Is working as a pharmacy tech really hard?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
bottlecap1990

bottlecap1990

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
366
Reaction score
1
Points
4,551
Location
New Jersey
  1. Pre-Pharmacy
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Dealing with customers, insurance company, etc. I heard that it is always the techs' fault whenever there is a problem. I am starting to think to find a different experience besides being a pharmacy tech.
 
bottlecap1990 said:
Dealing with customers, insurance company, etc. I heard that it is always the techs' fault whenever there is a problem. I am starting to think to find a different experience besides being a pharmacy tech.
Click to expand...

Just wait until you start working and see what you think of it personally.

Sometimes it's up to you to be frustrated or just let it go and find something else to do.

But if you talk to someone who has worked there for a while, they can usually tell you if it's typical or relatively rare.

With most customers, if you respect them and explain to them about what to expect, then they'll be less likely to yell at you or get frustrated.

There's a first time for everything, so on your first encounter, it may be a bit difficult or confusing, but once you get used to it, you'll have an idea of how things should be.
 
bottlecap1990 said:
Dealing with customers, insurance company, etc. I heard that it is always the techs' fault whenever there is a problem. I am starting to think to find a different experience besides being a pharmacy tech.
Click to expand...

depends on the day 🙂 it can be crazy hard some days and a piece of cake others..but i love it 🙂
 
rxellie said:
depends on the day 🙂 it can be crazy hard some days and a piece of cake others..but i love it 🙂
Click to expand...

crazy hard = 1st day of the month (usually)

piece of cake = last two weekends of the month (i guess this still depends on the place)
 
bottlecap1990 said:
Dealing with customers, insurance company, etc. I heard that it is always the techs' fault whenever there is a problem. I am starting to think to find a different experience besides being a pharmacy tech.
Click to expand...

Since you are waiting for a call back from CVS I will assume you mean a retail tech. I am only just now starting at a hospital so I will let one of my more knowledgeable colleagues field that side of it (I would love to hear from someone experienced in that side of it). My answer is no. Depends on your personality. If you take things personally then yes you will find working as a retail tech very hard. If you are the type that would rather "fight" the system rather than just follow policy then I would say yes. But if you have worked in any retail setting in the past and found things like difficult customers/following various company policies were not a problem then you won't find being a tech hard. It's actually much nicer than most retail jobs, IMO. The vast majority of people are glad to get their scripts as long as their aren't any "surprises". As with anything all you hear about are the people who cause problems/are impossible to deal with. If you have a positive attitude, treat people with courtesy/respect and remember to not take things personally then I think you will find your tech job to be quite enjoyable. Honestly though it takes the right mind set. If you fall into the trap of always blaming the customer/getting annoyed at every little thing/etc. then you will quickly learn to hate what you do. Actually, if you don't mind, here are some tips on how to succeed in retail (Mine are gonna be serious, I can't wait to see what some others are gonna come up with):

1. Try to put yourself in the customers shoes in every case. There will be many, many times when customers are gonna hafta wait longer than they want to/expected to. Think about how you would feel about that kind of wait. From their point of view why should it take longer than 30 min. to get 30 pills? That's over one minute per pill! Just acknowledge them when they come up (I will be right with you ma'am) and do the best you can to get them out as soon as you can. The vast majority will recognise the effort (if you are really doing your best) and some will even thank you (rare, but oh so great when it happens). These are not the ones you will remember sadly, you will remember the cranky ones. That's life.

2. Never, ever "take the bait"/try to outsmart the customer. This probably won't make since right now, but way too many good people fall for this. If someone is upset, just apologize and offer to fix it. If the offense is wait time recognise their complaint, apologize and thank them for waiting patiently. Do not get dragged into an argument and do not try to outsmart them. You will never, ever win an argument. Your victory is in avoiding the argument altogether. If you can't wrap your head around this, retail is not for you.

