Lunch break in a retail pharmacy

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bacillus1

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I know that in PA a pharmacist can take a 30 minute break as long as he/she doesn't leave the pharmacy and no one picks up prescriptions. Not sure about other states. Just wondering, has any pharmacist on here or that you know in a chain attempt to take such a break, and what were the reprecussions? I mean no one could fire you if it's state law.

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I know that in PA a pharmacist can take a 30 minute break as long as he/she doesn't leave the pharmacy and no one picks up prescriptions. Not sure about other states. Just wondering, has any pharmacist on here or that you know in a chain attempt to take such a break, and what were the reprecussions? I mean no one could fire you if it's state law.
I guess we're the only Kmart in the district (Erie PA, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse NY) that doesn't close for lunch. Whenever we get a floater that hasn't been at our store before, they are shocked that we don't. However, when you're only open 9-9 and doing under 200 rx/day, you have plenty of time to eat without shutting the doors.
 
I know that in PA a pharmacist can take a 30 minute break as long as he/she doesn't leave the pharmacy and no one picks up prescriptions. Not sure about other states. Just wondering, has any pharmacist on here or that you know in a chain attempt to take such a break, and what were the reprecussions? I mean no one could fire you if it's state law.

The law permits, but does not mandate a lunch break. So in PA, there is no requirement to give the pharmacist a break. PA is labor unfriendly state. There is only a required break for minors. Adults may be worked 24 hours without a break in PA. Not that that is good policy mind you. But it is legal.
 
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The law permits, but does not mandate a lunch break. So in PA, there is no requirement to give the pharmacist a break. PA is labor unfriendly state. There is only a required break for minors. Adults may be worked 24 hours without a break in PA. Not that that is good policy mind you. But it is legal.

No the pharmacist is not required to take a break. But if the law says that the pharmacist can take a break, does that not imply that the pharmacist has this option and therefore action cannot be taken against him/her directly related to taking the break?
 
No the pharmacist is not required to take a break. But if the law says that the pharmacist can take a break, does that not imply that the pharmacist has this option and therefore action cannot be taken against him/her directly related to taking the break?

You won't be fired for taking a break but THEY will find something else they can use as reason to fire.
 
In SC, we take breaks if we can.....but the major retailers like CVS, Wags, RA dont really give them....you are lucky to take a bathroom break.

Food is usually crammed down between 2-3PM.....when possible.

I hear Target gets an actual lunch break.....
 
No the pharmacist is not required to take a break. But if the law says that the pharmacist can take a break, does that not imply that the pharmacist has this option and therefore action cannot be taken against him/her directly related to taking the break?

NO, you are reading into the law. The law speaks of what to do when a pharmacist takes a break. What the techs are allowed to do and how far the pharmacist may be from the pharmacy, etc. It does not order, cajole or mandate a break.
 
The Target pharmacy department in my area (southern NJ) closes for half an hour for a lunch break. However, down the road at the CVS I work for (800 prescriptions per weekday), you would be laughed at for taking a break as a pharmacist. I suppose your mileage may vary
 
Non of the staff pharmacist nor floaters expects breaks at CVS. Every floater that I ask when they come to our store say the same thing. The only time they get breaks is if the store they floated too is extremely slow, but other wise they don't get any. I also inquired about their knowledge at other chain pharmacies, and they tell me that it varies a lot, but in this economy its too risky to quit CVS.

CVS is just extremely shady with how they handle their business in SoCal. The stores are getting pushed to do more and more with less people, while constantly not paying employees correctly nor giving them the correct amount of rest periods.
 
The Target pharmacy department in my area (southern NJ) closes for half an hour for a lunch break. However, down the road at the CVS I work for (800 prescriptions per weekday), you would be laughed at for taking a break as a pharmacist. I suppose your mileage may vary

The Targets around here stay open because in Colorado the pharmacist just has to remain in the building. He'll go eat lunch at the Pizza Hut express or Starbucks or whatever and they can page him back to the pharmacy if they need him. But the Target pharmacies in my area are EXTREMELY slow.
 
Non of the staff pharmacist nor floaters expects breaks at CVS. Every floater that I ask when they come to our store say the same thing. The only time they get breaks is if the store they floated too is extremely slow, but other wise they don't get any. I also inquired about their knowledge at other chain pharmacies, and they tell me that it varies a lot, but in this economy its too risky to quit CVS.

CVS is just extremely shady with how they handle their business in SoCal. The stores are getting pushed to do more and more with less people, while constantly not paying employees correctly nor giving them the correct amount of rest periods.

