- Joined
- Sep 13, 2007
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Pharmacy Student
most data that I heard from the top 3 chain (walgreen, cvs, and rite aid) is 50dollars or so, plus a little bit extra if you work in the Bronx. Duane reade (not a stable company in my opinion, and degrading) offer 3-4 dollars more, with the most i heard of being 60 (but the pharmacist is also a cashier there etc).
what??? pharmacists get paid hourly wages?
what??? pharmacists get paid hourly wages?
Depends...I'm salary.
I'd love to see it. They don't deduct anything. The pharmacist reports his own hours. Someone is violating company policy if the hours were deducted. He may have only been paid 9 hours holiday instead of 12, but he was paid his base hours which includes the 12 he was scheduled to work on the holiday. So in effect he worked 9 hours and was paid for 21.My information isn't wrong, Ive seen the paystubs of both pharmacists I work with at CVS and just as for fact, last labor day the pharmacist I worked with his paycheck stub showed a deduction of 3 hours of pay due to the holiday.
Its very gay what CVS does; If its convenient for them to make you salary, they make you salary, if its more convenient to make you hourly, they do that.
IE: If a customer comes in right at closing and has scripts they want now, CVS expects you to stay late and take care of it no ifs, ands or buts and also no extra pay.
But, If its a holiday and you're working a shift with fewer hours than normal or something, they dock you pay how ever much you dont work.
Very stupid indeed.
Apparently, when you work for CVS, you join a Guild. There is an official aggreement between the Guild & CVS with regard to all the benefits. You can look here:
The policy I posted is official CVS policy. It may be superseded in California by any agreement CVS makes with the unions in your state. In non-union states, the policy is as I stated.
Regardless of OT, if the patient comes in at 8:58, you are expected to fill the prescriptions. CVS prefers the patient be happy and even at $50.00 per hour and time and a half they would rather spend the $37.50 for OT for the 15 minutes than have the patient be unhappy.
I had one of my pharmacists refuse a patient at closing time and the patient left the store and since he was a diabetic with multiple complications he took his $8,000.00 per year in sales with him. CVS will gladly pay the $37.50 and not risk losing the $8,000.00
If pharmacists want to be treated as professionals they have to act professional. Doctors don't leave their office right at closing if they have to stay late, they have to stay late. The same goes for us.
In any case, I rather live upstate where the pay is more. I can always go Bass fishing in the spring, whitewater rafting in the summer, and skiing in the winter. Houses are a lot cheaper, and i am always 2-3 hours away from the city. I am looking into potential houses in the catskill and new paltz region right now. Cheap shopping is only minutes away too. . woodbury rocks compare to park ave or soho.
No. Most doctors can plan their work weeks ahead of time. Instead of staying late or working overtime, they just say that they already have an "appointment" scheduled whenever they want off. It's a little too convenient and selfish, in my opinion.Doctors don't leave their office right at closing if they have to stay late, they have to stay late. The same goes for us.
No. Most doctors can plan their work weeks ahead of time. Instead of staying late or working overtime, they just say that they already have an "appointment" scheduled whenever they want off. It's a little too convenient and selfish, in my opinion.
Pharmacies are open all day or even 24 hours a day. Why should we have to stay a minute later after the pharmacy is supposed to be closed? Patients have ALL DAY to drop off or pick up their prescriptions.
Why is it unprofessional for a pharmacist to deny a customer their medicine after the pharmacy is closed whenever a doctor can just schedule themselves off for personal activities?
I wish pharmacists could take two hour lunch breaks, or tell their secretaries that they can't help certain patients just because they don't care to.
sdn1977 said:Sure - you have to pick & choose the patient. If its my regular patient that has been discharged from the hospital & its something for comfort - I won't completely fill the rx. I'll print a label, give him/her a few & fill it the next day & deliver it!
Most pediatricians end up working late regularly. I'd say the same is true for family practitioners. People get sick and patient schedules change.
My daughter was sick the other night and my husband took her to pediatric intensive care. They got out at 8:45 and got to Kroger about 8:55. The pharmacist sent the tech home and stayed to finish up my daughter's antibiotic prescription. I really appreciated that and feel that it is the professional thing to do.
Most pediatricians end up working late regularly. I'd say the same is true for family practitioners. People get sick and patient schedules change.
My daughter was sick the other night and my husband took her to pediatric intensive care. They got out at 8:45 and got to Kroger about 8:55. The pharmacist sent the tech home and stayed to finish up my daughter's antibiotic prescription. I really appreciated that and feel that it is the professional thing to do.
At the stores I've worked for, it's the generation of the label and related processing that takes the bulk of the time (scanning the script, typing the directions, etc.) It takes us as long to give three amoxil as it does to give 30. I think I'd personally rather stay 5 minutes late and finish dispensing the prescription than have to deliver it the next day.
50 an hr seems low for manhatan.....i know pharmacists who make more than that in smaller cities of ohio , i wouldve thought manhattan would be higher to accomodate COL
You have got to be kidding!!!! I handwrite a label - I don't process it at all. The kid needs amox & I give the kid 3 chewie amox - handwritten label & all. What do you think we did in the old days or when the power goes out? I don't care if I get paid - I gave the 3 doses (in fact, the ED or pedi gave the 3 doses probably!) & it can be dealt with the next day.
As to your other "comment" - Old Timer responded to ME - saying if I wanted to be a professional I needed to act as professional. To me - that was a personal attack. Let Old Timer say it was not if indeed it was not. I am as professional as any pharmacist there is!