3. Fighting the system is a waste of energy. I cannot tell you how many people I have seen spend all their energy on getting around (or "beating")the system. They would be so much more productive (and I think happier, but to each their own) if they would just follow policy/work within the system.

Wow this got to be a really long post. There are many other qualities that lead to success in retail (like having a pulse 😉) but I think if you concentrate on those 3 (really it's more like 2) you will do fine. One final point: If you can get to the point where making the customer happy makes you happy, then you will love your job. If you can't get there, at best you will not hate you're job. It doesn't work both ways though, don't let a mad customer make you mad, etc. If you think these are helpful/you want more just let me know. Maybe I should post some HIPPA approved stories?
 
crazybob said:
Just wait until you start working and see what you think of it personally.

Sometimes it's up to you to be frustrated or just let it go and find something else to do.

But if you talk to someone who has worked there for a while, they can usually tell you if it's typical or relatively rare.

With most customers, if you respect them and explain to them about what to expect, then they'll be less likely to yell at you or get frustrated.

There's a first time for everything, so on your first encounter, it may be a bit difficult or confusing, but once you get used to it, you'll have an idea of how things should be.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%
 
and also think of the wait time when you put someone on hold on the phone.

when i was at wal-mart, there was one time when i put someone on hold and realized i didn't go back for 15 minutes when i was busy doing other things.

people won't always hang up and call back because they'll expect you to come back at any second.
 
bottlecap1990 said:
Dealing with customers, insurance company, etc. I heard that it is always the techs' fault whenever there is a problem. I am starting to think to find a different experience besides being a pharmacy tech.
Click to expand...

Depending on how busy the store is, it can be challenging. If you're worried about this, a tech at an independent pharmacy is probably less stressful and more enjoyable.
 
boltdude said:
Depending on how busy the store is, it can be challenging. If you're worried about this, a tech at an independent pharmacy is probably less stressful and more enjoyable.
Click to expand...

Probably a better opportunity to learn, as well. I don't hate my job, but there are lots of days I don't get to do much except run a cash register.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Working as a pharmacy tech is really hard for me in the sense that no one in a 30 mile radius is hiring any.
 
I work at McD's so I can't wait until I turn 18 and start working as a tech.
 
in hospital pharmacy, if you cannot maintain focus/composure during extremely fast paced and stressful situations, then it could be hard for you. You also have to be accurate with everything or you can kill someone because the pharmacist takes your word for it that you put 8 ml of something into a bag or reconstituted something correctly or did a proper dilution. In retail, I found that the hardest part was watching people spend hundreds of dollars on their scripts or watching them choose between groceries and plavix. It was also difficult to know that docs were not practicing evidence based medicine and that there was pretty much nothing we could do about it(EDIT: if the doc didn't want anything changed). Maybe I am dramatic but I swear a little piece of me died everytime I found out that our elderly patients were cutting their meds in half to make them last longer. After dealing with insurances (esp medicaid) and watching people suffer like that, I knew retail was not for me....maybe if things change. The job itself (filling, ringing stuff up, doing the drive thru) is not hard. It is the stress/emotional baggage that gets you. Now mail order was boring as hell but easy.
 
Last edited:
Every day is a different experience, and every location a different type of battle. I've heard hospital techs talk about how much they loved and/ or hated their jobs, and the same goes for retail. Your pharmacy location, pharmacy purpose, pharmacist on duty, and your attitude are basically the biggest determinants of what work will be like.

I've had days where I've left feeling satisfied, and I've had days where I thought about submitting my two-weeks notice in a heartbeat. The biggest thing you should be ready to do is become part of a team. A team is what makes a day in the pharmacy.

Days when there is no team but just an isolated, pissy pharmacist, and techs who don't like working with each other, are the worst days.
 
If you try to do things alone, you'll have things piling up and your coworker will be standing next to you asking if they can help you, if it's too messy to know what's been done and what hasn't.

