working at CVS

[TxPharmxT]

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Hey there you guys,
So I have an interview with CVS Pharmacy and I've never worked as a pharm tech before. so yay finally getting a j-o-b after 10 months of being certified! I don't want to screw it up so I was wondering if any of you who work there could tell me things I should know before going into the interview and what they ask for during the interview?? Thanks and I'll keep you posted.. 🙂

 

[RxRob]

Been there since febuary.... interview???????

Maybe interns from pharm school bypass all that stuff... still had to take the psyche eval online though... once you pass that it should be a breeze. If you're at the interview phase, then just focus on not screwing it up... there's really no need to be impressive. They're probably looking for schedule flexibility and ask you how you deal with stress etc...

CVS is run like a swat team. This is NOT a safe, accurate medical environment. It is a cheeseburger and fries operation with a 15 minutes or less guarantee. You will always need one more person than you have on shift and when you're new you will need to pry attention from someone who is already too busy to help you help anyone.

Turn-over rate is super high for employees but if you can make it 2 months you'll be ok.

If you can't run like hell to Eckerd or Target or a grocery store pharmacy then this will have to do... but just know that it's not like this at every pharmacy.

 

[crossjb]

Interview at CVS is just to see what hours you're willing to work.

CVS is only as good as the pharmacist running the show. Luckily, I've worked with many good ones.

 

[RxRob]

It's not the pharmacists I'm warning about really, they're all pretty good. It's just the whole setup from a district and corporate level that makes things terrible even for very good and efficient pharmacists. Plus the front store manager in charge of keeping sodas and tampons in stock outranks the pharmacist in charge. It's just a really counter-intuitive setup for such an important patient-care provider situation. I did my early practice experience at an Eckerd, and CVS has been a really dissappointing experience from an idealistic viewpoint and someone trying to earn a doctorate in health care.

 

[PharmB10]

It's not the pharmacists I'm warning about really, they're all pretty good. It's just the whole setup from a district and corporate level that makes things terrible even for very good and efficient pharmacists. Plus the front store manager in charge of keeping sodas and tampons in stock outranks the pharmacist in charge. It's just a really counter-intuitive setup for such an important patient-care provider situation. I did my early practice experience at an Eckerd, and CVS has been a really dissappointing experience from an idealistic viewpoint and someone trying to earn a doctorate in health care.

I've been with CVS now for 10 months, and I don't know one pharmacist that is totally happy with how it's set up... Only one pharmacist on duty at all times and usually not enough techs to fill scripts and work the register. The best thing about CVS is they work with you so much on your school schedule. As for the interview, they just want to make sure you'll be able to work with the public, and most of my questions were directed toward that.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

The interview is nothing. They make note of your time schedule, hand you forms in order for you to go take a drug test, fill out your W-2's and all that jazz. Then, in about a week or so, they'll pull you into the fire.

They kept on telling me that the district pharm tech trainer would come in to train me, but lo and behold, there wasn't even enought time to do that. They just immediately had me doing every task by shadowing one of the techs. Due to the lack of techs at the CVS that I work at, they had me work on 300+ prescriptions/day by myself after a week of being employed. Two girls had quit prior to my employment, so I was at it by myself for about my first three weeks. I didn't even know what sig codes were, so I had to go home the first night and google a sheet up with all the sig codes.

Things to do:

1) Type prescriptions within 10-15 minutes. Learn how to read doctor's handwriting if possible.
2) Count and fill them. (Learn where the fastmovers are and try to learn the brand/generic names in order to find them quickly)
3) Cashier
4) Run back and forth from drive-through
5) Do Day 6 calls and do Day 12's
6) Inventory
7) Check-in the order when in comes in during the morning
8) Keep the drawers that have the rx bottles filled
9) Take prescription calls from the old people who are fumbling with their rx bottles
10) Work efficiently while having the manager, district manager, pharm manager breathing down your neck.
11) HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE!!!!!!!!!
12) Last, but not least, open up envelope and realize after all that work, your paycheck amounts to nothing.

