Going from Pharm Tech to Pharmacist?

[steveysmith54]

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Hi. I am currently working as a tech and applying to Pharm school. Would you say knowing top 200 drug names and some of the their uses will help me in pharmacy school?

What can a pharmacy intern do that a tech can't?

Can you give me any more advice on things to do/know to prepare myself for pharm school?

 

[sdn1977]

Hi. I am currently working as a tech and applying to Pharm school. Would you saying knowing top 200 drug names and some of the their uses will help me in pharmacy school?

What can a pharmacy intern do that a tech can't?

Can you give me any more advice on things to do/know to prepare myself for pharm school?

hmmm... lots of questions....

Will the top 200 drug names help? Many will disagree with me here, but my opinion is no - it will not help. Pharmacy school will teach the drugs to you in a logical & cohesive fashion based on chemistry & pharmacology & I feel STRONGLY that doing memorizing based on the rx count, $$ count or any other way you want to measure the top 200 drugs is the most inappropriate way for a pharmacist to learn drugs. That is mindless memorizing - not learning! You will learn the drugs based on what they do, when you used them based on what they are able to do & being able to objectively evaluate why you choose one over another. You also set yourself up for a "retail" mentality. For anything other than retail work, the top 200 drugs has no meaning at all. Even in retail work, no one cares what is in the top 200 - but, you must know the difference between lisinopril & benazepril!

What can an intern do that a tech can't? Depends on the state & the level of the intern. But, as the intern progresses toward the completion of his/her education, the individual should be able to exercise "judgement", which is not in the scope, pharmaceutically, of a tech. Its hard to explain & easier to relate in terms of "tasks" which is how a tech views things. But, a pharmacist will view the "task" as a completion of a judgemental evaluation of the pharmaceutical situation. Again, I think you're thinking of "retail" -...task related. But - each working environment & each state will have its own specific rules as to what is allowed. Its difficult to quantify across all 50 states, but it comes down to a matter of judgement. I've had techs which I've allowed to complete tasks which I won't allow interns to do (chemo compounding for example) just because the tech has experience & the intern does not. However, I will never allow a tech to answer a drug info question - that is outside the scope of what a tech can do.

How to prepare yourself? Have you been accepted? If so, have a great end of summer, prepare to work hard & be open minded & willing to take on anything.

If you haven't been accepted yet, get some experience so you know this is what you want to do, obtain good grades, know who you'll want to use for LORs, have good extracurricular activities (quality rather than quantity!) & apply broadly & widely. You'll never know what opportunities might exist for you in places you wouldn't have ever thought possible. Also - as you might have read....don't burn bridges. Tussionex mentioned we are a small community - keep that in mind!

Good luck - remember....its a journey, not a destination.

 

[steveysmith54]

thank you sdn1977. Interesting thoughts.

 

[McZyprexalynn]

I've been a tech for 5 years, and I start my P1 year on Wednesday. I think that being a tech does give you some advantages. At the very least, your experience should make you more sure that you are pursuing the field that you really want to pursue. This is my second degree, and had I realized 8 years ago what I realize now, I would have never gotten my first degree. The reality of that career field (elementary education) was different than my expectations. Being a tech is as close to understanding the day to day roll of a pharmacist as you can get, so I think your less likely to get through 6 years of school and realize you really don't like the field of pharmacy after all.

Since I haven't actually started pharmacy school, I don't know how much of an advantage the exposure to drug names and whatnot will be. I can't imagine that it will be a huge advantage, but I think there's at least some advantage to having that familiarity. My pharmacy manager always says that pharmacy has it's own language. At least you'll know most of the language.

As far as specific tasks that I'll be able to do once I'm an intern - the only things that change in this state are that I'll be allowed to take voice mails and new phoned in RXs and eventually I'll be able to start counseling. In this state, in a retail setting, an intern is legally allowed to do everything but the final verification of the prescription. Of course, the supervising pharmacist actually decides what the intern will be able to do.

 

[steveysmith54]

I am not very good at memorizing. So, hopefully that will help me personally.

 

[rxlynn]

Hi. I am currently working as a tech and applying to Pharm school. Would you say knowing top 200 drug names and some of the their uses will help me in pharmacy school?

What can a pharmacy intern do that a tech can't?

Can you give me any more advice on things to do/know to prepare myself for pharm school?

