Is Pharmacy Experience a MUST?

[ykim423]

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Hi.
I just spent the whole weekend looking for a pharmacy-technician experience in my area.

There are four retail stores with pharmacy dept. and one individual pharmacy, and one major hospital within 25 miles in my area.

However, they are all filled with positions, and there is no volunteer option at the hospital let alone a working experience.

What should I do? I am planning to apply for the next year from a community college but it is very doubtful if I can even get an experience with pharmacy in my area..

I am currently working as a tutor and an IT technician, and planning to get a few certifications like EMT, but they won't suffice the required experience in pharmacy area..

Help please..

 

[dancingallday]

If you really are out of options for paid positions, you may have to volunteer at one of the retail stores. Speak with pharmacy managers/pharmacists at these locations to see if you can get in a few hours a week to do some volunteer projects or even just job shadowing. When something paid becomes available, you'll have your foot in the door.

 

[owlegrad]

Plenty of people get in with no experience (e.g., me). 👍

I don't think saying you spent a whole weekend looking for experience is going to sound particularly impressive though. 😉

 

[Indypharm]

Ask some of the pharmacists you spoke to today if you can shadow them. Get a variety of shadowing opportunities to prove you have researched the field and know what you are getting into. I don't think you necessarily have to work to get pharmacy experience.

 

[BenJammin]

Some of the professors that I join for interviews automatically deny applicants with zero experience. Even a weekend of shadowing is better than nothing.

 

[Saiyo]

When it comes down to it, experience is the only way to show the adcoms that you really want to practice pharmacy as a career. If you are applying next year, I would keep searching for a job for a few weeks, while getting the application ready for a few free clinics around the area that provide pharmacy services.

 

[ykim423]

Plenty of people get in with no experience (e.g., me). 👍

I don't think saying you spent a whole weekend looking for experience is going to sound particularly impressive though. 😉

Dude, good for u.

I wasn't trying to impress anyone by mentioning I spent the whole weekend looking for a job/volunteer, I was just trying to show that I am concerned.

 

[Sprinkles]

I think it really helps on your application. However, I think it really helps yourself in general with what the pharmacy profession has to offer. I have been a technician for the last 5 years and am applying right now as we speak to pharmacy school.

I have seen a lot of smart young individuals enter the workforce with no prior pharmacy experience, other than their schooling and often times some don't last because of the stressful situations and what is all included in the profession. Shadowing helps, but until you work consistently in pharmacy do you really understand that each and every day is not like the other and it is not for everyone, no matter whether you are in retail or hospital.....or wherever else. You have to enjoy it and want to do it.

 

[romylove]

My current job in a call center just laid off about 20% of the staff (6 people) even though we badly need them. I fear my job is soon to follow...

I got my Technician certification and license recently, so I've been applying around and I hope to get a job in a pharmacy soon!

 

[Corpseman]

It is a must for certain schools out there, not all.

 

[Notecard]

What should I do?

Keep trying. It takes some people months to find a job as a tech.

 

[xtsukiyox]

I wasn't trying to impress anyone by mentioning I spent the whole weekend looking for a job/volunteer, I was just trying to show that I am concerned.

Took me ~3 months to find a volunteer tech position. Then again, I was looking for one a) not too far from home, b) around my full-time work schedule plus classes. Keep looking.

 

[snopharm]

.

 

[romylove]

Definitely don't give up. I sent out applications a few months ago as a Technician Trainee (it's a license in Texas, don't know if anyone else does it) and I got nothing back. I passed my PTCE in December and got my Pharmacy Technician license a week ago.

My employer laid off 6 people (about 20% of the staff) on Friday so I decided to throw out a life raft and apply, apply, apply! I applied to CVS on Saturday night, got a call this morning to come in and meet, and I was offered a job after only a few questions.

The pharmacist in charge of hiring said that she has 3 other students working there and she likes to give everyone a chance, so don't give up on chains! I've heard retail tends to be the busiest, so I'm viewing this as a baptism by fire to get into pharmacy after so much school and studying for the PTCE.

 

[positivesign]

Shadowing helps, but until you work consistently in pharmacy do you really understand that each and every day is not like the other and it is not for everyone, no matter whether you are in retail or hospital.....or wherever else. You have to enjoy it and want to do it.

I totally agree with this statement. I've shadowed for 2 years at an outpatient hospital pharmacy but it wasn't until I had a job as a pharm tech in an independent pharmacy that I realized the challenges and stress from work. The retail environment challenges you to remain professional and to multi-task in time-pressured conditions. The only bad part of work was that I had to get used to being interrupted in the middle of work by almost everyone (customers, coworkers, pharmacist, phone calls, volunteers, and etc), answer their questions/ help with the problem and then continue on with whatever I had been doing. Pharmacy is challenging in a way that you don't work in your own style and you have to be able to adapt for everyone else around you. However, working with people is an invaluable experience IMO.

 

[xXRAYNEXx]

No, exp is not required but recommended by most schools. its also to help you see if you truly like the nature of the job. My sister lost interest in pharmacy after working in one. Some pharmds are miserable because they didn't work in a pharmacy before attending school.

Sent from my PC36100

 

[xtsukiyox]

No, exp is not required but recommended by most schools. its also to help you see if you truly like the nature of the job. My sister lost interest in pharmacy after working in one. Some pharmds are miserable because they didn't work in a pharmacy before attending school.

👍 I think this is a valuable point. While it may not be strictly "required," you really need to get whatever exposure you can to your eventual career, especially one that requires so much investment. It would really suck to get out of school with a PharmD and find out you can't stand pharmacy - or even that you don't find anything about it fulfilling.

OK, I'd recommend getting exposure to people like truck drivers too before they hang their hat on that career, but pharmacy school takes a lot more time, effort, & resources than a commercial driving class. 😉