Pharmacy the only health profession NOT entitled to a lunch?

[vardenafil]

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Just curious what would happen if say hospitals or clinics did not let their physcians take lunch breaks. what if nurses or therapists did not get breaks or lunch when they do their 12 hour shifts? sounds absurd right? if you denied any of these proffesions lunch all hell would break loose. the AMA would be all over that in a heartbeat. so why does pharmacy as a whole get screwed? i work for walgreens and we do 14 hour shifts. 8am to 10pm and then the over night guy takes over. i have NEVER taken a lunch break in the 3 1/2 years i have worked as a pharmacist. at first it did not bother me but im starting to develop problems from working in a high stress work place and never eating. i usually eat big before i go to work and eat big when i come home because i cant leave the pharmacy or eat while working. infact our district dpm has told us no food whatsoever in the pharmacy (however we are allowed water). if we want to eat we have to go to the breakroom. but you know being busy as it is that never happens. how much money will the company loose if they let me take a 30 minute lunch break? how much money will the company loose if i misfill a script because i am run down because i dont get lunch or breaks to recharge? i NEVER understood why the pharmacy as a proffesion doesnt stand up to their companies and demand lunch breaks or the such.

 

[DevRx]

On weekdays when we have a full staff our pharmacists are entitled to a 1 hour lunch break. On the weekends when it's a little slower there is still an overlap of pharmacists but lunch breaks are cut down to 1/2 hour. The only times when a pharmacist doesn't have a lunch break is during a working holiday (ie Christmas, New Years Day, etc) where there is only 1 pharmacist on duty. But on those days the pharmacists are allowed to bring their lunch and eat in the back by the sink out of sight from customers.

 

[DooberXL]

I completely agree that it is an unfair practice. I make it a point to get food for the pharmacist whenever I go on my lunch break simply because I know they won't get a chance to get it on their own. It is because of this reason that we're allowed by the pharmacy manager to have food in the pharmacy. We have drawers full of snacks and drinks in the refrigerator!

 

[mike36]

It seems like community pharmacies could close for half an hour for lunch. Don't a lot of doctor's offices do that so the docs can eat lunch?

 

[dgroulx]

I work at Walgreens and can always take a lunch, but only because we always have pharmacist overlap. At a slow store (<= 400 scripts per day) the 2nd pharmacist comes on at 2pm. At a busy store, there is a 3rd pharmacist doing a mid-shift.

On some weekends, I don't have overlap. I usually order in pizza or sandwiches for myself and my techs. They eat theirs in the break room, but I keep mine on the back counter and nibble.

 

[VCU2011]

on days that we dont have any overlap for pharmacists we always close for 1/2 and hour and the patients seem fine with it. We just start telling them like 30 mins in advance that we're closing for lunch at **:**, then when that time rolls around we leave a tech behind who has already taken their lunch to talk to patients and to take any scripts that patients want to drop off. While they are standing at the registers/computer they are entering any scripts that are dropped off while everyone else is at lunch. That way when everyone gets back, all that needs to be done is for them to be filled and checked. Seems to work really well, except we only do it on weekends when there is only 1 pharmacist and pretty low amounts of customers.

 

[ageldred]

I used to work for Walgreens as an assistant manager and I didn't get to leave for lunch when I was the only manager there. I still ate. I cannot go 6 hours without food, let alone 14! It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I worked for Albertsons and the pharmacists worked 12 hours shifts, they ate at the counter out of the way of the patients. It seemed ok for them. So I say eat at the back counter if you're hungry....you'll be a fresher pharmacist.

 

[Quiksilver]

im guessing you never ever worked in a restaurant as a young one... when you want to have a lunch break, everyone is coming to you. But i have never seen a pharmacist have trouble finding some break in the day. Furthermore each shift is an eating extravaganza everyone brings food and there are platters of food every shift. No one leaves work hungry.

 

[KARM12]

I work in a hospital. I get a lunch break.

Yeah for leaving retail!

 

[Omegadramon]

The pharmacists and techs at the hospital I volunteer at get an hour lunch and they get 2 15min breaks over the course of the day. I don't have much experience, but hospital work seems much more awesome than retail.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

The pharmacists and techs at the hospital I volunteer at get an hour lunch and they get 2 15min breaks over the course of the day. I don't have much experience, but hospital work seems much more awesome than retail.

You got it! 👍 And the benefits don't end there...

 

[heatherkmd]

I struggle with going 4 hours without food before I begin to feel shaky...I have to eat...that is one aspect that scares me about retail!👎

 

[confettiflyer]

Retail pharmacists aren't the only one to go without lunches...I mean, if you're a surgeon in the middle of surgery, I don't think they're gonna let you go grab a quick burger from the cafeteria.

Just keep food at your counter? We do that all the time.

 

[novapharm]

I work for Kaiser and we get an hour break per 8&1/2 hour day. Its really nice since I work near home and can eat at home also. There are other job options if it really bothers you.
However, I work 9-5 M-F and that can get to be much after a while. I cannot make dental/doc appts easily and it's so busy everywhere on the weekends. I would love to have a weekday off here and there to take care of errands and enjoy an almost empty mall.

 

[tussionex]

The pharmacists and techs at the hospital I volunteer at get an hour lunch and they get 2 15min breaks over the course of the day. I don't have much experience, but hospital work seems much more awesome than retail.

it absolutely is.

 

[Pharmavixen]

When I was eight months' pregnant, I worked a shift during a flu epidemic, where I was standing for 9 hours, and never got a chance to eat or drink. I got home at about 6:30, and the following morning at 4 am I went into premature labour.

My little girl was fine; despite being a 36-weeker, she was over 6 pounds. But these days, I work in an institution, where I belong to a union and get lunches and breaks.

I work one day a week in a store that specializes in methadone maintenance and has practically no front shop. Other than that, I hope never to work in retail again.

 

[KUMoose]

Frankly, AMA is strong, because the MDs that make up AMA are strong of will and arrogant in their own infallability. If pharmacists had the same strength of will, we wouldn't have 9-14 hour days as the norm, rather then the exception.

 

[rxlynn]

I believe I read that the NC board has mandated 30 minute lunch break for pharmacists recently. Can anyone from NC comment on that??

Also, in my area Target and Wal-mart close for 30 min. so the pharmacist and techs can eat.

 

[dr of rx]

The chains will screw us because they can. If you quit, they'll get some poor dude working a contract to get his green card to work the 14 hr day. Heaven forbid we be treated like a health professional rather than a clerk.

But in their eyes, that is all we are...clerks. Very expensive clerks. One high ranking exec at Fright Aid once was quoted "I'd run the pharmacy without a pharmacist if we could.."

What does that tell you?

And close for 1/2 hr?? No way. Once CVS would close for 1/2 hr, Walgrees would advertise "pharmacy open ALL DAY." I can see it already...

Anywho, I don't get a formal break, but the volume is low enough that I can sit down and eat when I feel necessary.

 

[NormalSaline]

I completely agree that it is an unfair practice. I make it a point to get food for the pharmacist whenever I go on my lunch break simply because I know they won't get a chance to get it on their own. It is because of this reason that we're allowed by the pharmacy manager to have food in the pharmacy. We have drawers full of snacks and drinks in the refrigerator!

Thats punishable by a $10k fine where I'm from😉