It might depend on your school. My school required all P1s to learn brand, generic, and general type (antibiotic, antidepressant, etc.) for the top 200. I really enjoyed watching all my classmates sweat over their drug cards and spreadsheets for hours, while I typically reviewed mine once about 30 minutes before the test because I already knew those pieces of information from being a tech. Now, as sdn1977 points out, starting this year we will go back and be required to learn a lot more information about the drugs as we study the specific areas (CNS, cardio, etc.) and this will be information a tech typically wouldn't know or necessarily be equipped to understand.

Bottom line, I think learning the top 200 is helpful only because it may help reduce the amount of information you have to learn from scratch when you have 5 or 6 other classes going on at the same time.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

yeah, but no matter how much they sweat, in terms of grade wise, the top 200 drugs is nothing compared to what a real pharmacy student has to worry about.

 

[Epic]

Top 200 in what ways? Here is my top 10 List

Gammagard
Bivalrudin
Bevacizumab
Infliximab
Darbepoetin
Oxaliplatin
Rituximab
Trastuzmab
Pegfilgrastim
Eptifibatide

 

[sdn1977]

Top 200 in what ways? Here is my top 10 List

Gammagard
Bivalrudin
Bevacizumab
Infliximab
Darbepoetin
Oxaliplatin
Rituximab
Trastuzmab
Pegfilgrastim
Eptifibatide

👍my point exactly!

Do any of you P1s or techs even know what these are & why they're on Epic's top 10 list?

 

[Old Timer]

Wow, I disagree. Any experience in any aspect of pharmacy gives you a leg up. I worked in a pharmacy before I went to school, Oh so many moons ago, and I had a distinct advantage. I would not try to memorize any list of drugs. Just being exposed to the names, strengths and dosage forms gives you leg up on your peers. This is true if you work retail, hospital, or any other setting.

 

[Epic]

👍my point exactly!

Do any of you P1s or techs even know what these are & why they're on Epic's top 10 list?

Heck...I'm still trying to figure out what they are...and why they're on my list... I gotta write an antimicrobial guideline for UTI, CSSI, CAP, and Intra-Ab... and have to get it done by tomorrow... can you type it for me?

 

[thelonius]

As a current pharmacy student I would have to say that yes, it will absolutely help. A big advantage? Probably not, but an advantage nonetheless.

 

[sdn1977]

Heck...I'm still trying to figure out what they are...and why they're on my list... I gotta write an antimicrobial guideline for UTI, CSSI, CAP, and Intra-Ab... and have to get it done by tomorrow... can you type it for me?

you bet I can - I can type really, really fast! Thats worth more than the top 200 drugs any day!

 

[Epic]

you bet I can - I can type really, really fast! Thats worth more than the top 200 drugs any day!

What's funny is that the smallest accounts are the most demanding ones...

 

[steveysmith54]

Top 200 in what ways? Here is my top 10 List

Gammagard
Bivalrudin
Bevacizumab
Infliximab
Darbepoetin
Oxaliplatin
Rituximab
Trastuzmab
Pegfilgrastim
Eptifibatide

Top 200 cutest drugs..... most prescribed, obviously. Any tech book will have them with brief description about them. jeez, seems like some of you are just here to mock others.

here are some sites that list some of them.
http://www.mosbysdrugconsult.com/DrugConsult/Top_200/

 

[Epic]

I don't see how I'm mocking you with my list. You didn't say where you worked. My list is legit. It's a top 10 costly drugs list for a typical large institution. I didn't memorize the top 200 list before I started RX school. It didn't affect me a bit.

It's just that top 100 and top 200 drug list question from pre-pharm is asked...oh...about once every other month.

And if you've been here long enough, you know my intention isn't to mock anyone.

 

[steveysmith54]

My list is legit. It's a top 10 costly drugs list for a typical large institution. anyone.

Ok.... So when you hear a tech is learning top 200 drugs.... Your first assumption is that he is learning top costly drugs.... Ok fine...

 

[alwaystired]

I think knowing the brand/generic names will help you out a little bit. It's not like life or death, but I find it much easier to remember information that I have an image for. For me, I can think of the shelf its on or the way the bottle looks and then add on a side effect or indication with that memory. Also, knowing the brand generic like the back of your hand leaves you more time to focus on MOA, SE, interactions, etc.

