Is CVS a 'last resort' job?

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PharmDstudent

PharmDstudent

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Do you find that people work for CVS simply because they're hired by CVS? (That is, it's not the job of their dreams but it pays the bills nonetheless.)
 
PharmDstudent said:
Do you find that people work for CVS simply because they're hired by CVS? (That is, it's not the job of their dreams but it pays the bills nonetheless.)
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dunno, the cvs where im from (small midwest city) has carpet and is super quiet. I feel relaxed when i walk in there for food
 
Depending on how the next few months go, I might stay. I already have 3 years under my belt at CVS, by the time I graduate, it would be 6 years and I'd be eligible for the 3 weeks of paid vacation.

I'd probably stay at CVS until I get most of my loans paid off before I break away to take a residency. I'm pretty interested in infectious disease and psychopharmacy.
 
Sparda29 said:
Depending on how the next few months go, I might stay. I already have 3 years under my belt at CVS, by the time I graduate, it would be 6 years and I'd be eligible for the 3 weeks of paid vacation.

I'd probably stay at CVS until I get most of my loans paid off before I break away to take a residency. I'm pretty interested in infectious disease and psychopharmacy.
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really? let me know how that turns out for you...You must have a small amount in student loans...
 
I've been with CVS for 5 years, and i still don't get 3 week vacation. is it because i've been part time the entire 5 years?

i checked for 2010, i'm allowed 40 hrs of vacation, which is basically only 1 week.
 
Sparda29 said:
Depending on how the next few months go, I might stay. I already have 3 years under my belt at CVS, by the time I graduate, it would be 6 years and I'd be eligible for the 3 weeks of paid vacation.

I'd probably stay at CVS until I get most of my loans paid off before I break away to take a residency. I'm pretty interested in infectious disease and psychopharmacy.
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doooood get out of there while you can, so much better on the inpatient side. granted, i squirted morphine on my face today by accident...still beats a ****ty day in retail.
 
confettiflyer said:
doooood get out of there while you can, so much better on the inpatient side. granted, i squirted morphine on my face today by accident...still beats a ****ty day in retail.
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Morphine, yes...CellCept, no. I've also managed to get myself a nice scar from a Cardene ampule.

But I agree, get out of CVS before they chew you up and spit you out. Now that the shortage is over, they owe you absolutely nothing. And they'll let you know it.
 
The problem is, the hospitals that I have interviewed at don't want to hire interns until the summer time. I have my hospital IPE and my long-term care IPE both in the summer time.

That and apparently, the training time for hospitals is a bit longer than CVS. (CVS all I had to do was read some packets and just show up to work the 1st day. At one of the hospitals that I interviewed at last semester, they told me I need to do 1 full-time week of training, which is impossible because of school.
 
Sparda29 said:
The problem is, the hospitals that I have interviewed at don't want to hire interns until the summer time. I have my hospital IPE and my long-term care IPE both in the summer time.

That and apparently, the training time for hospitals is a bit longer than CVS. (CVS all I had to do was read some packets and just show up to work the 1st day. At one of the hospitals that I interviewed at last semester, they told me I need to do 1 full-time week of training, which is impossible because of school.
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spring break? you don't have ANY summer at all? man, what a crappy job by your school getting IPPE stuff in.

I squeezed in two full weeks of training at the hospital (clean room, pyxis, robot, crash carts, etc...), but some of the other interns were putting in random days here and there and were still getting trained, so it's not outright impossible. I think it'd be harder for you to get a job in the first place...I've found that they'll work with you so long as you can give up weekends and breaks.

But that IPPE thing kills...ouch. I thought you guys were a new program? I've associated IPPE scheduling problems with the older schools that couldn't augment their curriculum to meet the new standard. hmmm
 
confettiflyer said:
spring break? you don't have ANY summer at all? man, what a crappy job by your school getting IPPE stuff in.

I squeezed in two full weeks of training at the hospital (clean room, pyxis, robot, crash carts, etc...), but some of the other interns were putting in random days here and there and were still getting trained, so it's not outright impossible. I think it'd be harder for you to get a job in the first place...I've found that they'll work with you so long as you can give up weekends and breaks.

