Walgreens vs CVS

[dgroulx]

A pharmacist phoned the pharmacist at my rotation site yesterday. She was in tears. After working all week long at CVS without any lunch break, she finally took one. A doctor phoning in got upset that the pharmacist took a break and he complained. The district manager came in and formally wrote up the pharmacist, so she now has that on her record. CVS sucks.

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[sdn1977]

A pharmacist phoned the pharmacist at my rotation site yesterday. She was in tears. After working all week long at CVS without any lunch break, she finally took one. A doctor phoning in got upset that the pharmacist took a break and he complained. The district manager came in and formally wrote up the pharmacist, so she now has that on her record. CVS sucks.

I think my letter would be:

Dear CVS DM,

I am giving my two weeks notice terminating my employment with CVS pharmacy as of..........

Thank you for the opportunity to work for CVS pharmacy.

Sincerely,

XYZ, PharmD (or BS), RPh


no explanations, no excuses, no emotion.....just choose to terminate. Unless your friend lives in a real backwater....there are more jobs out there. She may have to drive a bit or float a bit....but, who knows? She is probably thinking - is this as good as it gets? Well...she won't know until she tries.....

 

[WVUPharm2007]

A pharmacist phoned the pharmacist at my rotation site yesterday. She was in tears. After working all week long at CVS without any lunch break, she finally took one. A doctor phoning in got upset that the pharmacist took a break and he complained. The district manager came in and formally wrote up the pharmacist, so she now has that on her record. CVS sucks.

Personally, I'd publically humilate the physician for not believing in basic labor principles, then I'd wage a smear campaign against CVS. But I'm crazy and have no couth, so to each his own.

 

[pharmdgto]

"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!

True, but it seems that most peole that are complaining here, for whatever reason, are still in retail. Hey I have a novel idea...if you don't like it, quit. Nobody put a gun to your head and made you become a pharmacist. I am quite sure the grass isn't any greener on the hospital side, well that is if you like the condscending attitudes of physicians, nurses and god forbid that PA that went to school for what 2 years, has a stab at you.

On a side note, what many people forget is that as a retail pharmacist are you arguably the most accessible healthcare professional out there. There are MANY ways to have an impact as a retail pharmacist. I do it on a daily basis.

So for those that this pertains to.... if its THAT bad in retail...there is the door and don't let it hit you in ass on the way out...

 

[pharmdgto]

On another note, for those that seem to be having a difficult time in retail or more importantly those that are anti-retail, I would love to know where all of these supposed "clinical" jobs are.

IMO APha and the college of pharmacy have done a great job in convincing graduates that this disney world, utopian clinical pharmacy world awaits you after graduation. Not only that but while on the floors both the doctors and nurses are going to bake you cookies daily and throw rosepedals at your feet as you miraculously save the day, each and every day with your astounding clinical knowledge. This IMO, is so far from the truth its not even funny. While some fledgling programs may exist, they are still truly in their infancy and most are in the academic setting.

Sure the APha and COP's would love for this to be true and are only dreaming of what they wish would happen. If you consider yourself a clinical pharmacist by sitting in a basement of hospital and checking vanco and aminoglycoside levels, then good luck with that....Sure you could be part of a "clinical" team on the floors by every now and then answering a few questions that ultimately you will recieve no credit for or nailing that creatinine clearance oversight and it makes you feel better about yourself, than good for you.

The bottom line is that until physicians and nurses relinquish their "god like" and "me only" attitudes, pharmacists unfortunitely will always be the red headed stepchild of the healthcare system.

So until these "clinical" jobs surface as mainstream, I will continue to rake in 3200 bucks take-home every 2 weeks while making a much needed impact in the community setting.

 

[dgroulx]

True, but it seems that most peole that are complaining here, for whatever reason, are still in retail. Hey I have a novel idea...if you don't like it, quit. Nobody put a gun to your head and made you become a pharmacist. I am quite sure the grass isn't any greener on the hospital side, well that is if you like the condscending attitudes of physicians, nurses and god forbid that PA that went to school for what 2 years, has a stab at you.

On a side note, what many people forget is that as a retail pharmacist are you arguably the most accessible healthcare professional out there. There are MANY ways to have an impact as a retail pharmacist. I do it on a daily basis.

So for those that this pertains to.... if its THAT bad in retail...there is the door and don't let it hit you in ass on the way out...

I agree with you. People come to the pharmacy or phone the local pharmacy for medical advice. We've learned enough in school to recognize if a condition is severe enough to require a visit to the doctor. Most people just need an OTC recommendation or someone to talk to about their health problem. I get satisfaction out of helping people this way. Unfortunately, you just don't have the time to do this at most chain pharmacies.