It's usually much faster to split some of the workload and do it together to save time. Sometimes you might want to do things yourself to make sure it's right, but your coworkers can do as well as you do. Sometimes you need them to look for any mistakes you might make. If two drugs have really similar names, you might count the wrong medication (which can happen a lot when you're busy and in a hurry) and you'll need someone to catch that for you.
 
I agree with Bob. And I think P4Sci can verify that the team-building skills learned while in the military have made us valuable assets in our respective pharmacies.

Maybe instead of working as a tech, you should call your local recruiter. :meanie:
 
I really think it all depends on where you get hired and what their expectations are. However, I believe that most employers are realistic, and will ease your introduction of the marvelous world of being a pharmacy tech.

I work for Walgreens, and the biggest challenge for me has been simply mastering their computer system. It's very sophisticated, and can do a lot, but can feel very cumbersome when you're not used to it. So much of the other tasks, they have simplified (ie. picking the right drug is as simple as scanning the leaflet, scanning the barcode on the stock bottle...if they don't match, look at the bottle). So I don't know about CVS, but if it's anything like Walgreens...if you are computer saavy, you are in good shape. Your co-workers should help you along with the rest.
 
schamj01 said:
I really think it all depends on where you get hired and what their expectations are. However, I believe that most employers are realistic, and will ease your introduction of the marvelous world of being a pharmacy tech.

I work for Walgreens, and the biggest challenge for me has been simply mastering their computer system. It's very sophisticated, and can do a lot, but can feel very cumbersome when you're not used to it. So much of the other tasks, they have simplified (ie. picking the right drug is as simple as scanning the leaflet, scanning the barcode on the stock bottle...if they don't match, look at the bottle). So I don't know about CVS, but if it's anything like Walgreens...if you are computer saavy, you are in good shape. Your co-workers should help you along with the rest.
Click to expand...

Speaking of Walgreens, I saw 5 people on one computer when I was shopping today. Is that common? It seemed like one or two pharmacists, an intern and maybe two technicians.
 
pharm B said:
Every day is a different experience, and every location a different type of battle. I've heard hospital techs talk about how much they loved and/ or hated their jobs, and the same goes for retail. Your pharmacy location, pharmacy purpose, pharmacist on duty, and your attitude are basically the biggest determinants of what work will be like.

I've had days where I've left feeling satisfied, and I've had days where I thought about submitting my two-weeks notice in a heartbeat. The biggest thing you should be ready to do is become part of a team. A team is what makes a day in the pharmacy.

Days when there is no team but just an isolated, pissy pharmacist, and techs who don't like working with each other, are the worst days.
Click to expand...

I would say attitude is the single biggest determinant, but I agree with everything you posted. The teamwork part is 100% correct. Thinking that you're the only one that can do "it" correctly (everything) is a fast way to become "that tech" that nobody wants to work with. I doubt the OP needs to worry about that though.:laugh:
 
Last edited:
owlegrad said:
I would say attitude is the single biggest determinant, but I agree with everything you posted. The teamwork part is 100% correct. Thinking that your the only one that can do "it" correctly (everything) is a fast way to become "that tech" that nobody wants to work with. I doubt the OP needs to worry about that though.:laugh:
Click to expand...

Oh and learning everyone's strengths and weaknesses can help you figure out which person to ask for help. It can also let you figure out which person to not ask when you're trying to save some time. Even if you want all of the help you can get, sometimes it can be faster to wait for someone rather than to ask someone who hasn't done it before (including yourself).
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Learning how to deal with different personalities is a real talent. You like some and you don't like some. There will always be a little drama wherever you go (sometimes a lot of drama). The important thing is finding your way OUT of the drama or keeping out of the drama. Do your job. Help your patients. Go home. If you can form friendships at work, great. But, it certainly shouldn't be an expectation.
 
rxlea said:
Learning how to deal with different personalities is a real talent. You like some and you don't like some. There will always be a little drama wherever you go (sometimes a lot of drama). The important thing is finding your way OUT of the drama or keeping out of the drama. Do your job. Help your patients. Go home. If you can form friendships at work, great. But, it certainly shouldn't be an expectation.
Click to expand...