But that IPPE thing kills...ouch. I thought you guys were a new program? I've associated IPPE scheduling problems with the older schools that couldn't augment their curriculum to meet the new standard. hmmm
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Nope, they intentionally made it so that the IPPE/IPE things are done in 2 out of the 4 months we get off. Last year, we didn't have January off, so I was doing my IPPEs in June and August. This year, I tried to get an IPPE in January but it selected me for the hospital in August. So my long-term care rotation is going to be in June, hopefully.

The school believes we'll actually learn more if we work a regular full-time schedule for a month, rather than spreading it out over once a week for a semester. They could easily schedule the IPPEs into the school year, but they don't want to.
 
Sparda29 said:
Nope, they intentionally made it so that the IPPE/IPE things are done in 2 out of the 4 months we get off. Last year, we didn't have January off, so I was doing my IPPEs in June and August. This year, I tried to get an IPPE in January but it selected me for the hospital in August. So my long-term care rotation is going to be in June, hopefully.

The school believes we'll actually learn more if we work a regular full-time schedule for a month, rather than spreading it out over once a week for a semester. They could easily schedule the IPPEs into the school year, but they don't want to.
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hmm difference of philosophy i guess... isn't that what P-4 rotations (6 weeks, 40hr weeks) are for? you practically go to a year-round school at this point. i'm a fan of the "spread IPPE out through the semester" to augment/supplement your classroom stuff.

but dude get out of CVS before the next acronym comes raining down on you like hellfire
 
confettiflyer said:
hmm difference of philosophy i guess... isn't that what P-4 rotations (6 weeks, 40hr weeks) are for? you practically go to a year-round school at this point. i'm a fan of the "spread IPPE out through the semester" to augment/supplement your classroom stuff.

but dude get out of CVS before the next acronym comes raining down on you like hellfire
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We have rotations the whole year for both P3 and P4. I'm done with the classroom after this semester.
 
Sparda29 said:
Nope, they intentionally made it so that the IPPE/IPE things are done in 2 out of the 4 months we get off. Last year, we didn't have January off, so I was doing my IPPEs in June and August. This year, I tried to get an IPPE in January but it selected me for the hospital in August. So my long-term care rotation is going to be in June, hopefully.

The school believes we'll actually learn more if we work a regular full-time schedule for a month, rather than spreading it out over once a week for a semester. They could easily schedule the IPPEs into the school year, but they don't want to.
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Sparda, you have at least 1 month off in the summer for the hospital job training. If you want it bad enough, you can do it. The down side is no summer break for you. If you don't want it. I'll do it. I've been wanting to do inpatient for a couple years now.

2+2 program has its pros and cons too . In the long run, I rather have 2 years of classroom learning than 3 years, and i heard from a lot of pharmacists that most of the real learning is done on the job or during rotations. What better way to learn than 2 years of rotations.

The downside to 2 years of classroom learning is: SO MUCH info could be thrown at us for each exam. My brain almost exploded studying for this past week's therapeutics + med chem exam on STD, RTI, Herpes, HIV, Influenza, Infective Endocarditis, Hepatitis, and Skin infections. Then again, this is professional school. We should be able to handle it right? Still, 3 to 4 nights before a therapeutics exam, my mood can best be summed up with 3 simple letters: FML!!

Congrats Sparada, at least this is your last semester of classroom learning!!

To OP: Most of the pharmacist I've worked with in retail is more into the money than those working in the hospital pharmacy. I do see a lot of younger pharmacists working one full time Retail job or a combination of two jobs: a full time hospital job and a part time retail or hospital job, etc for extra money.
 
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I doubt that a majority of CVS/retail pharmacists would call what they are doing the "job of their dreams". I've met some pharmacists who seemed perfectly happy with retail work. And I've met others who seemed to be dead inside and just drawing a paycheck. Most are in-between.

The same applies to the hospital pharmacists I've met. (And now that I think about it, the same applies to the physicians I've met, nurses, technicians, school teachers, accountants, etc.)

