Pharmacy Experience Questions!

[Moxxie]

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OK, I'm happy, happy, happy because I just got a shadowing opportunity from a local pharmacist. He owns what used to be The Medicine Shoppe in the town I live in. They do retail pharmacy but also alot of other services for customers. It's not at all like a CVS or Walgreens. I'm excited about learning from him and the other pharmacists working there. I called him up yesterday and he told me to come in today to talk to him about it. We sat in an office and he asked me about school and why I wanted to go into pharmacy. We talked and I was honest. He said he has other students who come in doing their externships. I think I am the only one who is still doing prepharm school work. I look forward to meeting some of the other students as well. This was my first attempt at shadowing and so far so good. I start on Friday at noon.
Good luck and try a more "mom and pop" (so to speak) type of pharmacy where they can pretty much do what they want to do and maybe you'll have a good experience. They should work with your hours. This pharmacist pretty much left it up to me as to when I could come in. 🙂

Awesome! Congrats 🙂

 

[DownonthePharm]

JustTiff: You should be happy happy! Its good to make useful contacts even before your pharmacy schooling begins. Mentors are a wonderful thing. Good luck!

 

[attia]

something amazing jsut happend today
i gave up my hope for getting experience in the pharamaacy and today i needed to buy something from a pharmacy so i went to rite aid
and i was looking for my stuff and i was thinking if i should i ask them for volenteer or not
but i was dishearted from all other pharmacys so i didnt want to
but i did nayways
and guess what ???
what were thrilled that i could volenteer cause they all wanted to go on vaction and they were so happy and ofcourse i was happy tooo
soo ill be going their from 24th
all these great things make me wannna thank GOD so much!🙂 HE is great

 

[Poland]

That's great! I work for Rite-Aid and I have to say that I am surprised they would let you volunteer without experience or a license/certification. But never the less, enjoy!

 

[DownonthePharm]

something amazing jsut happend today
i gave up my hope for getting experience in the pharamaacy and today i needed to buy something from a pharmacy so i went to rite aid
and i was looking for my stuff and i was thinking if i should i ask them for volenteer or not
but i was dishearted from all other pharmacys so i didnt want to
but i did nayways
and guess what ???
what were thrilled that i could volenteer cause they all wanted to go on vaction and they were so happy and ofcourse i was happy tooo
soo ill be going their from 24th
all these great things make me wannna thank GOD so much!🙂 HE is great

🙂 Problems get fixed when you least expect it.

Not to make this a God thread...But I prayed on Tuesday before my Orgo test..."Why would you let me get into pharmacy school and not get to go...please dont let me brain fart on this test like I did on the last one." Guess what.....I rocked that test. Faith is good stuff.

 

[JustTiff]

something amazing jsut happend today
i gave up my hope for getting experience in the pharamaacy and today i needed to buy something from a pharmacy so i went to rite aid
and i was looking for my stuff and i was thinking if i should i ask them for volenteer or not
but i was dishearted from all other pharmacys so i didnt want to
but i did nayways
and guess what ???
what were thrilled that i could volenteer cause they all wanted to go on vaction and they were so happy and ofcourse i was happy tooo
soo ill be going their from 24th
all these great things make me wannna thank GOD so much!🙂 HE is great

Congrats and I hope you enjoy it. I had fun shadowing this week and I look forward to it again. That was my first time "behind the counter" and it was a very interesting experience.

 

[JustTiff]

JustTiff: You should be happy happy! Its good to make useful contacts even before your pharmacy schooling begins. Mentors are a wonderful thing. Good luck!

Thank you very much. It was a great first experience in a pharmacy and everyone was really nice and helpful. The RPh who owns it also owns another one and they seem to be doing great. It's an apothecary type shop and has medical supplies on the other side of the building as well (used to be The Medicine Shoppe). They also make alot of stuff (like creams with Ibuprophen, etc) in house that alot of orthopedic doc's send their patients to them for. I felt like I was in a Chem lab part of the time. I agree, it's good to make contacts early. They were all suprised that I was just prepharm because they are used to seeing students who are already in Pharmacy school.

 

[fidelio]

As far as knowing the reason for being waitlisted--I actually called today and inquired into the reason. As I suspected, I was told that my weakness was lack of pharmacy experience. It makes sense i guess.

Wha, at least they gave you a reason. They told me I was qualified to get into their school, but that other applicants were more competitive than me. I kind of wish they had just spit it out and tell me my weakness.

