ATTN: Class of 2012 Interns

[007rx]

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Now that summer is winding down, I just wanted to ask all of you interns starting your P1 this fall a few questions, mainly:

What have you guys actually learned through your internships?

I ask because I have learned a very minimal amount:
-A few brand/generic drugs and their basic uses (ie. analgesic, diuretic, anticoagulant...no mechanisms or anything, just enough to tell patients what they are used for.)
-how to count, scan, and sell drugs to customers.
-Very basic knowledge of sig codes.

As you can see, my internship consisted of learning tech stuff and not even everything that a tech can do at that, I'd say I have probably 50% of the capabilities of a tech, and a few dollars/hour more of their pay. I imagined that I would be learning more about drugs and reactions they have, diseases/sicknesses, side effects, you know, stuff that would help me out in pharmacy school. Is this what all of you interns have been doing? Please state where you worked too (hospital, cvs, rite-aid, walgreens, independent etc.) I work at a cvs. I don't want to actually tell the store pharmacist about this because he's a really cool guy and I don't want to make it seem like he's doing a bad job teaching me stuff if no other interns out there are really learning much either. Your input is appreciated, I may have to change to a different place next year if this is all I'm going to be doing for the next four years. Or it could be that I have very high expectations of what I should be learning and maybe I should just calm down and enjoy the rest of summer

 

[fenixtnlfan]

I'm jealous you got to intern already! I have to wait until the day I start classes because I'll be so much more prepared as an intern after one day of classes....lol.

 

[Bribriguy16]

Well, I've interned at Walgreens this summer and I agree to an extent. It is kind of hard for us to go into the more complex stuff at this point seeing as we have no formal pharmacy education. I see this summer as more of an introductory period, where we can see the way a retail pharmacy is run, and to pick the brains of the pharmacists about our upcoming experiences in pharm school and in the field. I think you just have to be patient until September when we get going for real.

 

[TexasSuxs]

Now that summer is winding down, I just wanted to ask all of you interns starting your P1 this fall a few questions, mainly:

What have you guys actually learned through your internships?

I ask because I have learned a very minimal amount:
-A few brand/generic drugs and their basic uses (ie. analgesic, diuretic, anticoagulant...no mechanisms or anything, just enough to tell patients what they are used for.)
-how to count, scan, and sell drugs to customers.
-Very basic knowledge of sig codes.

As you can see, my internship consisted of learning tech stuff and not even everything that a tech can do at that, I'd say I have probably 50% of the capabilities of a tech, and a few dollars/hour more of their pay. I imagined that I would be learning more about drugs and reactions they have, diseases/sicknesses, side effects, you know, stuff that would help me out in pharmacy school. Is this what all of you interns have been doing? Please state where you worked too (hospital, cvs, rite-aid, walgreens, independent etc.) I work at a cvs. I don't want to actually tell the store pharmacist about this because he's a really cool guy and I don't want to make it seem like he's doing a bad job teaching me stuff if no other interns out there are really learning much either. Your input is appreciated, I may have to change to a different place next year if this is all I'm going to be doing for the next four years. Or it could be that I have very high expectations of what I should be learning and maybe I should just calm down and enjoy the rest of summer

What were you expecting? A medicinal chemisty lecture everyday? Gimme a break....

 

[SPharmN]

At our school, we won't get our intern licenses until October/November.

 

[BravoKilo]

What state are you in that you can have an intern license before your first year?

The Dean at my school won't sign off on our licenses until we're on campus in September, nor would State law allow it in the first place.

That being said, from my personal experience, I don't see much of an advantage of being an intern vs. a tech in a retail setting. I've worked as a tech for about 10 months at a regional supermarket (Meijer), and honestly feel I'm more qualified than the P2 intern thats been there over a year. When it comes to the typical "tech work", she too seems to have half the capabilities (still can't grasp even the simplest DUR rejects/insurance issues), and even worse lacks good communication skills to counsel patients in the event she knows what she's talking about.

Unfortunately, our store is a bit too busy to allow for any beneficial interactions between the pharmacists and intern. She usually ends up making all the doctor calls, and the pharmacists will have her counsel patients if she knows the answer. Aside from that, the fast-paced work flow really doesn't allow for any real "teaching" to be done by the pharmacists (i.e. why Drug-X interacts with Drug-Y, mechanisms of action, etc. etc.). Unless you work in a slow-paced store or have a pharmacist dedicated to helping you, I really don't see retail the best place to learn the science behind pharmacy. Can't speak for the other areas of pharmacy as I have no experience outside the realm of retail.

