Summary of Community Pharmacist Layoff,Pay Cuts, Other Negatives OCT 2018

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quickpic007

quickpic007

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Wanting to summarize current state of affairs. Please comment with additions or corrections.

CVS-decrease tech hours this year.

WALGREEN-Cut new grad pay to ~50ish nationwide. No raises for any pharmacist for 2 years. No staff pharmacist bonus over 1K, reduced manager bonus as of 2018. Decrease in available pharmacist hours.

Rite aid-cut new grad by by 5-7 dollars. Rite aid to WG rph taking pay cut due to new scheduling. Hundreds of rite aid locations closed this year.

Kroger-No pay raise in 2018. Significant layoffs Nationwide. All staff pharmacist 32 hours or less.

Walmart-Pay raise % decrease in 2018. No new staff offers more than 28 hours weekly. Sams Club massive layoff.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Express scripts closing their columbus ohio mail order resulted in loss of jobs.

Several rite aids are no longer open 24/7 so loss of jobs for overnights. Also rolled out their central fill which cut rph overlap hours and more of a hassle. Took out script pros from several stores.

shingrix was released in 2018 and shortages everywhere led to angry customers but even when it is in stock I hate giving it. Wish it was a prefilled syringe instead of vial. There was also a hep A breakout in ohio/michigan but at least that is prefilled syringe.

Cvs offering delivery-this has not caught on but might in the future.

A bunch of stuff going on back order besides shingrix like epipens.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Lots of complainers on this board. Go back and get an MD like I did.
 
maria1oh said:
Express scripts closing their columbus ohio mail order resulted in loss of jobs.

Several rite aids are no longer open 24/7 so loss of jobs for overnights. Also rolled out their central fill which cut rph overlap hours and more of a hassle. Took out script pros from several stores.

shingrix was released in 2018 and shortages everywhere led to angry customers but even when it is in stock I hate giving it. Wish it was a prefilled syringe instead of vial. There was also a hep A breakout in ohio/michigan but at least that is prefilled syringe.

Cvs offering delivery-this has not caught on but might in the future.

A bunch of stuff going on back order besides shingrix like epipens.
Click to expand...

Did most of those overnighters get reassigned or direct layoff?
Sad to hear on ESI closure...

hwks09 said:
Lots of complainers on this board. Go back and get an MD like I did.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately for many in the profession we are unable to return for further education. Many new grads suffer from high loans.
Mid-to late career pharmacists such as myself are too close to retirement to invest the time,money, and energy for 6+ years of physician education.

How did you decide on a certain specialty?
 
People with actual foresight, introspection, ambition and ability and actually want a career in healthcare wouldn't waste their time getting a PharmD in the first place and go allopathic especially if they are URM
 
Sine Cura said:
People with actual foresight, introspection, ambition and ability and actually want a career in healthcare wouldn't waste their time getting a PharmD in the first place and go allopathic especially if they are URM
Click to expand...
This is true. High Ambition = MD. Going Pharm.D. nowadays is just plain stupid.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Sine Cura said:
People with actual foresight, introspection, ambition and ability and actually want a career in healthcare wouldn't waste their time getting a PharmD in the first place and go allopathic especially if they are URM
Click to expand...
Pharmacy has always selected for academically inclined people who are afraid to take risks, but now that field no longer has any stability who is choosing to go? It seems like the people who are currently choosing to attend pharmacy school are not the types you would want making sure medications are dispensed safely. Being a pharmacist doesn't take loads of intelligence but you sure as hell need a lot of conscientiousness.
 
Typically when people collect data, there's a point behind it. You know, like to take action? What are pharmacist going to do? Besides keep complaining, and counting pills, and threatening to get licenses to go sell real estate, or life-insurance? I'm so sick of the cowardliness of this profession.

quickpic007 said:
Wanting to summarize current state of affairs. Please comment with additions or corrections.

CVS-decrease tech hours this year.

WALGREEN-Cut new grad pay to ~50ish nationwide. No raises for any pharmacist for 2 years. No staff pharmacist bonus over 1K, reduced manager bonus as of 2018. Decrease in available pharmacist hours.

Rite aid-cut new grad by by 5-7 dollars. Rite aid to WG rph taking pay cut due to new scheduling. Hundreds of rite aid locations closed this year.

Kroger-No pay raise in 2018. Significant layoffs Nationwide. All staff pharmacist 32 hours or less.

Walmart-Pay raise % decrease in 2018. No new staff offers more than 28 hours weekly. Sams Club massive layoff.
Click to expand...
 
JamesL1585 said:
Typically when people collect data, there's a point behind it. You know, like to take action? What are pharmacist going to do? Besides keep complaining, and counting pills, and threatening to get licenses to go sell real estate, or life-insurance? I'm so sick of the cowardliness of this profession.
Click to expand...

