Walgreens vs CVS

[josh6718]

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For those in retail, which would you rather work at?

 

[museabuse]

For those in retail, which would you rather work at?

For those in retail, which would you rather work at?

Well I worked for Osco... now I work for CVS. I thought Osco computer system sucked and couldn't be worse, but I was wrong.

Yeah CVS system is cool because you can scan in a prescription but thats about it.

Yeah the edit feature with CVS is cool but you still have to reverify it even if the only thing that changed was the insurance. Also adding insurance plans with Osco seems a lot easier. The fact that you can't delete plans with CVS is stupid you have to inactivate them which means if you get a f'd up insurance card and your trying a bunch of payers you end up with a list of inactivated garbage in the profile that you can't delete.

With the Osco system the pharmacist played more of an active role in the work flow with CVS it seems they just stand there and verify... which is good if you have enough tech help but when is that ever the case? At osco our pharmacist filled and verified while the techs handled insurance problems, phones.

The hold feature is cool but you still have to go and find original rx because the image doesn't stay with the rx once you put it on hold like at walgreens it does.

THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH CVS COMPUTER
The CVS system isn't easy to find the info you need. With Osco if a customer asked do I have rx's ready and what are the costs and when was the last time I picked it up and how much did I pay last time, all that info was accesible with three function buttons f5,f6,f8. With CVS, If someone asked how many rx's do I have ready you really can't find that info through the computer. They have a RX COMPLETE state which means it was verified but there is no way to tell if it was picked up. YOu can if you go out of the system and idividually type in each rx #, but when a customer has 12 rx's in their profile how easy is that? I still don't know how to find out how much they paid for it the last two times, I asked the trained and she said something about printing out a history? WTF? Not very user friendly. We had a trainer in our store for 10 hours a day for 1 week after conversion and then after that we were all on our own and now we are screwed. Not a good way to represent yourself to a new store you just took over. We have many techs calling in sick and quiting due to the added stress and not enough help.

I would work for Walgreens... at least their computer can't make you look like a *****. Plus better overtime pay.

 

[bananaface]

From what I hear, that's like asking if you'd rather lose your left arm or your right.

 

[imperial frog]

From what I hear, that's like asking if you'd rather lose your left arm or your right.

That's still an easy choice though unless you're amidextrous.

 

[Jbuprepharm]

That's still an easy choice though unless you're amidextrous.

CVS, because it's like Walgreens, but with customer service

 

[museabuse]

CVS, because it's like Walgreens, but with customer service

I would say walgreens with that agrument assuming both places doing about 500 scripts a day at least walgreens understands you don't have time to walk out and show every single customer where the medicated wipes are... and you don't have the stupid CVS wait times and unrealistic customer satisfaction surveys to worry about.

 

[pharmaz88]

CVS, because it's like Walgreens, but with customer service

This would be good from a customer perspective... but as an employee?

Any place that guarantees Rx's in 15 minutes = no thanks!!


(disclaimer: I work for WAG, but did rotate at a CVS, so I'm familiar w/ both.)

 

[rxlynn]

I would say walgreens with that agrument assuming both places doing about 500 scripts a day at least walgreens understands you don't have time to walk out and show every single customer where the medicated wipes are... and you don't have the stupid CVS wait times and unrealistic customer satisfaction surveys to worry about.

Yeah - I have to say this is one thing I really don't like about CVS. Every store (this goes for front store as well as pharmacy) is scored on various questions that are asked via phone when customers call in to a number on the bottom of their receipts. It doesn't print on every receipt, and the system can be manipulated corporately if they think the stores need to have more phone calls. Bottom line, I'm not convinced that the survey is in any way scientific - the people more likely to call are the people who weren't happy with the service they received. But, the stores are heavily graded on these numbers and the pharmacist and manager's bonuses depend on the numbers. I'd be interested to know how other employers "grade" their stores.

 

[Sosumi]

For those in retail, which would you rather work at?

Neither

 

[ethyl]

The lesser of two evils would have to be Walgreens. Outside of your choices, I'd choose Publix.

 

[sdn1977]

OK - so I don't work for either & I've got a question. So....what happens if you make the patient wait for 30 minutes?

What happens if your customer service scores come up too low?

I understand about the bonus - but....I've never counted on a bonus - ever. I always figured that was the carrot which was dangled for the susceptible folks to try to make them do things they otherwise could not do & it was never attainable in the first place. That is the business side of offering bonuses.

But...have you ever heard of a pharmacist getting reprimanded or fired because of customer service?

For myself...I've had to go to customer service school - I got dinged too many times. I went - got paid 8hrs of my pharmacists hourly wage to listen to some drivel about how to be a better customer service drone & got to sit down for 8 hours while they did it - a great gig! It didn't change a thing about what I do & I'm still here 7 years later & they don't bug me.

I have never heard of a pharmacist being fired for this silliness. Does it ever happen?

I always think what is the worst that can happen in any given situation. I always end up on the patient side - like trying to keep them alive & unharmed & figuring the corporation can go to *#LL! It has worked for me, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has ever heard of or experienced any actual circumstance of a disciplinary proceeding if a wait is longer than a preset time.

