Pharmacy tech internship advice

[Snipy]

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Hi SDN members,
I have been a long time lurker and have finally decided to get out of my shell and introduce myself.

I recently passed the PTCB exam (self study) and got an internship position at one of my mom's friend's pharmacies. I'm going to start in one week and I was wondering what are some things I should brush up on? Also, what should I be prepared to do and any other advice will be gladly taken. Thank You in advance for all your guys help 😀.

 

[DocAcclamation]

30 hr. Weeks and 200 filled prescription days. You will work for your pay as a tech.

Give-Thanks

 

[phathead]

As I've mentioned in other threads, be very careful about calling yourself an intern in a pharmacy. There are certain legal mandates which dictates who an intern is and you don't wanna get yourself caught in a bind.

 

[Snipy]

That is why i specified that it was a pharmacy tech internship. The pharmacist in charge calls it that at least. I'm more concerned about being able to read prescriptions. Is it something you just pick up?

 

[phathead]

That is why i specified that it was a pharmacy tech internship. The pharmacist in charge calls it that at least. I'm more concerned about being able to read prescriptions. Is it something you just pick up?

I've never heard that phrase before, you either are a tech or not.

The majority of prescriptions are typed out now, which takes away the skill from being able to read crappy hand writing. There's no real way to prepare for it, you just kind learn as you go.

 

[ValeRx]

Pharmacy tech internship? No such thing. You're either a licensed pharmacy intern (which holds certain legal ramifications, as previously stated) or you're a pharmacy technician. Interns, like pharmacists, are licensed by the state and require you to be currently in pharmacy school. A technician certificate is just that, a certificate.

Don't call it a tech internship. You sound silly.

 

[Snipy]

As i stated before, the pharmacist referred to me as an tech intern not myself. I apologize for the colloquial usage if anyone was offended.

 

[pearljam5a1]

As i stated before, the pharmacist referred to me as an tech intern not myself. I apologize for the colloquial usage if anyone was offended.

As was previously stated it's a "learn as you go" type of thing. Eventually you'll find it's just like any other job, meaning it gets easier the more you do it.

Regarding the Intern/Tech thing: basically you can't be an intern until you are officially a pharmacy student. Some states let you intern beginning in your first year and some let you intern beginning your second year. As far as the difference between the two? My experience is in the hospital setting and the jobs are extremely similar. The only difference where I worked was that the interns sometimes did "special projects" (aka busy work). Sometimes the projects were worthwhile (med reconciliation) and sometimes they weren't (expired sample med patrol in the clinics).

Regardless, good luck in your new job!

 

[Rockinacoustic]

30 hr. Weeks and 200 filled prescription days. You will work for your pay as a tech.

Give-Thanks

Man, we twiddle our thumbs on 200 script days.

 

[phathead]

Man, we twiddle our thumbs on 200 script days.

One of our stores used to avg about 300 and now we're lucky if we break 200.

Really rather strange

 

[yappy]

I think what the poster is saying is that he has an internship as a pharmacy tech. as in non paid. It really isnt that hard to understand. The term intern is not limited to the role of a pharmacy student in a pharmacy. I dont get why you cant see past that? I think he was useing the term intern to describe his employment status rather than his scope of practice.

 

[pearljam5a1]

Two things:

#1 Phathead's avatar is making me seize. 😱

#2 I don't think the OP would have gone through the trouble of becoming a CPhT if they were just going to volunteer. But we're both assuming things that only the OP knows. Regardless, we should all congratulate them on getting an opportunity to gain experience. 👍

 

[Snipy]

Just to clarify things I'm a freshman in college, so I don't have much to offer to a company therefore that's why I'm volunteering. I'm not getting paid for my hours but I do not care because the experience itself is worth it's weight in gold.

By the way the first position as a student tech (non paid) is back at my home town.

I recently also got another student tech(non paid) position near my colllege (CSUF) and this pharmacist helped me get another position at a compounding pharmacy.

Although I'm not going to get paid at all three of these pharmacies, the experience I'm going to gain is well worth the time.

Now, my question to anyone that has compounding experience. Is compounding medicine the same as making chemical compounds in a chemistry lab? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm still young and naive.

 

[phathead]

Just to clarify things I'm a freshman in college, so I don't have much to offer to a company therefore that's why I'm volunteering. I'm not getting paid for my hours but I do not care because the experience itself is worth it's weight in gold.

By the way the first position as a student tech (non paid) is back at my home town.

I recently also got another student tech(non paid) position near my colllege (CSUF) and this pharmacist helped me get another position at a compounding pharmacy.

Although I'm not going to get paid at all three of these pharmacies, the experience I'm going to gain is well worth the time.

Now, my question to anyone that has compounding experience. Is compounding medicine the same as making chemical compounds in a chemistry lab? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm still young and naive.

Depends on what type of compounding your doing, but generally no. A lot of times the basics of compounding is mixing the proper drugs and binders in the right amounts. You don't really do the same typical reaction stuff you do in labs.

 

[pearljam5a1]

Just to clarify things I'm a freshman in college, so I don't have much to offer to a company therefore that's why I'm volunteering. I'm not getting paid for my hours but I do not care because the experience itself is worth it's weight in gold.

By the way the first position as a student tech (non paid) is back at my home town.

I recently also got another student tech(non paid) position near my colllege (CSUF) and this pharmacist helped me get another position at a compounding pharmacy.

Although I'm not going to get paid at all three of these pharmacies, the experience I'm going to gain is well worth the time.

Now, my question to anyone that has compounding experience. Is compounding medicine the same as making chemical compounds in a chemistry lab? Sorry for my ignorance, I'm still young and naive.

Compounding involves transforming a medication into something the manufacturer doesn't market. One example I can think of is metronidazole suspension. No one makes it but it's something every hospital uses. Crush some tablets, add something to dissolve it, and add something to make it not taste like crap... voila! It's a little more involved than that but that's the general idea... there are calculations involved but they are pretty simple conversions.

I liked compounding. What you make is specifically tailored to an individual patient and it feels more "personal" so to speak. Believe it or not but animal owners can be some of your best customers.

 

[Praziquantel86]

I think what the poster is saying is that he has an internship as a pharmacy tech. as in non paid. It really isnt that hard to understand. The term intern is not limited to the role of a pharmacy student in a pharmacy. I dont get why you cant see past that? I think he was useing the term intern to describe his employment status rather than his scope of practice.

It's true that an internship describes unpaid work with the purpose of providing training, but it is still improper to use it in that context. "Intern" is actually a legal protected term when used in the context of pharmacy, and the only people who can use it are people who are registered with their respective state board of pharmacy as a pharmacy intern.

So in general, yes, an internship is unpaid training. In this specific case, it refers to a legal title. It's semantics, but it is still very important to differentiate between the two.

 

[yappy]

Thanks for explaining that so logically. I dont know why I chimed in like that earlier... I think I was having a bad day.

Thanks