 

[ghabpharm]

It really depends on the school. I've been accepted to OSU w/o any experience. But when I interviewed at UW they didn't seem too pleased.

how did you get accepted at OSU w/o any experience?? what were you stats? did you have a lot of extacurrics?

 

[csa78]

it will be very beneficial to you.

 

[sarahjth]

man, I was hoping my pharmacy skills would get me in. I have been a certified tech since I was 16 years old.. That's what I am hoping for anyway!

 

[prlester]

how much shadowing of a pharmacist is considered good?

 

[feileung]

Is it necessary (or strongly recommended) to spend some time working as a pharmacy tech. before applying to pharmacy school or should shadowing pharmacists be enough? I was planning on becoming certified to work as a pharmacy tech but tuition for that program is about $11,000 here. Also, the program demands more time than I expected and four hours a night for the next 43 weeks while carrying a full load (including O-Chem) doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

Any advice/tips would be helpful. Also, any suggestions on a school other than Apollo College to become Pharm Tech certified in Portland, OR?

Thanks!

 

[RockAByBaby]

Is it necessary (or strongly recommended) to spend some time working as a pharmacy tech. before applying to pharmacy school or should shadowing pharmacists be enough? I was planning on becoming certified to work as a pharmacy tech but tuition for that program is about $11,000 here. Also, the program demands more time than I expected and four hours a night for the next 43 weeks while carrying a full load (including O-Chem) doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

Any advice/tips would be helpful. Also, any suggestions on a school other than Apollo College to become Pharm Tech certified in Portland, OR?

Thanks!

YES. strongly recommended. I don't know the deal with Oregon, but you can go to PTCB.org and sign up for their national pharmacy technician certification test. the fee is like $120 or something (much cheaper than $11000 obviously) and it is accepted nationally. I live in virginia and i know that most pharmacies also require you to be certified by the state, and all i had to do for that was be nationally certified and then pay a small fee to the state to be state certified. i would check your state laws and maybe call some pharmacies to see what they require in order for you to work as a tech.
if you take the national exam, there is a thread from a while back about how to prepare for it.

 

[feileung]

Great, thanks for the quick and helpful response! I'd much rather self teach this material if possible for obvious reasons!

I'll dig into it asap.

Thanks again.

 

[cubicw86]

Dont need to go all out being a pharm tech. Just volunteer to help in a pharmacy place or do observations. There are also pharmacy clubs on the internet where u become a membership and get this cool card. That would look hella good on ur aps.

volunteering in other ways help too ex: tutoring, walkathons, clean ups, and etc

 

[imprecious]

It may be hard to find volunteer experience in a pharmacy in some places due to liabilty. I went ahead and got my pharm tech certificate and gained lots of insight in the profession. My interviewers asked me a lot about my experience there, so it does show that you took great initiative to gain more exposure in this profession.

Take a look at a previous discussion on this same topic: 🙂
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=271619&highlight=pharmacy+experience

 

[doublehh03]

does volunteering in a hospital pharmacy count though all i do is like organization prescriptions, bring the drugs to different departments, and do some paperwork?

 

[imprecious]

does volunteering in a hospital pharmacy count though all i do is like organization prescriptions, bring the drugs to different departments, and do some paperwork?

On paper when you apply to pharmacy schools, I think it would look just fine. Chances are, the admissions committee will ask you a bit about what you did and how your experience was. Any volunteer experience and exposure to the pharmaceutical setting is a plus. 😉

As long as you make the most of your experience and learn more about the profession. Talk to the pharmacists there, ask questions. It all depends on you and what you get out of your experience.

 

[girl823]

I am currently a prepharm student and I want to get some experience in pharmacy. How do I go about finding a job that would allow me to gain some experience? For example, what position should I inquire to work as since I don't have any experience or what should I say when I am applying for the job? Thanks for all your help!

 

[luckycloud5]

If you want to work in a pharmacy without any previous experience, I would suggest working as a pharmacy clerk. (you could mention during your interview that you would like to know what it is like to work in a pharmacy b/c you are planning on going to pharmacy school)

If you can't find a job, you could always just start shadowing pharmacists and get experience that way, by observation.

Hope that helps. =)

 

[Poland]

I am currently a prepharm student and I want to get some experience in pharmacy. How do I go about finding a job that would allow me to gain some experience? For example, what position should I inquire to work as since I don't have any experience or what should I say when I am applying for the job? Thanks for all your help!

It'll be a long road for some. I have been employed as a clerk at a pharmacy for over 1 year now. My goal has been to fill a tech position, but it can be rough depending on what the pharmacist wants and/or your training. However, a clerk position would be a great start and it will eventually pay off if you hang in there. If you can't find a job in a pharmacy at all then consider volunteering, and hospitals also allow that more often than retail.