 

[BME103]

You cannot win when you are working in retails. It is the same everywhere. The only difference is the pay and benefits but after a while, those things don't seem to matter much. Your work environment (coworkers, pharmacy clientele, hours) matters much more.

There will always be people who you can't satisfy. It is important to know and remember that. I am not one of those that would just take it. However, I have to be considerate of my coworkers. Nobody like to be yelled at because I am not keeping up. I worked with this one pharmacist who tried to practice "patient care". I never had to work so hard in my life. The pharmacy was a total mess! He has a good heart but there is only so much you can do. There is a fine line between providing customer service and patient care in the retail setting. Sometimes, they don't mix well together.

 

[rxlynn]

OK - so I don't work for either & I've got a question. So....what happens if you make the patient wait for 30 minutes?

What happens if your customer service scores come up too low?


But...have you ever heard of a pharmacist getting reprimanded or fired because of customer service?


I always think what is the worst that can happen in any given situation. I always end up on the patient side - like trying to keep them alive & unharmed & figuring the corporation can go to *#LL! It has worked for me, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has ever heard of or experienced any actual circumstance of a disciplinary proceeding if a wait is longer than a preset time.

Can't speak for Walgreens, but at CVS if your scores sink too low you become a challenge score. That means that you have to come up with a formal plan to describe how you are going to improve your customer service, they watch your numbers much more closely, they come in and do some re-training of techs/cashiers, and (probably the most irritating) the district manager and district healthcare manager will be in your store several times a week observing and correcting. If they decide this is a pharmacist problem, then they will reprimand the pharmacist, definitely. I've never heard of someone actually being fired over this - but I've only worked for CVS in one district. Anyway, the hassle factor of all that from the pharmacy staff point of view is pretty high, so you really don't want to be a challenge store.

On the other hand, although CVS heavily advertises 15 minutes wait, that's just not how it works in actual practice all the time, and I generally think that people don't get too upset if they have to wait longer. The staff certainly doesn't get in trouble if we have to tell people longer than that. And, we will try to prioritize a bit - if you come in with a discharge Rx from the hospital with 12 meds,you aren't going to get that in 15 minutes!! But, if you come in and need a refill on your albuterol inhaler and we have all your info. already, then you'll be in and out in 10 most of the time. A lot of the stores I've worked in have trained their regular customers well that they can't expect to have things immediately. At my store, we have also been working on trying to get regulars to call in their meds ahead of time, and we are making some progress with that. Once people see how fast they get in and out if they call ahead, then they tend to start calling ahead all the time. I also think it would benefit a lot of stores if they made it more clear to their customers what are busy and not busy times. If patients ask or the subject comes up, I will always take that opportunity to tell them when are less busy times that they would wait less.

 

[ForcedEntry]

For some strange reason I am picturing Zpacksux as the Ron Burgandy of pharmacy and a gang land pharmacist rumble in the middle of an intersection with adjacent stores.

 

[realrph]

For those in retail, which would you rather work at?

would not work in neither one of these places or any retail chain anywhere.
pharmacy is so bad & so overrated, & noone cares. have to deal with nasty patients, shortage of techs, corporate crooks & scums, arogant mngmnt.
Associations, just care about collecting the dues, nothing else.
& anyway, why anyone needs a pharmd or so many years of education, if don't even use it at all, esp in retail? hey, in military they train pharmacists like dogs, cats, & monkeys in 8 months. & so, many want to get in in these pharmacy schools, crazy. 🙂 residencies, so bad too, why they need one? it's all automated now, hospitals, pda's, computers, clinicals. don't need one. That's just another way pharamcy schools help to make money for hospitals & to allocate funds for residencies. Then to gather meetings, grease each others hands, eat like pigs, advertise, accept corp pitty & donations from big corp, & then say imprtation of drugs is illegal. the same drugs, made at the same plants by the same corp crooks, just across N border. hypocrites. 😉

 

[ethyl]

would not work in neither one of these places or any retail chain anywhere.
pharmacy is so bad & so overrated, & noone cares. have to deal with nasty patients, shortage of techs, corporate crooks & scums, arogant mngmnt.
Associations, just care about collecting the dues, nothing else.
& anyway, why anyone needs a pharmd or so many years of education, if don't even use it at all, esp in retail? hey, in military they train pharmacists like dogs, cats, & monkeys in 8 months. & so, many want to get in in these pharmacy schools, crazy. 🙂 residencies, so bad too, why they need one? it's all automated now, hospitals, pda's, computers, clinicals. don't need one. That's just another way pharamcy schools help to make money for hospitals & to allocate funds for residencies. Then to gather meetings, grease each others hands, eat like pigs, advertise, accept corp pitty & donations from big corp, & then say imprtation of drugs is illegal. the same drugs, made at the same plants by the same corp crooks, just across N border. hypocrites. 😉

That was painful to read. Worst troll evaar.