Sometimes they fill you in on the drama that has been going on already, during your first week :laugh:
 
boltdude said:
Depending on how busy the store is, it can be challenging. If you're worried about this, a tech at an independent pharmacy is probably less stressful and more enjoyable.
Click to expand...

It can be less stressful on slow days. My independent really only needs one good tech and one pharmacist. I'm the lead tech, so on days when its busy and I'm solo, I can get real irritated. It kind of all depends on the work load. If its distributed and fair, then it can be fun.
 
Just prepare to be yelled at by customers, even if you're doing what's right.
 
Walgreens was the best place to work. and i actually liked the computer system!!!
 
I think the hardest part is when you first start out as a tech. However, like every other job, you get used to it... and then once you become more accustomed to your tasks you don't really get yelled at.
 
This summarizes my night: patients don't have patience, and they also don't know their insurance policies.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I've worked at an independent pharmacy and in my experience it was not so bad. You have the occasional bad days but this pharmacy was not really busy so it was manageable when it's only you and the pharmacist.
 
I agree with the whole "become part of the team" idea. If a pharmacist or group of pharmacists see you are someone they cannot come to in a stressful situation, your life can be hell. I have seen some ugly situations between pharmacists and incompetent techs.

If, on the other hand, you earn their trust and respect your workday will be busy at times but always enjoyable.
 
When I first started, 2 things were very difficult for me:

1) Reading handwriting
2) Dealing with insurance rejects

Doctors have the worst handwriting ever. I seriously think they take a class to develop bad handwriting. I am so happy most MDs now are transitioning to electronic prescriptions or at least typing up their scripts.

Prescriptions get rejected and must be adjusted accordingly. Sometimes there's a quantity restriction or days' supply restriction. Sometimes there's a preferred therapy that must be tried first. And sometimes, a prior authorization is needed. Patients hate these the most because doctors and the insurance company may take days before it's approved, if it ever does
 
nexus14 said:
When I first started, 2 things were very difficult for me:

1) Reading handwriting
2) Dealing with insurance rejects

Doctors have the worst handwriting ever. I seriously think they take a class to develop bad handwriting. I am so happy most MDs now are transitioning to electronic prescriptions or at least typing up their scripts.

Prescriptions get rejected and must be adjusted accordingly. Sometimes there's a quantity restriction or days' supply restriction. Sometimes there's a preferred therapy that must be tried first. And sometimes, a prior authorization is needed. Patients hate these the most because doctors and the insurance company may take days before it's approved, if it ever does
Click to expand...
I agree with the handwriting thing. Doctors suck at writing legibly...really, really suck. Thank God for faxed scripts.

The hardest thing for me personally was entering new scripts into the computer system, especially getting the SIG code right. Sometimes the faxed scripts already have the SIG on them, so those are great 😀
 
It's not that hard... and to be a good pharmacist, you need to know the tech job in and out anyway (and many responsibilities overlap, as well as many frustrations are common to both functions), so better start now, you will be better prepared to work as a pharmacist if you have worked as a tech.
 
All the necessary skills to be an excellent tech could be acquired in anywhere from 3-6 months of part-time work. What I find difficult to deal with is that techs are never credible enough. If we tell patients their insurance won't cover a certain med, they think we are wrong by default and have to hear it directly from the pharmacist. Also, it's frustrating when you have a line and people bring all their groceries to check out at the pharmacy and get mad you don't have a scale to weigh their bananas. Because it would be absolutely terrifying to cash out at a regular register on your way out. Besides that... It's doable.
 
PharmOl said:
Also, it's frustrating when you have a line and people bring all their groceries to check out at the pharmacy and get mad you don't have a scale to weigh their bananas. Because it would be absolutely terrifying to cash out at a regular register on your way out. Besides that... It's doable.
Click to expand...

