Does Walmart mainly hire their own interns?

[ldiot]

What are the chances of a new grad getting hired at Walmart if they interned somewhere else? I know there are less Walmart stores than, for example WAGS, so less opportunity to begin with but is it a competitive job?

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[6GodPharm]

What are the chances of a new grad getting hired at Walmart if they interned somewhere else? I know there are less Walmart stores than, for example WAGS, so less opportunity to begin with but is it a competitive job?

Back in 2015 When I graduated they were just hiring interns. Those jackasses actually came to our career fair to literally say they weren't hiring lol we were trying to figure out why they even show up. From what I know they hire internally.

I'm probably biased but I think CVS is better especially if you live in California. Walmart has numerous metrics now and if you make more than 3 mistakes in a year you get canned. Don't know how true that is.

 

[ldiot]

Back in 2015 When I graduated they were just hiring interns. Those jackasses actually came to our career fair to literally say they weren't hiring lol we were trying to figure out why they even show up. From what I know they hire internally.

I'm probably biased but I think CVS is better especially if you live in California. Walmart has numerous metrics now and if you make more than 3 mistakes in a year you get canned. Don't know how true that is.

From my time there it seemed like they were total nazis when it came to compliance/errors/customer service but the high amount of tech and pharmacists hours was so ridiculous it seemed like it could still be worth it. I'm not sure what kind of metrics they are looking at. The nice thing about CVS is that as long as your metrics are good they don't give a damn what you do back there.

 

[Sine Cura]

It really depends on location and timing (like if a MM is looking to get rid of someone).

As for field managers being Nazis, that is dependent on the particular field manager. At Walmart you can get coached for compliance pretty easily but at CVS you could also get written up in no time flat for LP issues.

Here's another n saying CVS is arguably better than Walmart in CA because CVS doesn't seem to care about RPH OT (single-RPH stores for slow CVS locations is the norm, whereas at Walmart there is a 2-RPH schedule for even the slowest stores) and thus you can get more than 2 days off per work week. If you can handle 12-13 hour days it would be a better quality of life IMO because of more days off.

 

[a student]

I heard Walmart had a workflow setup where the pharmacist doesn't get bothered as much while verifying (techs try to resolve issues before coming to ask the pharmacist).

 

[ldiot]

I heard Walmart had a workflow setup where the pharmacist doesn't get bothered as much while verifying (techs try to resolve issues before coming to ask the pharmacist).

Idk. At CVS the pharmacists just skip first fill counseling where at Walmart they make them do it, so they are dragged over to the consultation window every few minutes. It doesn't really matter anyways since there are 2 pharmacists there filling less scripts than 1 pharmacist at CVS.

 

[Sine Cura]

I heard Walmart had a workflow setup where the pharmacist doesn't get bothered as much while verifying (techs try to resolve issues before coming to ask the pharmacist).

Every chain pharmacy's workflow assumes techs are 100% competent and efficient. This is not realistic.

 

[6GodPharm]

Idk. At CVS the pharmacists just skip first fill counseling where at Walmart they make them do it, so they are dragged over to the consultation window every few minutes. It doesn't really matter anyways since there are 2 pharmacists there filling less scripts than 1 pharmacist at CVS.

That's changing at CVS. Verification is going to be different in the next couple of months. Can't go too much into detail yet.

 

[Lnsean]

What are the chances of a new grad getting hired at Walmart if they interned somewhere else? I know there are less Walmart stores than, for example WAGS, so less opportunity to begin with but is it a competitive job?

Yea...I mean with so many applicants...why would they even look outside...unless their batch of interns are bad.

 

[ldiot]

That's changing at CVS. Verification is going to be different in the next couple of months. Can't go too much into detail yet.

Is it the thing where first fill counsel shows up as yellow in QV? Or something new?

 

[6GodPharm]

Is it the thing where first fill counsel shows up as yellow in QV? Or something new?

No thats been there. Hard stops where you will be forced to call the patient and Dr and actually put notes in the system to go further. Theres more to it but thats some of it.

 

[Abby Atwood]

What are the chances of a new grad getting hired at Walmart if they interned somewhere else? I know there are less Walmart stores than, for example WAGS, so less opportunity to begin with but is it a competitive job?