I agree. There is probably a good reason why big pharm companies are treating their employees like crap. I'm thinking b/c they know they can do whatever they want without much resistance. I resisted. I fought. And I left. haha.
 
maria1oh said:
Express scripts closing their columbus ohio mail order resulted in loss of jobs.

Several rite aids are no longer open 24/7 so loss of jobs for overnights. Also rolled out their central fill which cut rph overlap hours and more of a hassle. Took out script pros from several stores.

shingrix was released in 2018 and shortages everywhere led to angry customers but even when it is in stock I hate giving it. Wish it was a prefilled syringe instead of vial. There was also a hep A breakout in ohio/michigan but at least that is prefilled syringe.

Cvs offering delivery-this has not caught on but might in the future.

A bunch of stuff going on back order besides shingrix like epipens.
Click to expand...

I'm so with ya on that shingrix scam. What a money maker huh? hey that last vaccine we had (zostavax) was only slightly effective, so 10 years later now pay TWICE for this NEW more effective 2 shot series......and what about pneumonia? lol....this whole vaccine thing is getting out of hand, they are absolutely exploiting vaccines....and its obvious. And oh yeah...make those stupid shingrix in a single one time shot deal.....lol
 
Sine Cura said:
People with actual foresight, introspection, ambition and ability and actually want a career in healthcare wouldn't waste their time getting a PharmD in the first place and go allopathic especially if they are URM
Click to expand...

Allopathic? is that like using the ALoe Vera plant to cure Everything......i read about that....LMAO
 
gwarm01 said:
They won't listen because they all expect to be a "clinical pharmacist."
Click to expand...

Yeah, you cant reason with the young about this. I start threads sometimes ya know? like asking questions....real simple. I have asked them to give me some numbers regarding unemployment, average loan debt owed upon graduating, residency placement, job forecasts...etc. you know what they do? hijack the thread and start talking about all sorts of other stuff...... i literally cannot get them to comprehend what is going on. It's like they are robots.
 
Old classmate who works at walgreens posted on facebook that all pharmacy managers just got their bonus cut in half.
 
JamesL1585 said:
Typically when people collect data, there's a point behind it. You know, like to take action? What are pharmacist going to do? Besides keep complaining, and counting pills, and threatening to get licenses to go sell real estate, or life-insurance? I'm so sick of the cowardliness of this profession.
Click to expand...

Through collecting this data I feel it may help many pharmacists plan a career in today's environment.
For example, I am no longer really interested in working at walgreen, or kroger, but CVS and Walmart may present an opportunity.
Also the trend is showing to cut total compensation in retail, so a move to hospital or another area may be good.
 
If Wags is cutting RXM bonuses then I can see WM following suit (currently can get up to $24k "base" bonus for stores not eligible for the script volume multiplier, then up to double the base bonus, so up to $48k/year for stores that sell more than 200k non-controls a year... only know of a few stores that might have done that much in the past).
 
giga said:
How do you know that they arent russian and/or chinese bots trying to undermine national security by increasing pharmacist job insecurity? :borg:
Click to expand...
upload_2018-11-1_7-45-9.png
 
Sine Cura said:
If Wags is cutting RXM bonuses then I can see WM following suit (currently can get up to $24k "base" bonus for stores not eligible for the script volume multiplier, then up to double the base bonus, so up to $48k/year for stores that sell more than 200k non-controls a year... only know of a few stores that might have done that much in the past).
Click to expand...

My store does around 1800---2000 weekly. I am on track (supposedly) for 16,9K out of 20K possible. got that same number last year. But yeah I feel like managers from just 1-2 years ago are being targeted because they have too much PTO, Salary too high...etc. these Dm's ABSOLUTELY know that they can cut costs dramatically at this point in time. They could ask some of us to come to work naked in the snow, and you know what? some people would show up. thats how bad it is out here. I am hanging on till 2020 (if not let go or fired before then) , then we will see the last of this retail profession. Even bigger changes coming , so prepare yourselves.
 
Boy, threads like this make me feel a lot better about my clinical staff pharmacist job s/p PGY1 residency.
 
The tech guy is going around to rite aids taking out a computer workstation from several stores. Way to cut cost and save money.
 
maria1oh said:
The tech guy is going around to rite aids taking out a computer workstation from several stores. Way to cut cost and save money.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what kind of higher up executive *****s the chains employ to make a stupid decision like this. Less computer access just means less productivity. The junk computer probably costs less than <$400 new. It costs just $15/mo in electricity to run.
 
BenJammin said:
Hilarious and sad that in the greatest job market the graduating generation has ever seen, pharmacists are being laid off and unable to find jobs in desirable locations.
Click to expand...