Drugstores being drugstores? And not convenience stores? Get outta town. 😛
 
IndustryPharmD said:
It's not that hard... and to be a good pharmacist, you need to know the tech job in and out anyway (and many responsibilities overlap, as well as many frustrations are common to both functions), so better start now, you will be better prepared to work as a pharmacist if you have worked as a tech.
Click to expand...

I am so glad that you said that. The best pharmacists ALWAYS seems to have been a tech for a number of years previous. Then, there are those pharmacists who seem incapable of even doing a tech job....
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
It really depends on the area and the type of customers your store gets. I work at 2 different stores and each store is totally different!

One store I get yelled at daily. The other store I get yelled at once every month or so.

Just keep calm, try to fix their problem, and get them out.

One thing is this. Nobody understands insurance companies. Nobody wants to deal with them. They want you to deal with them. Their insurance company is a voice on the phone. You are in front of them. People will vent at you because it is conveinent.
 
Thumper17 said:
I am so glad that you said that. The best pharmacists ALWAYS seems to have been a tech for a number of years previous. Then, there are those pharmacists who seem incapable of even doing a tech job....
Click to expand...

amen!!!!! 👍
 
Thumper17 said:
I am so glad that you said that. The best pharmacists ALWAYS seems to have been a tech for a number of years previous. Then, there are those pharmacists who seem incapable of even doing a tech job....
Click to expand...

I've heard from my preceptor that there are some pharmacists who think they're too good for certain tasks and those pharmacists think that only techs should do them. It's stuff everyone does in every other pharmacy (like answering the phone, seeing what a customer/patient wants, putting prescription orders into the computer, etc)
 
or you have the pharmacist who is a complete control freak and refuses to let the tech do anything....i worked with one who thought he had to answer the phone whenever it rang even if he was doing four other things because he was the pharmacist and couldn't trust the tech to answer the phone correctly. ugh..
 
owlegrad said:
Since you are waiting for a call back from CVS I will assume you mean a retail tech. I am only just now starting at a hospital so I will let one of my more knowledgeable colleagues field that side of it (I would love to hear from someone experienced in that side of it). My answer is no. Depends on your personality. If you take things personally then yes you will find working as a retail tech very hard. If you are the type that would rather "fight" the system rather than just follow policy then I would say yes. But if you have worked in any retail setting in the past and found things like difficult customers/following various company policies were not a problem then you won't find being a tech hard. It's actually much nicer than most retail jobs, IMO. The vast majority of people are glad to get their scripts as long as their aren't any "surprises". As with anything all you hear about are the people who cause problems/are impossible to deal with. If you have a positive attitude, treat people with courtesy/respect and remember to not take things personally then I think you will find your tech job to be quite enjoyable. Honestly though it takes the right mind set. If you fall into the trap of always blaming the customer/getting annoyed at every little thing/etc. then you will quickly learn to hate what you do. Actually, if you don't mind, here are some tips on how to succeed in retail (Mine are gonna be serious, I can't wait to see what some others are gonna come up with):

1. Try to put yourself in the customers shoes in every case. There will be many, many times when customers are gonna hafta wait longer than they want to/expected to. Think about how you would feel about that kind of wait. From their point of view why should it take longer than 30 min. to get 30 pills? That's over one minute per pill! Just acknowledge them when they come up (I will be right with you ma'am) and do the best you can to get them out as soon as you can. The vast majority will recognise the effort (if you are really doing your best) and some will even thank you (rare, but oh so great when it happens). These are not the ones you will remember sadly, you will remember the cranky ones. That's life.

2. Never, ever "take the bait"/try to outsmart the customer. This probably won't make since right now, but way too many good people fall for this. If someone is upset, just apologize and offer to fix it. If the offense is wait time recognise their complaint, apologize and thank them for waiting patiently. Do not get dragged into an argument and do not try to outsmart them. You will never, ever win an argument. Your victory is in avoiding the argument altogether. If you can't wrap your head around this, retail is not for you.