 

[realrph]

sorry girl, but that's true though, isn't it? if you & others just clap their hands, nod their heads, pay their dues & do nothing & don't talk about it, then nothing will change, ever. And corp crooks & scums, & corp america with their arrogant bosses with triple standards is also true, I know it, you know it, & everyone does. Walgreen rph went on strike last yr in chicago i think, right? do you think they wanted too because their lifes are so sweet there? No, & sometimes you just wish every single chain in every single store they would walk out, at least the big name chains, right, & then boycott APHA for doing nothing, just blabbing. come on now, nail those ignorants.
yet, so many people still interested in pharmacy, i don't get it why? they get a full taste of it later on. And when it comes time to hiring, noone even cares what you know & how good you're, it's whom you know in pharmacy, that's another BS that does good for all of those activists/ brown nosers in pharmacy schools... said, but true. talk about it, do something about it, things need to change for pharmacist, for good. 🙂

That was painful to read. Worst troll evaar.

 

[GatorRxGirl]

sorry girl, but that's true though, isn't it? if you & others just clap their hands, nod their heads, pay their dues & do nothing & don't talk about it, then nothing will change, ever. And corp crooks & scums, & corp america with their arrogant bosses with triple standards is also true, I know it, you know it, & everyone does. Walgreen rph went on strike last yr in chicago i think, right? do you think they wanted too because their lifes are so sweet there? No, & sometimes you just wish every single chain in every single store they would walk out, at least the big name chains, right, & then boycott APHA for doing nothing, just blabbing. come on now, nail those ignorants.
yet, so many people still interested in pharmacy, i don't get it why? they get a full taste of it later on. And when it comes time to hiring, noone even cares what you know & how good you're, it's whom you know in pharmacy, that's another BS that does good for all of those activists/ brown nosers in pharmacy schools... said, but true. talk about it, do something about it, things need to change for pharmacist, for good. 🙂

that was worse. my poor brain hurts after that one. anyway, i wouldn't work at either. i served a 2 year sentence at walgreens and i got out on good behavior. actually, i just left one night and never went back. this is why i'm not going to do retail - it blows. and for lack of a better phrase, walgreens sucks my soul.

 

[kkelloww]

sorry girl, but that's true though, isn't it? if you & others just clap their hands, nod their heads, pay their dues & do nothing & don't talk about it, then nothing will change, ever. And corp crooks & scums, & corp america with their arrogant bosses with triple standards is also true, I know it, you know it, & everyone does. Walgreen rph went on strike last yr in chicago i think, right? do you think they wanted too because their lifes are so sweet there? No, & sometimes you just wish every single chain in every single store they would walk out, at least the big name chains, right, & then boycott APHA for doing nothing, just blabbing. come on now, nail those ignorants.
yet, so many people still interested in pharmacy, i don't get it why? they get a full taste of it later on. And when it comes time to hiring, noone even cares what you know & how good you're, it's whom you know in pharmacy, that's another BS that does good for all of those activists/ brown nosers in pharmacy schools... said, but true. talk about it, do something about it, things need to change for pharmacist, for good. 🙂

I'm sorry, but I can't understand this huge block of incoherent conspiracy-theory drivel. Could you give me the idiot version and include capitalization, punctuation, paragraphs, and some kind of sentence structure?

 

[letjin]

i'm not going to do retail - it blows. and for lack of a better phrase, walgreens sucks my soul.

I second that

 

[ForcedEntry]

I'm sorry, but I can't understand this huge block of incoherent conspiracy-theory drivel. Could you give me the idiot version and include capitalization, punctuation, paragraphs, and some kind of sentence structure?

Bah...it's just someone pissing on our dreams. I have extra rain coats.

 

[rx blitz rx]

sorry girl, but that's true though, isn't it? if you & others just clap their hands, nod their heads, pay their dues & do nothing & don't talk about it, then nothing will change, ever. And corp crooks & scums, & corp america with their arrogant bosses with triple standards is also true, I know it, you know it, & everyone does. Walgreen rph went on strike last yr in chicago i think, right? do you think they wanted too because their lifes are so sweet there? No, & sometimes you just wish every single chain in every single store they would walk out, at least the big name chains, right, & then boycott APHA for doing nothing, just blabbing. come on now, nail those ignorants.
yet, so many people still interested in pharmacy, i don't get it why? they get a full taste of it later on. And when it comes time to hiring, noone even cares what you know & how good you're, it's whom you know in pharmacy, that's another BS that does good for all of those activists/ brown nosers in pharmacy schools... said, but true. talk about it, do something about it, things need to change for pharmacist, for good. 🙂

I agree, this was painful to read. Can someone continue from the second sentence and explain it to me?

 

[baggywrinkle]

OK - so I don't work for either & I've got a question. So....what happens if you make the patient wait for 30 minutes?
.

Cheez, that was the FASTEST I would ever promise.

Gordon & Dave at our local Safeway will tell you four hours without flinching.
They were both practicing when Ike was president...

Then there was my [tor]mentor Ernest. Ernest was a two finger typist with reading glasses on the edge of his nose. Anyone attempting to prod him along would receive a long look over the top of those glasses and the comment, "I have two speeds. If you don't like this one you will HATE
my other one."

Wags at least attempts to schedule enough overlap between pharmacists to allow for a lunch. Unlike RiteAid where I was lucky to see my partner 15 minutes a week.

Those 14 hour shifts at CVS make me cringe. They are just wrong. At Wags
in the district I worked in (Daytona South) there was a policy against scheduling longer than ten hours with the exception of the grave yard guys who worked eleven hours on Saturday & Sunday. But keep in mind that their work week was only 36 hours...(seventy two per pay period actually)

 

[GatorRxGirl]

Walgreens and lunch break don't belong together.