No kidding. Hang on tight, folks, because the next recession is going to wipe a lot of us out.
 
gwarm01 said:
No kidding. Hang on tight, folks, because the next recession is going to wipe a lot of us out.
Click to expand...
The next recession gonna put some struggling business out for good. Weak supermarket pharmacies and Rite Aid won't stand a chance for long... 5000+ rphs laid off? That will be catastrophic.

But more likely CVS/Wag/walmart/amazon gonna buy it on pennies on the dollar when the stock goes 10 cents/share, close 1/2 underperforming stores and laid off 1/2 the workforce. Still pretty grim.
 
DrWrong said:
Boy, threads like this make me feel a lot better about my clinical staff pharmacist job s/p PGY1 residency.
Click to expand...

Yes, and now no one will touch you in retail, the biggest sector for employment left. You specialized yourself into a corner, which a lot of graduates are doing now. I see the rope tightening for these clinical positions all the time. Unless you were just being sarcastic? lol...
 
Momus said:
The next recession gonna put some struggling business out for good. Weak supermarket pharmacies and Rite Aid won't stand a chance for long... 5000+ rphs laid off? That will be catastrophic.

But more likely CVS/Wag/walmart/amazon gonna buy it on pennies on the dollar when the stock goes 10 cents/share, close 1/2 underperforming stores and laid off 1/2 the workforce. Still pretty grim.
Click to expand...

I agree a recession is coming, i feel it is soon. What is your rough estimate on time to collapse. If you had to guess?
 
JamesL1585 said:
Typically when people collect data, there's a point behind it. You know, like to take action? What are pharmacist going to do? Besides keep complaining, and counting pills, and threatening to get licenses to go sell real estate, or life-insurance? I'm so sick of the cowardliness of this profession.
Click to expand...

Well, those are some valid occupations to make a little coin. What would not make us "cowards"? stick this out? keep getting laid off, Fired, or quitting out of shear frustration? what are your alternative ideas?
 
sozetone said:
Well, those are some valid occupations to make a little coin. What would not make us "cowards"? stick this out? keep getting laid off, Fired, or quitting out of shear frustration? what are your alternative ideas?
Click to expand...

What do other people do when they're unhappy about their investment (especially a six figure investment)? They organize.
 
I didnt get a call in 2018 to pick up any extra shifts like in previous years. Got just a few last minute calls to cover for sick rph.
 
If you can secure a government hospital pharmacist position, it may be your best bet. I am way happier than when I worked retail. Yes the pay may be a little lower but the benefits and the raises (step wise, yearly inflation, or cost of living adjustments) make working for the government a possibly better option over time.
 
Farmer83 said:
If you can secure a government hospital pharmacist position, it may be your best bet. I am way happier than when I worked retail. Yes the pay may be a little lower but the benefits and the raises (step wise, yearly inflation, or cost of living adjustments) make working for the government a possibly better option over time.
Click to expand...
Amen.
 
maria1oh said:
I didnt get a call in 2018 to pick up any extra shifts like in previous years. Got just a few last minute calls to cover for sick rph.
Click to expand...
I’m seeing the exact same thing. The extra shifts all dried up.
 
quickpic007 said:
Wanting to summarize current state of affairs. Please comment with additions or corrections.

CVS-decrease tech hours this year.

WALGREEN-Cut new grad pay to ~50ish nationwide. No raises for any pharmacist for 2 years. No staff pharmacist bonus over 1K, reduced manager bonus as of 2018. Decrease in available pharmacist hours.

Rite aid-cut new grad by by 5-7 dollars. Rite aid to WG rph taking pay cut due to new scheduling. Hundreds of rite aid locations closed this year.

Kroger-No pay raise in 2018. Significant layoffs Nationwide. All staff pharmacist 32 hours or less.

Walmart-Pay raise % decrease in 2018. No new staff offers more than 28 hours weekly. Sams Club massive layoff.
Click to expand...


In the south, Walgreens bought 185 Fred's pharmacies and are closing down most of them. With 3-4 pharmacists to each store, that's another 800-1000 *desperate* rphs in search of a new pharmacy job... That should help the saturation problem a bit
 
samven582 said:
I'm so glad I left retail 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

How does one transition from retail basic rph to hospital or industry without those fancy certifications and more schooling?? A rph license is not enough anymore........
 
A few of my classmates escaped retail a few years ago for a small independent chain and another few for a long-term care company. One was just bought by CVS and the other bought by WAGS, there is no escape
 
One of my friends got into hospital pharmacy with the basic rph license that was 10 years ago.......now you can never do that without a residency or PharmD ........and lots of luck
 
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