That's about it. 😀

I wasn't certified when I first started out because it wasn't necessary for us to do so, so you might have an easier time than me since you know some of the ins and outs already.

 

[TxPharmxT]

aww thanks you guys! y'all are all so helpful around here and I knew I could count on you. So how much can I be expecting to get paid? not that it really matters because since I'm coming in with no experience and I've been looking for a job for so long, I'll take whatever I can get. 🙄

 

[RxRob]

Thank God... a friend who knows!!!

Drop everything you're doing for a yellow customer. Drop that for a red customer. Count to 10 of 30 and leave it to get the drive through, then help the guy up front... then start your count over and leave that to help the new guy up front, who happens to be there for the prescription you just left uncounted for the second time... apologize apologize apologize... go back and finish counting his while the line builds up further...toes tap, arms fold... thoughts of what an idiot you are can be heard like the roars of lions as time ticks and beads of sweat form... the phone rings... voices in the air of "one pharmacy call"... "Two Pharmacy Calls" waiting to be answered... if ignored then replaced by loud and disruptive ringtones usually reserved only for specialty alarm clocks for narcoleptics... I swear there's an even REDDER shade of red for customers who were already red.... all the work you and your team have completed has to go through the ONE pharmacist before it's done who is on the phone already with an insurance company while dealing with the lady yelling that her doctor called in her script over half hour ago... they personally guaranteed it...

Someone please shoot me...

 

[RxRob]

aww thanks you guys! y'all are all so helpful around here and I knew I could count on you. So how much can I be expecting to get paid? not that it really matters because since I'm coming in with no experience and I've been looking for a job for so long, I'll take whatever I can get. 🙄

You said you were certified CPhT? Probably depends on the area you live... here it's $10/hour to start IF you're certified... otherwise, like $7 unless you're an intern.

 

[Arike86]

Thank God... a friend who knows!!!

Drop everything you're doing for a yellow customer. Drop that for a red customer. Count to 10 of 30 and leave it to get the drive through, then help the guy up front... then start your count over and leave that to help the new guy up front, who happens to be there for the prescription you just left uncounted for the second time... apologize apologize apologize... go back and finish counting his while the line builds up further...toes tap, arms fold... thoughts of what an idiot you are can be heard like the roars of lions as time ticks and beads of sweat form... the phone rings... voices in the air of "one pharmacy call"... "Two Pharmacy Calls" waiting to be answered... if ignored then replaced by loud and disruptive ringtones usually reserved only for specialty alarm clocks for narcoleptics... I swear there's an even REDDER shade of red for customers who were already red.... all the work you and your team have completed has to go through the ONE pharmacist before it's done who is on the phone already with an insurance company while dealing with the lady yelling that her doctor called in her script over half hour ago... they personally guaranteed it...

Someone please shoot me...

haha...story of my life..... CVS = 👎

 

[dcupharm]

The interview is nothing. They make note of your time schedule, hand you forms in order for you to go take a drug test, fill out your W-2's and all that jazz. Then, in about a week or so, they'll pull you into the fire.

They kept on telling me that the district pharm tech trainer would come in to train me, but lo and behold, there wasn't even enought time to do that. They just immediately had me doing every task by shadowing one of the techs. Due to the lack of techs at the CVS that I work at, they had me work on 300+ prescriptions/day by myself after a week of being employed. Two girls had quit prior to my employment, so I was at it by myself for about my first three weeks. I didn't even know what sig codes were, so I had to go home the first night and google a sheet up with all the sig codes.

Things to do:

1) Type prescriptions within 10-15 minutes. Learn how to read doctor's handwriting if possible.
2) Count and fill them. (Learn where the fastmovers are and try to learn the brand/generic names in order to find them quickly)
3) Cashier
4) Run back and forth from drive-through
5) Do Day 6 calls and do Day 12's
6) Inventory
7) Check-in the order when in comes in during the morning
8) Keep the drawers that have the rx bottles filled
9) Take prescription calls from the old people who are fumbling with their rx bottles
10) Work efficiently while having the manager, district manager, pharm manager breathing down your neck.
11) HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE!!!!!!!!!
12) Last, but not least, open up envelope and realize after all that work, your paycheck amounts to nothing.

