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Your wife has you trained!! Good for her!!
Scared of starting out as a pharmacist
Started by gradintern
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Your wife has you trained!! Good for her!!
When have I ever said that I was smarter than a pharmacist? I have not even sat through a lecture of pharmacy school. I know I have what it takes to succeed in pharmacy school, but I never compared my knowledge to that of someone who graduated pharmacy school. All I ever said was that I know what it's like to work at Walgreen's and that any pharmacist who graduated from a good pharmacy school should be fine. I know the in's and out's of Walgreen's decently well because I have been paying very close attention. What exactly are you reading from my posts that makes you think that I consider myself smarter than someone who has had 4 years of pharmaceutical education?
It has been a long process...Thats why I told Z she would never leave me home by myself for 2 weeks. 11 years of training gone like that!
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Know my place? I'm sure Karm has a lot of experience with pharmacotherapeutics and a good deal of the frontiers of the science, but she doesn't have all the knowledge of this world. I made my comments on my experience at my company and she went off to assume that I'm pretending to know it all. I only know what I've experienced and she only knows what she has experienced. God forbid a little technician knows something she doesn't know. I admitted that I only know Walgreen's, and I admitted that this knowledge does not transcend to knowledge at hospitals and not even at CVS, but you're trying to say that Karm's experience as a PGY2 transcends into experience at Walgreen's?
Thanks for showing me my place on this forum. Wow, what an honor. Does it hurt that much to read a post from a lowly know-nothing pre-pharmer who might disagree with your highness? Your caste system of people is truly disrespectful to humans. Do you ignore certain patients who need your help as well?
Sweetheart no one ever said u said they were incompetent....I was just trying to give you insight as to how the most competent of ppl, regardless of resources, would still question their decision making abilities as a novice. The funniest thing is pretty much everyone on this thread thinks your rant is ridiculous and you are still trying hard to justify it. The issue is that you are telling the OP he OUGHT TO BE confident based on YOUR experience, no that he WILL BECOME confident. I'm sure you have the best intentions at heart, but you really are not coming about it the right way, and you are using one year's worth of experience to express your know how about therapeutic decision making. It's great you got into pharmacy school after just 6 months of pharmacy experience and you prob wanted to be a pharmacist since you were in the womb. All we are really trying to point out is that confidence is a great tool in all aspects of life, but it does nothing to help a knowledge base it just complements it. One can make a wrong therapy decision with the utmost confidence that they got it right. I guess I should phrase it this way; Some people need to become fully comfortable with applying the knowledge they've gained, before becoming fully confident in bearing the professional responsibility....and it takes time...and most ppl...if not everyone goes through it. I'm not trying to judge you, but I also think you really shouldn't be that full of yourself. Jefferson university has 1 year experience in educating pharmacists, nevertheless I'm sure they'll do a good job to instill some pharmacy practice reality into you....I hope...since one OUGHT to be confident after going to a good pharmacy school.😉
Pretty much your first post in this thread got off on the wrong foot. On one hand, you were giving a back-handed compliment to gradintern by saying that she should be confident in her knowledge, but on the other hand, it's how you said it which honestly, to me, sounded as if you thought she had nothing to worry about since she was finished with school. Your wording does come off offensive to those who are pharmacists because you made it sound like retail pharmacists just press buttons and quickly screen interactions. Unfortunately, most students don't understand that retail pharmacists don't just click buttons on programs. I remember one of my professors saying that you can't assume that retail is easier. She made the example of being busy and a random customer asks about a cold medication and you recommend one with phenylephrine without even asking if they are on blood pressure medications. Though minor (or not), your judgements regarding interactions and your recommendations outside of working on computers aren't to be taken lightly. You will understand the tremendous responsibility once you are in her place (and I know you said you understand, but you don't truly know what a Rph goes through until you are in that exact position). Don't be offended by the comments others are posing, just learn from them. (Why do I feel like this comment should be on a Full House episode..)