I just quit CVS. I have been there 4 years but could not take it any longer. I realize I probably should have waited until I found another job, however, not having a check coming in will make you look harder. Nothing like working your tail off day in and day out with limited help doing far more scripts than 1 person should do in a day (500) only to have the regional come in once a month to say you are not doing this or that. Final straw---- I became the lone immunizer in the store. I didnt realize at the time that cvs expected you to not only give the shots but to market them as well....Head out into the community on off days to increase sales.
 
I just quit CVS. I have been there 4 years but could not take it any longer. I realize I probably should have waited until I found another job, however, not having a check coming in will make you look harder. Nothing like working your tail off day in and day out with limited help doing far more scripts than 1 person should do in a day (500) only to have the regional come in once a month to say you are not doing this or that. Final straw---- I became the lone immunizer in the store. I didnt realize at the time that cvs expected you to not only give the shots but to market them as well....Head out into the community on off days to increase sales.

Congratulations on quitting before they sucked you dry. Retail blows.
 
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Update on the topic: we just got signs we can hang up that say "The Pharmacist Is Taking a 30-minute Break." The PDM tried to discourage us using the signs, but our pharmacists are definitely using them. The pharmacy doesn't close, the pharmacist usually just sits in the back and eats lunch.
 
a lunch break?!! i consider getting one bathroom break in a shift as a victory for me, smh 👎
 
The pharmacist gets 30 minutes lunch break but she usually eats in the pharmacy and helps when needed.
 
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I can't decide what tells me more about you guys: the fact that you can't find time to put a sandwich in your mouth and washing it down with a drink or the fact that you guys tolerate working for a company that doesn't allow you to do that.
 
Non of the staff pharmacist nor floaters expects breaks at CVS. Every floater that I ask when they come to our store say the same thing. The only time they get breaks is if the store they floated too is extremely slow, but other wise they don't get any. I also inquired about their knowledge at other chain pharmacies, and they tell me that it varies a lot, but in this economy its too risky to quit CVS.

CVS is just extremely shady with how they handle their business in SoCal. The stores are getting pushed to do more and more with less people, while constantly not paying employees correctly nor giving them the correct amount of rest periods.

That's true everywhere, not just in SoCal.
 
I can't decide what tells me more about you guys: the fact that you can't find time to put a sandwich in your mouth and washing it down with a drink or the fact that you guys tolerate working for a company that doesn't allow you to do that.

which so much saturation, its harder to jump ship now

but im going back for residency, so hopefully i never face those conditions again after im done
 
which so much saturation, its harder to jump ship now

but im going back for residency, so hopefully i never face those conditions again after im done

Lorain, people were asking those questions back in the days when jobs were a dime a dozen.

Some people have a martyr complex, and I think that's a major factor in many cases.
 
I can't decide what tells me more about you guys: the fact that you can't find time to put a sandwich in your mouth and washing it down with a drink or the fact that you guys tolerate working for a company that doesn't allow you to do that.

:highfive:

This kind of thing was being discussed and debated back in the not-so-distant days when jobs were a dime a dozen.
 
Dude, they don't pay you to take a 30mn lunch.

The difference in hospital is that a lunch break is built into the scheduled day. Our hourly employees work 7:30-4:00 and get paid for 8 hrs because it is assumed you are taking a 30mn lunch. They don't get paid for lunch.
 
Yea, not getting a lunch would be horrible, but people should also have an idea of what they're getting into when they accept a job offer.

And Soonersyko is right, those of us who don't get a break shouldn't accept it. Just take one. Tell your techs that nothing leaves the pharmacy for 15 minutes, and take a break. You're the pharmacist, and it's your pharmacy.

And if your DM gives u trouble, find a pubmed article that says "lunch break = greater productivity, fewer errors" and shove it down his throat (or offer it as a suppository if he prefers 😀 ).

Seriously though, if you do your job well, this is a battle that can be won.
 
To give at least one counter opinion... I work for cvs and take a 30 min lunch every day in the break room. In FL, by law, we have a sign up saying the pharmacist is on break but retrievable.. The techs page me if they really need me but otherwise we give 30-45min wait times and I don't get bothered.

In a busy store without overlap, it just isn't possible. I could certainly take a 30 min lunch in the break room but I'll have about 6+ towers of baskets to verify when I get back and would have been interrupted at least 3 times for phone calls for the pharmacist or consultations.
 
When I am the only pharmacist during a shift in the pharmacy and have to relieve myself, I go to a spot outside of cameras' view and use a 8 oz bottle to take care of the business without having to go to restroom. This only works for guys of course, but you just have to be creative.
 
When I am the only pharmacist during a shift in the pharmacy and have to relieve myself, I go to a spot outside of cameras' view and use a 8 oz bottle to take care of the business without having to go to restroom. This only works for guys of course, but you just have to be creative.