 

[cycloketocaine]

Ok.... So when you hear a tech is learning top 200 drugs.... Your first assumption is that he is learning top costly drugs.... Ok fine...

Everybody needs to take a deeeeeeeeeeeeepppppp breath and count to ten.............

ok, let's go play some golf. It's mid 80s here. Woohoo!!!!!

 

[cycloketocaine]

Hi. I am currently working as a tech and applying to Pharm school. Would you say knowing top 200 drug names and some of the their uses will help me in pharmacy school?

What can a pharmacy intern do that a tech can't?

Can you give me any more advice on things to do/know to prepare myself for pharm school?

Yes, I am light years ahead of my classmates that haven't worked in a pharmacy. They not only have to learn drugs, but sigs and abbreviations, and also the general anxiety they carry not having worked in a pharmacy. You also learn simple calculations and little bits of info. I for example, learned how to compound.

In the great state of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner), an intern, in the eyes of the state board, can function as a pharmacist, take scripts, do transfers, counsel, blah blah blah. A PharmD must be present though. A tech can't do anything but count pills and run the cash register.

 

[Epic]

Ok.... So when you hear a tech is learning top 200 drugs.... Your first assumption is that he is learning top costly drugs.... Ok fine...

Nope. But my first tech/intern job, I was told to learn the list of antibiotics and and chemo therapy agents which I were to mix in the IV room. And there is nothing wrong with my top 10 list. You'll learn the drugs most of your future classmates and many pharmacists will have no clue about.

And when I hire a tech or an intern, the list of medications I want them to know are very different than the retail setting drugs. Maybe in your mind, we should all know where you work and what list you're talking about. But pharmacy doesn't revolve around retail.

But my first thought for someone who's not even in pharmacy school isn't to memorize the top 200 list which with an obolete drug...(vioxx) on the list.

 

[Epic]

Everybody needs to take a deeeeeeeeeeeeepppppp breath and count to ten.............

ok, let's go play some golf. It's mid 80s here. Woohoo!!!!!

yeah..and 7:30..so you'll get about 4 holes in.

 

[cycloketocaine]

Nope. But my first tech/intern job, I was told to learn the list of antibiotics and and chemo therapy agents which I were to mix in the IV room. And there is nothing wrong with my top 10 list. You'll learn the drugs most of your future classmates and many pharmacists will have no clue about.

And when I hire a tech or an intern, the list of medications I want them to know are very different than the retail setting drugs. Maybe in your mind, we should all know where you work and what list you're talking about. But pharmacy doesn't revolve around retail.

But my first thought for someone who's not even in pharmacy school isn't to memorize the top 200 list which with an obolete drug...(vioxx) on the list.

Crap, you took my thought. Top 200 lists vary with the pharmacy setting. A hospital may have the top drugs that Zpack, oops, I mean, Epic listed. A retail on the other hand, their tops consist of Lortab, Lipitor, and maintenance stuff like that. (Lortab is maintenance to lots of people.)

 

[cycloketocaine]

yeah..and 7:30..so you'll get about 4 holes in.

Yeah, well, I go out my front door and walk onto the driving range, maybe I'll do that.......

 

[steveysmith54]

And when I hire a tech or an intern, the list of medications I want them to know are very different than the retail setting drugs. Maybe in your mind, we should all know where you work and what list you're talking about. But pharmacy doesn't revolve around retail.

But my first thought for someone who's not even in pharmacy school isn't to memorize the top 200 list which with an obolete drug...(vioxx) on the list.

I worked in hospital inpatient pharmacy and now work in retail. However, that's irrelevant. To get hired and/or to pass PTCB exam, I had to learn top 200 prescribed drugs as a start. If you ever looked in a pharm technician textbook, we all have to learn the same drugs.

Regardless, you would not find any tech who is just starting out try to learn the top ten list that you wrote.

 

[Epic]

Yeah, well, I go out my front door and walk onto the driving range, maybe I'll do that.......

I need to do that too.... cuz I got 8 rounds next week in Oregon. And SDN suppose to type those antimicrobial guidelines for me but she disappeared..and tomorrow is all about Football...I'm not gonna get any sleep tonite.

 

[Epic]

I worked in hospital inpatient pharmacy and now work in retail. However, that's irrelevant. To get hired and/or to pass PTCB exam, I had to learn top 200 prescribed drugs. If you ever looked in a pharm technician textbook, we all have to learn the same drugs regardless of where we will work or want to work.

