Normal day for pharmacists

[PharmGirl214]

It's been hard to find any specific answers to my question online, and I'd love to hear from a real pharmacist. How does a normal day go for you? When do you start and when do you end? What times do you take your lunch and do you follow a routine with certain times? How many hours and days do you usually work every week and how are getting Holidays off?

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[sdn1977]

You'll get as many different answers to this question as there are pharmacists.

What practice setting are you interested in getting the answer to?

Retail (chain, clinic or independent), ambulatory care, inpt hospital - what shift or location, industry, mail-order, consultant, etc.....

I can only comment on a couple - but, narrow down your choice to get the best possible answer from all the pharmacists who post.

 

[PharmGirl214]

Ah, I'm mostly interested in chain retail pharmacy. About the shifts, I've been a little confused about this. I wasn't sure if you are able to pick which shifts you like, or are they always just randomly assigned? I'm pretty ignorant to how the pharmacy runs.

 

[sdn1977]

I'll answer some of your questions, but I can't answer all.

I do work retail at times in my week. I don't work full time anywhere. I'm part-time in both retail (20hrs/wk) & part-time in my hospital (more variable).

So, I'll tell you about my retail part. I work at a smaller pharmacy, so there are no "shifts" (900-1000 rxs/wk). When one pharmacist works, that pharmacist works the whole day 9A-8P or 9-5:30 on Sat & Sun. I do work every other Sat & Sun here. (This is nothing new - when I was full time in a hospital & even permanent part-time, I worked every other Sat & Sun - that is a way of life in pharmacy). Since I'm not in a 24 hr location, there is no night shift. Some other pharmacies nearby will break up the busy day in 2 overlapping shifts - 9-5:30 & 11:30-8P. Nothing is set - its all negotiable. I've filled in for friends on these shifts - is ok too.

So...on the days I work, I arrive at 9A & just start - it can be busy or slow - not predictable at all. If I have another pharmacist he/she will come in about 10A & work 5-6 hours, but this will only happen 2 days a week. My tech comes in at 10:30 & works until 7P. On the weekends, I work alone (remember, small store!).

Everyone in CA gets lunch (this had to be legislated - bah!!!!! Almost made me burn my CPhA membership card!!!!). So, we rotate our lunches - I usually am the first to go & I actually allow myself 45 min since I cannot always get a break in the AM (I'm not always with another pharmacist - so there are days that I really don't stop).

When my tech leaves....I pretty much start to get things finished. I stop taking new rxs at 7:40. The few things I've manually had to order, I send - all others were sent by the computer earlier in the evening. I just do minor "housekeeping" stuff until I'm done. I leave when I'm done, which is sometimes after 8PM.

I work out the days I work with my co-workers. We all vary by about 15 years of age - I'm in the middle, so no one is dealing with child care &/or sick children. However, we do deal with sudden family deaths quite frequently (we're in that age group)...so we often need to trade days to attend these funerals. My schedule is set - so I know what days I'm working in July, Nov, next Feb....that makes it easy for me to work with the hospital which is far less organized. The other pharmacists also have set schedules as well.

Does that help?

 

[SELDANE]

I work for a chain and I am the manager. Our pharmacy uses 3 pharmacists throughout the day. There are 3 shifts, 8-4, 11-7, and 1-9. Myself and my partners all work these shifts and we rotate these shifts through out the week. My two partners have young children and prefer to work the early shifts. Usually prior to the work weeks we will swap shifts according to our needs or preferences. It works out that I like going in late (ie., 1-9). When I come in I usually take care of issues such as complaints, calls to RX regional supervisor etc... I will make sure that both of my partners get a lunch break. Later on in the day I will review the schedule that has been made by our technician with the most senior technician. After about 6:30 pm I will send the middle pharmacist home, and myself and one or two technicians will stay until closing. Generally, I work every third weekend. Because my partner(s) have husbands that can watch their children on the weekends, I will work during the week and let them get their hours by working my Saturday (10-6). They prefer to be off on Sundays, so I will work my normal Sunday (10-6). It's usually pretty slow, hence I can work on special projects such as sending back returns or expired drugs.