It can work for females too. Plenty of female soldiers made it happen with a canteen.

I definitely have no problem relieving myself into a bottle, but I would really worry about what the consequences of being caught would be.
 
To give at least one counter opinion... I work for cvs and take a 30 min lunch every day in the break room. In FL, by law, we have a sign up saying the pharmacist is on break but retrievable.. The techs page me if they really need me but otherwise we give 30-45min wait times and I don't get bothered.

IMO, a real lunch break would allow you time to go out to a restaurant, eat lunch, and come back.
 
I just quit CVS. I have been there 4 years but could not take it any longer. I realize I probably should have waited until I found another job, however, not having a check coming in will make you look harder. Nothing like working your tail off day in and day out with limited help doing far more scripts than 1 person should do in a day (500) only to have the regional come in once a month to say you are not doing this or that. Final straw---- I became the lone immunizer in the store. I didnt realize at the time that cvs expected you to not only give the shots but to market them as well....Head out into the community on off days to increase sales.

I just finished an IPPE rotation at Wags and for the life of me, I cannot see why anybody would work there 40 hours a week for ANY pay. To me, no job is better than a job there.

I hope there are still hospital or LTC jobs when I graduate because won't touch retail with a 90 foot pole.
 
But would you rather get paid for 1 less hour due to such a break?

Yeah, if it keeps me from dropping dead by the end of the day. The pharmacists at the LTC facility where I work get 1 hour. 1/2 hour is unpaid, 1/2 hour is paid. They combine their breaks together to take a 1 hour break.
 
I just finished an IPPE rotation at Wags and for the life of me, I cannot see why anybody would work there 40 hours a week for ANY pay. To me, no job is better than a job there.

I hope there are still hospital or LTC jobs when I graduate because won't touch retail with a 90 foot pole.

This really challenged my reading comprehension until I realized you meant that being unemployed is preferable to working there. 😉
 
I've bought one of those before. It's for gross toilet seats so you don't have to sit down. It's not something for if you don't have time for a piss break.
 
I have the opposite opinion. I hate being forced into a break. Only a few things pissed me off more than being expected to sit around for 30 minutes, off the clock, and be away from home and my video games/tv/interwebs longer than I could be if I just shot right through the shift. Just let me plop my sammich on the counter and nibble away at it in between tasks.
 
I have the opposite opinion. I hate being forced into a break. Only a few things pissed me off more than being expected to sit around for 30 minutes, off the clock, and be away from home and my video games/tv/interwebs longer than I could be if I just shot right through the shift. Just let me plop my sammich on the counter and nibble away at it in between tasks.

I am not SO annoyed by mandatory breaks, except that my pharmacy has a set lunch break and no matter how small my shift is, if it falls in that lunch window I have to clock out with everyone else. I once had a two hour shift reduced to 1.5 hours (I went in as a favor to someone, it was how I learned we aren't allowed to work through lunch). Now THAT'S annoying.
 
You know I would love to rub myself all around the dirty-ness on my own computer keyboard (that only I use) WAY more than even come into slight contact with someone elses fecal matter on a less "dirty" toilet seat.

You don't need that funnel OR to sit down, c'mon, you can just squat/crouch and accomplish the same task. Silly...
 
images
 
lol @ its a trap..
i work at target and we get half hour break but it usually takes us 2-5 mins to close because customers never realize we are closing for lunch. we either have to be straight up rude and say we cant service or close the gate halfway and turn off the lights. (bc once you help one guest and another comes and sees you working; the cycle continues lol )
this also happens when we close at 6 on saturdays.
 
👍
I just quit CVS. I have been there 4 years but could not take it any longer. I realize I probably should have waited until I found another job, however, not having a check coming in will make you look harder. Nothing like working your tail off day in and day out with limited help doing far more scripts than 1 person should do in a day (500) only to have the regional come in once a month to say you are not doing this or that. Final straw---- I became the lone immunizer in the store. I didnt realize at the time that cvs expected you to not only give the shots but to market them as well....Head out into the community on off days to increase sales.
I just quit too, without another job lined up. I was miserable at CVS. Their expectations are ridiculous! Best of luck to you!!:clap:
 
But would you rather get paid for 1 less hour due to such a break?

At the store I was at for my APPE (24 hr no drivethru, 8 hr shifts), the RPh coming off shift would usually stay for an extra hour, unpaid, otherwise the RPh coming on would get swamped. And this is on top of eating lunch standing up while verifying.

And people wonder why I don't like retail...especially the brainwashed techs I happened to be working with, who thought the job was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I guess that's necessary in order for a CVS/Wags to function.
 
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