Speaking practically, though, and forgetting about "dreams", I'd say that both retail and hospital pharmacist jobs have many rewards. It's hard to go wrong in this great profession.
 
Transformer said:
Sparda, you have at least 1 month off in the summer for the hospital job training. If you want it bad enough, you can do it. The down side is no summer break for you. If you don't want it. I'll do it. I've been wanting to do inpatient for a couple years now.

2+2 program has its pros and cons too . In the long run, I rather have 2 years of classroom learning than 3 years, and i heard from a lot of pharmacists that most of the real learning is done on the job or during rotations. What better way to learn than 2 years of rotations.

The downside to 2 years of classroom learning is: SO MUCH info could be thrown at us for each exam. My brain almost exploded studying for this past week's therapeutics + med chem exam on STD, RTI, Herpes, HIV, Influenza, Infective Endocarditis, Hepatitis, and Skin infections. Then again, this is professional school. We should be able to handle it right? Still, 3 to 4 nights before a therapeutics exam, my mood can best be summed up with 3 simple letters: FML!!

Congrats Sparada, at least this is your last semester of classroom learning!!

To OP: Most of the pharmacist I've worked with in retail is more into the money than those working in the hospital pharmacy. I do see a lot of younger pharmacists working one full time Retail job or a combination of two jobs: a full time hospital job and a part time retail or hospital job, etc for extra money.
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Yeah, but I'm not planning on working during my only summer month off.
 
My feelings are no. CVS is not a last resort job. However yes, most people work there because they are "hired".

In this economy however, jobs at CVS in most markets are hard to get if you are an intern now (12 interns in my district interviewing for 6 spots?!?!?!) and almost impossible if you are an outsider.
 
PharmDstudent said:
At least RA has a nice computer system...
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okay i'll agree with that... but i kinda liked the DOS-ish rx2000. it was quick when you knew when to tab over and hit return, i could type prescriptions with my eyes closed (in fact, I tried once and had minimal typos and got it to print, just for kicks).

there's a RA here in philly that is inside an old bank...really nice store, the pharmacy is where the bank vault and stuff were.
 
Are people really trying to argue for one chain or another, my pharmacy chain is better then yours? Lol.

I've seen both RA and CVS, and I'll tell you for a fact with RA the PDMs are less on their ass then they are at CVS. They also aren't initiating all these silly programs that annoy patients and require more time from the pharmacist when there wasn't any spare to begin with.
 
Praziquantel86 said:
Morphine, yes...CellCept, no. I've also managed to get myself a nice scar from a Cardene ampule.

But I agree, get out of CVS before they chew you up and spit you out. Now that the shortage is over, they owe you absolutely nothing. And they'll let you know it.
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We switched to cardene premixes to go in pyxis! Yessssss
 
Prepharm1214 said:
Are people really trying to argue for one chain or another, my pharmacy chain is better then yours? Lol.

I've seen both RA and CVS, and I'll tell you for a fact with RA the PDMs are less on their ass then they are at CVS. They also aren't initiating all these silly programs that annoy patients and require more time from the pharmacist when there wasn't any spare to begin with.
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One of them is financially stable, a fortune 20 company and the other is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.....
 
Old Timer said:
One of them is financially stable, a fortune 20 company and the other is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.....
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I think that was the case in 2009, but I think it cleaned up its act and is doing better now (esp. after it cut a lot of hours and reduced the hours in most of the 24hr stores). Last year I was afraid that my position would be cut, but I still work there now, and don't think I'll be fired or have my hours reduced to 0.
 
As of 12/09 RA was slated to lose only $413-542 million compared to analysts' expectations of losing $495 million.

Still... being in the hole half a billion dollars isn't a good proposition either.

CVS and Wags are profitable and the former even increased their dividend. From an investment point of view, there's a WORLD of difference between chains.

But in terms of working conditions, they're more or less the same.

(source: Reuters; http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/keyDevelopments?symbol=RAD)
 
Companies don't usually dump their CEO when things go well. Look at the difference between how CVS integrated Eckards and how R.A. integrated Eckards.