I'm a Walmart intern currently applying to residency programs. Walmart does look internally to hire, but they have positions open even after internal hiring. I have never worked CVS or had any IPPE/APPE experiences at CVS, so I can't speak to them. From what I've seen at Walmart, they staff pretty heavily. My store does <300 scripts a day on weekdays and staffs 2 pharmacists for most of the day. There are also 3-4 techs or interns working. Pharmacists never work 12 hour days because the morning pharmacist takes off a couple hours before closing and the evening pharmacist comes in a couple hours after opening. There are usually 2-3 pharmacists to a store with several PRNs in the market. I really enjoy working at Walmart. They are very patient and expanded service focused (e.g. immunizations, MTM, Tips). They are also working on patient adherence metrics. Walmart requires reporting of errors through their error reporting system and have introduced root cause analysis components into the error reporting process. In terms of errors and Just Culture at Walmart, they are documenting and tracking errors. You may have to attend a class session if multiple errors occur. If things aren't rectified I assume that people can eventually be terminated, but I don't know anyone who has gotten to that point.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

No thats been there. Hard stops where you will be forced to call the patient and Dr and actually put notes in the system to go further. Theres more to it but thats some of it.

So DUR stuff, not first fill counseling stuff...I'm fine with that. If it's something that actually makes me consider a potentially harmful interaction, I'm fine with it. Of course, it's the IT department at CVS developing it, so it won't work. I'll be calling MD's about albuterol inhalers for people taking beta blockers or some nonsense.

 

[ldiot]

So DUR stuff, not first fill counseling stuff...I'm fine with that. If it's something that actually makes me consider a potentially harmful interaction, I'm fine with it. Of course, it's the IT department at CVS developing it, so it won't work. I'll be calling MD's about albuterol inhalers for people taking beta blockers or some nonsense.

Pharmacists will just write "ok per md" anyways. Do any of them actually do the mandatory counseling? I never saw one do it when I worked there.

 

[PAtoPharm]

I'm a Walmart intern currently applying to residency programs. Walmart does look internally to hire, but they have positions open even after internal hiring. I have never worked CVS or had any IPPE/APPE experiences at CVS, so I can't speak to them. From what I've seen at Walmart, they staff pretty heavily. My store does <300 scripts a day on weekdays and staffs 2 pharmacists for most of the day. There are also 3-4 techs or interns working. Pharmacists never work 12 hour days because the morning pharmacist takes off a couple hours before closing and the evening pharmacist comes in a couple hours after opening. There are usually 2-3 pharmacists to a store with several PRNs in the market. I really enjoy working at Walmart. They are very patient and expanded service focused (e.g. immunizations, MTM, Tips). They are also working on patient adherence metrics. Walmart requires reporting of errors through their error reporting system and have introduced root cause analysis components into the error reporting process. In terms of errors and Just Culture at Walmart, they are documenting and tracking errors. You may have to attend a class session if multiple errors occur. If things aren't rectified I assume that people can eventually be terminated, but I don't know anyone who has gotten to that point.

Just wondering about something. Do you know if Walmart tends to hire all their interns when they graduate? The reason I ask is because I've heard that here in the southeast, many districts are starting to end up having significantly more interns than job openings upon graduation, which is resulting in only a couple of interns being hired out of 12-15 in a district.

 

[Sine Cura]

No thats been there. Hard stops where you will be forced to call the patient and Dr and actually put notes in the system to go further. Theres more to it but thats some of it.

You mean the current system rolled out circa early 2015 where you have to type notes in the DUR column before finishing verification and 99.9% of the time you type N/A or "consulted prescriber"?

That was already there unless CVS in CA somehow didn't have that feature or it is something more onerous

 

[6GodPharm]

Pharmacists will just write "ok per md" anyways. Do any of them actually do the mandatory counseling? I never saw one do it when I worked there.

Its already starting slowly. Now the register prompts the tech to walk the patient over to consultation after the transaction.

 

[owlegrad]

So DUR stuff, not first fill counseling stuff...I'm fine with that. If it's something that actually makes me consider a potentially harmful interaction, I'm fine with it. Of course, it's the IT department at CVS developing it, so it won't work. I'll be calling MD's about albuterol inhalers for people taking beta blockers or some nonsense.

Beta blockers + inhalers interactions are nonsense?

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[ldiot]

Beta blockers + inhalers interactions are nonsense?

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It's not nonsense but I don't think it's clinically significant for most people. More of a monitor therapy type of thing. In school they act like it's the end of the world though.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Beta blockers + inhalers interactions are nonsense?

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Yeah, the vast majority of the time. CVS's computer flags it like its some absolute, never give it to the patient interaction. And I'm imagining the pain of calling a physician every time someone on atenolol gets prescribed Proair.

 

[Abby Atwood]

Just wondering about something. Do you know if Walmart tends to hire all their interns when they graduate? The reason I ask is because I've heard that here in the southeast, many districts are starting to end up having significantly more interns than job openings upon graduation, which is resulting in only a couple of interns being hired out of 12-15 in a district.

