CVS 14-hr days = ...torture?

Started by pharmaz88
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

pharmaz88

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Even in traditionally worker-unfriendly China, 14-hr days with no breaks are considered 'torture'.

No, I'm not a CVS RPh, and admittedly I'm not even trying to make any sort of real point. I just saw this article and it made me think of CVS. 🙂
 
Working at CVS is torture enough. Then throw in a 14 hour shift...you might as well put a gun in your mouth.
 
Last edited:
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
All you would have to do is sub CVS in the title for Gucci and the article is spot on. I guess the only positive thing to say is CVS pharmacists get paid more. Still not a good thing when you have more in common with workers in China than in the US.
 
Wouldn't not going to the bathroom be worse?

From what I know, Anal Fissures are horrible and painful and going to the bathroom is extremely uncomfortable and painful. But eventually it will heal. Working for CVS never goes away and gets worse all the time.
 
I've done 12 hour shifts before and I thought that sucked. I can't imagine 14 hour shifts on a regular basis. I wish it was standard to close down the pharmacy for an hour lunch those days. After 8 hours I'm pretty much doing the bare minimum (keeping the work queue clean) but no extra stuff.
 
You can go to the bathroom at CVS and I'm sure everyone gets a lunch break.

9869953.jpg
 
You people are pansies. I'd work a 40 hour shift and then enjoy my 5 days off if they'd let me. The longer the shift, the less time needed for getting ready, driving, and having anything at all to do with work. I see working 5 days a week, every week as miserable. Two 14s and a 12 means you get 4 days off every week. That's what called being a baller.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I work 10-hour shifts at my new job, but I'm not on the go every minute of that time and I do get to eat and go to the bathroom. Of course, I'm not in retail either. 😳

The LTC job I had this summer had 12-hour shifts, but I wasn't in continuous motion with that job either. However, it was set up in such a way that none of us knew when we were leaving, which is NOT a good way to live your life. And since I was an agency person, unlike the regular employees, I actually got paid on a reliable basis. 😱
 
Do you get spanked if you go to the bathroom? How many lashes?

Jesus, its not that they tell you that you can't go to the bathroom, it's just that every time you are about to go, something stops you from going. The drive thru rings and your tech is on the phone and the other tech is on lunch break, or a consult etc etc etc...
 
Jesus, its not that they tell you that you can't go to the bathroom, it's just that every time you are about to go, something stops you from going. The drive thru rings and your tech is on the phone and the other tech is on lunch break, or a consult etc etc etc...


No point of explaining it to the noob. He has never had the responsibility and pressure to understand. The noob will get a dose of reality one day.
 
No point of explaining it to the noob. He has never had the responsibility and pressure to understand. The noob will get a dose of reality one day.

And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.
 
And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.

Why you gotta hate on the bimmers? Mercedes is just as expensive...:laugh:
 
And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.

😴 Noobs, what would we do without them....
 
And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.

Is that the legendary run-on sentence? I haven't seen one since high school.
 
Is that the legendary run-on sentence? I haven't seen one since high school.

So you agree with my point. I find going after someone's grammer/writing is usually a last resort on sdn. Sad. Tell me about how important it is for professionals to lern 2 right most clearest cuz we in farmacee skool now. :laugh:
 
So you agree with my point. I find going after someone's grammer/writing is usually a last resort on sdn. Sad. Tell me about how important it is for professionals to lern 2 right most clearest cuz we in farmacee skool now. :laugh:

Perhaps you should save your snotty remarks for when you actually begin pharmacy school. A little temperance and maturity would go a long ways for you.
 
So you agree with my point. I find going after someone's grammer/writing is usually a last resort on sdn. Sad. Tell me about how important it is for professionals to lern 2 right most clearest cuz we in farmacee skool now. :laugh:

Do I agree with your point? Not really. When a sentence lacks a focus and clear structure, people simply don't bother to read it, and you end up wasting your time writing it.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.

Yep.....Some day you will get it.
 
Ugh serious. I have never met a pharmacist that told me he was told he's not allowed to use the bathroom or take time to eat.

Depends on what retail chain you work for. I worked for Walgreens, Target and Walmart.

Target and Walmart closes for lunch, so the pharmacist will get a 30 minute lunch break.

