Pharmacy tech jobs, advice

[Tink-aholic]

Right, from what I have heard, CVS is possibly the worst place to work in retail. I have heard that Wal-Mart has gotten better in the past couple of years. But I know there will be days, weeks, just time periods in general that it will be bad, if I go this route. I will admit, at GE, there were good times, there were great times and there were just awful times as well. But I can't say that I have hated it all the years I have worked there. (also I would look forward to working a job that is climate controlled)

I teach at a technical high school and we have not had this experience with CVS. They will train you to be a pharmacy tech, so no school necessary. You DO have to pass rigorous testing ahead of time, first (personality/psychology/drug tests).

 

[Sagginit]

I had a few friend who were pharmacy techs at Walgreens. They started w/o certification just doing cashier duties and worked their way up during college after getting certified. It was decent pay for that age and a steady work schedule (hours weren't cut unlike traditional retail). The other side of it is they did have lots of "difficult" customers as they had to speak to the people that came in with fake scripts, got denied by insurance, or any other bad news as the Pharmacist on duty had more important fish to fry. You will be on your feet all day as you will also be doing cashiering at times and the drive through if the location has one so as others said it may not be much of a change.

Are there any call centers near you? I work in customer service and its considered entry level so you don't need much experience to get in, I was actually offered a job out of college by a family friend in a call center for a utility company but I turned it down as the commute was over an hour (which is ironic as after years in retail I relocated to work in customer service and get off my feet). It can be hard to find people willing to do shift work and as you will be sitting it would be better on your back. Doesn't require any courses or certification. You would probably be great in a GE support center but I would assume that is no where near the plant.

On that note if you don't mind shift work if you have a hospital near you it would be worth looking into a receptionist or tech type job. My friends are nurses and they say the 7am-7pm shift is the most desirable so often in job hunts they find loads of late night and overnight shifts open. My mother is a home health aide and has been in the industry for about 25 years. The pay to start is very low and it can be really physically demanding so I would not suggest that. It's easy to get those jobs as you just spend an afternoon getting your certification but many drop out as the pay is too low for the demanding work.

 

[starry_solo]

What state are you in OP? We can go look up the requirements for a pharmacy tech. I know in CA, they changed the rules (sis works in a pharmacy) so that a tech has to go to college to fulfill the educational requirements of a pharmacy tech and then take the test. They don't have certified vs uncertified techs anymore (except those that were grandfathered in before the laws changed)

A pharmacy tech does a lot of stuff that a pharmacist does (except consultation), just under the direction of a pharmacist. They fill prescriptions, contact doctors, etc.

 

[Cloudy]

I live in Ohio and currently there is no specific educational requirement here required to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam. The exam varies from individual to individual but usually is a lot of math questions mostly basic algebra and word problems. If you cannot find a pharmacy tech program consider finding just a basic algebra class at a local college or adult ed program if you do not have that skill already. Most of the other information is memorization. You may be able to learn this on your own by buying a pharmacy tech study manual online. Please do not spend thousands of dollars (heard of one program for $60,000) as this is not needed. My husband found a program for under $1,000 several years ago and passed the test on the first try, although he already had previous math knowledge. We have had other techs pass the test on self study only.

I agree that a pharmacy tech job is physically demanding and that you are on your feet all day, so I am not sure how that would affect your back. Hospital pharmacy techs have to do a lot of lifting of boxes of heavy IV bags as well. Plus constant walking and delivering of items all over the hospital.

Good luck no matter what you choose.

 

[roseaster]

A few thoughts.

The health care field is going very much towards customer service. So much that medicare/caid reimbursements may depend on customer satisfaction scores. If you are in retail, aside from the fact that you WILL be on your feet for your whole shift, you will be dealing with customers face to face. You will have to smile and "make nice" the whole time.

If you are in a hospital based pharmacy your face-to-face dealings with customers will be less or none, depending on if the hospital pharmacy serves the public (some do on certain days) but your work will be much more physical. As a PP said you will be lifting large boxes of IV fluids, tube feeds, parenteral feeds. In addition you will be delivering these to the various floors and stocking them there.

Now this won't sound nice, but I work in a partial care outpatient clinic, my BFF manages a medical group. We, generally, consider "medical assistant" programs a rip off. You will pay a lot of money through a private, for profit school ( a lot of times it costs more than nursing school at the county college) and we NEVER hire anyone from these schools. We use them, but we don't hire them. We let them do their internship hours in our clinics, and when their hours are complete, we just bring in the next intern. There are so many schools offering this, and so many people needing practice hours that we have kept this up for years. It's free labor.