That's about it. 😀

I wasn't certified when I first started out because it wasn't necessary for us to do so, so you might have an easier time than me since you know some of the ins and outs already.

OMG. Your experience sounds the same as mine. Both our techs left in a week of my hiring, I was stuck at drop off and I had never worked pharmacy before. I managed to survive and now I love it. I have two great pharmacist that make it all worth it.
😉

 

[JerryPharmD]

Hey there you guys,
So I have an interview with CVS Pharmacy and I've never worked as a pharm tech before. so yay finally getting a j-o-b after 10 months of being certified! I don't want to screw it up so I was wondering if any of you who work there could tell me things I should know before going into the interview and what they ask for during the interview?? Thanks and I'll keep you posted.. 🙂

Pulse rate? Certified? Welcome aboard. 😀

 

[gimpsd]

1) Type prescriptions within 10-15 minutes. Learn how to read doctor's handwriting if possible.

10 to 15 minutes to type one prescription?

 

[boobash]

10 to 15 minutes to type one prescription?

hmmm... is that "wowie" for how fast or slow it is to type one prescription??
cause depending on what type of prescriptions, but usually it only takes a minute to type no?? (assuming you can read the physician's handwriting, and know your speed codes)

 

[eleanor_rigby]

10 to 15 minutes to type one prescription?

No, not ONE prescription. Let's say 10 people come in to drop off their prescriptions within a 5 minute period. All of them request that they would like to have their prescriptions ready NOW. Usually, you have to tell all of them that their prescriptions will be ready in 10-15 minutes. During that time, you also have people calling in for refills. During the next few minutes, you continuously have people coming in, the pharmacist gets doctor call-in prescriptions, and you get calls for refills. The list of prescriptions you need to type and fill continues to grow. So each prescription should be done as fast as you can given that they're piling up. You also have the addition of other miscellaneous tasks that I have listed in my previous post while you need to fill all of the prescriptions. Sometimes, there are conflicts with people's insurances, so this just adds more fuel to the fire and you start falling behind.

On really busy days, the list on the screen might be more than one page, in which case you might have to give them 20 minutes to process their prescriptions. If you see prescriptions highlighted in red on the screen, then you're falling behind. At this point, please proceed to pull out your hair.

 

[crossjb]

No, not ONE prescription. Let's say 10 people come in to drop off their prescriptions within a 5 minute period. All of them request that they would like to have their prescriptions ready NOW. Usually, you have to tell all of them that their prescriptions will be ready in 10-15 minutes. During that time, you also have people calling in for refills. During the next few minutes, you continuously have people coming in, the pharmacist gets doctor call-in prescriptions, and you get calls for refills. The list of prescriptions you need to type and fill continues to grow. So each prescription should be done as fast as you can given that they're piling up. You also have the addition of other miscellaneous tasks that I have listed in my previous post while you need to fill all of the prescriptions. Sometimes, there are conflicts with people's insurances, so this just adds more fuel to the fire and you start falling behind.

On really busy days, the list on the screen might be more than one page, in which case you might have to give them 20 minutes to process their prescriptions. If you see prescriptions highlighted in red on the screen, then you're falling behind. At this point, please proceed to pull out your hair.

lol, sounds like my morning shift today...

 

[JMH5145]

No, not ONE prescription. Let's say 10 people come in to drop off their prescriptions within a 5 minute period. All of them request that they would like to have their prescriptions ready NOW. Usually, you have to tell all of them that their prescriptions will be ready in 10-15 minutes. During that time, you also have people calling in for refills. During the next few minutes, you continuously have people coming in, the pharmacist gets doctor call-in prescriptions, and you get calls for refills. The list of prescriptions you need to type and fill continues to grow. So each prescription should be done as fast as you can given that they're piling up. You also have the addition of other miscellaneous tasks that I have listed in my previous post while you need to fill all of the prescriptions. Sometimes, there are conflicts with people's insurances, so this just adds more fuel to the fire and you start falling behind.