Pharmacys that do NOT close for lunch like Walgreens and CVS, the pharmacist will NOT get a lunch break. They can have a snack beside their computer, but no lunch.

Why can't retail pharmacist take a bathroom break??? B/c there are 2 lanes of drive thru back up, 4 telephones ringing, 200+ Rx waiting for you to verify, 100 Rx wating for you to fill, 3 doctors on hold waiting to speak with you, 2 mile long lines of customers waitng for you to check them out at the resigter, and 4 customers waiting for you to counsel them on their meds and a million customers PISS OFF at you b/c you didn't fill their Rx in 15 minutes. Okay now you tell me, how can a pharmacist take a bathroom break in that kind of enviroment???? R you kidding me?
 
Last edited:
And then I can come on here and cry about it and blame my parents for forcing me into pharmacy and then cry about new schools and saturation and if I knew now what I knew back in the day I would have never went to pharmacy school and then I would say I'm only saying all this because my primary purpose is to warn prepharms and I will feel like I made a difference if I can only prevent one prepharm from going to pharmacy school and ruining his life. And when I'm done crying I will go cash my 6 figure salary and jump in my BMW and cry all the way home about how the US is turning into a 3rd world country and how I'm no better off than chinese workers who work for GUCCI.

I can guarantee you that you will HATE retail pharmacy if you ever get a chance to experience it. You are what? 15 yo? When you finally get your first job you will HATE it. I can't guarantee you much, but I can guarantee you that. :laugh:

Pharmacy is saturated and if you graduate after 2013 you will be hard press to find a job. You don't believe us now, but again you will find out soon.

I love your wishful thinking though! :laugh:
 
Why can't retail pharmacist take a bathroom break??? B/c there are 2 lanes of drive thru back up, 4 telephones ringing, 200+ Rx waiting for you to verify, 100 Rx wating for you to fill, 3 doctors on hold waiting to speak with you, 2 mile long lines of customers waitng for you to check them out at the resigter, and 4 customers waiting for you to counsel them on their meds and a million customers PISS OFF at you b/c you didn't fill their Rx in 15 minutes. Okay now you tell me, how can a pharmacist take a bathroom break in that kind of enviroment???? R you kidding me?

Meh...that's only on the worst day ever imaginable. Honestly, I've never seen a situation as bad as you people describe on here. My worst day in retail - and I'm not just a vampire...I've worked a few day shifts - is a walk in the park compared to how miserable my worst day in an inpatient pharmacy was. How about 3 patients coding simultaneously as the only pharmacist in the building and having to make the decision on who gets what first. Yeah. 160 census. Just you. And then when you are done with that madness, 14 med rec sheets from admissions pilled up and you have an IV cart and delivery round to check. You find me a situation that is more utter bull**** than that situation and I'll give you a lolipop. Retail is a freaking walk in the park.
 
Meh...that's only on the worst day ever imaginable. Honestly, I've never seen a situation as bad as you people describe on here. My worst day in retail - and I'm not just a vampire...I've worked a few day shifts - is a walk in the park compared to how miserable my worst day in an inpatient pharmacy was. How about 3 patients coding simultaneously as the only pharmacist in the building and having to make the decision on who gets what first. Yeah. 160 census. Just you. And then when you are done with that madness, 14 med rec sheets from admissions pilled up and you have an IV cart and delivery round to check. You find me a situation that is more utter bull**** than that situation and I'll give you a lolipop. Retail is a freaking walk in the park.

I demand to know the flavor of the lollipop before deciding whether to find such a situation.
 
I can guarantee you that you will HATE retail pharmacy if you ever get a chance to experience it. You are what? 15 yo? When you finally get your first job you will HATE it. I can't guarantee you much, but I can guarantee you that. :laugh:

Pharmacy is saturated and if you graduate after 2013 you will be hard press to find a job. You don't believe us now, but again you will find out soon.

I love your wishful thinking though! :laugh:

Oh no, I graduate in 14 and the very last job will be given in 13. OH NO. LOL. Can I accelerate my program another year... I'll always make time to take a dump even if it means counseling the "patients" in a bathroom stall.
 
Oh no, I graduate in 14 and the very last job will be given in 13. OH NO. LOL. Can I accelerate my program another year... I'll always make time to take a dump even if it means counseling the "patients" in a bathroom stall.