After all of this you may discover that you want to become nationally certified. This is not a must to work in a pharmacy of course, but it is the fast track to becoming more noticed, especially in persistance. You also can't argue that the pay will be much better at some jobs because of it. But anyway, first things first. A big point to make when applying for a pharmacy job: the fact that you are a Pre-Pharmacy student! You may even want to ask to speak to the Pharmacist or Store Manager. I have gotten over many fears this way.

 

[girl823]

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Pharm47]

Has anyone out there had success finding opportunities to shadow a pharmacist? Financially, I can't afford to work as a pharmacy tech, but I need 40 hours of direct pharmacy experience/observation for some of the programs I'm applying to for 2007. I don't have any friends or family members that are pharmacists, and internet searches of shadowing programs have been less than fruitful. Anyone have advice on obtaining this experience?

 

[UTCPharm]

Has anyone out there had success finding opportunities to shadow a pharmacist? Financially, I can't afford to work as a pharmacy tech, but I need 40 hours of direct pharmacy experience/observation for some of the programs I'm applying to for 2007. I don't have any friends or family members that are pharmacists, and internet searches of shadowing programs have been less than fruitful. Anyone have advice on obtaining this experience?

I only shadowed at a couple of places, but I found that the privately owned pharmacies were generally more receptive than the larger chains. I called around to several pharmacies. It seemed like the big chain stores generally gave me the runaround...told me to call someone else or call back another time. Then I called a couple of private ones and they knew immediately whether or not I could shadow there.

 

[genesis09]

You can also contact a hospital, and see if you can volunteer in their hospital pharmacy.

 

[gatheringhoney]

You can also contact a hospital, and see if you can volunteer in their hospital pharmacy.

I made a list of all the pharmacy shadowing experiences I wanted to obtain (retail, hospital, poison control, etc.) and went directly to those pharmacies, introduced myself, explained that I was seeking a shadowing opportunity, and asked if there was anyone available to talk with me about this. No one turned me down and, as a matter of fact, several of the pharmacists I met even set me up with other shadowing opportunities I hadn't thought of exploring.

 

[tsubasa]

If you are interested in, and if you live close to the military hospital... you can become a Red Cross Volunteer and ask them to place in the military hospital. They want you to work more than 200 hours.

 

[TennisBoy78]

Has anyone out there had success finding opportunities to shadow a pharmacist? Financially, I can't afford to work as a pharmacy tech, but I need 40 hours of direct pharmacy experience/observation for some of the programs I'm applying to for 2007. I don't have any friends or family members that are pharmacists, and internet searches of shadowing programs have been less than fruitful. Anyone have advice on obtaining this experience?

In my opinion, since financially you don't get anything as a pharmacy tech (even if you are certified), simply apply at the local CVS/Walgreen's/Wal-Mart for weekends only. If you work weekends at your other job too, then when will you have time to shadow?

In going to the chain stores, go directly to the pharmacy and ask to speak to the pharmacy manager, bottom line. Truth is the pharmacy manager will let you know heads up what needs the pharmacy has. If you get re-routed to the store manager, you are wasting your time, so just move on to the next pharmacy. Also, you probably want to apply to a less busy pharmacy because you will learn more things because you will be able to ask more questions. Hope this helps!

 

[eddie269]

I know this question has been asked a few times but this is a from a different point of view.

I have been working as a "super-clerk" at my retail pharmacy for 6 weeks now and I more or less enjoy it. I love the experience, the stories, the opinions of my co-workers about the field. I love learning to type scripts, learning about the drugs, and helping patients with questions.

HOWEVER, I do not enjoy the pay one bit. Also, I work 24 hrs a week and I have a full load in school so it's been a struggle. But the pay (or lack of) is really killing me. I do as much work as the techs (EXCEPT filling scripts) yet I get paid min wage.

At my last job out of college, I got paid close to $20/hr in the finance field(hell, it was not a job, it was my last career before the change back to pharmacy). So obviously, I am not working now for MONEY. It's strictly for experience.

NOW, if you were on the adcomm for a school, how long would you like to see an applicant work as a pharm clerk to KNOW that he has gotten all the experience he needs? If I saw a clerk who worked for 1 month and quit, I might question it. But if I saw a clerk work for a year, I know he knows what's he's getting himself into.