Off to bed...😴
Thanks for reflecting on things that were actually said. You actually taught me something aside from things previously mentioned (about certain cold medications interacting with bp meds.) Thank you. You and a lot of people who have already said it are right that until I actually become a pharmacist, I wont truly know how it feels to be one. I guess I started working at Walgreen's when they introduced a new application called CAP-Consultation Application which flags RX's with interaction possibilities. And for patients who have insurance, IC+ can tell us about possible drug interactions with medications patients have gotten at other pharmacies. And we have on record the allergies to medications and health conditions of patients so these things give me a sense of safety for the RPh's decision to override interactions. It's usually new patients and cash patients who need to be given the third degree. CAP is such a new application that it really feels like if a pharmacist has not worked with Walgreen's, not CVS, not Rite Aid, not DR, not Kroger's, etc, but Walgreen's in the past year, it's hard to see how they can understand that Walgreen's has a good safety net which forces RPh's do what they're supposed to do (ask patients lots of questions) and truly guides them to avoid errors. I realize I have been calling IC+ an idiot proof system, which may have been construed to compare pharmacists with idiots, but I was just trying to say that IC+ is just that good. Pharmacists are intelligent people. At work, I have so much respect for all the pharmacists I work with and have worked with. I love learning from those who are willing to teach me. I feel like I'm a patient standing at the consultation window and asking questions all day lol. Whenever I am taught something, I'm inspired to become a good pharmacist and take full advantage of the knowledge I will get at pharmacy school. The reason why I feel so confident is because it feels like if being a pharmacist is the test, I've taken a look at the exam before I've even started studying at pharmacy school. It looks like it will be an open-book exam to which I've got the structure down cold, I just need to study the material. But you're right, I will not know until I actually am a pharmacist. I think I got that 30 posts ago, but perhaps I didn't say I got it. I got it!
I missed all the excitement!! Damn!
Yes I worked hospital and retail as a PHARMACIST (including the short stint as clinical coordinator)...not just a student (or pre-pharm)...hell I worked for both Safeway and Walgreens. I've been around the block (not in the good way). I have a lot of respect for technicians and pharmacists in both settings.
What I hate...cocky students...seriously, be humble and learn.
Yes I worked hospital and retail as a PHARMACIST (including the short stint as clinical coordinator)...not just a student (or pre-pharm)...hell I worked for both Safeway and Walgreens. I've been around the block (not in the good way). I have a lot of respect for technicians and pharmacists in both settings.
What I hate...cocky students...seriously, be humble and learn.
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is me in this thread and at alot of the threads in this forum. Anymore tips? Preferably from a pharmacist. Or did OldTimer and Ancient pretty much sum it up?I, for one, applaud gradintern for starting this topic and addressing a *few* of the fears that most of us new grads (not just Wags associates) are having right now. It would be nice to hear more from the seasoned RPh's without having to sift through pages of 🙄 and
...JMO.
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Call your district supervisor and ask to arrange to be a shadow for a pharmacist on the day that you first work as a licensed pharmacist. It's important to do this because you do need to know all of the aspects of the computer system as far as how to properly document when you override a DUR. Also, try to have a few phone numbers on hand for nearby stores who can act as your mentor ....I always carried a few numbers with me so I could have a second opinion the first few times I ran into new situations.
yeah..see what you miss when you go to bed early?
Early? Please! ID rounds don't start until after 1pm. I don't miss those PGY1 days of surgery rounds starting at 5am.
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Oh man, first day as a pharmacist// first 14 hour shift// first back to back 14 hour shift//first day in new store//next Mon.
This is going to be fun. /sarcasm on
Oh btw, in CVS. Hopefully it is not a busy store, at least from what I heard.
Training as a grad intern for ~ 1-2 months isn't enough. Need mor training!
Scared? You damn well better bet it.
This is going to be fun. /sarcasm on
Oh btw, in CVS. Hopefully it is not a busy store, at least from what I heard.
Training as a grad intern for ~ 1-2 months isn't enough. Need mor training!
Scared? You damn well better bet it.
Wow. Honestly, u sound very cocky. From that quote above and on, it was really hard to read your other posts. From that quote, you make it sound like RXCARE took more than 6 yrs to get into pharmacy school. *Sighs*
I just said that to RXCARE cus he was putting me down for having only worked at a pharmacy for 1 year compared to his 6 years *wow*... so I put it into perspective of what that possibly means.
He said "Your one year experience is laughable.....trust me...I worked in retail for 6 years before starting pharmacy school and I felt on top of the world just like you are now." If you're going to insult me, you better be ready for what I have to say next.
Not jersey. D.C.
What did they have you do as a grad intern? More tech work or did you get to actually do what a pharmacist does? It makes a HUGE difference. This is why it is important that the grad intern is an extra on staff and not scheduled into the staffing for the day as it seems to happen most of the time. So you are stuck at the cash register or at the in window all day. I know these positions are important to learn, but it leaves the grad intern clueless on how to transition into a PHARMACIST when they pass the boards.
