I wonder if my tech friends talk like this about me behind my back?
I guess it
does sound like I'm just **** talking. I don't mean to. I actually would never whisper about/slam someone in the workplace. I only mention it here because of it's relevance and it seems to be becoming more and more of a problem in recent years. Honestly, there seems to be a big difference between students who have previously worked at a pharmacy and those who have not. I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone but it
is difficult when an intern is scheduled in lieu of a second pharmacist and they don't know the most basic aspects of pharmacy. They are supposed to fill, consult, and take new prescriptions which is often a complete disaster. For example, our last intern didn't know what I meant when asked her to get a copy on line 1, she consistently filled scripts with the desiccant inside, she didn't know the names of at least 50% of the meds called in which resulted in a tech having to call or fax the Dr. to get the correct med., sig, etc... and the list of issues went on and on. Now, I understand that not everyone is on the same learning curve, but this particular girl (and many other interns before her) came into the pharmacy with an attitude of superiority, an unwillingness to learn, and a refusal to ask for help when needed because she placed herself a step above everyone because she was an intern and we were just lowly techs. This sort of scenario has been repeated multiple times and with increasing frequency in recent years. It seems to be that certain schools in our area (the new ones, honestly) seem to be failing at preparing students for the actual work of pharmacy. Many, if not most, of the students from these school have little to no pharmacy experience prior to entering school and they are completely over their head when confronted with the realities of the profession. I have seen a correlation between those who have had no experience and those who flounder as interns. It is possible, however, that the schools are the problem. The interns coming from the two more established schools in the area are consistently better informed and more prepared. Perhaps those schools place more importance on experience when considering candidates or perhaps their programs better prepare their students. In either case, the experience can't hurt and is, in my opinion, necessary to get the most out of your intern experience. If you don't know the basic language and flow of a pharmacy (that even the girls at the register know) you are losing time that you could actually be using to practice your skills and learn something from the pharmacist.
Again, my comment wasn't meant to be a slam. It was just a point that I thought needed to made in response to the question. It is not only the techs who feel this frustration but the pharmacists as well. I think people should know that a basic knowledge is appreciated and expected. Pharmacies are busy, chaotic places that typically run with a minimal, overworked staff. When you add someone to the mix who is like a babe in the woods, it makes everyone else's day that much more difficult. I would also encourage those who don't have a good working knowledge of the pharmacy to ASK when they don't know something, and to come into the pharmacy with a bit of humility and a willingness to learn.
All that being said, I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who has worked hard enough to even be accepted to a pharmacy school. It is an incredible commitment and an enormous amount of work, knowledge, time, and energy invested to even get to that point. It seems a shame, however, to invest all of that into something that you may not like or be any good at.
😉