I am not planning to quit anytime soon as I will definitely work throughout the summer. Plus I still enjoy the job too much. But I'm thinking once fall semester comes around, it might be time to leave. That would make 6-7 months of retail experience. I don't want to leave too soon, but I don't want to stay any longer if I have gotten the all that I can from the experience. And this is strictly because of financial reasons. Not because I don't enjoy the work.

I mean, working for $8.50/hr for 24 hrs/week, I can make the same amount per check if I I got paid $20/hr and worked only 10hrs/week. My econ background tells me TIME IS MONEY! 🙂

Your opinions and suggestions?



Lastly, getting my tech license isn't a good option for me because the programs here cost too much and takes a long time to complete. (one full yr of classes at my local JC).

 

[Mongoos150]

Just get a book on the PTCB and study it, don't bother with costly/lengthy courses or classes. You can study yourself and prepare yourself just fine.

 

[eddie269]

Just get a book on the PTCB and study it, don't bother with costly/lengthy courses or classes. You can study yourself and prepare yourself just fine.

In San Francisco, my tech's told me pharmacies don't hire techs who didn't go through a program. At least these days. He said he went to the JC program and got certified that way. Then he gave his 2 friends his notes from the JC and they studied, got certified, and till this day, they still can't get hired as a tech in SF.

Plus, my pharmacy mgr asked me 2 days ago if I was planning to get my licensed at the JC I go to. She pretty much implied I'd need to go to school to het hired in her store as a tech. Maybe I'll ask at other chains.

 

[imprecious]

NOW, if you were on the adcomm for a school, how long would you like to see an applicant work as a pharm clerk to KNOW that he has gotten all the experience he needs? If I saw a clerk who worked for 1 month and quit, I might question it. But if I saw a clerk work for a year, I know he knows what's he's getting himself into.

I am not planning to quit anytime soon as I will definitely work throughout the summer. Plus I still enjoy the job too much. But I'm thinking once fall semester comes around, it might be time to leave. That would make 6-7 months of retail experience. I don't want to leave too soon, but I don't want to stay any longer if I have gotten the all that I can from the experience. And this is strictly because of financial reasons. Not because I don't enjoy the work.

I think if you were to work for 6-7 months like you said, that would be sufficient enough. Like you said, you have already decided that this profession is what you want to get into. Plus, if the issue comes up during the interview as to why you had quit working, there can be various reasons-- heavy courseload, financial reasons, etc. Just be honest with them. I don't believe that there is a set time that the adcomm would look for. Any experience is good experience. 🙂 Best wishes!

 

[juliarx]

Despite the fact that pharmacy experience counts on the making decision process, I know a lot of people (including my sister and myself) that got in without any pharmacy experience, shadowing, nor volunteering.
So I don't think you have to worry about the number of hours... as long as you show them your passion for pharmacy during the interview. Pharmacy experience is a plus, but there are many other factors that also count.

 

[Pharm47]

Despite the fact that pharmacy experience counts on the making decision process, I know a lot of people (including my sister and myself) that got in without any pharmacy experience, shadowing, nor volunteering.
So I don't think you have to worry about the number of hours... as long as you show them your passion for pharmacy during the interview. Pharmacy experience is a plus, but there are many other factors that also count.

JuliaRX- I'm in a similar situation - I will be applying with zero pharmacy or shadowing experience, and very little volunteering. If you don't mind me asking - how was your GPA? And what type of undergraduate school did you attend? Do you have family in the profession, or any other connections? I'm trying to assess my situation, figure out my chances...

 

[DuocSi2010]

Despite the fact that pharmacy experience counts on the making decision process, I know a lot of people (including my sister and myself) that got in without any pharmacy experience, shadowing, nor volunteering.
So I don't think you have to worry about the number of hours... as long as you show them your passion for pharmacy during the interview. Pharmacy experience is a plus, but there are many other factors that also count.

I totally agree. I know a lot of people that got in without any experience. I volunteered for 3 months and I got in so I'd say you're good to go. Quit if you really want to!

 

[eddie269]

I totally agree. I know a lot of people that got in without any experience. I volunteered for 3 months and I got in so I'd say you're good to go. Quit if you really want to!

Yeah, I mean, I had a 3 month summer internship at Rite Aid while doing my undergrad few years ago. That was experience enough, but when I didn't get in, the adcomm guy suggested I get more experience. I figured I needed a job so I might as well get some experience with it.

It's just that being a "super-clerk" is really overboard. If all I ever did was ring ppl up for their scripts, I wouldn't mind getting min. wage. But once you add typing scripts, insurance issues, etc, the work literally triples, yet the pay stays more or less the same. BLAH!

