I just got a volunteer position at a pharmacy! :D

[Dave4468]

I called in and asked if they would be interested in any volunteer help and I talked to the pharmacist who owned the pharmacy then they said not for awhile and so I said if they would be interested in any other kind of help I or if I could job shadow and that I was interested in pharmacy and I would love to introduce myself. So then he said okay thats fine and I said I was in the area and I could come over right now if it was convenient and he said okay thats fine but its not all that exciting haha.

So I went over and we were talking and all of a sudden he was like "so your interested in volunteering? How about coming over this and this time and see how you like it?" and I gladly said yes and he then he said "Haha ok well you can start by maybe introducing yourself to the other people who work here"

and I was so happy I left without introducing myself to the other workers, whoops!!

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[dianer]

Congratulations!

 

[FruitFly]

Congratulations. That's how I got my start... by volunteering. After a while, they may even hire you when a spot opens up. Or, if not, at least you will learn something.

 

[cinnamoroll12]

Congrats! Overall, I think it's tough looking for a place to volunteer in the pharmacy setting. I had to phone all of the hospitals around my school area and I luckily found one that accepts volunteers in the inpatient pharmacy.

 

[Fost]

Why are you so excited about working for no compensation?

 

[Dave4468]

Why are you so excited about working for no compensation?

haha well

1. i want to and for me I feel I get compensation through getting experience and working in a pharmacy environment

2. it hard to find volunteer experience, at least around where I live, so I'm kind of happy I got the opportunity and I wont be stressing about applying without any volunteer pharmacy experience

 

[cinnamoroll12]

Why are you so excited about working for no compensation?

Well actually for me, volunteering gives me more of a flexibility, especially when I have so many midterms and other things to work around with in my schedule.

 

[kitty84]

I called in and asked if they would be interested in any volunteer help and I talked to the pharmacist who owned the pharmacy then they said not for awhile and so I said if they would be interested in any other kind of help I or if I could job shadow and that I was interested in pharmacy and I would love to introduce myself. So then he said okay thats fine and I said I was in the area and I could come over right now if it was convenient and he said okay thats fine but its not all that exciting haha.

So I went over and we were talking and all of a sudden he was like "so your interested in volunteering? How about coming over this and this time and see how you like it?" and I gladly said yes and he then he said "Haha ok well you can start by maybe introducing yourself to the other people who work here"

and I was so happy I left without introducing myself to the other workers, whoops!!

hahaha, congrats. This is funny. I am in the same situation. We are not going to get paid, but I just don't know why they make it so hard.

 

[farmerjon]

Why are you so excited about working for no compensation?

haha what a dip**** response....uh i wonder why? hmmm thats a TOUGH one

 

[FruitFly]

Please stay on topic. There's no room for name-calling.

I've always believed that students need to get their foot in the door of the workplace, whether it be volunteer or otherwise. The money will come as soon as you get a little experience. This is something you can add to your resume for future job applications...

 

[OKgirl]

What do you do while volunteering at a pharmacy? I've thought about volunteering at one, but I'm not too sure of what it involves. Are there any qualifications it requires (like being a certified pharmacy tech)?

 

[alpha12]

Is this pharmacy hospital or retail???

 

[laimyours]

Even if you are a tech, typically you can't preform tech duties while volunteering at a hospital. If you are looking to volunteer at a hospital, they will let you deliever medication, stock, clean, data entry..... The only thing you can't really do is touch the meds. The longer you're there the more responsibilites you get. It's surprising how hard it is to get a spot volunteering at the hospital. I would get in touch with the volunteer dept. at your local hospital. Usually it's easier to do volunteering at the county hospitals. They should be taking in applications this time of year. Beginning of summer is usually when they lose some people. You will need to have a health screening and a background check. If you can, you might want to call the director of pharmacy at the hospital and really express your interest in working in a hospital pharmacy. They get a lot of applicants and can't take all of them, make yourself stand out!

 

[cinnamoroll12]

What do you do while volunteering at a pharmacy? I've thought about volunteering at one, but I'm not too sure of what it involves. Are there any qualifications it requires (like being a certified pharmacy tech)?

I don't know about volunteering in an independent or retail pharmacy, but in an inpatient pharmacy I mostly deliver meds and IVs to the patient care floors. I also have chances to shadow the roles of hospital and clinical pharmacists, as well as talk to the residents and pharmacy students on their rotations. And no, you do not need to be certified in order to volunteer. It depends if there are spots available or otherwise you may have to be on the waiting list since there are lots of pre-pharm students interested. The hospitals nearby my school offer volunteer opportunities in the pharmacy dept because they have ties with our pharmacy school.

 

[Fost]

volunteers have no responsibility, its a waste of time, and will not help you get into pharm school. Get tech cert. and work under that.

 

[Garfield3d]

volunteers have no responsibility, its a waste of time, and will not help you get into pharm school. Get tech cert. and work under that.

The advice of getting certified is fine. Trying to take a crap on his day isn't.

He's trying to get his foot in the door. Even if he doesn't get much to do, he's building a social network and opening up possibilities.


When I volunteered at a hospital as a pharmacy assistant, I can't say I did much. All I did was unpackage shipments, file papers, and organize large bins of drugs into boxes. I wouldn't say it was a very enlightening experience, but I do know that volunteers that stay for at least another semester are usually given more responsibility. Also, many people who volunteer at a hospital and then become certified technicians are usually among the first picks for openings at hospitals. Many people will tell you that it's difficult to get a technician spot at a hospital if you don't have 1.) Prior connections to the hospital, 2.) A friend inside the hospital, or 3.) Prior experience.

Dave might not be turning heads or doing anything impressive right now, but he's putting himself in a good spot for later.

--Garfield3d

 

[dovebar]

i just started volunteering in a hospital pharmacy in march too!!! i don't have time to look for a pharmacy job...without sacrificing my grades & pcat. so i opted to do that until someone would train me for a pharmacy tech position. i love volunteering, it made me realize that i really like pharmacy. i'm a nontrad student with a bs in biochemistry...so volunteering has made all the difference in my decision!!

 

[laimyours]

volunteers have no responsibility, its a waste of time, and will not help you get into pharm school. Get tech cert. and work under that.

It's not a waste of time.
The longer you're there the more resposibility you get. It's hard to get a hospital tech position with no experience. So either way if you're a tech working retail or not, having a the hopsital experience is good. It also looks good when you apply because it shows that you took time out of your life to volunteer, you didn't just go to school and work. Where a job just looks like something you did for the money. Get what I mean?

 

[Fost]

I'm just saying that it will be a let down. I know all we had our volunteers do was prepack, a far cry from what they expected, or were capable of. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, just sharing my opinion. Best of luck with it!