All that being said, what are you doing yourself to further your knowledge? If you're hoping for pharmacists to 'tell you what you need to know', you may want to re-evaluate that plan. When its slow in the pharmacy, take the time to read over whatever reference materials you can find... for example, today was beyond slow (we had filled 100 scripts when I left early after 7 hours) so I literally spent 3-4 hours reading the Pharmacist's Letter and poking around on Clinical Pharmacology (I look over PL's Rumors/Truths section & message board almost daily).
Also, there are quite a few pharmacy related magazines that offer free subscriptions to techs/interns (Drug Topics & U.S. Pharmacist to name a couple) that make for perfect material to read while you're on the can.

 

[Farmercyst]

Based on the c/o 2012 remark, I'd say it's probably a 3 year school. Given that 4 year schools are starting c/o 2013 this fall.

As for me I did CVS summer internship. Most of my experience was tech duties, but I took several new/refill auths, counseled on OTC selection and a few of the abx new script counsels. We also had lectures once a week on various subjects. I still have to complete my outreach project.

 

[Aggie07]

Farmer, the class of 2012 is starting in the 4 year schools this year.

And for all you guys complaining about having to wait to be an intern - in Texas you aren't an intern until you have completed 30 hours of pharmacy school.

 

[BravoKilo]

Farmer, the class of 2012 is starting in the 4 year schools this year.

And for all you guys complaining about having to wait to be an intern - in Texas you aren't an intern until you have completed 30 hours of pharmacy school.

30 credit hours or 30 hours in class?

 

[crashcartqueen]

As far as interns go, I have worked as a tech in retail and hospital settings for the past five years- I will be an intern beginning August 11th, and the only thing that will change is my pay. I will still be doing the exact same "tech jobs" as an intern as I did as a tech. However, I do have to comment about hospital pharmacy- they occasionally allow for an intern to take a day and "shadow" the pharmacist instead of technician stuff...that is pretty much the only way to get any useful pharmaceutical knowledge. (think: clinical or "floor" pharmacist). Also, usually an intern can accompany the RPh on code blues in a hospital- that's an interesting learning experience, especially if you have a pharmacist who gives you a play-by-play on why they do the things they do on a code. I highly recommend hospital pharmacy if you want to get some working knowledge out of your internship. If you want communication skills, definitely go retail.

 

[mike36]

30 credit hours or 30 hours in class?

30 credit hours. We have to have successfully completed the P1 year (no F's) before we get our licenses. So we don't get them until May after P1 year is over.

 

[007rx]

What were you expecting? A medicinal chemisty lecture everyday? Gimme a break....

That would be awesome, but not what I was expecting. I explained what I was expecting in my original post.

Being an intern is supposed to give us experience of what our jobs as pharmacists will be like. My job is giving me experience of what being a technician will be like, if I ever fully become one some day. I know the two positions aren't mutually exclusive, but this is really ridiculous. Not only am I not learning anything that will help me in school, but I'm not even learning the simple things that techs can do, so I am doubly frustrated. Other than very basic drug info/names, I have learned literally nothing since a few weeks after I started. I do not deserve to make more money than the 5+ year techs with all the work they do compared to me.

Although I do see what the pharmacist does all day, I'm pretty sure I can get that experience sitting down outside the pharmacy and watching them, so basically the patients waiting on their scripts get as much of an "internship" as me, as far as learning about strictly pharmacist work.

And I'm not officially an intern yet, I don't get my license until school starts as well...so my hours aren't counting. But the title that cvs gives to admitted students starting their P1 in the fall is "intern." Hopefully things will pick up next summer once I already have a year of schooling in.

 

[njac]

30 credit hours. We have to have successfully completed the P1 year (no F's) before we get our licenses. So we don't get them until May after P1 year is over.

that is how new mexico works as well.

 

[BravoKilo]

That would be awesome, but not what I was expecting. I explained what I was expecting in my original post.

Being an intern is supposed to give us experience of what our jobs as pharmacists will be like. My job is giving me experience of what being a technician will be like, if I ever fully become one some day. I know the two positions aren't mutually exclusive, but this is really ridiculous. Not only am I not learning anything that will help me in school, but I'm not even learning the simple things that techs can do, so I am doubly frustrated. Other than very basic drug info/names, I have learned literally nothing since a few weeks after I started. I do not deserve to make more money than the 5+ year techs with all the work they do compared to me.