I'm not totally sure. I'm in the mountain time zone states. I got a sheet sent to me allowing me to fill out location preferences. As slots filled up, I also got a sheet with unfilled positions. There weren't any southeast locations still open, so that may be true.

 

[PAtoPharm]

I'm not totally sure. I'm in the mountain time zone states. I got a sheet sent to me allowing me to fill out location preferences. As slots filled up, I also got a sheet with unfilled positions. There weren't any southeast locations still open, so that may be true.

Wow, not even one opening left in the southeast. The job market in the southeast really is saturated.

 

[Abby Atwood]

Wow, not even one opening left in the southeast. The job market in the southeast really is saturated.

To be fair about the market, I think the list only included places willing to take a grad intern. It might be easier if you are a real life pharmacist (or not, I have no idea).

 

[PAtoPharm]

To be fair about the market, I think the list only included places willing to take a grad intern. It might be easier if you are a real life pharmacist (or not, I have no idea).

Maybe so, but even the traditionally undesirable CVS/Walgreens positions have been filling up over the last few months. Maybe the northerners from the saturated markets in NY/NJ are finally starting to suck it up and take jobs in the southeast to avoid unemployment

 

[DS-Bruno]

I'm probably biased but I think CVS is better especially if you live in California. Walmart has numerous metrics now and if you make more than 3 mistakes in a year you get canned. Don't know how true that is.

That's not true, unless there are other reasons factored in. At 3 mistakes you get a trip to home office for additional training. One of my staff made that trip...

 

[DS-Bruno]

Just wondering about something. Do you know if Walmart tends to hire all their interns when they graduate? The reason I ask is because I've heard that here in the southeast, many districts are starting to end up having significantly more interns than job openings upon graduation, which is resulting in only a couple of interns being hired out of 12-15 in a district.

I can tell you when I started school a few years ago I was the only intern in my district. At this time I believe it has increased to 3 interns. I do know the district above mine has a lot more. I think it really depends on your particular district. Im in the southeast and there are no pharmacy schools in my district, I also know getting a job in my district will not be a problem.

 

[ABCPharmD]

From my time there it seemed like they were total nazis when it came to compliance/errors/customer service but the high amount of tech and pharmacists hours was so ridiculous it seemed like it could still be worth it. I'm not sure what kind of metrics they are looking at. The nice thing about CVS is that as long as your metrics are good they don't give a damn what you do back there.

Yeah they can get intense about compliance sometimes. I'm not sure if this is a state specific thing, but we have to call on drugs that aren't AB rated. One time I called to see if it was ok to dispense phenazopyrdine for Pyridium and then wrote ok per MD. Big brother must have seen me, because a few hours later my DM emails me and is like just so you know according the policy you have to write who you spoke to on which date at which time and quoted me other nitpicky things from the policy.

 

[Abby Atwood]

Yeah they can get intense about compliance sometimes. I'm not sure if this is a state specific thing, but we have to call on drugs that aren't AB rated. One time I called to see if it was ok to dispense phenazopyrdine for Pyridium and then wrote ok per MD. Big brother must have seen me, because a few hours later my DM emails me and is like just so you know according the policy you have to write who you spoke to on which date at which time and quoted me other nitpicky things from the policy.

Did they add a box that lets you check that the substitution is okay per professional judgement? I'm an intern, so I haven't seen the screen, but my pharmacists have been bypassing the need to call on FML opth. drops. (Might be that something changed with orange book rating on that drug though)

 

[ABCPharmD]

Did they add a box that lets you check that the substitution is okay per professional judgement? I'm an intern, so I haven't seen the screen, but my pharmacists have been bypassing the need to call on FML opth. drops. (Might be that something changed with orange book rating on that drug though)

For the state I'm in the law prohibits substituting AB rated drugs based on professional judgement, so we don't get that box.

 

[trailerpark]

I just put ok per nurse sue and whatever time it is and date. I use that for everything. My partner uses nurse Sara. Basically Sue and Sara work at every Dr office in our city. We call them traveling nurses. They really save us time because they OK everything.


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[Sine Cura]

Did they add a box that lets you check that the substitution is okay per professional judgement? I'm an intern, so I haven't seen the screen, but my pharmacists have been bypassing the need to call on FML opth. drops. (Might be that something changed with orange book rating on that drug though)

Why the need to call on FML? There are no fluorometholone ANDAs on the market (AFAIK). The Pacific presentation is an authorized generic.

IMO documenting authorization for dispensing generics of unapproved products is missing the point, like phenazopyridine or Midrin. One would think the bigger problem is dispensing unapproved products to begin with.