Mail order pharmacy and LTC pharmacy

[Xenophylia]

If I can get a unicorn 1st shift schedule, Monday - Friday 7am-3:30pm or similar then I'd do that anywhere except retail. But everything is rotating shifts with weekends and holidays. It's impossible to plan childcare and vacations with rotating shifts, so I'm staying put for now.

We just hired someone directly from retail- for mostly weekdays, an occasional evening. Rotate weekends but lots of pharmacists in rotation so doesnt happen often. And would work all weekdays for at least the first year or so unless you're a child prodigy because of our sh*tty training. Same with holidays. Mediocre pay. Mediocre working conditions. That's probably about the best LTC deal you'd get as a newbie.

Oh, forgot to mention- NO ON CALL. NONE. Of course, we're an indy so we could be swallowed up by corporate in 2 weeks or lose a contract and go out of business. Such is the life of the LTC pharmacist....

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[Xenophylia]

I only wish we could find a decent tech or two for night shift. But night shift appears to be a dirty word around here... We are still supposedly hiring for another full time pharmacist. So if anyone wants to escape the filthy chains of retail here's your chance (S. Central PA). No experience needed....

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

I only wish we could find a decent tech or two for night shift. But night shift appears to be a dirty word around here... We are still supposedly hiring for another full time pharmacist. So if anyone wants to escape the filthy chains of retail here's your chance (S. Central PA). No experience needed....

It's hard enough to find techs as it is, i imagine it would be even tougher for night shift unless they're going to college

 

[mentos]

Overnight techs are impossible to find. We can't even get daytime techs cause they make more money at Starbucks.

 

[superflunker87]

LTC nurses are the bottom of the barrel. Constantly understaffed and underpaid so only the truly desperate work in those conditions.

 

[grizzlesgrizzlies]

Overnight techs are impossible to find. We can't even get daytime techs cause they make more money at Starbucks.

when my place was 24 hours a lot of our overnight techs went to college part time during the day

 

[superflunker87]

I only wish we could find a decent tech or two for night shift. But night shift appears to be a dirty word around here... We are still supposedly hiring for another full time pharmacist. So if anyone wants to escape the filthy chains of retail here's your chance (S. Central PA). No experience needed....

What would you say is a fair salary for ltc?

 

[Sakonji]

It's hard enough to find techs as it is, i imagine it would be even tougher for night shift unless they're going to college

Overnight techs are impossible to find. We can't even get daytime techs cause they make more money at Starbucks.

what do the techs do during the night shift? I'm imagining it's the same thing during the day shift: packing and prepping IVs? So you are likely to have to do everything yourself during the night?

 

[Sparda29]

what do the techs do during the night shift? I'm imagining it's the same thing during the day shift: packing and prepping IVs? So you are likely to have to do everything yourself during the night?

Over here, the night shift tech refills the operating room Pyxis, the ER pyxis and any other Pyxis that runs out of items during the shift. Also, they have to do the cassette fill for the meds that are not loaded in the Pyxis for the whole hospital and transport from pharmacy to the floors.

 

[mentos]

what do the techs do during the night shift? I'm imagining it's the same thing during the day shift: packing and prepping IVs? So you are likely to have to do everything yourself during the night?

They do a lot. Answer phones "where's my med, can this be refilled" etc, do refills, enter orders, set up the delivery totes and give them to the drivers. Make IVs occasionally. Fill blister packs and unit doses.

 

[Xenophylia]

What would you say is a fair salary for ltc?

For a tech? I don't really know. I'd say as much as you can negotiate and I encourage anyone applying to aim high.

 

[Xenophylia]

what do the techs do during the night shift? I'm imagining it's the same thing during the day shift: packing and prepping IVs? So you are likely to have to do everything yourself during the night?

For us- packup, filling orders, and running the horrible TCG packing machine(s).

 

[superflunker87]

For a tech? I don't really know. I'd say as much as you can negotiate and I encourage anyone applying to aim high.

I meant as a pharmacist. One salary range for a new grad and one with several years experience.

 

[Xenophylia]

It's all what you negotiate. Owner is pretty cheap and likes a bargain. Never gives raises either unless you threaten to quit. And I don't think they care about experience (most jobs don't anymore). I'm making under $60/hr, but still not bad for the crappy retail salaries these days. They matched what I was making at previous job. But hey it isn't retail and I'm just treading water for a few years til I can retire....

I just talked to a former retail tech I worked with who is still there. I do that once in a while to remind myself why I put up with my current job.

 

[owlegrad]

For us- packup, filling orders, and running the horrible TCG packing machine(s).

Oh wow how old are those TCGs at this point? 15 years old? 20?

 

[Xenophylia]

Oh wow how old are those TCGs at this point? 15 years old? 20?

Why- is the company out of business? LOL. I just know they suck. Software buggy as hell, so even the simplest task can be an adventure. A task as simple as changing the packaging material requires a degree in engineering. I'd never heard of those machines til I worked here. But apparently we can still get parts for them, and they must still have people who repair them as they break constantly which is why we have two...

 

[Xenophylia]

We have an old PACMED (PARATA) machine here too which isn't used at all. If you include our "robot" machine to pack cards, we could probably open a pharmacy museum.....