 

[Ethio_25]

Guys, I have my interview on May 17th and I am kinda freakin' out. I have 91% on the pcat and an amazingly bad GPA of 2.9 (at a school known for GPA depression). And a BS on Biological Sciences.

Now to my point....

I know they will ask me if I have any pharmacy experience, which I don't. Is there a better way of answering that question than just a simple NO?



PS: Would me make me look like an excuse seeker if I tried to explaine why my GPA sucked? 🙂 Maybe I can bring them all my lexapro bottles. lol

Thanks

 

[doublehh03]

I posted this earlier but got no replies

for experience, are hospital volunteer and nursing home volunteer sufficient?

in my area, it's very difficult to find opportunities for volunteer/shadow in pharmacies unless you have a tech license.

will these volunteer experiences be enough when i apply?

 

[Pharm47]

I have the same question - also with little response. All I have is hospital (non-pharmacy), and the program I want to get in to requires 40 hours of direct pharmacy experience. Boo 🙁

 

[doublehh03]

I have the same question - also with little response. All I have is hospital (non-pharmacy), and the program I want to get in to requires 40 hours of direct pharmacy experience. Boo 🙁

how do you know a certain program requires a certain amount of hours? b/c in pharmcas, all i see is pharm experience is recommended, but not required.

and can some accepted students answer? thanks

 

[aboveliquidice]

Hey - only an ADCOM can know exactly what they desire in terms of volunteer service. As a general rule though - community service is community service. Coaching little league at the local YMCA fits the bill for volunteer service. As for getting pharmacy experience (which can be either paid as a technician, shadowing a professional, or simple volunteer work in a pharmacy), it is only recommended (which means get some). You can kill two birds with one stone (just volunteering in a pharmacy) - but the people who attend the school I desire to attend (a few at least) had both regular volunteer and pharmacy related volunteer work. Most people would agree that more is better - if only to make you a more complete applicant.

Again - no one can really know aside from the ADCOM what is really important. This is just my .02

~above~

 

[pfizerguy]

as they have stated, community service is community service..but trying your best to get some pharmacy experience would be in your best interests

good luck!

 

[Pharm47]

how do you know a certain program requires a certain amount of hours? b/c in pharmcas, all i see is pharm experience is recommended, but not required.

and can some accepted students answer? thanks

It's a non-pharmcas school (Pacific University). I got a preliminary transcript evaluation from their Adcom, and the adcom officer notified me via email that 40 hours are required. I mentioned I had over 40 volunteering in the ER, she said that might help, but the lack of 40 hours of "direct pharmacy observation" would hurt my application.

 

[ForeverPharm]

It's a non-pharmcas school (Pacific University). I got a preliminary transcript evaluation from their Adcom, and the adcom officer notified me via email that 40 hours are required. I mentioned I had over 40 volunteering in the ER, she said that might help, but the lack of 40 hours of "direct pharmacy observation" would hurt my application.

Hi pharm 47,

Does Pacific university require PCAT? and how can you get their application since they are not part of ParmCas?
what else do you know about them...do they accept out of state applicants?
thank you for the feed back

 

[doublehh03]

i thought University of Pacific in Cali is part of pharmcas?

are we talking about the same one?

though Pacific does require a LOR from a pharmacist

 

[Rxbound]

UOP is in California and they are a PharmCAS school.
Pacific University is in Oregon, and they are not a PharmCAS school.
Hope that clears things up. 🙂

 

[Maboo]

FYI:
I had zero pharmacy experience but had hospital (1.5 yrs) and research (1) experience. I could not find much pharmacy experience so I just spoke to a few pharmacists.
Anyway, I was not accepted at the University I applied to and the reason according to ADCOM was my lack of pharmacy experience. Apparently, almost every candidate these days has pharmacy experience. But thankfully I got in as a few ppl dropped out...
So, my recommendation is to try hard to get some pharmacy experience. 👍

 

[Maboo]

Sorry for repeating "pharmacy experience" umpteen times...I should have checked b4 posting 🙂

 

[xnm11]

Hi pharm 47,

Does Pacific university require PCAT? and how can you get their application since they are not part of ParmCas?
what else do you know about them...do they accept out of state applicants?
thank you for the feed back

website to prereqs for pacific university in oregon:

http://www.pacificu.edu/pharmd/admission/prerequisites.cfm


they do not require the pcat as far as i am aware of. one major thing to note: they are a brand-new pharmacy school and they are not fully accredited yet (another 3 years to go i think?).

also, you can just download their application from their website whenever they post it since they are not a part of pharmcas.