volunteering in Pharmacy

[happygirl120]

Hello, this is my first posting, so go easy on me Anyways, I am in the midst of finishing my pre pharmacy and preparing to apply for 2005, and I as I was reading on interviewing tips, exposure to pharmacy seemed to be an important point. My question is, how do you get volunteer oportunities in Pharmacy. Most hospitals are so varied in their oportunities that you are not guaranteed to work in the pharmacy and if you wanted to get a job in pharmacy, they usually requre you to be a certified pharmacy tech. (i live in california and you do)
I work in an intersting field called cosmeceuticals where they are trying to combine cosmetics/personal care with highly effective ingredients that are similar to medicated drugs. It's interesting, but I don't think it's enough exposure to the clinical side. What do you guys think, any feed back would be very helpful

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[illusions]

If you like your job I wouldn't quit...just try to get a few shadowing experiences in because it sounds interesting. On the note about volunterring at hospitals....I found that typically there volunteer positions in pharmacy aren't openly stated. However, I contacted the pharmacy director and they were more than happy to welcome me to do volunteer work or "long term" shadowing. This was the case at multiple hospitals. So try contacting the pharmacy director. Also, your best bet for a pharmacy job is in retail. I just had to keep putting in applications and calling around. I lucked into the position I have now at a closed pharmacy filling prescriptions for nusing homes by talking with someone in one of my classes

 

[Sukie]

Originally posted by happygirl120
if you wanted to get a job in pharmacy, they usually requre you to be a certified pharmacy tech. (i live in california and you do)

Happygirl, welcome to the forum,

I also live in California, and you do not need a tech license to work in a pharmacy. You can work as a pharmacy clerk in retail (SavOn, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.) without a tech license. Some may prefer retail experience, but some do not require any experience at all. You just need to put in some time to go around to the local stores and apply.

Good luck!