 

[ZpackSux]

For some strange reason I am picturing Zpacksux as the Ron Burgandy of pharmacy and a gang land pharmacist rumble in the middle of an intersection with adjacent stores.

This is about to happen next week at the Division Clinical Meeting...
9 hospitals. 9 Director of Pharmacy, 9 clinical managers.

One DOP and the clinical manager will walk out as the survivors.

Better be me and my CM.

 

[pharmdgto]

Dunno. I work for walgreens, get my lunch and make 104k a year to start with all the overtime I can handle. I like my job...sounds like alot of you don't..time to stop bitching and pick another career field. I have come to the conclusion that alot pharmacists never worked in pharmacies or had little experience through school and lack the skill set to effectively balance workflow. Heaven forbid a store has a drivethru......

 

[dgroulx]

A political activist friend of mine told me that CVS was a big contributer to President Bush's re-election campaign fund. Morally, I don't think I could work for them.

 

[kkelloww]

I have come to the conclusion that alot pharmacists never worked in pharmacies or had little experience through school and lack the skill set to effectively balance workflow. Heaven forbid a store has a drivethru......

Yeah, I noticed that too. Pharmacists do a lot of crying and snivelling over trivial BS. Everybody wants to make 100K, but no one wants to work.

 

[rx blitz rx]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Pharmacists do a lot of crying and snivelling over trivial BS. Everybody wants to make 100K, but no one wants to work.

I like the pay, but I'd easily trade it for a job where you can sit down sometimes. So far my retail experience hasn't been all that. Standing up for 14 hours straight? No thanks.

 

[museabuse]

A political activist friend of mine told me that CVS was a big contributer to President Bush's re-election campaign fund. Morally, I don't think I could work for them.

Can you verify this?

I would think that could be found somewhere on the net.

Although most pharmacy chains would prefer a republican in office(pro big business)... and wouldn't suprise me if all chains contributed to GB's reelection.

 

[GatorRxGirl]

"time to stop bitching and pick another career field. I have come to the conclusion that alot pharmacists never worked in pharmacies or had little experience through school and lack the skill set to effectively balance workflow."

Well some of us that "bitch" as you put it have years of expierence on both retail and hospital sides. And some of us CAN balance workflow and happen to be quite great at retail. That doesn't mean we like it. I was really good in retail and very efficient. Does that mean I want to do it? No! I want to do clinical work. I want to work my @%& off but I want to have more of an impact (in my opinion - go ahead and grill me for saying that). There's nothing wrong with the people that LOVE retail but there is something wrong with only liking the paycheck. I'm going to happly make less money by working clinically!

 

[Recycled]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Pharmacists do a lot of crying and snivelling over trivial BS. Everybody wants to make 100K, but no one wants to work.

Some people don't just "snivel over trivial BS", as you put it. I don't mind working hard, but I do have a problem with other pharmacists who think that a human being not being ok with a company asking employees to work 8 - 10 hours without eating lunch/dinner and peeing is "sniveling". It's that sort of attitude that can quickly, quickly, quickly get a profession into a trouble.

 

[pharma1]

i ve worked only for cvs ...it sucks.our stores does all the waiters in 15 min...a month ago we were asked to do it in 10...tried for a week but alas...we were not able to serve our customers.then we had to deal with the wrath of our supervisor.....no we are not a challenge store , we r 1 of the best stores in the district...

lots of pressure re customer service

 

[pharmaz88]

i ve worked only for cvs ...it sucks.our stores does all the waiters in 15 min...a month ago we were asked to do it in 10...tried for a week but alas...we were not able to serve our customers.then we had to deal with the wrath of our supervisor.....no we are not a challenge store , we r 1 of the best stores in the district...

a 10-minute guarantee??!! 👎 ...there's a sure-fire recipe for screwing up Rx's.

I'm surprised your pharmacists would even tolerate one second of the supervisor's "wrath". ...it's the RPh's license and livelihood on the line, not the sup's. If I was on the receiving end of that nonsense, I'd give the sup an explicitive-laden discourse on what they can do with their 10 minutes.

 

[bananaface]

i ve worked only for cvs ...it sucks.our stores does all the waiters in 15 min...a month ago we were asked to do it in 10...tried for a week but alas...we were not able to serve our customers.then we had to deal with the wrath of our supervisor.....no we are not a challenge store , we r 1 of the best stores in the district...

lots of pressure re customer service

That's the kind of BS that makes it impossible to invisibly verify narcotic scripts. And what ever happened to safety over speed. Ugh.

