepted to pharmacy school for fall 2016, I have a bachelors degree in communication, and I'm a parent.

But.

I am a god awful pharmacy technician, or so it feels. I know that I am not fast enough at production. I only work weekends so there's still a bunch of insurance issues I don't know how to resolve. I am a rule follower and ocd about labels, paper folding, organized shelves, etc. I knew going into this profession that I would not be a retail pharmacist but I thought I needed the experience. But good grief is it becoming miserable! Even my pharmacist is treating me differently.

What will be my options for interning other than retail? Does anyone think it would be better if I moved to a slower pharmacy or a pharmacy other than cvs? Because seriously, cvs and I are not compatible. My true interest is oncology. Suggestions, opinions, advice - help!

Suck it up and get better. What are you going to do when your a resident and your juggling multiple oncology patients who need your attention. First sit down with your pharmacist and figure what you need to do to get better. Then do it. It's not a hard job and any pharmacy intern worth their salt should be able to master it.

 

[jammiez0404]

Suck it up and get better. What are you going to do when your a resident and your juggling multiple oncology patients who need your attention. First sit down with your pharmacist and figure what you need to do to get better. Then do it. It's not a hard job and any pharmacy intern worth their salt should be able to master it.

This is exactly what I think one of my interns would say to me. You're completely right, it's only going to get more tough. I just hate feeling incompetent.

 

[Old Timer]

This is exactly what I think one of my interns would say to me. You're completely right, it's only going to get more tough. I just hate feeling incompetent.

So go about mastering it......

 

[jammiez0404]

Depends.. how long have you been doing it?
You can't compare yourself to senior techs who have been the same routine for several years and full time. Sometimes it all takes longer for some than others. Sometimes you have to see the same insurance problem over and over again to remember it. Try writing things down when you get some free time at work or on your lunch break. Your goal should be continuously be improving and that you should judge yourself. Don't be scared to ask coworkers for help, thats the only way to learn. CVS is a hard place to work, you may be above average in slower pharmacies...

Hospital intern gigs are much harder to come by compared to Retail. If retail ain't your thing, concentrate hard your studies and apply for residencies. gl..

I've been with cvs for 16 months but again I only work weekends.... Which I totally do not recommend! I appreciate your advice and opinion, you're right, I am comparing myself to techs who have been there for years, full time. I certainly do hope I can land a hospital internship... And that I like it!

 

[jammiez0404]

I used to volunteer at hospital pharmacy. But to get a job at least here in new York you would need at least a year or two in a pharmacy setting.
I have issues too like typing and insurance issues and the pharmacist would come and fix it for me. You will learn there's thousands of pharmacies to choose from. Ask if you can get transferred or get more hours. Volunteer at a hospital or research,pharmaceutical building in your area. There are many options but don't give up. Even interns don't know it all until there last couple of years and still new things come up, new drugs etc

Thank you. Great ideas. I like your idea about volunteering for more experience. I could do that over the summer. I have no intentions of giving up, just trying to find my place. I just hate the fast, numbers game.

 

[Old Timer]

I've been with cvs for 16 months but again I only work weekends.... Which I totally do not recommend! I appreciate your advice and opinion, you're right, I am comparing myself to techs who have been there for years, full time. I certainly do hope I can land a hospital internship... And that I like it!

p.s. work more hours. My interns work 15-30 hours per week....

 

[CMUchicka]

I've been with cvs for 16 months but again I only work weekends.... Which I totally do not recommend! I appreciate your advice and opinion, you're right, I am comparing myself to techs who have been there for years, full time. I certainly do hope I can land a hospital internship... And that I like it!

Not trying to be mean.. But 16 months in pharmacy and you still struggling?? Let me tell you my story : i was hired part time, i worked 4-8 hours / week , some weeks - none. After week of training on computer, i was thrown into pharmacy with floater for 8 hour shift. Just me and floater, IMAGINE!!! From day 1, my manager, other pharmacist and techs expected me to know everything. Pharmacist and techs often got pissed because i had so many questions. At one point i was so scared to go to work because i never knew what i would face. Until one day i had serious thinking about all this and took responsibility of learning on my own. I am quick learner so every time i was at work, i try to attend more customers, that way i was exposed to meds name, insurance, sig codes and so on.. Some time i would ask my coworker if i can do some of their work. I was there for few hours but i knew i had to learn so i took advantage of every minute there. Sometimes i felts like i am working more. But i no longer wanted others to judge my ability to be successful in pharmacy. I always thought that my pharmacist was judging my ability to be successful in pharmacy school based on my work. I remember after 3 months i pretty much could do everything. My manager started asking me if i could add more hours, i even floated at different stores. In your case, it will get better with working more. You have to take responsibility of your own learning. Specially in this job market if you plan to get internship or job after graduation you better step up your game since there will be lot of people fighting for one position even withing same company. Most pharmacy students wants to get job in hospital but it isnt easy.. Even working as tech in hospital isnt piece of cake either..

 

[Carboxide]

Just because you are crap at your current job doesn't mean you can't do others. Hospital and retail tech duties are completely different. Hospital focuses much more on accuracy and technique in compounding, etc and ability to work independently and foresee problems (e.g. "this IV doesn't look right, can you double check?" before mixing it and then we have to toss it).

Depending on your location you may be easily able to get a hospital job. We used to have a lot of turnover before we increased salary in the last year.

 

[Lucky One]

Pretty much like most things in life it just takes time. You just need to work more and as a entering pharmacy student you will definitely have more opportunities perhaps this summer since you count only half hours in regards to tech hours anyways. Once you become competent they will love you even more! When hired I was working Sundays which was preferred since it's slower and being able to work along side an experienced tech. And once summer hit pretty much full time.

Biggest advice beside working more is being finding someway to be more motivated to learn and do everything. You'll learn that much quicker and enjoy it more. Are you not striving to become better than the lead tech? Lately I've become complacent since I know the basics of everything. But now this new hired intern who is kicking my butt and even knows a couple more things than me has rekindled my inner-flame. Retail is retail so our results may vary based on location. I guess start looking into other/hospital intern positions early on your first year if it's definitely not a fit for you.

 

[lane one]

Please tell me someone has been in my shoes....

I'm a pharm tech at cvs, nationally certified, just got accepted to pharmacy school for fall 2016, I have a bachelors degree in communication, and I'm a parent.

But.

I am a god awful pharmacy technician, or so it feels. I know that I am not fast enough at production. I only work weekends so there's still a bunch of insurance issues I don't know how to resolve. I am a rule follower and ocd about labels, paper folding, organized shelves, etc. I knew going into this profession that I would not be a retail pharmacist but I thought I needed the experience. But good grief is it becoming miserable! Even my pharmacist is treating me differently.

What will be my options for interning other than retail? Does anyone think it would be better if I moved to a slower pharmacy or a pharmacy other than cvs? Because seriously, cvs and I are not compatible. My true interest is oncology. Suggestions, opinions, advice - help!

I see plenty of good qualities so no worries . You're right, you and CVS are not compatible. Yes, speediness is next to godliness in retail, but if you don't want to work retail then don't sweat it. It doesn't sound like the job is outsmarting you, just outpacing you.

 

[sakigt]

I worked part time in a hospital and it took a solid week one time working 40 hours for everything to sink it and make sense. Then working weekends only was cake.