Walgreens Pharmacist Shadowing

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EddieL

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Hey all,

I was checking over Walgreens website and noticed this page. I was wondering what would be the best way to approach asking... calling or visiting in person? If you visit in person, do you dress somewhat formally? May sound stupid, but I'm pretty clueless... most shadowing things I just filled out applications for.
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It says on the website to contact your local pharmacy. Yet every time I have gone into Walgreen's and asked the pharmacist about shadowing, they have no idea what I'm talking about. They give me the number to corporate, but I've never actually followed through. I'd say your best bet is to start out by calling your local Walgreen's pharmacy and getting some information that way.
 
EddieL said:
Hey all,

I was checking over Walgreens website and noticed this page. I was wondering what would be the best way to approach asking... calling or visiting in person? If you visit in person, do you dress somewhat formally? May sound stupid, but I'm pretty clueless... most shadowing things I just filled out applications for.
Click to expand...
You need to specifically ask them for their district manager's number. I've had issues with shadowing at Walgreens because of their HIPPA and under 18 policies. But it can usually be settled by signing a sheet of paper that says you won't blab about so and so's info.

Good luck!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
nicolemsm said:
You need to specifically ask them for their district manager's number. I've had issues with shadowing at Walgreens because of their HIPPA and under 18 policies. But it can usually be settled by signing a sheet of paper that says you won't blab about so and so's info.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Psssh. My district manager never answers her phone. I never actually got to shadow anyone at Walgreens last year.
 
I shadowed a pharmacist at my local Walgreen's last year. I just went into the store and spoke with a pharmacist; he knew what I was talking about, had me sign some HIPAA-related forms, and VOILA. Wasn't a fantastic experience, though--I mostly just stood around, trying not to appear bored.
 
that's interesting that walgreens would allow students to shadow. i know at other stores like target or CVS, shadowing would NEVER be allowed.

but seriously, go shadow at the hospital. more than likely you'll get both the clinical AND retail pharmacy experience if the hospital has its own outpatient pharmacy.
 
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i would rather shadow in the hospital.. it is by far more interesting and you can learn much more.
 
I would have loved to, but I called every hospital in the area...and absolutely no dice on hospital pharmacy shadowing. Compared to retail, hospitals are a lot tougher when it comes to safety, HIPAA regulations, etc. (as you would expect).
 
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Wasn't allowed to, the pharmacist whom I'm close friends with said it was an insurance issue but perhaps he didn't know about the forms I could sign etc.
 
Thanks for all of the replies! I actually have shadowed in two different hospitals within the past few months, so I have some experience with them. Hospital pharmacy in my opinion is pretty interesting, but I'm yet to see a retail setting. My favorite was the last one I was at - the pharmacy was on the fourth floor and had windows!

I think I'll call or visit my Walgreens (there's a quiet one around me) and see what they say. Would visiting be better than calling do you think?
 
Not sure if it's just my store, but does anyone else find the phone ringer notifying that someone's at drive-thru is possibly the most annoying sound ever?
 
crazybob said:
Nope. I don't work anywhere right now. I know some classmates who work at walgreens though. I just said "my district manager" as in the district manager for this area.
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mmmk

Regardless of which path I take, I've always envisioned them being my back to school job. I like their stores.
 
Knowing how busy Walgreen's is, I decided to mail a letter instead of calling. The pharmacist called me back and after I filled out some paper work, he scheduled a day for me to come in. He picked a Sat, a.m. when he had extra coverage so he would have time to sit down and talk with me. It was time well spent and I really appreciated hearing what he had to say.
 
Ivana Snoday said:
Knowing how busy Walgreen's is, I decided to mail a letter instead of calling. The pharmacist called me back and after I filled out some paper work, he scheduled a day for me to come in. He picked a Sat, a.m. when he had extra coverage so he would have time to sit down and talk with me. It was time well spent and I really appreciated hearing what he had to say.
Click to expand...

I'll give this a go. Thanks for the idea!
 
Volunteering at Walgreens usually doesn't give you the full prospective of pharmacy. It's like saying you wanna open a merchandise store, so you go job shadow at Walmart.

Find an independent, you'll learn a lot more.
 
phathead said:
Volunteering at Walgreens usually doesn't give you the full prospective of pharmacy. It's like saying you wanna open a merchandise store, so you go job shadow at Walmart.

Find an independent, you'll learn a lot more.
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:thumbup: They can also take more time to show you a lot of things about the job.
 
