RiteAid Pharmacy Intern Question

[padfoot84sb]

I am from Pittsburgh PA and I am going to be going into my first professional year in the fall. I am a current RiteAid employee in the pharmacy department. I am going to be getting my intern license once this spring semester is completed. My pharmacist emailed the Pharmacy DM and they said the RiteAid intern program doesnt start until you are in the second professional year. That would clearly be only 3 years of interning. On the website http://www.riteaid.com/careers/student_grad.jsf it shows that you can be an intern once in the professional phase and there are the 4 years that go along with it.

Is anyone a Rite Aid intern that can explain to me the intern program and process? When were you able to offically be considered at RiteAid pharmacy intern? Did you have to wait till your second professional year to be an actual intern and report hours/get intern wages? I am totally confused as to why I would not be able to start interning this summer already, or at least this coming fall.

sorry this was long but im really confused

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[Old Timer]

I am from Pittsburgh PA and I am going to be going into my first professional year in the fall. I am a current RiteAid employee in the pharmacy department. I am going to be getting my intern license once this spring semester is completed. My pharmacist emailed the Pharmacy DM and they said the RiteAid intern program doesnt start until you are in the second professional year. That would clearly be only 3 years of interning. On the website http://www.riteaid.com/careers/student_grad.jsf it shows that you can be an intern once in the professional phase and there are the 4 years that go along with it.

Is anyone a Rite Aid intern that can explain to me the intern program and process? When were you able to offically be considered at RiteAid pharmacy intern? Did you have to wait till your second professional year to be an actual intern and report hours/get intern wages? I am totally confused as to why I would not be able to start interning this summer already, or at least this coming fall.

sorry this was long but im really confused

The Rite-Aid program does not supersede Pennsylvania State Law. Once you are in Pharmacy School and once a registered pharmacist agrees to be a preceptor and you submit the application to the state you are an Intern and your hours count towards the state requirement. You can join the Rite-Aid intern program whenever you want.

 

[Allure]

They might be doing that so that they don't have to give you an intern pay. You might have to look into that or find another job. It would suck to work and get paid as a tech if you're an intern.

 

[FarmDea]

Padfoot

I am in the EXACT same position as you are. I work at Rite Aid (across from St. Clair hospital on Bower Hill Road) and I'm starting pharmacy school this fall (P1). My future preceptor told me that you can start as soon as you have a certain amount of undergrad credits (which anyone entering their first professional year would qualify for).

Are you going to Pitt or Duquesne? I'm going to Pitt

 

[padfoot84sb]

I am going to Duquesne! haha awesome to find someone from Pitt on here! The pharmacist that i work with emailed our pharmacy district manager about me interning..and she told me that they said I couldnt be an intern until my SECOND professional year..and that i would only be considered a tech until then. This is where the red flag in my mind came up becuase its definetley not consistant with anything!

I just emailed this girl i know who works at a rite aid who goes to Duq and she said she was an intern in the summer before the first professional year! and that they might just be trying to get away with not having me get paid as an intern and that becuase RiteAid is doing really bad as a business that they might not be hiring any interns? (I already work in the pharmacy and have for a long time!!!)

did your preceptor tell you that they are def going to hire you as an intern? im going to have to talk to my future preceptor again and see why all this is occuring.

 

[RxWildcat]

I started getting py1 intern pay at RA as soon as I got my acceptance letter before I even began pharm school classes. They're pushing you around sounds like.

 

[FarmDea]

It sure does sound like they are trying to avoid paying you the intern pay. My preceptor told me that corporate pays for interns so he wouldn't have to worry about hours or anything with me anymore. I'll see what I can find out and let you know - if you hear anything before I get back to you PM me or post on here as I may be in the same predicament in the not-so-distant future (I'm applying for my license ASAP).

Good luck!

 

[rjk]

Rite Aid is a terrible, terrible company that routinely lies to their employees.

If you want something done, you have to go through the union, or HR.

 

[RxWildcat]

Rite Aid is a terrible, terrible company that routinely lies to their employees.

I've seen worse. Don't slander a whole company based upon what sounds like one or two personal experiences.

 

[rjk]

I've seen worse. Don't slander a whole company based upon what sounds like one or two personal experiences.

it's based upon my personal experience which, I would say with fair certainty, is greater than average.

 

[padfoot84sb]

rjk, thank you for the idea. I contacted the HR person (in an email) for western PA and metro pittsburgh from the RiteAid website. They actually emailed me back at 10:30 at night! haha that seemed crazy, but anyhow, this is what they said:

"So you will start pharmacy school(3rd year) in the fall at duquesne?if so. You can become an intern..but that will start in june. You can call me monday at *******"

even though this gives me some hope...im still confused!!!!! which person, the HR or the PDM is lying or doesnt have a clue/misunderstands how this whole thing works. I will be calling this person on Monday to gets some facts hopefully.

I also last night at work emailed the PDM asking to confirm that it I would have to wait until the second professional year...but the pharmacist said she would probably be slow getting back to me..