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Yeah, you are pretty much on the ball. More like a overpaid tech.
I don't know what goes on in your district. Your pharmacy sup is not doing a good job. I have trained two grad interns this summer. I make sure they can open a store, close a store, complete all necessary tasks and most important, how to verify prescriptions. When to intervene. What DUR's are real and which are noise. How to handle problem customers etc.... I don't understand why your boss would want you to be so unprepared to run a store....
Well, to give my pharmacy manager some credit, he did go through some of those necessary tasks such as verifying prescriptions, as you said, important DURs vs. noise etc, opening a store, transfers, handling C2 etc. Haven't closed a store yet, might volunteer to do that tomorrow. Problem customers not so much as we only had 1 real problem customer in the 1-2 months. Pretty much the basics, retail 101.
As for retail 202, well, lets just say I haven't attended those.
Def trying to take an initiative in overlooking and asking questions here and there to get a better understanding though.
As for retail 202, well, lets just say I haven't attended those.
Def trying to take an initiative in overlooking and asking questions here and there to get a better understanding though.
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If only all sups were like you. Yes, that is how I would imagine it should be in transitioning a grad intern into a pharmacist!! Makes sense! However, this is not the case because a lot of companies have cut the staff and utilize the grad interns to meet the daily short comings of the cuts. So they really don't care if you are not learning everything, just as long as the day goes smoother and more prescriptions go out..... Very short sighted....
I know "a friend" who asked to be moved to a less busy store so she could learn more to be more prepared as a pharmacist and got the request rejected by the DM even though she was mainly doing only the cash register and In window in the current pharmacy.....she was told that she was needed there because the pharmacy manager needed more help as the tech hours for that store had been cut.... This friend just recently decided to quit that company because she was feeling unprepared to be a pharmacist...amongst other MAJOR problems that she witnessed there. Just saying...
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yeah you can take anything old timer says with a grain of salt, since he is probably not the norm in the pharmacy world, given that he works harder, wiser, and makes sure **** goes correctly more so than most retail pharmacists out there
Why would anyone want a pharmacist in one of their stores who was not prepared? Your service scores will go down, customer complaints will go up. It doesn't make sense to do it any other way.
Make fun of me all you want. How many grad interns did you train this year?
So instead taking his advice with a grain of salt, why wouldn't anyone strive to be like him?
Don't try common sense......
Dude, you have no idea what you are getting into. I have been a stockboy/tech/intern/grad intern/pharmcist for 7+ years worked for 3 chains. I know I am wanted because I am fast, accurate, good customer service, and know how to get around the number. Thus, I can say that I and pretty much everybody here have more experience than you do. The best advice I can give to you now is to 1. learn to respect your seniors 2. be humble, and 3. learn to stfu (dont be offended by this but take it literally) and watch. You might learn a thing or two that you'll be grateful for.
As someone whos barely practicing for a while, I can tell you that I and pretty much every pharmacist out there is nervous on their first day. There is no way a 1 year tech like you knows what that feel like. Being a good "Walgreen" employee does not equate to being a good pharmacist. You might think that a good pharmacist is a fast pharmacist who gets people out as fast as possible while covering minimum basis. In reality, a pharmacist is one who practice according to their state's definition of pharmacy which is to optimize drug therapy. They are thus held accordingly for everything and it only takes one screw up for them to be 150k in debt, 6-8 years waste of their life, and a useless degree. Considering that the error margin is about 2-3 percent, and you fill a large volume of scripts.. you bet u better be worried.
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A retail drone brainwashed by his company? We should strive to be like this? No thanks.
Loo's Rookie Pharmacist Survival Tips:
1. What Old Timer Said.
2. Don't rush. Take the time to make sure everything is right. Oftentimes you may think you're slow, but in reality, it's usually not the case. People can wait.
3. Trust your intuition. If it feels wrong, it usually is. Doublecheck, but don't get paranoid.
4. Make sure your techs learn not to talk/ask questions while you are on the phone. This kind of distraction can lead to mistakes.
5. Most techs are good, but don't become totally dependent on them. Remember that you are supervising them and it's your butt on the line no matter what.
6. Follow the law.
7. In the case of suspected forgeries, etc. you have the right (in most states) to refuse to fill. Be careful to not deny legit controlled rx's, though. Remember to call your fellow colleagues in the area and let them know a fake rx may be coming their way.
8. When in doubt, check it out. This means call the prescriber, fellow colleagues from other stores, poison control, etc. No pharmacist is an island. There is help if you are stumped with a clinical, legal, etc question. Don't be afraid to ask!
