Retail Drug Stores

[GatorRX]

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I've seen a lot of "complaints" (if I may call it that) on this board regarding how tough it is to become a pharm tech with no experience. Does anyone know any retail drug stores that actually DO hire with no experience (such as Walgreens, Eckerd, CVS, etc)? If you can't get a position being a pharm tech, I suppose the next two best things to get some experience is to be a cashier in the pharmacy or to volunteer at a hospital? Any and all inputs are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[dontworry]

Hi, i got a job at a Rite Aid having no experience. Though they did know i would be starting pharmacy school. It probably depends on your location though. Some areas may have alot of pharm students and tech jobs are already taken, or there are probably areas that are in need of techs. Maybe just taking a regular cashier job in a store that has a pharmacy and discuss with the management the possibility of transfering to the pharmacy eventually. I was pretty lucky, i had needed to get a job but was avoiding it , then the Rite Aid down the street had a sign for a pharmacy cashier, i went down and they were looking for a new tech. Perhaps try a supermarket as well, or hospital and keep calling around or stopping in places to find one.

 

[Superflyjsc]

i dont know where everyone is hearing that its so hard to get a job in pharmtech without experience. Maybe in hospitals its so but in retail i found it pretty easy. I went to CVS looking for a job in pharmacy and they hired me right away without experience. I had applied to many other drugstores nearby and they all didnt require experience. Maybe it depends on the location or city i guess. SInce im a newbie in pharmacy, im doing like cashier but in addition i do many other tasks. However from my experiences so far in retail, unless you are one of the PHARMACISTS, all the other people such as pharmtechs or cashiers or whoever else works behind those counters pretty much perform the same tasks such as answering phonecalls, processing scripts and refills, and counting pills. I dont really see any special experience or skills needed to do those so i think its rediculous that retail pharmacys require experienced people to work for them unless, as i had said before, they are applying for a pharmacist position.

 

[Shanana]

However from my experiences so far in retail, unless you are one of the PHARMACISTS, all the other people such as pharmtechs or cashiers or whoever else works behind those counters pretty much perform the same tasks such as answering phonecalls, processing scripts and refills, and counting pills.

Are you really saying that cashiers are counting pills and typing prescriptions? At the pharmacy I worked at, cashiers were supposed to have very little contact with drugs. They would just run the cash register, answer phones, and fax off refill requests.

I dont really see any special experience or skills needed to do those so i think its rediculous that retail pharmacys require experienced people to work for them unless, as i had said before, they are applying for a pharmacist position.

I think that competent people need to be counting pills, pulling drugs off the shelf, and processing new prescriptions and refills. I think that people can become competent through on-the-job training or other means (like a technician training program from a community college). Many states are starting to require that all techs be certified by PTCB and registered with the state board of pharmacy. So I think the general consensus in the US is that people DO need special experience and skills to fill prescriptions in the pharmacy!!

 

[Superflyjsc]

Yes as a matter of fact i did say that. I started working at a retail pharmacy not too long ago, maybe 2 weeks ago starting out just as a cashier since i had no experience, but with each day that goes by im learning to know how to perform many of the other tasks as i had mentioned before. Im not that knowledged yet to pull medications out since i dont know where every bottle is yet but processing scripts or refills aint hard. All you need to do is make sure u have all the patients information ready and make sure his script is covered by his insurance then run it through the computer. Easy. And same for counting pills. Come on, what experience u need wit this? As long as u have the patients correct information and medication, they tell u how many pills he/she will need for her perscription and as long as u can at least count up to 100 then your set. You dont need any experience or education higher than the 3rd grade for that. However i do agree wit u on one point, only competant responsible people should be working in pharmacy cuase even tho u know how to count numbers, i still wouldnt hire a lazy irresonsible slacker to work for me.