It seems to me that exposure in all areas would provide one with the most benefit. A lot of retail pharmacy practice is with corporate entities like Walgreen's so that's good exposure to that type of environment. A local, independent store would be as well followed by a hospital arena. Of course I don't know much about pharmacy school or admissions, but as an outsider looking in I think one would want exposure to all facets.
 
ArkansasRanger said:
It seems to me that exposure in all areas would provide one with the most benefit. A lot of retail pharmacy practice is with corporate entities like Walgreen's so that's good exposure to that type of environment. A local, independent store would be as well followed by a hospital arena. Of course I don't know much about pharmacy school or admissions, but as an outsider looking in I think one would want exposure to all facets.
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Virtually no one is exposed to all facets. There's 30+ different pharmacy disciplines and most applicants have maybe a months experience in one area.
 
phathead said:
Volunteering at Walgreens usually doesn't give you the full prospective of pharmacy. It's like saying you wanna open a merchandise store, so you go job shadow at Walmart.

Find an independent, you'll learn a lot more.
Click to expand...
Indie compound shadowing = da best <3
 
ArkansasRanger said:
Well, then the more the merrier.
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True, I've done retail, hospital, compounding, nursing service and home infusion.

Most people stick to only one type and even then they do not get a full appreciation of what the job is all about.

I'd say more than half of incoming pharmacy students really have no idea what a pharmacist does.
 
phathead said:
I'd say more than half of incoming pharmacy students really have no idea what a pharmacist does.
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That's the image I'm getting from the pharmacy boards here. When I started reading these I made the assumption that the pharmacy admission process was identical to medical school, but it seems much more student-oriented rather than profess-oriented. It's nice to know there's a quality profession out there that doesn't require students to have sold their souls and become grade ****** just to get into an a school program.

That's part of the reason that pharmacy is becoming interesting to me. It seems more realistic.
 
Just wondering, when I write a letter to Walgreens to inquire about shadowing, should I address it to the "pharmacy department", or would it be better to address it to the actual farmacist him/herself?
 
EddieL said:
Hey all,

I was checking over Walgreens website and noticed this page. I was wondering what would be the best way to approach asking... calling or visiting in person? If you visit in person, do you dress somewhat formally? May sound stupid, but I'm pretty clueless... most shadowing things I just filled out applications for.
Click to expand...

I would call the local pharmacist and ask about it. My pharmacist knew about it and gave me an email to the district manager. Then next day my local pharmacist called and tah dah! Shadowing began. :D I<3 Walgreens
 
kern07 said:
that's interesting that walgreens would allow students to shadow. i know at other stores like target or CVS, shadowing would NEVER be allowed.

but seriously, go shadow at the hospital. more than likely you'll get both the clinical AND retail pharmacy experience if the hospital has its own outpatient pharmacy.
Click to expand...

That's because Walgreens is so awesome and lax. Sometimes, I even hang out there with my friends for fun...and since all of their Nigerian parents are pharmDs....PARTY!!!
 
Passion4Sci said:
And please, dear lord, do not spell it farmacist. :laugh:
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The more science classes I take, the worse my spelling gets...I used to make fun of the upper classmen. Now it's happening to me :eek:

Haha thank you by the way :)
 
I was actually able to get an internship for undergrad credit through Walgreens for a month 40hrs/week. They let me do everything-- then they hired me at the end of the month. I called walgreens who told me to call district who called me and told me to call the pharmacy manager who said he'd get back to me but didn't so I called him and he said sure..... A little bit of work to get it going but it really paid off
 
What would you guys do for a salutation? "Dear sir or Madame" sounds lazy, but "Dear pharmacist" sounds weird to me. What do you think? Maybe "To whom it may concern?"
 
i shadowed a pharmacist and i'm in hs. i did it during junior year to make sure that this is the right major for me. you don't need to contact the district manager. i just talked to the pharmacy manager and scheduled a day. i filled out a few forms for liability like HIPPA. but walgreens (at least this location) was not too active. not a very happening place. i really wanted to shadow in a hospital setting but they said i wasn't old enough :/
 
sailingallalone said:
What would you guys do for a salutation? "Dear sir or Madame" sounds lazy, but "Dear pharmacist" sounds weird to me. What do you think? Maybe "To whom it may concern?"
Click to expand...

I always go with "To whom it may concern" for any type of correspondence that doesn't have a specific recipient that you know the name of.
 
EddieL said:
Thanks for all of the replies! I actually have shadowed in two different hospitals within the past few months, so I have some experience with them. Hospital pharmacy in my opinion is pretty interesting, but I'm yet to see a retail setting. My favorite was the last one I was at - the pharmacy was on the fourth floor and had windows!