While working at a busy Walgreens, there were always 2 pharmacists on duty which left one free for any counseling. The CVS just down the street only has 1 pharmacist on duty. These are things to look at when you decide where you want to work.

 

[Gauden44]

All I can say to this thread is "wow." I changed my mind a few months ago that I'd rather go into pharmacy rather than engineering, but I'm not so sure now. It sounds like retail pharmacies are the equivalent of Pakistani sweat shops, with the only difference being the pay.

Standing all day, not being able to eat during an 8 hour period? That sounds terrible. Is this really the case?

 

[pharmdgto]

All I can say to this thread is "wow." I changed my mind a few months ago that I'd rather go into pharmacy rather than engineering, but I'm not so sure now. It sounds like retail pharmacies are the equivalent of Pakistani sweat shops, with the only difference being the pay.

Standing all day, not being able to eat during an 8 hour period? That sounds terrible. Is this really the case?

No, but this isn't the case. No matter what job you go into, there will ALWAYS be people that bitch and moan about work conditions because they can't sit on their asses all day and get paid for nothing.

I currently work for Walgreens and have for almost 6 years. I have worked in stores doing 650 + a day and currently staff at a store that does 150-200, so I have seen it all practically. Sure you have those days where you may staff a non 24 hour store for the full 9 hours on the weekend by yourself but I have always had enough tech help to get through the day. I am sure some stores don't but that is what goes with the life of a retail pharmacist.

I think what bothers me the most is that again the pharmacy schools paint this picture of what they WANT pharmacy to be like and preach it like its the norm. I would say alot of those in my graduating class had never worked in a pharmacy or obtained little experience through the curriculum during a summer rotation here or there. I still cannot figure out why they wanted to go into pharmacy in the first place if they had no clue what they were getting into. It seems that alot of those people are the ones that are probably on here complaining about the work environment, when in reality its NOT THAT BAD. If indeed your workplace is the minority where it is bad....its simple. Either quit or stop your bitching....because nobody wants to hear about your six figure income and supposed HORRIBLE work conditions. Most people would KILL to be in your shoes...

 

[dgroulx]

My husband is not a pharmacist. He gets called and woken up at 4:30am because a server is down. Today is Saturday, he's been on the phone with IBM and troubleshooting software all day. We never make it through dinner without a phone call. We can't go anywhere without it being ruined by a cell phone call.

At least in pharmacy, the work doesn't follow you home. I got out of IT, thank god.

 

[OrangeT]

I would much rather work at walgreens than CVS. I think Walgreens has way better customer service (depending on location of the store you visit). I also just feel like walgreens has higher expectations as a company since they are completely invested in their pharacy and all other areas of their company, where as CVS is run by a major corporation and has a lot of other braches based off CVS.

 

[Old Timer]

I would much rather work at walgreens than CVS. I think Walgreens has way better customer service (depending on location of the store you visit). I also just feel like walgreens has higher expectations as a company since they are completely invested in their pharacy and all other areas of their company, where as CVS is run by a major corporation and has a lot of other braches based off CVS.

Are you for real. What planet do you orbit, Melmac?

Walgreens is a 40 billion dollar corporation with it's hand's in all of the same things CVS has their hands in. The difference is that Caremark (the CVS PBM) is much larger than WHI (the Walgreens PBM). With Power being phased in nationwide, CVS is far superior or Walgreens in customer service.... Also Walgreens is axing pharmacists in every market that power operates and CVS is still adding. Not as fast as before, but they are still adding.....

They are both huge corporations and what experience you will have depends entirely on location.

 

[clachan3]

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

I like this response I haven't filled any prescriptions at Walgreens though...

 

[MindOverMatter]

I like bumping 4 year old threads.

 

[clachan3]

It seems that alot of those people are the ones that are probably on here complaining about the work environment, when in reality its NOT THAT BAD. If indeed your workplace is the minority where it is bad....its simple. Either quit or stop your bitching....because nobody wants to hear about your six figure income and supposed HORRIBLE work conditions. Most people would KILL to be in your shoes...

Thanks for saying "it's not that bad" pharmdgto! It actually made me feel a little better. I like the people I work with, I fill about 160-180 scripts in my 8 hour shift, have enough help for the most part, help a few customers throughout the day, and my shift is over before I know it. I guess it isn't too bad. I have pharmacists sit around all day, talk on the phone with friends/family at work, not help front counter, lie that they don't know how to do certain things, or hope somebody else would do their job, etc. I consider that cheating. One of these days they are going to get in trouble, and I won't be one of them.