It's just a matter of time until CVS and Walgreens pick up the pieces....
 
confettiflyer said:
But in terms of working conditions, they're more or less the same.
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No way. CVS runs it bare-bones.

At Wags, the only time there's ever an issue with not having enough support is if someone gets sick and calls off.
 
Retail is retail, that's that, argument settled. RA not having money doesn't really affect the interns, unless the whole chain closes (which isn't too likely now). Both are equally notorious for cutting hours until the bare minimum (or less).
 
J DUB said:
what do you think RA is like.....😕
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Are you forced to answer the phone within 2 rings? Do you have to make PCI calls? Does your drive-thru have a timer on it like Taco Bell's? Do you have to ask for a CVS card every time you ring up a script... or have to type in the phone number if the genius forgot their card? Does the doctor call line ring really loud? The working conditions at CVS are so horrible... that I equate it to slave labor. And since Aznfarmerboi comes in on his days off and works without pay, he proves that it is slave labor (salary position or not).


So how do you plan on working during med school? I still have plans for med school... 🙂
 
PharmDstudent said:
Are you forced to answer the phone within 2 rings? Do you have to make PCI calls? Does your drive-thru have a timer on it like Taco Bell's? Do you have to ask for a CVS card every time you ring up a script... or have to type in the phone number if the genius forgot their card? Does the doctor call line ring really loud? The working conditions at CVS are so horrible... that I equate it to slave labor. And since Aznfarmerboi comes in on his days off and works without pay, he proves that it is slave labor (salary position or not).
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CVS is notorius. I had to do 60 hours of experiential with them, and I just hated the last minute of it (and this is coming from a guy who interns in a ghetto walgreens).

Retail chains are EVIL! They talk patient care, but cut hours and demand higher script counts. The only retail place I might consider working is Target and Kroger (the ones without a drive-thru).
 
PharmDstudent said:
Are you forced to answer the phone within 2 rings? Do you have to make PCI calls? Does your drive-thru have a timer on it like Taco Bell's? Do you have to ask for a CVS card every time you ring up a script... or have to type in the phone number if the genius forgot their card? Does the doctor call line ring really loud? The working conditions at CVS are so horrible... that I equate it to slave labor. And since Aznfarmerboi comes in on his days off and works without pay, he proves that it is slave labor (salary position or not).


So how do you plan on working during med school? I still have plans for med school... 🙂
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I've said it once and I'll say it again...This is why I got the hell out of CVS and the large chains all together...They push you to the brink of breakdown...at least they do here in Fl. I can't remember a day when I actually got up every morning and said "I cant wait to get to work". Today, I get to work early, prepare for the day, and love every second of it. Today, we were open 10-4, I got in at 9:30 and left at 7. We cleaned up, filled rx's, faxed doctors, and farted around...We have fun...and we're making money! Everyday is a good day...All I gotta say, if you get the opportunity to be an owner, try it...If you fail, get up, and try again...
 
PharmDstudent said:
Are you forced to answer the phone within 2 rings? Do you have to make PCI calls? Does your drive-thru have a timer on it like Taco Bell's? Do you have to ask for a CVS card every time you ring up a script... or have to type in the phone number if the genius forgot their card? Does the doctor call line ring really loud? The working conditions at CVS are so horrible... that I equate it to slave labor.
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pretty much yes to all that.....we are supposed to.

I do what the hell I want of that though. 😀
 
PharmDstudent said:
So how do you plan on working during med school? I still have plans for med school... 🙂
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I study less than most....and I dont do much else than work and school...and I am really great at time management.

I have 3 PT jobs lined up as of now when I graduate for med school.....

Shooting for 10-15hrs/wk....just met a girl that worked FT while in med school and was 2nd in her class....so I think it may be possible without much of a social life.
 
Old Timer said:
Companies don't usually dump their CEO when things go well. Look at the difference between how CVS integrated Eckards and how R.A. integrated Eckards.

It's just a matter of time until CVS and Walgreens pick up the pieces....
Click to expand...