 

[Doctor M]

I have been a pharmacist for 2 years for CVS. Here are my 2 cents:
The drive thru is a pain, but we have to have it. If walgreens has it we have to have it. The 12-14 hour days are good and bad: You get your week over with quickly but eating lunch and peeing rarely happen. I eat snacks and energy drinks to keep me going. This is not healthy as I have gained like 40 lbs in 2 years!!!!!! I enjoy what I do for 2 reasons: I love to challenge myself so that my store can number one in all aspects and i really do go that extra mile for people. I to complain everyday about this profession but not because of the reasons above but because how these companies treat their employees: like crap. A technician who gets the brunt of an angry customer makes $7-9 per hour. I mean, come on, who can live off of that?And these 1-5% raises for a tech. Please. At this ate, they will be 89 yrs old before they make decent money, not! We pharmacists get paid decent money, but it does not correlate to the job we have to do. We have to deal with insurance companies. Last time I checked i went to school to deal with UTI's and gerd. All I do allday is fax doctors to change a medication to something that is covered. PBM's and HMO's can all go to hell. They have the gold so they control gold. So is CVS or walgreens better? Neither, you still have to put up with the same crap. 😡

 

[museabuse]

I have been a pharmacist for 2 years for CVS. Here are my 2 cents:
So is CVS or walgreens better? Neither, you still have to put up with the same crap. 😡

I'd rather deal with same crap using a better computer system(one that is not very labor intensive and geared more toward volume), automation, and no stupid customer service grading, so therefore walgreens is a better.

CVS isn't big on adding automation or even scales at their stores.

Do you work at a slow store because my store we do about 400-500 scripts a day, don't have enough help or automation. We were an Osco that recently converted and since the conversion our script count has steadily decreased because of angry customers. We were a great pharmacy as Osco... now we suck and it is due to the lack of training and help CVS provided during the conversion.
We only have one filling station computer. We have two order entry computers. One verification computer and one out window computer. That is all the computers they gave us. there are now two less phones and three less computers.
CVS is big on customer support but they don't even give us enough phones or computers to do it. I wish managment would make us a challenge store so they bring in people who know what they are doing... the problem is there is not enough people because many jumped ship due of the lack of support during the Arizona conversion phase of CVS. We won't be made a challenge store because probably all the Osco conversion stores will have bad numbers for a long time. I know when I work the QT queue is full of yellow and red and about 5 pages long.
I still don't see how we can even begin to worry about customer service until we can get caught up with normal procedures.

 

[pharmaz88]

I know when I work the QT queue is full of yellow and red and about 5 pages long.

Ahhh.... so that's what they mean by QT prolongation.

This farmassy stuff is ez.

 

[Doctor M]

I'd rather deal with same crap using a better computer system(one that is not very labor intensive and geared more toward volume), automation, and no stupid customer service grading, so therefore walgreens is a better.

CVS isn't big on adding automation or even scales at their stores.

Do you work at a slow store because my store we do about 400-500 scripts a day, don't have enough help or automation. We were an Osco that recently converted and since the conversion our script count has steadily decreased because of angry customers. We were a great pharmacy as Osco... now we suck and it is due to the lack of training and help CVS provided during the conversion.
We only have one filling station computer. We have two order entry computers. One verification computer and one out window computer. That is all the computers they gave us. there are now two less phones and three less computers.
CVS is big on customer support but they don't even give us enough phones or computers to do it. I wish managment would make us a challenge store so they bring in people who know what they are doing... the problem is there is not enough people because many jumped ship due of the lack of support during the Arizona conversion phase of CVS. We won't be made a challenge store because probably all the Osco conversion stores will have bad numbers for a long time. I know when I work the QT queue is full of yellow and red and about 5 pages long.
I still don't see how we can even begin to worry about customer service until we can get caught up with normal procedures.

No, we do like 400-500 daily and 200-300 on weekends. I am using only around 200 tech hours.

 

[Doctor M]

I'd rather deal with same crap using a better computer system(one that is not very labor intensive and geared more toward volume), automation, and no stupid customer service grading, so therefore walgreens is a better.

CVS isn't big on adding automation or even scales at their stores.

Do you work at a slow store because my store we do about 400-500 scripts a day, don't have enough help or automation. We were an Osco that recently converted and since the conversion our script count has steadily decreased because of angry customers. We were a great pharmacy as Osco... now we suck and it is due to the lack of training and help CVS provided during the conversion.
We only have one filling station computer. We have two order entry computers. One verification computer and one out window computer. That is all the computers they gave us. there are now two less phones and three less computers.
CVS is big on customer support but they don't even give us enough phones or computers to do it. I wish managment would make us a challenge store so they bring in people who know what they are doing... the problem is there is not enough people because many jumped ship due of the lack of support during the Arizona conversion phase of CVS. We won't be made a challenge store because probably all the Osco conversion stores will have bad numbers for a long time. I know when I work the QT queue is full of yellow and red and about 5 pages long.
I still don't see how we can even begin to worry about customer service until we can get caught up with normal procedures.

In florida, when we took over eckerd, it took a good year to get steady and normal. Expect the same after the osco conversion

 

[imperial frog]

A political activist friend of mine told me that CVS was a big contributer to President Bush's re-election campaign fund. Morally, I don't think I could work for them.

That goes in the plus column for me.

 

[pharmacazoid]

With all the complaint about working conditions within the reatail setting isn't there something that can't be done ? I'm pretty ignorant in this matter but aren't there laws that prevent such "sweatshop" conditions ? Working w/out a lunchbreak or a restbreak is manageable, but I'd rather have a pharmacist who takes a half hour to eat than a cranky, hungry and tired pharmacist dispensing my meds. I used to wait tables/bartend during my undergrad years and working a 12 hr shift w/out eating or resting really took a toll.
True pharmacist are well compensated for their work, but I'm not sure if such condtions I'm reading about justify pay in the long run. Are there unions or something to that effect which push for better working conditions ?