I think I'll call or visit my Walgreens (there's a quiet one around me) and see what they say. Would visiting be better than calling do you think?
Click to expand...

so how'd you get in the hospital pharmacy? my mom's a registered nurse and she tried asking the hospitals she works at, but they said i can't because of HIPPA and stuff...im going to shadow at a smaller pharmacy near my house (not like Walgreens or CVS because i can't go behind the counter) but i'd want to see what a hospital pharmacy is like too...did you just kind of ask around or did you have to fill out an application?
 
pharmbebe said:
so how'd you get in the hospital pharmacy? My mom's a registered nurse and she tried asking the hospitals she works at, but they said i can't because of hippa and stuff...im going to shadow at a smaller pharmacy near my house (not like walgreens or cvs because i can't go behind the counter) but i'd want to see what a hospital pharmacy is like too...did you just kind of ask around or did you have to fill out an application?
Click to expand...

HIPAA

And you can just ask around, no application.
 
Hmm, reading this actually gave me a glimmer of hope. I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to get a volunteer or job-shadowing gig at ANY pharmacy in my area. I've must have called over 20, including commercial, independent, and hospitals. Either they have no room, or they just don't do that.

However, when I called our nearest Walgreens (right down the street), the pharmacy staff that answered said that they don't allow job shadowing :(
 
So I'm a rising senior in high school and I recently contacted my district manager to shadow at a pharmacy nearby. She asked me how old i was and i said 16. I said that the Walgreens website said that high school students could shadow and she was surprised. She said she would call me back to make sure it was okay for my age and called back the next day.

She told me to email her my address, so i did. She then forwarded it to some guy in charge of pharmacies in my area, and directed him to please match me up with a shadowing opportunity (yayyy!).

So it's been three days and I'm getting sort of impatient and wondering if the guy checks his email. Then again, I know how busy these people are...

So in your opinion, will he eventually call me back? I have a feeling he deleted my email because it mentions I'm a "high school student" haha.

I really want this opportunity!!:xf:
 
pharmgirl12 said:
So I'm a rising senior in high school and I recently contacted my district manager to shadow at a pharmacy nearby. She asked me how old i was and i said 16. I said that the Walgreens website said that high school students could shadow and she was surprised. She said she would call me back to make sure it was okay for my age and called back the next day.

She told me to email her my address, so i did. She then forwarded it to some guy in charge of pharmacies in my area, and directed him to please match me up with a shadowing opportunity (yayyy!).

So it's been three days and I'm getting sort of impatient and wondering if the guy checks his email. Then again, I know how busy these people are...

So in your opinion, will he eventually call me back? I have a feeling he deleted my email because it mentions I'm a "high school student" haha.

I really want this opportunity!!:xf:
Click to expand...

Well, the last thing you want to do is seem impatient and live up to the "high school student" label.

Give it a few more days. You're not a priority, but I'm sure if there's an opportunity out there for you, they'll get in touch. Perhaps check in with last person in the chain with which you have contact in a week or so.
 
Passion4Sci said:
Well, the last thing you want to do is seem impatient and live up to the "high school student" label.

Give it a few more days. You're not a priority, but I'm sure if there's an opportunity out there for you, they'll get in touch. Perhaps check in with last person in the chain with which you have contact in a week or so.
Click to expand...

Solid advice. Wait AT LEAST one more week before you reach out again. It's tough being patient, but there you go.
 
I appreciate your advise! I waited a little over a week to email him back and just got notified that they will contact me in a few days about shadowing at a walgreens 2 minutes away. :) I'm satisfied.
 
I got hooked up with a shadowing job today. It was actually really simple. It's a local place (they have a few pharmacies around town) and I just walked in, introduced myself, and asked. He just told me to come in when I wanted to start.
 
Excuse me if this comes off as a stupid question, but what is the difference between shadowing and volunteering? I know most hospitals allow students to volunteer at the pharmacy so I don't understand why it would be an issue to shadow, then again I'm confused between the differences.
 
FuturePharmD81 said:
Excuse me if this comes off as a stupid question, but what is the difference between shadowing and volunteering? I know most hospitals allow students to volunteer at the pharmacy so I don't understand why it would be an issue to shadow, then again I'm confused between the differences.
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If I understand correctly, shadowing is mostly just following the pharmacist around to see what a day in the life of a pharmacist is all about. I doubt you'd be vetted to shadow. Volunteering would involve doing some sort of job during your shift, which often requires vetting or proper licensing appropriate to the task.
 
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