You won't learn anything at medical assistant schools/programs that you can't learn at a CNA program at the local technical school for a fraction of the cost, and it's a much more useable certification.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

A few thoughts.

The health care field is going very much towards customer service. So much that medicare/caid reimbursements may depend on customer satisfaction scores. If you are in retail, aside from the fact that you WILL be on your feet for your whole shift, you will be dealing with customers face to face. You will have to smile and "make nice" the whole time.

If you are in a hospital based pharmacy your face-to-face dealings with customers will be less or none, depending on if the hospital pharmacy serves the public (some do on certain days) but your work will be much more physical. As a PP said you will be lifting large boxes of IV fluids, tube feeds, parenteral feeds. In addition you will be delivering these to the various floors and stocking them there.

Now this won't sound nice, but I work in a partial care outpatient clinic, my BFF manages a medical group. We, generally, consider "medical assistant" programs a rip off. You will pay a lot of money through a private, for profit school ( a lot of times it costs more than nursing school at the county college) and we NEVER hire anyone from these schools. We use them, but we don't hire them. We let them do their internship hours in our clinics, and when their hours are complete, we just bring in the next intern. There are so many schools offering this, and so many people needing practice hours that we have kept this up for years. It's free labor.

You won't learn anything at medical assistant schools/programs that you can't learn at a CNA program at the local technical school for a fraction of the cost, and it's a much more useable certification.

Hmmmm, very interesting. I know my sister-in-law couldn't even get a call back from any medical office in Chattanooga, but was able to get one from a provider in Rome, Ga. I was thinking and she was to, that the lack of experience played into the reason, and I am sure it did, but I never thought that the fast-paced, for profit program she went through could have hinder her from being hired in Chattanooga.

But she did end up getting into a great group of doctors that will give her the needed experience. And the program didn't cost her a dime. Government paid for it for her.

 

[Kaytie]

So, taxpayers paid for her training?

 

[roseaster]

Hmmmm, very interesting. I know my sister-in-law couldn't even get a call back from any medical office in Chattanooga, but was able to get one from a provider in Rome, Ga. I was thinking and she was to, that the lack of experience played into the reason, and I am sure it did, but I never thought that the fast-paced, for profit program she went through could have hinder her from being hired in Chattanooga.

But she did end up getting into a great group of doctors that will give her the needed experience. And the program didn't cost her a dime. Government paid for it for her.

Perhaps you don't understand. We don't hire them because there is no need to hire them. For every student that finishes their required practice hours there are 10 more waiting to do theirs, and their "internship" is unpaid. It is a great source of free labor. There are that many of these schools cranking out "medical assistants" in the area. It has nothing at all to do with what school they attend.

It is nice that your sister got a free education, but not everyone qualifies for a government hand out and many people acquire huge amounts of unnecessary student loan debt that they can't pay back because they can't find a job.

These schools don't teach anything that can't be learned in a CNA course for a fraction of the cost. We can teach almost anyone to use the EMR, it's point and click unless you are the physician or APN. The important skills are the patient care skills. CNAs are in huge demand and, generally, have no problem finding a job, even without experience.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Perhaps you don't understand. We don't hire them because there is no need to hire them. For every student that finishes their required practice hours there are 10 more waiting to do theirs, and their "internship" is unpaid. It is a great source of free labor. There are that many of these schools cranking out "medical assistants" in the area. It has nothing at all to do wi.h what school they attend.

It is nice that your sister got a free education, but not everyone qualifies for a government hand out and many people acquire huge amounts of unnecessary student loan debt that they can't pay back because they can't find a job.

These schools don't teach anything that can't be learned in a CNA course for a fraction of the cost. We can teach almost anyone to use the EMR, it's point and click unless you are the physician or APN. The important skills are the patient care skills. CNAs are in huge demand and, generally, have no problem finding a job, even without experience.

Oh, ok, gotcha.

 

[Pigeon]

If you aren't aware of it, the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great place to get an overview of many jobs. It covers info on the work environment, the education/background generally required, typical pay ranges and the job outlook. It's free, just google it. The entry for pharmacy techs is here http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacy-technicians.htm#tab-1

 

[JohnDaleswife]

So, taxpayers paid for her training?

Correct. Single mom, no job at the time.