On really busy days, the list on the screen might be more than one page, in which case you might have to give them 20 minutes to process their prescriptions. If you see prescriptions highlighted in red on the screen, then you're falling behind. At this point, please proceed to pull out your hair.

And I thought it was just me!! Good to know that there are other techs feeling the same way I am. That's the story of my life!!

If you get really good at the job, they let you "fill-in" at other CVS's in town. Try walking into a pharmacy you've never been to during the Monday 5 o'clock rush. The pharmacist only knows how to put his initials in the computer to verify the prescription, can't hear on the phone, and doesn't know what Vioxx is for. It's even better if you're filling-in at a low volume store that only has one pharmacist and one or two techs on duty at a time, and there are still 5 totes of drugs to put away from the truck that came 2 days ago...it's like walking into a tornado zone.

Oh well, I guess I can't really complain. I just call up my manager when I get home from school in May and he puts me on the schedule 40 hours a week all summer long (and during Christmas breaks). All this "experience" (I have my national certification, CVS paid for the test, and they gave me a 500 dollar bonus when I passed it...like it was hard or something) and the connections I've made around town really helped in the admissions process. The pharmacist at my home store and the Pharmacy Supervisor of my region both wrote me recommendations. 😀

 

[RockAByBaby]

And I thought it was just me!! Good to know that there are other techs feeling the same way I am. That's the story of my life!!

If you get really good at the job, they let you "fill-in" at other CVS's in town. Try walking into a pharmacy you've never been to during the Monday 5 o'clock rush. The pharmacist only knows how to put his initials in the computer to verify the prescription, can't hear on the phone, and doesn't know what Vioxx is for. It's even better if you're filling-in at a low volume store that only has one pharmacist and one or two techs on duty at a time, and there are still 5 totes of drugs to put away from the truck that came 2 days ago...it's like walking into a tornado zone.

Oh well, I guess I can't really complain. I just call up my manager when I get home from school in May and he puts me on the schedule 40 hours a week all summer long (and during Christmas breaks). All this "experience" (I have my national certification, CVS paid for the test, and they gave me a 500 dollar bonus when I passed it...like it was hard or something) and the connections I've made around town really helped in the admissions process. The pharmacist at my home store and the Pharmacy Supervisor of my region both wrote me recommendations. 😀

does CVS do any sort of tuition reimbursement or help with tuition in return for working there? i have an interview there on tuesday and i'm so nervous because i've never had a job interview before...not even for my current job at the hospital pharmacy! 😳 anyone have any additional tips?
thanks!

 

[JMH5145]

does CVS do any sort of tuition reimbursement or help with tuition in return for working there? i have an interview there on tuesday and i'm so nervous because i've never had a job interview before...not even for my current job at the hospital pharmacy! 😳 anyone have any additional tips?
thanks!

They will give you 5,000 dollars per year for pharmacy school in return for a year of service as a Pharmacist. So, if you got it for 4 years, you'd have to work for CVS for 4 years. I don't know if the deadline has past yet or not. If you get hired, your manager, the pharmacy supervisor for your region, or the college recruiter can assist you.

Really don't worry about the interview. It won't be a big deal. It's really more filling out paperwork, signing a form for a background check, and them telling you that you have to get a drug test before they will hire you. Where is the CVS you are interviewing at? Good luck! You'll be fine...nothing to be nervous about!

 

[RockAByBaby]

They will give you 5,000 dollars per year for pharmacy school in return for a year of service as a Pharmacist. So, if you got it for 4 years, you'd have to work for CVS for 4 years. I don't know if the deadline has past yet or not. If you get hired, your manager, the pharmacy supervisor for your region, or the college recruiter can assist you.

Really don't worry about the interview. It won't be a big deal. It's really more filling out paperwork, signing a form for a background check, and them telling you that you have to get a drug test before they will hire you. Where is the CVS you are interviewing at? Good luck! You'll be fine...nothing to be nervous about!

great! thanks! i'm interviewing at one in colonial heights, VA so i hope they follow the same drill that you speak of!