Although I do see what the pharmacist does all day, I'm pretty sure I can get that experience sitting down outside the pharmacy and watching them, so basically the patients waiting on their scripts get as much of an "internship" as me, as far as learning about strictly pharmacist work.

And I'm not officially an intern yet, I don't get my license until school starts as well...so my hours aren't counting. But the title that cvs gives to admitted students starting their P1 in the fall is "intern." Hopefully things will pick up next summer once I already have a year of schooling in.

How long have you been working there, and exactly what have you been doing if you're not watching what the pharmacist does, and not doing what the techs do? If you don't even know the brand/generic names for your top fast movers, how can you expect to know the more complicated science behind those drugs?? I'd like to hear you walk me through one of your typical days as I'm pretty confused at this point...

 

[Glycerin]

We have to have successfully completed the P1 year before we get our licenses. So we don't get them until May after P1 year is over.

Same in VA, though P1s can apply during the first year for the license; they just can't work as interns and have the hours apply until after final exams week of the spring semester.

 

[parabolic]

Or it could be that I have very high expectations of what I should be learning and maybe I should just calm down and enjoy the rest of summer

You pretty much hit it on the head right there, assuming you didn't work at CVS before becoming an intern and so you didn't already know the basics from the start.

Everyone from tech to pharmacist needs to know how to do any given tech job in order to be a functional part of a retail pharmacy. You need to be able to successfully type in a new prescription when handed one, know to refill the customer's zolpidem when they ask you for Ambien, and point the customer toward the OTC cough drops when they ask where they are. It looks like that's what you've been learning --the basics-- and since you had to start somewhere, it looks like that was a good place to start.

In the meantime, ask questions when you want to learn more. When you hear the pharmacist counsel a patient not to take drug X with antacids, for example, you're allowed to ask him "Why not?" when he's done. You might not fully understand right away, because you haven't started pharmacy classes yet, but store the information away for later.

Probably the best advice I got from my preceptor was that school teaches you to be a pharmacist--- your internship doesn't. Granted, it's good experience, but it is not the primary venue for you to learn pharmacy.

So far as your original question goes, I've completed my first month of work as a hospital intern after nearly two years as a retail pharmacy tech. It's like starting all over-- new computer systems, new protocol, new drugs, new everything. I expect to do purely tech work for at least the next year, and that's fine with me; the techs here are really knowledgeable about what they do, and I have a lot of learning to do before I can 'catch up' to their level of expertise. But in the meantime, the pharmacists at my site are willing to answer questions, and in return I try not to ask too many. So now I know what an INR value tells you (if not how to get that value) and why when we get an order for Reopro, we drop everything and run it down right away. I'm learning 'pharmacist' stuff a piece at a time. Have patience, you will too. 🙂

 

[007rx]

How long have you been working there, and exactly what have you been doing if you're not watching what the pharmacist does, and not doing what the techs do? If you don't even know the brand/generic names for your top fast movers, how can you expect to know the more complicated science behind those drugs?? I'd like to hear you walk me through one of your typical days as I'm pretty confused at this point...

I started working the first week in may. My typical day involves coming to work and getting stationed at pick up, which at cvs is where customers pick up their prescriptions, so I'm a cashier in some sense. When there are no customers, I fill scripts at production, which involves counting caps/tabs out after grabbing them from the shelves. That's literally all I can do, the entire 8 hours/day, all week. I have no idea how to put prescriptions in the computer when customers drop them off, deal with insurance, answer basic OTC questions that customers may have, and I have to direct any non-refill phone calls to a tech or the pharmacist since I have absolutely no knowledge of anything unless it involves counting pills and putting them in a bottle, or scanning a label and saying "x dollars please." It's an ultra-watered down tech job with an "intern" title slapped on it. I do know the brand/generic names for some of the top movers (see original post), but I know I would learn them a lot better if I could put prescriptions in the computer.

This is my first time working in a pharmacy...I was really excited initially, and had really high expectations, but now this just seems to be a bad experience for me. Perhaps if they didn't call it an internship, but just told me I was being hired as a technician-in-training and paid me as a regular tech, I wouldn't be nearly as dissappointed, but the fact that I am an intern and am learning nothing other than how to count drugs and aim a laser gun is a slap in the face. I think from here on out I'll just take BravoKilo's advice and read up on random stuff on my own until school starts.