 

[realrph]

.

 

[realrph]

Hey, outthere, guys & girls, that's a way to do it. to birng on & continue an argument. & if someone doesn't like the way I write here, or doesn't like how others write here (no commas, caps or whathave you), then you could either go & suck or blow, eat it out, which ever you like. oh, I even have a better idea for all of the brown-nosers outhere, go to some good brownnosing, & get yourself some kleenex!
Now, that guy or girl with nick name "pharmdtogo" from univ of il chgo, as he or she posted his memos, he/ she need to get a life! but i like the "gatorrx gilr" she's good though. keep it up!🙂 really, many rph's pharm'd want to do clinical, but if you live in the big apple or windy city or even in "mucho loca angeleso" or how do you say it? now let's use some caps, shall we? All of the sbig cities are oversaturated with many Rph's & PharmD's & even many pharmacy schools. Hospitals, long terms care clinics don't care if you don't have exp in clinical area after school. All they care you to be goofy enough, & silly enough to scmooze around & with others alike. Clinical knowledge comes 2-nd hand, as they say, "we'll train the right person". What's that? Another euphemism for affirmative action? May be or may be not.

"Gator rx girl" do you like to work at night shifts or 100-200 miles away from home town to get clinical exp? And even to work 7 on/ 7off or to do 5 days 4 pm till 12 am? Noone wants to do it, absolutely noone. How do you get in then into clinical arena in any big city oversaturated with Rph's? It's very difficult. And few thing's I & my friends have learned in NYC, LA, etc, many of pharmacy managers & directors in these hopsitals in metro NYC, LA, Houston, Chicago, etc, are mostly either chinese, polish or indian people. So, they tend to hire the same, worrying less about their clinical aspects. Don't you notice anything, when you walk into pharmacy for interview in NYC, I've been, if a director is polish, then most RPh's & tech's are too, if it's indian - the same story. And noone cares, including HR, corp offices, that you could barely understand them. I feel like calling "Dell or HP" tech support line being routed to India or China. Overthere, these people have been trained like a group of monkeys or even parrots, to repeat only what they think they know, without knowing anything at all, having no clue on the problems of your "Dell or HP" product. The same thing is here in pharmacy, where they cannot communicate clearly, can slack off, be tardy, extra brakes, etc. If you fire them, it's almost right away discrim lawsuit or charges, that's why they don't get fired often, but others do in all different professions, occupations, etc. That's really sad. Another thing people notice in NYC, LA, windy city, etc. MAny different people in corp offices, managers & supervisors, are Indian, Arabic, Latino, mostly are. If anyone other then people alike themselves interviews with them, they get rejected, unless they know someone on the inside. Their responses to many people i know, are "we need someone more upbeat, enthusiastic, or more exp in retail, or hospital, etc; or we've jsut took someone else in & position has beem closed, we'll keep your application on file." All of these excuses are BS, positions open up all the time within big retials, big hospitals etc, they hire moderately confused (t.p. o x 2, not 3), poor communications skills clowns ready to brown nose & serve same type/ national origin people. others get rejected. I had friends in computer fields & marketing who were out of job for long time, while other bone-heads with less exp get hired, sad again.

APhA sucks too, only exist to collect dues & talk about nothing. Let me try to say something the way they talk: "pharmacy is great profession to be in & help others. Salaries are up, satisfaction is up, sales are up. We're thrilled with new challneges & opportunities that Medicare part D give to many pharmacists. Please don't hesitate to encourage & ask your coworkers & colleagues to help patients in community & retial pharmacies. We're, as pharmacists are medication experts, greatly positioned to provide consultation services to all patients, review their profiles, fill drugs in timely manner with excellent customer service & serve our community about our immnuizations efforts & other resources." That's just bunch of BS, but that's how they talk in APHa. Lousy, crappy, useless talks they provide. They cannot even think (would be too easy) to provide more consise directives on how to do things in immunizations, Medicare part D billing, documentation, consulting & getting paid for it. They just sit ther & blub around, sad again.
APhA should say: "October is a National Mickey Mouse month." not Rph month. Sorry, but true.

Another sad story have here, by recently watching TV-commercial of CVS pharmacy. A girl, an Rph, or even a PharmD (good caps now) telling how she helped some patients at work who didn't know or undedrstood any better to help break pills in half of some diabetic or parkinsons drugs. And then, she went on saying that she is so thrilled to be here at CVS pharmacy, to enjoy this work & opportunity to help people with their illnesses & meds, & etc. And I & many others thought, well girl being a PharmD, that's an enourmous waste of brain power (if you have any left by now) to brake pills in half. That's all they've taught you in school? For such & other seniors, their kids or grand kids can help to brake pills in half, & to remind them to shake bottles well before use. What a terrible brain waste.

Any good comments on any of these sections?

 

[DrugDealer]

Any good comments on any of these sections?

No. It would be a waste of brain power...

 

[realrph]

No it would not be so. Do you know why "smart alec"? You need to have at least some brain to waste any or what's left of your "gray matter."
Sorry, but no sorry, you all exactly know about things we've talked here. It's all sadly true.