Oh..you needed to learn the drugs for PTCB exam? You didn't mention that on your originial post. We can't read your mind dude. We thought you just wanted to get a leg up on RX school. I guess you've already memorized it... why you asking us then?

 

[cycloketocaine]

I need to do that too.... cuz I got 8 rounds next week in Oregon. And SDN suppose to type those antimicrobial guidelines for me but she disappeared..and tomorrow is all about Football...I'm not gonna get any sleep tonite.

What time do the sAggies play tomorrow?

 

[Epic]

What time do the sAggies play tomorrow?

We start our practice drill at 6:05pm. I wouldn't call it "playing"...against Montana state.

 

[Epic]

I read one of your receivers got arrested...

 

[cycloketocaine]

I read one of your receivers got arrested...

Yeah, well, that's just a normal day in Norman. He just got his dumb ass kicked off the team though. Probably blew a scholarship. I just want to punch those guys in the face. 😡

 

[steveysmith54]

Oh..you needed to learn the drugs for PTCB exam? You didn't mention that on your originial post. We can't read your mind dude. We thought you just wanted to get a leg up on RX school. I guess you've already memorized it... why you asking us then?

I don't know the kind of techs that you employ. But, any tech who doesn't know generic/brand names for drugs won't get hired where I work.

Why am I asking? I was hoping that spending all that time memorizing these drugs wasn't a waste of time...

Why did you feel the need to list top ten drugs that no pre-pharm student would bother memorizing? Does that really make you feel better about yourself?

 

[Epic]

Yeah, well, that's just a normal day in Norman. He just got his dumb ass kicked off the team though. Probably blew a scholarship. I just want to punch those guys in the face. 😡

You Oklahomans are violent people... that's why our prison system down here in TX is so huge.

 

[cycloketocaine]

I don't know the kind of techs that you employ. But, any tech who doesn't know generic/brand names for drugs won't get hired where I work.

Why am I asking? I was hoping that spending all that time memorizing these drugs wasn't a waste of time...

Why did you feel the need to list top ten drugs that no pre-pharm student would bother memorizing? Does that really make you feel better about yourself?

Did you reaallllllly think that learning DRUG names would be WASTED in PHARMACY school? Isn't that something that you think would be well utilized???
Maybe my logic is flawed....

 

[Epic]

I don't know the kind of techs that you employ. But, any tech who doesn't know generic/brand names for drugs won't get hired where I work.

Why am I asking? I was hoping that spending all that time memorizing these drugs wasn't a waste of time...

Why did you feel the need to list top ten drugs that no pre-pharm student would bother memorizing? Does that really make you feel better about yourself?

Well, if memorizing the list got you the job, it surely wasn't a waste of time, was it.

I listed the top 10 list hoping someone will find it intriguing enough to threadjack. I think that list poses a great impact to healthcare financials and if I can help one student understand why they are used as much as they are, I think I have contributed.

 

[Epic]

Did you reaallllllly think that learning DRUG names would be WASTED in PHARMACY school? Isn't that something that you think would be well utilized???
Maybe my logic is flawed....

You're an Okie... that's a flawed logic in itself...

 

[cycloketocaine]

You're an Okie... that's a flawed logic in itself...

Oh whateva......

I meant to ask, do I get a prize for figuring it out??? 😀

 

[Epic]

Oh whateva......

I meant to ask, do I get a prize for figuring it out??? 😀

Do you feel like you figured it out? I kinda made a public announcement you know..

 

[Epic]

No, I'm Epic™. The rumor is Zpack retired. Roaming the mountain range of unbeaten paths in Tibet seeking something..on his John Deere..

 

[Epic]

Oh whateva......

I meant to ask, do I get a prize for figuring it out??? 😀

Hey...my childhood friend is a professor at OU rx school..I'll tell her to give you a B minus.. k?

 

[cycloketocaine]

Hey...my childhood friend is a professor at OU rx school..I'll tell her to give you a B minus.. k?

You know, that crossed my mind the other day, and I'm going to have to look her up, cause I've never heard of her. What does she do?

And, you made an announcement AFTER I figured it out. 😛

 

[Epic]

She's an assistant professor of clinical and administrative sciences.

