Pharmacist stuck working as a tech

[Rouelle]

\


So interns can't work as techs in your state? Interesting. I would think that would really limit employment options for them.

Correct, one cannot simultaneously hold an intern license and a tech permit. Nor can one hold a pharmacist license and a tech permit. Nor can one who’s lost a pharmacist license apply for a tech permit.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[olabrador23]

Taking a break from my study and read @Modest_anteater 's old posts to see why he got removed (seems like that happened only a few days ago) I found the OP said this 2 years ago,

I have extensive experience working with the ACPE and know how they work. I know for fact that yes, they can be sued and I've seen it done successfully. If you PM me, I'm happy to help.

How does a tech or a foreign pharmacy graduate work extensively with the ACPE??? that is interesting.

So 3 years ago when you were telling everyone how great pharmacy is, you have only been workng as a tech this whole time?

I'm not so sure it's completely fake for one reason, the OP seems to be a foreign graduate from a nonbordering country, I don't care if they have an RPh, most wouldn't consider the application. But now, I would consider the application completely a nonstarter, because it would be impossible even in NYC to explain to a hiring manager why they worked so beneath their license for so long as it throws too many red flags.

And drama is a relative concern, we do give and receive help, and you are no exception to both sides of this as I remember when you were having your own doubts, but I agree, this person has not been on the level as NYC is a large enough labor market to be continually applying. There are people who can be helped, but this story is incomprehensible as there either has to be more in context (can't speak English or has a bad reputation) or the Op does not understand how the US market works.

 

[olabrador23]

@lord999 - I do not think the OP is a foreign pharmacy graduate as she did FDA rotation when in pharmacy school and worked for CVS, Walgreens, and Harris Teeter.

I did exactly this to get my foot in the door for compounding-took a job as a tech for a compounding pharmacy in NY and then when a pharmacist job opened up, applied for it and got the pharmacist job. I would say as long as you are truthful about your situation, there are employers out there that will understand and give you that chance. To my employer, they treated it as an extended interview and when I showed that I was able to do the job and when pharmacist position opened up, I was a natural candidate for it.

Let me know if you're interested in the NY area and I can share some contacts that can help. Good luck

At CVS, when we input DEA, it does a search in the system and pulls up the providers with DEAs that are the closest match and we usually just pick one of those that are already in there in order to get around this. This pretty much always works.

I don't think anyone really cares about this. My sup was certainly aware of this but would always just turn the other way since there are no metrics for this. Corporate philosophy was as long as metrics were being met and everything looked fine on paper, you could do whatever you wanted/needed to do to make sure things stayed that way. Nobody has time to deal with these things anyway.

I did a FDA rotation years ago when I was still in pharmacy school. It was a great experience and definitely helped me stand out amongst my peers when applying to jobs. Happy to share any tips to anyone interested. I also still keep in contact with many of the folks there and happy to help make the connection if anyone is seriously considering. Just PM me!

I did some part-time work at HT earlier this year and its definitely much slower compared to CVS/WAG. They give you much better tech support and you rarely see the long lines that you normally see at CVS/WAG. It's definitely a much better gig in my opinion.

I remember from my days at CVS that you can pull all this information from the system. You can pull the report directly from your store computer. If you have issues, you can contact HR and they should be able to walk you through it.

Also from what I remember, I believe all of those do get factored into your base hours for calculation of benefit eligibility. You should contact HR to confirm though.

Unless the system has changed, there should be a print function that allows you to print any report you want. If you can't find it, you can always just print screen and it'll print whatever is showing on your computer. If you already tried that, make sure your printer is hooked up properly and there is paper in it.

I think pretty much any of the Rutgers ones

This is going to be tough and your GPA is not going to matter. This happened to someone in my class and got the academic misconduct notice attached to his file. Pretty much anywhere he applied that asked for his academic record had this notice attached to it. No programs went anywhere near him.

 

[lcow2004]

@lord999 - I do not think the OP is a foreign pharmacy graduate as she did FDA rotation when in pharmacy school and worked for CVS, Walgreens, and Harris Teeter.

No I am not a foreign pharmacy graduate. I received my PharmD here in the states

 

[olabrador23]

No I am not a foreign pharmacy graduate. I received my PharmD here in the states

thanks for the clarification! I really do hope things are / will be getting better for you! Keep us posted.