 

[konkan]

Hey, outthere, guys & girls, that's a way to do it. to birng on & continue an argument. & if someone doesn't like the way I write here, or doesn't like how others write here (no commas, caps or whathave you), then you could either go & suck or blow, eat it out, which ever you like. oh, I even have a better idea for all of the brown-nosers outhere, go to some good brownnosing, & get yourself some kleenex!
Now, that guy or girl with nick name "pharmdtogo" from univ of il chgo, as he or she posted his memos, he/ she need to get a life! but i like the "gatorrx gilr" she's good though. keep it up!🙂 really, many rph's pharm'd want to do clinical, but if you live in the big apple or windy city or even in "mucho loca angeleso" or how do you say it? now let's use some caps, shall we? All of the sbig cities are oversaturated with many Rph's & PharmD's & even many pharmacy schools. Hospitals, long terms care clinics don't care if you don't have exp in clinical area after school. All they care you to be goofy enough, & silly enough to scmooze around & with others alike. Clinical knowledge comes 2-nd hand, as they say, "we'll train the right person". What's that? Another euphemism for affirmative action? May be or may be not.

"Gator rx girl" do you like to work at night shifts or 100-200 miles away from home town to get clinical exp? And even to work 7 on/ 7off or to do 5 days 4 pm till 12 am? Noone wants to do it, absolutely noone. How do you get in then into clinical arena in any big city oversaturated with Rph's? It's very difficult. And few thing's I & my friends have learned in NYC, LA, etc, many of pharmacy managers & directors in these hopsitals in metro NYC, LA, Houston, Chicago, etc, are mostly either chinese, polish or indian people. So, they tend to hire the same, worrying less about their clinical aspects. Don't you notice anything, when you walk into pharmacy for interview in NYC, I've been, if a director is polish, then most RPh's & tech's are too, if it's indian - the same story. And noone cares, including HR, corp offices, that you could barely understand them. I feel like calling "Dell or HP" tech support line being routed to India or China. Overthere, these people have been trained like a group of monkeys or even parrots, to repeat only what they think they know, without knowing anything at all, having no clue on the problems of your "Dell or HP" product. The same thing is here in pharmacy, where they cannot communicate clearly, can slack off, be tardy, extra brakes, etc. If you fire them, it's almost right away discrim lawsuit or charges, that's why they don't get fired often, but others do in all different professions, occupations, etc. That's really sad. Another thing people notice in NYC, LA, windy city, etc. MAny different people in corp offices, managers & supervisors, are Indian, Arabic, Latino, mostly are. If anyone other then people alike themselves interviews with them, they get rejected, unless they know someone on the inside. Their responses to many people i know, are "we need someone more upbeat, enthusiastic, or more exp in retail, or hospital, etc; or we've jsut took someone else in & position has beem closed, we'll keep your application on file." All of these excuses are BS, positions open up all the time within big retials, big hospitals etc, they hire moderately confused (t.p. o x 2, not 3), poor communications skills clowns ready to brown nose & serve same type/ national origin people. others get rejected. I had friends in computer fields & marketing who were out of job for long time, while other bone-heads with less exp get hired, sad again.

APhA sucks too, only exist to collect dues & talk about nothing. Let me try to say something the way they talk: "pharmacy is great profession to be in & help others. Salaries are up, satisfaction is up, sales are up. We're thrilled with new challneges & opportunities that Medicare part D give to many pharmacists. Please don't hesitate to encourage & ask your coworkers & colleagues to help patients in community & retial pharmacies. We're, as pharmacists are medication experts, greatly positioned to provide consultation services to all patients, review their profiles, fill drugs in timely manner with excellent customer service & serve our community about our immnuizations efforts & other resources." That's just bunch of BS, but that's how they talk in APHa. Lousy, crappy, useless talks they provide. They cannot even think (would be too easy) to provide more consise directives on how to do things in immunizations, Medicare part D billing, documentation, consulting & getting paid for it. They just sit ther & blub around, sad again.
APhA should say: "October is a National Mickey Mouse month." not Rph month. Sorry, but true.

Another sad story have here, by recently watching TV-commercial of CVS pharmacy. A girl, an Rph, or even a PharmD (good caps now) telling how she helped some patients at work who didn't know or undedrstood any better to help break pills in half of some diabetic or parkinsons drugs. And then, she went on saying that she is so thrilled to be here at CVS pharmacy, to enjoy this work & opportunity to help people with their illnesses & meds, & etc. And I & many others thought, well girl being a PharmD, that's an enourmous waste of brain power (if you have any left by now) to brake pills in half. That's all they've taught you in school? For such & other seniors, their kids or grand kids can help to brake pills in half, & to remind them to shake bottles well before use. What a terrible brain waste.

Any good comments on any of these sections?

What you've just said is absolutely nothing new and you can say that same @#$% about EVERY profession - from miners to rocket scientists.
So what was really the purpose of your essay? Or you think folks don't know that and you've just opened somebody's mind?

 

[sdn1977]

Sorry - I couldn't read the diatribe by realrph. Perhaps its just my "old" eyes & mind...but, I cannot ready without punctuation. So..whatever that said - ok - good!