3. Fighting the system is a waste of energy. I cannot tell you how many people I have seen spend all their energy on getting around (or "beating")the system. They would be so much more productive (and I think happier, but to each their own) if they would just follow policy/work within the system.

Wow this got to be a really long post. There are many other qualities that lead to success in retail (like having a pulse 😉) but I think if you concentrate on those 3 (really it's more like 2) you will do fine. One final point: If you can get to the point where making the customer happy makes you happy, then you will love your job. If you can't get there, at best you will not hate you're job. It doesn't work both ways though, don't let a mad customer make you mad, etc. If you think these are helpful/you want more just let me know. Maybe I should post some HIPPA approved stories?
Click to expand...

Wow. So your whole strategy is to basically roll over and kiss their ass?
No thanks. When customers are wrong they are wrong. If they don' tknow why they are wrong then the same crap will happen next month.
I'm not against apologizing when I'm wrong, but I am against letting the customers think they are right when they are wrong.
 
Dezixn said:
Wow. So your whole strategy is to basically roll over and kiss their ass?
No thanks. When customers are wrong they are wrong. If they don' tknow why they are wrong then the same crap will happen next month.
I'm not against apologizing when I'm wrong, but I am against letting the customers think they are right when they are wrong.
Click to expand...

Especially with controls and refills.
 
PharmOl said:
Also, it's frustrating when you have a line and people bring all their groceries to check out at the pharmacy and get mad you don't have a scale to weigh their bananas.
Click to expand...

:laugh:
 
PharmOl said:
Also, it's frustrating when you have a line and people bring all their groceries to check out at the pharmacy and get mad you don't have a scale to weigh their bananas. Because it would be absolutely terrifying to cash out at a regular register on your way out. Besides that... It's doable.
Click to expand...

If you have a scale for compounding, you must have a scale for bananas, right? :laugh:
 
crazybob said:
Speaking of Walgreens, I saw 5 people on one computer when I was shopping today. Is that common? It seemed like one or two pharmacists, an intern and maybe two technicians.
Click to expand...


lol...they were probably trying to decipher some doctor's handwriting. I know we've all been gathered around one computer at my store trying to figure a SIG out.
 
Dezixn said:
Wow. So your whole strategy is to basically roll over and kiss their ass?
No thanks. When customers are wrong they are wrong. If they don' tknow why they are wrong then the same crap will happen next month.
I'm not against apologizing when I'm wrong, but I am against letting the customers think they are right when they are wrong.
Click to expand...

I have never seen a customer admit they are wrong. I recently had a lady insist she always pays $10 for a 90 day supply of her medication. I brought up her profile and showed her where she has always paid $10 for 30 day supply. I explained that this was a 90 day fill instead of a 30 day fill. I asked her if she would prefer the usual 30 day fill instead. She wouldn't believe me. She said she would accept the "new, higher" price, but that she didn't appreciate me tell her how much she supposedly spent on her medication when she knows she usually spends $10 for 90 days. Trying to use facts or logic with customers like that is (in my opinion) just picking a fight. I didn't try to convince her of anything after she said that. I simply smiled, apologized for the inconvenience, finished ringing her up and thanked her for her business. You may think that's wrong, I disagree. I sincerely think that's the attitude to have if you want to be happy in retail.

If you can ever get a customer to admit they are wrong, than you are a better man then me. :laugh:
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mr.Smile12
[AACP] Pharmacy School Interest Rises as Applications Jump 6%
Replies
1
Views
721
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Tuquyen10
Advice needed: Pharm Tech or Intern.
Replies
1
Views
3K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
D
  • Question Question
How hard is it to get into a 'top' pharmacy school in 2024? What are my chances?
Replies
9
Views
11K
RxPreceptor
RxPreceptor
Mr.Smile12
Webinar: Funding your Pharmacy Education (AACP)
Replies
0
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Salem Dany
I need help deciding between pharmacy schools
Replies
2
Views
1K
projektreverb
P
Top Bottom