You are in completely wrong if you thing the same pediatrician who started at 5:30 AM seeing newborns will be the same one who sees your kid at 7PM - they are not working all those hours. They work shifts - I know! My own kid is thinking peds - what is wrong with her????? Group practices, in all specialties work shifts. That is the only thing that keeps them sane - unless you are in some rural burg. If they pass off the newborns to the neonatologist, then the new mom is confused & doesn't understand her baby's need for ranitidine on discharge. The same doctor doesn't do it all. If you think that, you are very,very misguided.
I live in an urban area. We use a two-person practice and I'm pretty sure I understand their schedules. And - who are you to say who is taking things personally or not?
OK - you do it that way. Sounds great.
I'm just saying that I'd rather just go ahead and fill it completely and get it done with.
I'm not sure that this will make you feel any better, but I really don't think he meant it as YOU need to be more professional - but you are right that we don't know his motivations.
I live in an urban area. We use a two-person practice and I'm pretty sure I understand their schedules.
Let's just say I can tell when someone is taking things personally. Usually one clue is that they get very upset when someone disagrees with them and take it as a personal affront. Or when someone quotes one of their posts and then makes a point they don't like - it gets labeled a "personal attack." Another good clue is the use of !!! or ??? which can be interpreted to mean someone is extra emphatic or incredulous in making their point. But I can't give away all my "intent interpretation" secrets this early in the morning. 🙄
All I was saying when I suggested we "keep the discussion civil" is that we can agree/disagree with each other while keeping the topic focused on the debate, and not on the people participating in the debate. I stand by that.
wow - someone got up on the crabby side of the bed.....
I promise to keep my !!! & ??? to a minimum!!!😉

I'm moving to Manhattan after graduation and need to find out some info on retail pharmacist salaries. Any NYC pharm students that have this info? Or anyone know a website that would compile this data?
Thanks!
I want to pick up an $800 pair of shoes when I visit.
So are you just cheap or thrifty?When I was here during last Christamas, I was walking around Manahattan in my dress shoes...and was starting to hurt my feet. So I stopped at a shoe store and picked up a $20 pair of shoes...
So are you just cheap or thrifty?![]()
Neither... I'm just poor... just a pharmacist trying to get by.

Seems low to me & I'm just in the 'burbs of CA. I make $56/hr & I'm no great shakes for sure.
Now, granted, I fill rxs for lots of Silicon Valley folks, but they've got the same insurance little people do.
I think it's surprising, too, but it's ruled by supply and demand. They can pay a lower rate and still have enough pharmacists because it's still an attractive place to live. Pehaps CVS is on the lower end of the NYC range--perhaps the other chains pay a bit more.my store in Pa where i intern, the pharmacist make 51.50 per, so the manhattan salary really surprises me
The policy I posted is official CVS policy. It may be superseded in California by any agreement CVS makes with the unions in your state. In non-union states, the policy is as I stated.
Regardless of OT, if the patient comes in at 8:58, you are expected to fill the prescriptions. CVS prefers the patient be happy and even at $50.00 per hour and time and a half they would rather spend the $37.50 for OT for the 15 minutes than have the patient be unhappy.
I had one of my pharmacists refuse a patient at closing time and the patient left the store and since he was a diabetic with multiple complications he took his $8,000.00 per year in sales with him. CVS will gladly pay the $37.50 and not risk losing the $8,000.00
If pharmacists want to be treated as professionals they have to act professional. Doctors don't leave their office right at closing if they have to stay late, they have to stay late. The same goes for us.
Manhattan salaries pay well, but that Upper East Side loft you're dreaming of may not be in your future, just doing retail...
just curious, how much would a small loft in downtown NYC cost?
Exactly. I was surprised the rates are what they are, but they are still live-able for Manhattan; especially if you have 2 people bringing in that salary. Everyone always thinks Manhattan is so expensive...but I think a lot of people make it more expensive than it needs to be.
Do you want a car here? Do you want to pay 300-500/month to keep it in a garage, plus the car payment itself, plus insurance? That adds up fast and you don't need it!! A car in Manhattan is one of the dumber things I've heard of; you don't need it,and that's a huge cost savings right there over other parts of the country. See how it starts to balance out? So, if you try to live like a suburbanite in the big city, it will cost you. Just adapt and be urban and save some money.
Do you want kids? If so, I'm not surprised you can't afford Manhattan on a pharmacist's salary. Kids mean you'll need a bigger place, and real estate is certainly expensive here--I don't argue with that. Kids themselves also cost money: food, toys, clothes, education, babysitters for when you want to go out and enjoy all the city does have to offer.
Do you want a ridiculously large apartment? Do you want to keep all your stuff? Again, you probably won't be able to afford what you want. In Manhattan, you can get by with a smaller place because so much of the living is done outside of the apartment...you meet friends at restaurants and bars instead of hosting dinner parties; you chill at your favorite bookstore or the park; you work/study at your favorite coffeeshop instead of in your livng room; you get out there and explore the city instead of being a homebody. What do you need all that space for if you're rarely at home?
Sorry for my rant...I just have very strong urban opinions. 🙂
if it costs 1mil to buy, who is buying? Who makes that kind of money? I guess we would all have to start our own pharmacies and hope for success to afford that kind of real estate
if it costs 1mil to buy, who is buying? Who makes that kind of money? I guess we would all have to start our own pharmacies and hope for success to afford that kind of real estate