Summer job as pharmacy intern?

[Pharm47]

Is it hard to get a position in the summer as a pharmacy intern? I've been considering quitting my job to get into a pharmacy as a tech, so when summers roll around between P1-P2 and P2-P3 I can work fulltime as an intern, however, I haven't had much luck. One pharmacy said they didn't want to train me as a tech, since I'll be leaving in the fall for school anyway. Should I really pursure this NOW, or can I wait until I'm a fulltime pharm student, and find something for the summer?

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[freeskier1]

well your going to HAVE to work as your tech in the future. you're required a certain amount of hours teching before you get your license. If you can find a place that will hire you as a tech, i don't think it would hurt at all.

 

[gaba101]

Is it hard to get a position in the summer as a pharmacy intern? I've been considering quitting my job to get into a pharmacy as a tech, so when summers roll around between P1-P2 and P2-P3 I can work fulltime as an intern, however, I haven't had much luck. One pharmacy said they didn't want to train me as a tech, since I'll be leaving in the fall for school anyway. Should I really pursure this NOW, or can I wait until I'm a fulltime pharm student, and find something for the summer?

you might as well work in the hospital since all PS1 and PS2s ever get to do as an intern are tech work (read--hard labor [damn carts and damn pyxis], deliver IV bags [in additino to making them], and a bunch of other crummy work that staff pharmacists at hospitals will never have to do...yeah, I'm bitter in addition to entering data and such, staff RPh are there to check your work and don't have to push those heavy carts and won't have to fill pyxis machines that refuse to pop open a drawer!) So by the time you get your intern license, you already know how to do the entire PS1 and PS2 intern job, which is essentially the same thing as a tech job in the hospital setting.

 

[genesis09]

well your going to HAVE to work as your tech in the future. you're required a certain amount of hours teching before you get your license. If you can find a place that will hire you as a tech, i don't think it would hurt at all.

It actually depends on the state. In Illinois, you are not required to do any interning.

 

[orange_ivy]

In Texas you have to have completed 30 hours of pharmacy school classes to get your intern license. If you have not started pharm school yet I don't know if they will call you an intern, but maybe. I am going to intern with Walgreens this summer, I have only volunteered in pharmacies before. After you are a pharmacy student I don't think it is that hard to get an internship, as long as you apply early in January for the summer jobs.

 

[Pharm47]

I'm not really asking about getting intern hours required for licensing. In OR, you can't count hours you are paid for. Mostly I'm wondering if it is difficult to land a job as an intern. I haven't had any luck getting a tech job, but need to eventually, and would like to know the best time to "officially" search (i.e. quit my real job and start applying everywhere).

 

[nightcrawleRx]

I'm not really asking about getting intern hours required for licensing. In OR, you can't count hours you are paid for. Mostly I'm wondering if it is difficult to land a job as an intern. I haven't had any luck getting a tech job, but need to eventually, and would like to know the best time to "officially" search (i.e. quit my real job and start applying everywhere).

I don't think it will be too hard once you enter pharm school and become an intern...at least I assume it wouldn't be. Most large chain pharmacies are eager to get interns b/c they figure once you become familiar with their store you'll hopefully work for them after graduation, which is why some offer money if you agree to work for them. This is from my own personal experience but at the same time I live in Southwestern CT, which is one of the most populated areas in the country so there are pharmacies everywhere and therefore there are a lot of opportunities for intern hours. Hell, if I take a 2 min drive I would pass a CVS, Walgreens, Wal-mart, Brooks, Apex and about three grocery stores all with a pharmacy.

 

[Julianne]

I'm not really asking about getting intern hours required for licensing. In OR, you can't count hours you are paid for. Mostly I'm wondering if it is difficult to land a job as an intern. I haven't had any luck getting a tech job, but need to eventually, and would like to know the best time to "officially" search (i.e. quit my real job and start applying everywhere).

In my experience as a manager turned scheduler/long-time tech with Walgreens, it's usually a "feast or famine" kind of thing when it comes to needing help (tech, intern, pharmacist, or otherwise). In the summers when everyone is out of school and the newly graduated pharmacists are taking the NAPLEX/sitting for boards, etc, it seems like there's not enough hours to give everyone and still stay within budget. On the flip side, when help is really needed in the fall/winter (flu season=FUN!!), it's almost impossible to have a fully staffed and efficiently running store.

If you're wanting to work as a tech for a while before starting as an intern, I think the best time to apply is in the early fall. Of course, as a pharmacy student/intern in a retail setting you can do alot more than a tech, so you'll usually be in demand regardless of the season.

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[Shakeitfast]

Its been really easy to land an intern job here in OR. Take a job in the Fall/Spring, work a few hours here & there, then go full time in the summer.