any interns here squeezed for hours now?

[psurocks]

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Have a question for you pharmacy interns:

have you guys/girls seen a decrease in the hours your store is giving you recently? if yes how have you dealt with it? (ie. switched stores? went to a different chain? etc)

 

[Prepharm1214]

I worked at Rite Aid for 2 years, but now am switching to Walgreens I think. Rite Aid was pressuring me to drive to different cities in order to get reasonable amounts of hours and not compensating me for gas. Now that I'm a P1, and have an intern license, I can get paid at Walgreens out of corporate, so they don't mind working me 40ish hours a week. Rite Aid makes you be a P3 or P4 for your pay to come out of corporate.

 

[b*rizzle]

Have a question for you pharmacy interns:

have you guys/girls seen a decrease in the hours your store is giving you recently? if yes how have you dealt with it? (ie. switched stores? went to a different chain? etc)

Yeah, for sure. I'm with Target, and our store fills 1300 a week. We went from 155 technician hours, to 150 hrs, and most recently we're down to 142 per week.

Target's Rx hours are based on store performance, not necessarily Rx volume (even though it does play a factor). We're in a smaller (read: not a Super Target) store that doesn't stay as busy as the bigger ones; in fact, our pharmacy typically comprises anywhere from 10% to 15% of the store sales in a given week. This is a rare occurrence (at least in the RDU market). We are carrying the store.

Another store of the same size in our district that does a similar volume to us has 168 tech hours per week, but they are in a much wealthier area and probably do about 5-8% of store sales in a given week.

As far as "maintaining" hours: I work ~30 hrs on any given week. I've managed to keep my head above water (in terms of not losing too many hours), but I also work my @$$ off every time I'm back there, so my boss realizes that she absolutely needs me back there. If push comes to shove, I'd float to other stores if necessary...but since Target doesn't really offer anything special to their interns (other than the potential for a job after graduation -- no mileage for helping out at other stores, no benefits, no accrued vacation time), if I lost more than 8 hours a week, I'd probably hand in my 2 weeks' notice.

After I'd found another job, that is.

 

[bacillus1]

Yeah I work at Rite Aid and they cut my hours in half. Lucky for me that I work in center city Philly (1 block from Jefferson) so there are more Rite Aids around. So so far I've already worked at a different store twice. That'll probably continue.

 

[Sparda29]

Well, I work only 12 hours a week, Saturday (10AM-6PM), and Sunday (7PM-11PM - 24 hour store). They would love for me to work more, but I really don't want to because they won't allow me to study while I'm at work.

Once I open a book, they tell me to go fill up the vials, or make prescription books, or do day 14s, or cycle counts. 🙁

 

[bacillus1]

Well, I work only 12 hours a week, Saturday (10AM-6PM), and Sunday (7PM-11PM - 24 hour store). They would love for me to work more, but I really don't want to because they won't allow me to study while I'm at work.

Once I open a book, they tell me to go fill up the vials, or make prescription books, or do day 14s, or cycle counts. 🙁

Wow you actually have time to even think about opening a book at your pharmacy? Lucky. We usually don't have time for those things you mentioned because we are so busy with filling and dispensing the prescriptions (and underbudgeted and with a tech who tells stories to the patients and this makes them stick around the pharmacy longer instead of leaving).

 

[suprachica79]

I work at Baystate hospital in the ambulatory pharmacy which is alot like a community pharmacy. Since the governer cut medicaid spending a ton, our hospital lost $15 million in medicaid reimbursement. Due to this and the fact that we are building a childrens hospital across the street, my hours have dropped from 40 hrs a week per diem to 12. We got our hours cut at the end of last summer to 24hrs a week, and then i got hit this blow and now I need to start looking for a new job or an additional job. It sucks hardcore, Im not going to have any money for second semester now that my hours have been cut so much over the winter break.

Any suggestions what the best chain would be to work at? Im thinking walmart or sams club because they dont have a drive thru.

 

[naseuy]

Well, I work only 12 hours a week, Saturday (10AM-6PM), and Sunday (7PM-11PM - 24 hour store). They would love for me to work more, but I really don't want to because they won't allow me to study while I'm at work.

Once I open a book, they tell me to go fill up the vials, or make prescription books, or do day 14s, or cycle counts. 🙁

I don't believe you're a pharmacy "intern" right now. Unless I'm wrong, don't pharmacy students get their intern license after their first year?

 

[medicalCPA]

I don't believe you're a pharmacy "intern" right now. Unless I'm wrong, don't pharmacy students get their intern license after their first year?

It depends on the state. Some states grant intern licenses after the first year, some when you enroll, and some when you are accepted to pharmacy school.

 

[naseuy]

In the state of NY, where Sparda and I are both in, I believe that is the case.

 

[Praziquantel86]

Well, I work only 12 hours a week, Saturday (10AM-6PM), and Sunday (7PM-11PM - 24 hour store). They would love for me to work more, but I really don't want to because they won't allow me to study while I'm at work.

Once I open a book, they tell me to go fill up the vials, or make prescription books, or do day 14s, or cycle counts. 🙁

You're not an intern yet; different pay scale/budgeted hours (in most cases).

I've only been working 4 hours a week at my store...if they cut me back anymore I'll just be nonexistent. On the bright side, I've been working long enough for my company that I get 4 hours of holiday rate even if I don't work! My first check for double time made me very happy.