Have you ever even step foot in a pharmacy before?

Please tell us about your ACTUAL pharmacy experience in a REAL LIFE pharmacy on this planet. I am curious now which planet you came from because it ain't earth.
 
Have you ever even step foot in a pharmacy before?

Please tell us about your ACTUAL pharmacy experience in a REAL LIFE pharmacy on this planet. I am curious now which planet you came from because it ain't earth.

Hospital only. Maybe that's why I'm so looking forward to retail because I couldn't stand hospital.
 
Hospital only. Maybe that's why I'm so looking forward to retail because I couldn't stand hospital.

The working environment of a pharmacist is stressful and hard no matter where you go. Retail will be just as stressful as a hospital and vice versa, but that's not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is the lack of jobs.

Jobs are very hard to find. You never heard of an unemployed pharmacist? PM WVUPharm2007, he was unemployed for over a year and just now landed a job with a terrible work schedule. Why don't you just ask WVU2007 how "easy" it was for him to find his job? He is a real life pharmacist maybe you will believe him?

A user on here RPH3664 can't find a job and was on here a few times talking about finally getting an interview somewhere. I don't know if she got a job yet or not. And there are plenty more people and this is year 2011. It will only get worst and worst as the years past.

Pharmacy was a hot career in 2000, but it's getting colder as the time past....I wish you are right about jobs being easy to find. If only you were right.
 
Last edited:
I thought this was interesting. According to the data posted by the Wall Street Journal, the pharmacist unemployment rate was 1.2% for 2010. The WSJ indicates an unemployment rate of 2.5% in 2007, which surprised me; I assumed it would be higher now than in 2007. Guess we'll have to wait to see what the data comes out to in 2011, but I would guess that pharmacy still has a long way to go before it starts reaching into the 30% range, which is where the top unemployment rates by occupation are.

I'm sure we all know that unemployment data can be sketchy, but 1.2% is still well below the national average.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791904576075652301620440.html
 
I thought this was interesting. According to the data posted by the Wall Street Journal, the pharmacist unemployment rate was 1.2% for 2010. The WSJ indicates an unemployment rate of 2.5% in 2007, which surprised me; I assumed it would be higher now than in 2007. Guess we'll have to wait to see what the data comes out to in 2011, but I would guess that pharmacy still has a long way to go before it starts reaching into the 30% range, which is where the top unemployment rates by occupation are.

I'm sure we all know that unemployment data can be sketchy, but 1.2% is still well below the national average.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791904576075652301620440.html

According to SHC, in 2014 that number will shoot through the roof. But I plan on being employed, I'm going to work hard to differentiate myself. :laugh:
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I thought this was interesting. According to the data posted by the Wall Street Journal, the pharmacist unemployment rate was 1.2% for 2010. The WSJ indicates an unemployment rate of 2.5% in 2007, which surprised me; I assumed it would be higher now than in 2007. Guess we'll have to wait to see what the data comes out to in 2011, but I would guess that pharmacy still has a long way to go before it starts reaching into the 30% range, which is where the top unemployment rates by occupation are.

I'm sure we all know that unemployment data can be sketchy, but 1.2% is still well below the national average.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791904576075652301620440.html

Lies, all lies. Unemployment among pharmacists is actually much higher than the general unemployment rate; there are no jobs. You might get a job teaching, other than that, nothing.
 
According to SHC, in 2014 that number will shoot through the roof. But I plan on being employed, I'm going to work hard to differentiate myself. :laugh:

That's nothing.

Er... wrong thread.

Seriously, though, while that number doesn't include underemployment (HA BEAT YOU TO IT), that's more consistent with other graduate level degrees.
 
Jobs are very hard to find. You never heard of an unemployed pharmacist? PM WVUPharm2007, he was unemployed for over a year and just now landed a job with a terrible work schedule. Why don't you just ask WVU2007 how "easy" it was for him to find his job? He is a real life pharmacist maybe you will believe him?

All this is true...except the terrible work schedule thing. My work schedule is awesome.
 
All this is true...except the terrible work schedule thing. My work schedule is awesome.

I thought West Virgina was were all the jobs were at. Who wants to live out there with the coal miners drinking nothing but mountain dew. Did you burn too many bridges out there? And how much unemployment were you gettin?