possibly dumb patient contact question

[Eagleye2]

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Hey guys, let me preface this question by saying it could be a dumb one so if I deserved to be trolled, by all means go ahead. But I have an interview for a pharmacy tech position at a chain store (not a hospital) and was wondering if that would be considered patient contact or not. Also, wondering if the answer would be different if I was a tech at a hospital instead of a chain store.

 

[freak7]

Yes. You are literally interacting with patients.

 

[aldol16]

I'm assuming you're asking about your daily roles as a pharmacy tech and not about the interview itself. Do you have contact with patients? Yes. Is it a particularly valuable clinical experience? I don't know but that's the question you should be asking. How is patient contact in that context impacting your decision to pursue medicine?

 

[Catalystik]

Hey guys, let me preface this question by saying it could be a dumb one so if I deserved to be trolled, by all means go ahead. But I have an interview for a pharmacy tech position at a chain store (not a hospital) and was wondering if that would be considered patient contact or not. Also, wondering if the answer would be different if I was a tech at a hospital instead of a chain store.

Pharm tech in a chain store is typically not a high quality source of patient contact. For one thing, what percent of those folks are current sick or injured patients rather than those with well-controlled conditions? How often do you suppose other family members pick up meds for those that are truly ill, or their children? Do you have the training to counsel patients on their medications' side effects or interactions (which would be a very helpful interaction, if it's allowed, but it usually isn't)? How will you be helpful to patients other than checking them out at the register and asking if they want to talk to the pharmacist?

This is not to say the job wouldn't be relevant and educational, as I expect you'd learn a lot about various pharmaceuticals. But this should not be the only source of active patient experience listed on a med school application.

 

[Dream_big]

I listed my pharmacy technician position, at a retail pharmacy, as non-clinical work experience. I've spent 2+ years with the company so I can say this:
You observe both the disconnect and collaboration between prescribers and pharmacists, you notice the ease of spitting out brand/generic names of medications after a few weeks of your start date, you quickly learn application and dxtensive use of certain drugs, you work directly with insurance companies for the benefit of the patient, etc etc I can really go on. These are all tremendously valuable learning experiences (with decent pay) but the position shouldn't be checked off as clinical experience.

In a hospital setting? Well, most would say yes. I wouldn't know.

 

[efle]

I imagine you'd be hard pressed to talk about a physician's environment/who they serve based on working somewhere like a CVS. Def a better job to have on an app than cleaning glassware or restocking books in the library, but I think you 100% need clinic/hospital room time to supplement