 

[clachan3]

My husband is not a pharmacist. He gets called and woken up at 4:30am because a server is down. Today is Saturday, he's been on the phone with IBM and troubleshooting software all day. We never make it through dinner without a phone call. We can't go anywhere without it being ruined by a cell phone call.

At least in pharmacy, the work doesn't follow you home. I got out of IT, thank god.

I feel bad for the IT folks. We call them all the time, but only during pharmacy hours...

 

[clachan3]

I agree with you. People come to the pharmacy or phone the local pharmacy for medical advice. We've learned enough in school to recognize if a condition is severe enough to require a visit to the doctor. Most people just need an OTC recommendation or someone to talk to about their health problem. I get satisfaction out of helping people this way. Unfortunately, you just don't have the time to do this at most chain pharmacies.

While working at a busy Walgreens, there were always 2 pharmacists on duty which left one free for any counseling. The CVS just down the street only has 1 pharmacist on duty. These are things to look at when you decide where you want to work.

I am jealous of the Walgreens pharmacists down the road with overlap everyday, but actually I am starting to enjoy being in charge when our manager is not on duty. It's all about prioritizing. It's true I can't jump right in when I want to counsel someone on OTC because I am being timed on every script I fill. If they are patient enough, I will make time to talk to them. I may not be able to answer the phone in 3 rings, it'll just have to wait because there is only one of me. A lot of the times Walgreens pharmacists are a lot nicer to me and more understanding because they know I am the only pharmacist.

 

[clachan3]

A pharmacist phoned the pharmacist at my rotation site yesterday. She was in tears. After working all week long at CVS without any lunch break, she finally took one. A doctor phoning in got upset that the pharmacist took a break and he complained. The district manager came in and formally wrote up the pharmacist, so she now has that on her record. CVS sucks.

That is pretty bad, but it's okay to eat at the back of pharmacy. I'm not sure about the company policy on whether if it's okay to sit in the backroom while on duty though. I think under 10 minutes is okay, but 30 minutes is probably not a good idea. Or you can just sit in the pharmacy I guess. In new CVS stores, they actually have a little corner with small table for you to eat, well, that is if anybody eats. My guess is if it's a brand new store, not the moving existing store to new type, you will have time to sit down to eat. I don't kind of sucks, but not the worst job in the world (thanks to pharmdgto). I don't feel like eating when I'm stressed. I rather just keep doing everything at a steady pace, keep everything running smoothly, then I can leave on time which is super nice!

 

[104921]

I have worked for both, and still work for Walgreens. I am considering going back to CVS; they guarantee pharm students 10 hours per week, as long as you do "homework" and "projects". Walgreens isn't particularly intern friendly unless you're doing their summer program. During the school year, don't even ask about getting hours, those go to the techs who have no work ethic and call in sick all the time.
The only big advantage is getting paid significantly more as an intern, and walgreens at least tries to maintain some kind of healthcare professionalism by having customers wait behind a line until they're called (in my store...don't know about elsewhere). Customers also can't breathe on me while I'm getting their RX ready...there's a wall where there should be at walgreens.
Oh, and the computer system is also miles better, but I've heard CVS just updated theirs and I have no experience with it.
All I know is I am NOT doing retail after graduating. Either nuclear or something else. Retail seems at an insecure position and will only get worse if there is no unity among chain retail pharmacists concerning their working conditions. Being paid $120k is not an excuse to be crapped on day in and day out. /steps off soap box

 

[Doctor M]

Are you for real. What planet do you orbit, Melmac?

Walgreens is a 40 billion dollar corporation with it's hand's in all of the same things CVS has their hands in. The difference is that Caremark (the CVS PBM) is much larger than WHI (the Walgreens PBM). With Power being phased in nationwide, CVS is far superior or Walgreens in customer service.... Also Walgreens is axing pharmacists in every market that power operates and CVS is still adding. Not as fast as before, but they are still adding.....

They are both huge corporations and what experience you will have depends entirely on location.

A better and more professional way to say this:

I disagree with you because.....and then state your facts as you did...

rather than imply or suggest he orbits another planet or something....Im just saying oldtimer, you come of a bit harsh (im trying not to call you any names...)

 

[Old Timer]

A better and more professional way to say this:

I disagree with you because.....and then state your facts as you did...

rather than imply or suggest he orbits another planet or something....Im just saying oldtimer, you come of a bit harsh (im trying not to call you any names...)

You have heard of sarcasm?

 

[Doctor M]

You have heard of sarcasm?

come on now, i wrote that when i was really really mad at you... it was retaliation...