9. Don't forget to eat. We all know what happens when hypoglycemia sets in...
Good luck and relax--it'll be OK.😉
1. What Old Timer Said.
2. Don't rush. Take the time to make sure everything is right. Oftentimes you may think you're slow, but in reality, it's usually not the case. People can wait.
3. Trust your intuition. If it feels wrong, it usually is. Doublecheck, but don't get paranoid.
4. Make sure your techs learn not to talk/ask questions while you are on the phone. This kind of distraction can lead to mistakes.
5. Most techs are good, but don't become totally dependent on them. Remember that you are supervising them and it's your butt on the line no matter what.
6. Follow the law.
7. In the case of suspected forgeries, etc. you have the right (in most states) to refuse to fill. Be careful to not deny legit controlled rx's, though. Remember to call your fellow colleagues in the area and let them know a fake rx may be coming their way.
8. When in doubt, check it out. This means call the prescriber, fellow colleagues from other stores, poison control, etc. No pharmacist is an island. There is help if you are stumped with a clinical, legal, etc question. Don't be afraid to ask!
9. Don't forget to eat. We all know what happens when hypoglycemia sets in...
Good luck and relax--it'll be OK.😉
Shut up.. I'm not telling you to love CVS or Wags for that matter. I'm just saying "be positive and love what you do." This could make you a healthier human being.
Her last line states that "SHE GOT IT!" - Get it? Starting to see that reading comprehension is not your strong point!
As far as respecting her seniors...and to stfu ? Wouldn't you call this a borderline disgusting post? Where is the maturity in that remark that warrants the respect you feel you deserve???😕
Wow, what a thread!
Kirby---I work for Wags and I know you know how insane it gets behind that counter. It doesn't matter how good the system is at Wags or how good the individual can prioritize there are sooo many variables in the science of pharmacy that can eat your time and have the potential for a mistake that I can't conceptualize how a new grad could NOT be anxious.
I can see what you're saying about having a standard approach to resolving all the issues but even the most seasoned RPhs I work with get behind.
Kirby---I work for Wags and I know you know how insane it gets behind that counter. It doesn't matter how good the system is at Wags or how good the individual can prioritize there are sooo many variables in the science of pharmacy that can eat your time and have the potential for a mistake that I can't conceptualize how a new grad could NOT be anxious.
I can see what you're saying about having a standard approach to resolving all the issues but even the most seasoned RPhs I work with get behind.
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How long have you worked for Walgreen's? Generally, if you worked for them for a few years as an intern, it is not that hard to transition... though that depends on the pharmacists you worked with, how much autonomy they were willing to give you, and how much they were willign to teach you. Ask for some extra time at a slow store where you can learn what you feel you don't know about the system.
And for your first day:
Rule #1: Don't worry about being slow. I have heard of people who died from medication errors, but I have yet to hear about someone who died because they waited for their medication 35 minutes instead of 25. Just be very upfront about wait times - if it is an hour, then don't be afraid to say that it is an hour.
Rule #2. Double-check and triple-check everything until you feel confident, and even when you are confident, keep double-checking. And when you make your first mistake (note: it is "when", not "if"), learn from it, and don't freak out. Cool head always helps.
Rule #3. Use your clinical knowledge (you spent four years gaining it, after all) to determine the clinical significance of the interaction and whether or not you should call the doctor. That said, whenever in doubt, call the doctor. It is much better if a nurse thinks you are annoying than if a patient thinks you almost killed them.
Relax, take a deep breath, and tell yourself everything will be fine. 🙂
Now I just saw this doozy - so for those of us (myself included) who got into pharmacy school without ever having stepped foot behind the counter, are we just super awesome amazing?
Agreed, we must be awesome! I didn't work in a pharmacy until the end of my P1 year.
With that, I would recommend working before being accepted and during school to all students. That is the way you really learn.
My only pharmacy experience prior to acceptance was a 2-hour "shadow" at a Shopko. 🙂 I must be way better than Kirby, but not quite as amazing as you.
And guess what? I'm still a pharmacist like all my colleagues with "6 months experience" before pharmacy school.
Sorry this just irks me... you think youre special bc you got in with only 6 months of experience? You dont need pharmacy experience to get into pharmacy school. I hadn't stepped foot into a pharmacy until my 3rd year. I got in with ZERO experience. Then you say you arent a tech but an intern, but your thing says prepharm!?!? Dont know what state youre in or how it works there but usually you cant be an intern until you are IN pharmacy school.