 

[eleanor_rigby]

great! thanks! i'm interviewing at one in colonial heights, VA so i hope they follow the same drill that you speak of!

You're going to work at Colonial Heights while going to school downtown?! That's a pretty long commute just for a part-time job as a tech.

 

[SuperTech]

The pharmacy that I work for now was bought out by CVS (I'm located in SoCal). I'm actually moving to VA for school (Shenandoah) and would like to transfer at a CVS there. Is there a pay difference between a pharmacy technician & a pharmacy intern? Does anybody know the pay rate of a technician/intern in northern VA? I just need to figure out my finances. Thank you.

 

[rxlynn]

The pharmacy that I work for now was bought out by CVS (I'm located in SoCal). I'm actually moving to VA for school (Shenandoah) and would like to transfer at a CVS there. Is there a pay difference between a pharmacy technician & a pharmacy intern? Does anybody know the pay rate of a technician/intern in northern VA? I just need to figure out my finances. Thank you.

I can't give you specifics on pay rates for VA, but here in GA the going rate at CVS is $10 for P1 and increasing after that. My guess is that the pay rates for both techs and interns in VA are a good bit less than the SoCAL market. You might do best by simply negotiating to keep you current salary when you transfer. I work with a tech who transferred to TN for a short time, but she was able to keep her salary the same even though she was being paid substantially more than the TN techs, so I know the company will do that sort of thing.

As far as your broader question is there a difference between techs and interns - it really depends on the situation. I have been with CVS for 6 years, and I make a lot more than some of the interns who were newly hired.

 

[eleanor_rigby]

The pharmacy that I work for now was bought out by CVS (I'm located in SoCal). I'm actually moving to VA for school (Shenandoah) and would like to transfer at a CVS there. Is there a pay difference between a pharmacy technician & a pharmacy intern? Does anybody know the pay rate of a technician/intern in northern VA? I just need to figure out my finances. Thank you.

northern va as in the dc/nova/md metro area? or the sticks over in winchester? 😀

 

[SuperTech]

northern va as in the dc/nova/md metro area? or the sticks over in winchester? 😀

I'm hoping that it'll be around Winchester, but if there isn't any opening, then I guess whatever would be closest.

 

[SuperTech]

I can't give you specifics on pay rates for VA, but here in GA the going rate at CVS is $10 for P1 and increasing after that. My guess is that the pay rates for both techs and interns in VA are a good bit less than the SoCAL market. You might do best by simply negotiating to keep you current salary when you transfer. I work with a tech who transferred to TN for a short time, but she was able to keep her salary the same even though she was being paid substantially more than the TN techs, so I know the company will do that sort of thing.

As far as your broader question is there a difference between techs and interns - it really depends on the situation. I have been with CVS for 6 years, and I make a lot more than some of the interns who were newly hired.

Thank you for the info =)

 

[RxRob]

CVS's $5,000 a year scholarship is (now?) only available to 3rd and 4th year students. They also don't give the $500 bonus for passing the cert exam anymore either. Oh and they've also lowered the starting pay by a dollar until you take their extra training now, so you don't start at the "starting" rate anymore.

They appear to be trending towards less respect for pharmacists and interns and becoming a convenience store with a pharmacy in the back rather than a pharmacy with a storefront.

I'm in, I'm loyal, I'm a jackass.

 

[enchanted]

You said you were certified CPhT? Probably depends on the area you live... here it's $10/hour to start IF you're certified... otherwise, like $7 unless you're an intern.

Is this depend on how busy your store is too? I don't even get paid that much!

 

[meister]

Anyone work for CVS in SoCal and know what the payscale is for techs there? I work for Sav-on and we're about to be bought out and I have no idea what to expect as far as my 3 dollar raise that was supposed to come this summer. I have been a tech for almost exactly 2 years and make $12.65/hour, and starting in like September that was supposed to be bumped up to roughly $15.25/hour.

 

[freshbeatschris]

Thank God... a friend who knows!!!