Everyone was saying the same thing when Revco was bought out by CVS 20 years ago.. I really doubt Rite Aid is as bad off as everyone says they are.
 
vash1012 said:
Everyone was saying the same thing when Revco was bought out by CVS 20 years ago.. I really doubt Rite Aid is as bad off as everyone says they are.
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I dunno...no one seems to be refuting my numbers. Go look at their 10-K filing, the answers are in there as they are a publicly traded company.
 
I don't see any of my classmates sign up with CVS because they like it. There are only 2 types (1) they've been an intern and it was an easy job to land. (2) got lured in by $$$ (one of my friend signed up with CVS in Corpus Christie (SP?) in texas for $132/yr + $10K sign on). He said that he knows CVS sucks but for that kind of money he just can't pass it up.
 
a lot of it depends on how seriously you take it and the team you are with..i have a great team so it isn't so bad. when it comes to PCI, I do the bare minimum, rush through the calls, fill the minimum number of scripts....the drive-thru gets on my last nerve, I find it the most annoying.
our district mgmt considered putting "ask me to get your OTC items!" signs at the drive-thru..good thing they didn't because I would've taken them down on my shift. this is not Bloomingdale's, this is a pharmacy..I don't fetch things.
a store in a district makes their techs keep a "READY FILL NOTEBOOK" to track their readyfills and make sure each person gets 6/shift or whatever. they also send home techs who wear scrubs. at my store, as long as you show up, then they don't care too much what you wear as far as scrubs/no tie (for males) goes. on the other end of the spectrum..another store in our district (out in the country somewhat) wears jeans on the weekends..

there is a certain amount of BS from corporate and a certain amount from each individual store..I just try to minimize the BS I have to deal with..

***WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK TARGET IS SO AMAZING? I WORKED THERE, IT REALLY ISN'T..FOR A TECH OR PHARMACIST..OUR PHARMACIST WASN'T HAPPY, WE WENT THROUGH 4 PHARMACISTS IN 4 MONTHS. Target is big on making the PIC a real business leader..monday afternoons he had to go to a 2 hour meeting with all store management..came to check in on us every 45 mins or so..but seriously? gone from 2-4 every monday for a meeting on salesfloor planograms, etc??? 🙄 also, verryyyy nit-picky on tiny little things that don't even matter...
 
HaleyRX said:
a lot of it depends on how seriously you take it and the team you are with..i have a great team so it isn't so bad. when it comes to PCI, I do the bare minimum, rush through the calls, fill the minimum number of scripts....the drive-thru gets on my last nerve, I find it the most annoying.
our district mgmt considered putting "ask me to get your OTC items!" signs at the drive-thru..good thing they didn't because I would've taken them down on my shift. this is not Bloomingdale's, this is a pharmacy..I don't fetch things.
a store in a district makes their techs keep a "READY FILL NOTEBOOK" to track their readyfills and make sure each person gets 6/shift or whatever. they also send home techs who wear scrubs. at my store, as long as you show up, then they don't care too much what you wear as far as scrubs/no tie (for males) goes. on the other end of the spectrum..another store in our district (out in the country somewhat) wears jeans on the weekends..

there is a certain amount of BS from corporate and a certain amount from each individual store..I just try to minimize the BS I have to deal with..

***WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK TARGET IS SO AMAZING? I WORKED THERE, IT REALLY ISN'T..FOR A TECH OR PHARMACIST..OUR PHARMACIST WASN'T HAPPY, WE WENT THROUGH 4 PHARMACISTS IN 4 MONTHS. Target is big on making the PIC a real business leader..monday afternoons he had to go to a 2 hour meeting with all store management..came to check in on us every 45 mins or so..but seriously? gone from 2-4 every monday for a meeting on salesfloor planograms, etc??? 🙄 also, verryyyy nit-picky on tiny little things that don't even matter...
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Hmm, odd, over the past 3 years at the CVS district where I work, they went from not caring much about us wearing jeans to not tolerating it at all. The funny thing is, at every independent pharmacy I have walked into, everyone is wearing jeans (the pharmacist is wearing jeans too).
 
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