Work Life Balance - Retail Pharmacists: Are you happy?

[farmadiazepine]

You should not be looking for satisfaction from your retail job. You will be very disappointed if you do. Do it for the money which allows you to live a very comfortable life. You have a well paying job in one of the greatest recessions ever.

Well, well, well said!

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[Doctor Rock]

I work at Target too. The other ETLs have absolutely no idea what it takes to be a pharmacist. All in all, Target is a great retail place to work...very few places will be better. I work 4 days a week, two 12 hour days and two 9 hour days. I get every other weekend off (not ideal, but great for retail), those weekends off are 3 day weekends, and I get days off in the middle of the week. I only work with my boss 6 hours a week (fabulous!). The rest of the time I am pretty much in charge of the pharmacy and our awesome techs.

Of course as with any job, you have the idiocy of upper management weighing in on your daily activities and always adding to, never taking off your plate. After the 12 hour days, and sometimes the 9's, I am exhausted when I get home. Thankfully my husband knows that and has dinner ready for me when I get home at 9:30pm. My boss sucks and "forgets" to let her pregnant pharmacist have a lunch break (probably just a personality thing).

What you have to remember is work is and will always be work. Even if you LOVE what you do, some days with take it out of you. It just depends on how important your job will be in the whole grand scheme of your life. I worked a home infusion job that I loved, for a company I hated. I do not love my job now, but I love the person I am around my family. I am much happier now and don't regret the change.

 

[rxblitzrx]

I absolutely hated retail pharmacy. There is no such thing as work-life balance and retail doesn't suck just because of the hours. Working with ******ed technicians that think they're God just because they've been working there for 10+ years, dealing with partners who are deceiving enough to slack off and leave more scripts for you to fill the next day, and front store managers who try to run your life because it's their store are the real stress. It's bad enough that the hours suck and the customers are a pain in the ass, but having to talk to idiots who barely finished high school, all day long, makes the job unbearable. Get out if you can.

 

[Unchained]

I absolutely hated retail pharmacy. There is no such thing as work-life balance and retail doesn't suck just because of the hours. Working with ******ed technicians that think they're God just because they've been working there for 10+ years, dealing with partners who are deceiving enough to slack off and leave more scripts for you to fill the next day, and front store managers who try to run your life because it's their store are the real stress. It's bad enough that the hours suck and the customers are a pain in the ass, but having to talk to idiots who barely finished high school, all day long, makes the job unbearable. Get out if you can.

You need some experience and time to build management skills. There are ways of dealing with all of these issues. You just haven't developed the tools yet. It took me a while myself. You sound like my partner who just graduated.

 

[rxblitzrx]

You need some experience and time to build management skills. There are ways of dealing with all of these issues. You just haven't developed the tools yet. It took me a while myself. You sound like my partner who just graduated.

It has nothing to do with management skills. In any case, I got out of retail already. Hopefully I never have to go back.

 

[UofK]

Not a pharmacist here, but I intern at CVS. Filling 350 scripts per day (weekday) with 4-5 tech coverage until 5PMish where it then drops to 3-4 and then ultimately 2 techs from 6pm-close is a health hazard / lawsuit just waiting to happen. Our customer base is rural, borderline illiterate. The majority of my workdays I leave in the worst possible mood. I stay depressed which stems from my personal life but the rigors of retail certainly doesn't offer productive therapy. I can't possibly see myself working in that environment for an extended period of time with the responsibility that pharmacists possess.

 

[Unchained]

UofK you are at CVS. They are the most slave driving company in all of retail. Don't judge all retail ops based on your situation there. You will also find that with age you will gain experience and respect from those above and below you thus making your job easier.

 

[gambit78]

You should not be looking for satisfaction from your retail job. You
will be very disappointed if you do. Do it for the money which allows
you to live a very comfortable life. You have a well paying job in one of the
greatest recessions ever.

I often think of the many foreign graduate pharmacists I see working in retail here in my hometown. They just seem to tolerate it moreso than Americans and I often think it is cuz of their alternative: work in a a crappy job with very low pay overseas, or work in a crappy job with high pay here?

 

[RickRossPharmD]

Retail pharmacy in a grocery store is where it's at. You get to know your customers and what they eat, and you work in a freaking grocery store. Mental state of mind depends largely on physical health. Show up 5 minutes early or take a brief stroll to the produce section and buy yourself some bananas and health foods to eat during your shift. Hungry for lunch? Call the deli and tell them to make you a Reuben with your personal bottle of Sauerkraut they keep. You get to see and hear about all the deals before they sell out, and get employee discounts on certain groceries.
I looooooooooove retail.

 

[358265]

Retail pharmacy in a grocery store is where it's at. You get to know your customers and what they eat, and you work in a freaking grocery store. Mental state of mind depends largely on physical health. Show up 5 minutes early or take a brief stroll to the produce section and buy yourself some bananas and health foods to eat during your shift. Hungry for lunch? Call the deli and tell them to make you a Reuben with your personal bottle of Sauerkraut they keep. You get to see and hear about all the deals before they sell out, and get employee discounts on certain groceries.
I looooooooooove retail.

Let's see if this mentality remains the same after a couple of years in retail.

 

[sde780]

I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering at a local community pharmacy. I have around 350 hours, was there a little over a year. It's actually what drove me to stick with pharmacy

I believe coworkers' attitudes play a strong role in work environment - my coworkers had a great dynamic and kept the drama to a minimum.

I now intern in a hospital pharmacy and it's completely different. There's less patient interaction and morale seems to be much lower compared to the community pharmacy. I'd say both has it's ups and downs; I wouldn't be opposed to working in either setting at this point