Your tune will change when you graduate and have to show up to work as the person in charge. When you are the decision maker with no one above you to cover your ass youll be scared too. Its easy when there is a line of people who have to sign off on your work, when the nets gone its a different world. I never anticipated it to be that scary, Im guessing most didnt. I dont care where you work or for how long.... when you go from intern to pharmacist youll be nervous too. Every industry is like this.
Futhermore, dont pretend to know whats taught in pharmacy school and that just bc you complete the courses and graduate you emerge knowing everything "medicinal". They don't program you to be the perfect pharmacist, flawless and omnipotent.
Hate to break it to you, but you are actually a tech, no matter what your intentions.
The key concept here is "possible drug interactions." As a pharmacist you will find that the computer you so desperately seem to want to rely on will spit out a variety of levels of interactions which will leave you with the responsibility of dermining which are crap ones that 1 person reported to some which will kill the customer. 6 years of school make that task easier than someone without it, but let us know when you graduate how comfortable you are with making that decision fresh out of the box. I pretty much guarantee that any pharmacist will admit that what they taught us in school either doesn't always apply in real life pharmacy and that the sheer volume of potential interactions for every drug combination makes it impossible to know everything about pretty much every drug.
And while having the customer's allergies on record is nice, the pharmacist also has to consider the severity of these allergies, or even if they exist in the first place. I've run into countless times where the all-powerful computer tells me that an allergy interaction is present for a new rx but it turns out that the pcn reaction was an upset stomach and the amox prescribed was actually the drug the patient needed. This is what separates the techs from the pharmacists and it's not as simple as working as a tech for 1, 2, or 10 years at Walgreens.
And before you go spouting again, I worked as an intern for 3 years at the WAG and while it did give me insight as to the functional working of the company, it did not take away the anxiety of that first day when you are expected to be the one with the correct solution to every problem that every customer brings to you.
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True.
Omgosh you guys all suck lol. 😛
Then why do I get paid at an intern's rate and why do I have selective intern duties?
Honestly, I don't know what the heck my position is either, so I usually go for the tech title. I was recruited for this job and my last research position (I was asked 3 times by a professor before I conceded to join the research team.) So I perhaps I have become a little "puffed" up in the head since most students apply for jobs/research positions and not the other way around. If I'm very confident, I can't help it. But for the sake of playing roles, I will try to behave more humbly. 🙂
For that alone I give you a lot of credit.
I don't mean to mince words even more, but in some states, you are not considered eligible to be a Pharmacist Intern until after you pass your P1 year.
In either case, I have worked at CVS for a year as a technician, completed a year of schooling, and I have interned as well. The PIC and staff pharmacists have put me on the spotlight to counsel patients and "treat me" as a pharmacist. I have been in situations where I field questions and concerns from other technicians and trainees. At the end of the day, though, I won't pretend to hold the same status, experience, or purview.
Even if you have verified prescriptions in the pharmacy as an intern, a pharmacist or preceptor has always been in the pharmacy as your safety net; as a person to confer with whenever you have questions, concerns, or simply someone to glance at for reassurance. It is certainly different when you are the only figure of authoratative knowledge in the room. At that point, whenever you find an odd-ball or confounding situation, you only have your own initiative to fix the problem. It's a lot different when you are in a position where you are the last line of defense, and where you are personally responsible and accountable for the events of the pharmacy. That realization alone is going to be a little bit unnerving at the very least.
In any case, I hope the newly-minted pharmacist had a good first day. Best of wishes, and post back about your experience if you read this!
--Garfield3d
Question to all of the retail Rphs and techs out there: when a script comes in to the pharmacy, and the tech enters the information in to get the script filled, when does the pharmacist get a chance to look at all of the meds the patient has? I'm asking because from what I saw (which was not very much of since I only had to do 50 hrs in retail for IPPE), isn't it the tech who enters in most of the information, while pharmacist verifies the information on the label is correct? Does the pharmacist go back and look into the profile of every patient with whom's label they come in contact with? 😕 I'm asking because I just have questions about all the responsibilities techs have in retail without them actually having that knowledge that a pharmacist or even a pharmacy student has.
Note true at all. Think of squares and rectangles. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are square. All interns are techs, but not all techs are interns. In PA, interns are permitted to do things that techs are not and at CVS interns are permitted to do things techs are not.
That does not mean interns should look down on techs, but there is certain expectation that their performance should be at a higher level.
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