Drop everything you're doing for a yellow customer. Drop that for a red customer. Count to 10 of 30 and leave it to get the drive through, then help the guy up front... then start your count over and leave that to help the new guy up front, who happens to be there for the prescription you just left uncounted for the second time... apologize apologize apologize... go back and finish counting his while the line builds up further...toes tap, arms fold... thoughts of what an idiot you are can be heard like the roars of lions as time ticks and beads of sweat form... the phone rings... voices in the air of "one pharmacy call"... "Two Pharmacy Calls" waiting to be answered... if ignored then replaced by loud and disruptive ringtones usually reserved only for specialty alarm clocks for narcoleptics... I swear there's an even REDDER shade of red for customers who were already red.... all the work you and your team have completed has to go through the ONE pharmacist before it's done who is on the phone already with an insurance company while dealing with the lady yelling that her doctor called in her script over half hour ago... they personally guaranteed it...

Someone please shoot me...

Amen to that!

So, I take it you are not getting your PharmD to joint a retail chain pharmacy? What are you hoping to do with your degree?

Chris

 

[freshbeatschris]

On really busy days, the list on the screen might be more than one page, in which case you might have to give them 20 minutes to process their prescriptions. If you see prescriptions highlighted in red on the screen, then you're falling behind. At this point, please proceed to pull out your hair.

Jeez, at Walgreens we told everyone At Least an Hour. You'd be amazed how many people thought they could just sit at the drive through and wait for it. This is NOT McDonalds, folks!

Our busy days were around 850 scripts for an 8 hour day. Bins waiting for the pharmacist could be stacked 3 or 4 deep and lined down the bench.

I can't even read these pharm tech threads anymore, they are bringing back horrible memories. What a terrible job that was. I'm so happy I don't work there anymore.

"The beatings will continue until morale improves."

Chris

 

[JackFruitLover]

The store manager should outrank the pharmacist because the pharmacist may not have all the experience with running a store as oppose to the store manager. Many CEOs of hospitals have only bachelors degrees and yet they outrank doctors.

It's not the pharmacists I'm warning about really, they're all pretty good. It's just the whole setup from a district and corporate level that makes things terrible even for very good and efficient pharmacists. Plus the front store manager in charge of keeping sodas and tampons in stock outranks the pharmacist in charge. It's just a really counter-intuitive setup for such an important patient-care provider situation. I did my early practice experience at an Eckerd, and CVS has been a really dissappointing experience from an idealistic viewpoint and someone trying to earn a doctorate in health care.

 

[RxRob]

no, not saying that. There just should be no affiliation at all from front to back, but the place IS a pharmacy, just there needs to be someone to handle all the front store suggestive sell items to keep it off the pharmacist's back.

I may likely stay in retail, and perhaps even as a pharmacist. However CVS is a rather large cog in a machine that increasingly asks more out of staff for less and less. At the tech level it is especially harassing.

As an economics minor, cvs is the hotseat of our industry for impending economic forces. A provider will offer to pay less for drugs and reduce dispensing fees. As a pharmacy owner, you are pressured to accept this unnacceptable condition because you know someone else WILL. However, this someone else happens to be either CVS or Walgreens at the moment. So my job is an indicator of how they will all need to be simply by constantly taking the worst deals and passing the efficiency tasks onto lesser paid individuals. At best it works under perfect conditions, though one bump and it's like hitting a cat with a motorcycle... very difficult to recover from that point on... there's no more room for error and no more time left to doublecheck. Sadly this is but a moment in time on a downward slope for quality of life of staff at these chains. It will continue to hurt the field's image and the integrity of pharmacists in general as the public's perceptions of what an ass way we have agreed to do things becomes more strained and apparent.

You can have a firm appointment a week in advance for a doctor's office visit and still accept having to wait more than an hour without complaining. Retail is a prostitution of our education and abilities. I hope there will continue to be successful lobbying on our behalf or I may take it up myself when I graduate.

 

[RockAByBaby]

You're going to work at Colonial Heights while going to school downtown?! That's a pretty long commute just for a part-time job as a tech.

oh i actually live in colonial heights and i'll be commuting to school, so it'll be pretty convenient...especially during the summer when i have nowhere else to go.