An earlier poster did ask about working conditions, which I do believe is an extremely relevant question. You really need to get your state pharmacists organization (not the state association of ASHP...the state associate of APhA) involved in this. We did in CA. It was actually taken to the state labor relations board & a ruling was made. Even though a pharmacist occupies a position of "unique judgement" capability, which in CA defines exempt employees - ones who are not subject to the rules on breaks, lunches, overtime, etc..., a pharmacist by law cannot leave the pharmacy unattended for periods of time unless it is specifically covered by pharmacy law.

Well...pharmacy law did not cover that at the time. So..the labor relations board said that if you insist a pharmacist be present...then you must treat him/her like an employee which is not considered exempt. Which in real terms meant that ....this is the big part......unless the individual pharmacist agrees....the pharmacist must be allowed a meal break & two other breaks within a determined amount of time & is to be paid overtime if working over 8 hours per day &/or 40 hours per week.

Now.....retailers in CA asked every pharmacist to sign a waiver stating we agreed to the terms of being exempt. I can't give you numbers on who signed - I did not & no one I know signed.

So...what does that mean???? We get lunches, breaks & are paid overtime. I leave - actually leave the pharmacy for my lunch. If I'm working alone, the pharmacy gets closed. My CPhA dues have paid off with that alone many, many times over. But...there was tremendous discussion & one of the biggest speakers against this was the ASHP!!!! Why? Because they wanted to be able to have the hospital pharmacists work 10 hour days/4 days a week.

Ok - I can see both sides & I've worked both sides...but...realistically, there is so much more ability for a hospital pharmacist to take time to get away & relax. I can't tell you how many times I just went to the hospital medical library to get away & sit (yes - I had my pager!). But..that is not realistic in a retail setting.

So...stand up for yourselves! What is the absolute worst that can happen? Will they fire you because you choose to take 30 minutes to sit down & eat & relax & relieve yourself? No - I think they won't. But...if they push & push & push....you'll keep going. That bonus won't mean much if years later, you have varicose veins, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, uterine prolapse (well not you gentlemen....), overweight & high lipids due to your ooor diet.

You all deserve more than that & you need to get your political action committes within your state APhA organization active. The ASHP is a greate organization, don't get me wrong.....but. their motivations for how they see their pharmacists working is from an entirely different persepective. Its important to realize that! (btw....I belong to both!)

 

[pharmacazoid]

Thanks for answering my question sdn1977, i thought it got forgotten amidst the ramblings of the proceeding post. One question though. Why would working 10/hr 4 days a week be contrary to asking for meal and rest breaks ? Aren't those indivduals still pulling 40 hrs a week ? Why did ASHP oppose that ?

 

[sdn1977]

Thanks for answering my question sdn1977, i thought it got forgotten amidst the ramblings of the proceeding post. One question though. Why would working 10/hr 4 days a week be contrary to asking for meal and rest breaks ? Aren't those indivduals still pulling 40 hrs a week ? Why did ASHP oppose that ?

I probably didn't explain the multiple issues clearly enough. As for ASHP - they opposed the labor ruling because of the requirement for overtime if working longer than 8 hours. They didnd't want to have to pay OT. Why? because 10 hours works really well for some aspects of hospital pharmacy - the OR for example. One pharmacist is usually needed per day...starts at 6AM - ends about 3PM. That covers most of the needs of the OR...the cases which go beyond 3 & there are plenty...are covered by the trays which are already set up & ready & the main pharmacy in which it is very rare to be called. A 10 hour day works very well for hospital work & as I said before...coverage for lunchs & breaks is not a problem within hospital pharmacy (except night shift🙁 ), BUT....hospitals have to pay OT if the pharmacist works more than 8 hours. However, in CA...the CA branch of ASHP was able to negotiate the compromise that the pharmacist could agree to forgo OT if agreed to in writiing & there could be no coercion on the employers part. But...this was a negotiated compromise - they initially opposed the labor ruling & vehemently I have to say! Which absolutely makes you realize what side your employer is on & what side you are on when it comes to working conditions. However....each side (CSHP & CPhA) were diametrically opposed in their viewpoints & spent far too much time disagreeing & not thinking about the global conditions pharmacist might work in.

Most hospital pharmacists readily agree to sign the waiver & again...it works well in a hospital & I'd have to say....few dops take advantage of their pharmacists (however, I've known one or two & actually left a job because of it). But, retailers, on the other hand, will readily & do....day after day after day....take advantage of pharmacists. Why??? Because they can. I don't know of any retail pharmacist who has signed the waiver.

ASHP didn't oppose lunch or rest breaks - I'm not even sure they had a comment on that. Long ago it was ruled in this state (I think by radiology techs originally)...that if they had to carry a pager with them for their lunch...like a night shift pharmacist, for example with no one to cover....they are compensated for that. So...hospitals have long been used to paying for only one employee carrying a pager & requiring a lunch - they pay.

In CA - lunch is an absolute requirement. If you don't get it - you're paid OT for it. However, it is in your interest to take it. Its healthy for your body & mind to take a rest. We are paid OT for anytime worked after 8 hours in a retail pharmacy & our law was changed to allow a pharmacy to remain open for 30-60 minutes if a technician was there so a pharmacist could take lunch, otherwise, the pharmacy is closed. Of course...there are restrictions on what the tech can do & the tech can have no one else to "supervise" - a clerk, etc.....

I hope that clarifies...