I need to call her and find out what the heck she's up to. Her hubby is a druggist also. She lived 5 houses down the road from me.

 

[confettiflyer]

i have this interesting tech at work...i'll just summarize our convo.

tech: yeah i want to be a pharmacist some day...i think i'll look into it soon.

me: oh really? what school did you go to? (expecting the name of a university)

tech: (names a trade school)

me: oh...okay, that's cool

tech: so what do i need to do to be a pharmacist anyway?

me: well...you need to go to pharmacy school, which is about 3-4 years. Before that, you need to do your prerequisites...which is about 2 or 3 years, or 4 if you want to get your Bachelor's...which some schools require, and if you work...it might take longer. So yeah...about 7 years or so, give or take.

tech: really? wow...i thought i just had to do another 12 months and take a test..... (i could tell she seemed dejected)


i mean, i love techs...w/out them a busy pharmacy would just fall apart...but dang, talk about being out of the loop on that one.

 

[steveysmith54]

fascinating story.... 😴

 

[cycloketocaine]

fascinating story.... 😴

Why the attitude?

When you ask a blindingly obvious question, people are going to go off on tangents.

 

[steveysmith54]

Why the attitude?

When you ask a blindingly obvious question, people are going to go off on tangents.

It's not obvious. People stated their opinions on best way to learn drugs. Learning the drugs in a more cohesive and organized way would have been a better experience for me. And i enjoyed reading people's posts on how they learn drugs in pharmacy school. TO me it's not obvious.

Again, to me the intent of that story was to ridicule/mock a tech, or at least to point out his ignorance. Which, i didn't want or need to read about.

I suggest if you have the need to go off on different tangents because some topics seem "obvious" to you, please do it your own threads or via email, because things like that ruin the experience for those of us who really care.

 

[confettiflyer]

lol email...i haven't used that for personal contact/messages in like a year.

i'm confused...was my post off topic? I mean...the title of this thread is "pharm tech to pharmacist"

addendum to my story: that tech has since been pulled from the pharmacy indefinitely, she was slowing the entire production line down. the other techs, clerks, and pharmacists think she's as dumb as a rock.

 

[cycloketocaine]

lol email...i haven't used that for personal contact/messages in like a year.

i'm confused...was my post off topic? I mean...the title of this thread is "pharm tech to pharmacist"

addendum to my story: that tech has since been pulled from the pharmacy indefinitely, she was slowing the entire production line down. the other techs, clerks, and pharmacists think she's as dumb as a rock.

I didn't think your post was off topic, I was talking about me and Z going back and forth. 😉

 

[cycloketocaine]

It's not obvious. People stated their opinions on best way to learn drugs. Learning the drugs in a more cohesive and organized way would have been a better experience for me. And i enjoyed reading people's posts on how they learn drugs in pharmacy school. TO me it's not obvious.

Again, to me the intent of that story was to ridicule/mock a tech, or at least to point out his ignorance. Which, i didn't want or need to read about.

I suggest if you have the need to go off on different tangents because some topics seem "obvious" to you, please do it your own threads or via email, because things like that ruin the experience for those of us who really care.

.

 

[busyizzy]

Which, i didn't want or need to read about.

I suggest if you have the need to go off on different tangents because some topics seem "obvious" to you, please do it your own threads or via email, because things like that ruin the experience for those of us who really care.

Lol, I'm sorry, I think you need to get off your high horse. This is a PUBLIC forum, which means everyone can express their opinions about whatever the topic is at hand without resorting to email or messenger programs just because YOU dislike what is being talked about. Yes, there will be things you don't really like or want to read. Be the mature one, and skip it over. Besides, just because it's not helpful to YOU doesn't mean it's not helpful to others. These people do care, clearly, because they're taking time out of their lives to read and write up stuff. Whether it's helpful or not, that's up to your discretion. If it's not, move on with your life, if it is, great. You really need to take a chill pill if a simple internet message board is "ruining your experience."

Besides, tangents happen, and as long as it's vaguely related, I think it's fine. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to go jump off and make a new thread about their own personal lives and vendettas, cuz man, that would seriously clutter up the boards.

Anyway.... I don't think one should go out of their own way to memorize 200 top drugs of whatever list simply for the sake of pharm school unless it's strictly required, but if you already have it memorized, well, it certainly can't hurt, right?