 

[collegegirl247]

I work at cvs as well and you will find just about no difference between being a tech and an intern(depends on state)...you just learn more as you go...its not like the minute you become an intern things are suddenly so different- it doesn't work that way!

 

[007rx]

I work at cvs as well and you will find just about no difference between being a tech and an intern(depends on state)...you just learn more as you go...its not like the minute you become an intern things are suddenly so different- it doesn't work that way!

But now I want to know, when do I learn how to type scripts in and deal with questions that are phoned in and insurance and PCI and all that, you know, the real tech stuff? Is that supposed to be after my P1 year? At cvs is the summer before our P1 dedicated to teaching us how to count and scan? hehe.

I will accept the fact that I will learn nothing regarding pharmacy school this summer. 😀 Side question: when do we start learning real, non-tech related pharmacy stuff? Will it be during the summer after P1?

 

[TexasSuxs]

But now I want to know, when do I learn how to type scripts in and deal with questions that are phoned in and insurance and PCI and all that, you know, the real tech stuff? Is that supposed to be after my P1 year? At cvs is the summer before our P1 dedicated to teaching us how to count and scan? hehe.

I will accept the fact that I will learn nothing regarding pharmacy school this summer. 😀 Side question: when do we start learning real, non-tech related pharmacy stuff? Will it be during the summer after P1?

What is "real" non-tech related stuff?

 

[007rx]

What is "real" non-tech related stuff?

The stuff that separates the techs from the pharmacists. How drugs work in the body. Why there is a need for 10 different drugs that do the same thing. Mechanisms that drugs take. Half lives of drugs. Why they need to be put in light protected vials. Stuff like that.

 

[BravoKilo]

I started working the first week in may....

If thats the case I say dont worry about it too much.... the first few months I worked as a tech I really had no clue what to do. For whatever really, in the past few months everything has come together rather quickly, from being able to make sense of what scripts patients are asking to be refilled, to dealing with insurance issues, or calling Dr.'s offices for clarification.
Like was mentioned, the best thing to do is ask questions... both to the pharmacist(s) and techs. It's definitely the quickest way to learn things... and like I said, definitely look into picking up knowledge on your own (i.e. online sites, magazine subscriptions, etc.)

 

[Omegadramon]

I start Pharm school next month and I got hired by a hospital pharmacy earlier this year after volunteering there some odd months. It's pretty overwhelming at first, but I'm slowly making my way and catching on all my duties and picking up on the subtleties and nuances that goes around in the hospital.

 

[pharmgrrl]

I started working the first week in may. My typical day involves coming to work and getting stationed at pick up, which at cvs is where customers pick up their prescriptions, so I'm a cashier in some sense. When there are no customers, I fill scripts at production, which involves counting caps/tabs out after grabbing them from the shelves. That's literally all I can do, the entire 8 hours/day, all week. I have no idea how to put prescriptions in the computer when customers drop them off, deal with insurance, answer basic OTC questions that customers may have, and I have to direct any non-refill phone calls to a tech or the pharmacist since I have absolutely no knowledge of anything unless it involves counting pills and putting them in a bottle, or scanning a label and saying "x dollars please." It's an ultra-watered down tech job with an "intern" title slapped on it. I do know the brand/generic names for some of the top movers (see original post), but I know I would learn them a lot better if I could put prescriptions in the computer.

This is my first time working in a pharmacy...I was really excited initially, and had really high expectations, but now this just seems to be a bad experience for me. Perhaps if they didn't call it an internship, but just told me I was being hired as a technician-in-training and paid me as a regular tech, I wouldn't be nearly as dissappointed, but the fact that I am an intern and am learning nothing other than how to count drugs and aim a laser gun is a slap in the face. I think from here on out I'll just take BravoKilo's advice and read up on random stuff on my own until school starts.

+1

I'm currently an intern at Bartell's. No previous pharmacy experience, and will be starting Pharmacy school this fall. Literally all I am doing is cashiering, alphebetizing prescription bags, and organizing prescription hardcopies. I don't even count pills or place orders. I took a $12 an hour pay cut over the summer for this??

Well, I guess I am learning some new skills. Like how to make change and deal with people who are nasty.