 

[Lubeckd]

okay guys, in nyc you cannot work as a tech if you have a pharmacist license. I once considered doing that, my Professor who is also in the Board of Pharmacy said its illegal to do it.

 

[TerryTerry]

okay guys, in nyc you cannot work as a tech if you have a pharmacist license. I once considered doing that, my Professor who is also in the Board of Pharmacy said its illegal to do it.

Who is going to enforce that and how?

 

[Lubeckd]

Who is going to enforce that and how?

he also said that will cheapen the profession, dont do it

 

[BidingMyTime]

Are techs not licensed in NY? If not, that does seem like a ridiculous law. In IL, techs are licensed, pharmacists are licensed, although at least years ago, one could hold both licenses? I just didn't renew my tech license after I got my pharmacist license. It would seem if a state wanted to make sure a pharmacist never worked as a tech, that they would license techs so they would know who was working as a tech.

 

[projektreverb]

Are techs not licensed in NY? If not, that does seem like a ridiculous law. In IL, techs are licensed, pharmacists are licensed, although at least years ago, one could hold both licenses? I just didn't renew my tech license after I got my pharmacist license. It would seem if a state wanted to make sure a pharmacist never worked as a tech, that they would license techs so they would know who was working as a tech.

Both of my licenses still ping as active. So I agree.

 

[IDontHateYou]

As someone that was previously a hiring manager, we tend to avoid older people 55+, preggos, and women that are risk of being preggo like the plague. I think, and I know you might not want to hear this, but you have to decide between being a mother and being a pharmacist. pharmacy used to be a great choice for mothers as they could work part time as a pharmacist. But now, with the employment situation evolving the privilege of working part time is shrinking, especially with women would could become preggo.

try to see it from management's side. Why waste thousands of dollars on training hours for someone that might become preggo and drop out leaving a massive scheduling hole for months for us to fill and then all the legal issues with terminating a preggo employee, possible lawsuits, ect not to mention the all the PTO. It's just not worth the risk. Tech's make good money. Why are you not happy working as a technician? a 6 year gap is a huge red flag for any hiring manager and you will be viewed as damaged goods and a employment risk.

Have you considered going back to school for an indemand major such as nursing or computer science?

the best,

Modest

If you avoid women with the potential to be pregnant, considering at-least half of pharmacist are probably women,

does this mean you would only hire men and women who are < than 55 but >40 to avoid to potential for pregnancy as best as possible?

ouch, thats rough...

But I'm not sure I get that because most of my graduating class in 2019 is women of child-bearing age and at-least half of them have jobs.. I guess these hiring managers are more lenient?

interesting though. I always figured men have a slight advantage in the hiring process because employers don't usually have to worry about us becoming pregnant or trying to be a part-time pharmacist/stay at home mom.

interesting

 

[Rouelle]

Who is going to enforce that and how?

The state board that issues both the pharmacist license and tech permit perhaps.

 

[owlegrad]

What stops the employer from saying "ok they are a pharmacist but as the owner/manager/whatever I pay them a tech wage and only have them perform tech duties"? A pharmacist can do anything a tech does so if an employer wants to abuse them that way, what stops them? Just have the paycheck say "Pharmacist" as if the board can stop that from happening. Seems easy enough to me.

 

[BidingMyTime]

What stops the employer from saying "ok they are a pharmacist but as the owner/manager/whatever I pay them a tech wage and only have them perform tech duties"? A pharmacist can do anything a tech does so if an employer wants to abuse them that way, what stops them? Just have the paycheck say "Pharmacist" as if the board can stop that from happening. Seems easy enough to me.

It could happen (and may happen as the saturation increases.) Employers can pay whatever they want to (as long as they meet minimum wage requirements), pharmacists are free to take or leave below-standard wages. Job classification is set by the employer......by not following their own standards, they would open themselves up to discrimination lawsuits and such (ie male pharmacist is getting paid as a pharmacist, but female pharmacist is getting paid as a technician.....or maybe male 70 year old pharmacist is getting paid as a technician, but female 40 year old pharmacist is getting paid as a pharmacist.) But legally, as long as their is a licensed pharmacist on duty, the state isn't going to care whether or not the employer classifies them as a tech or pharmacist on their paycheck.