A funny thread I like to share..

Since I'm an aspiring Pharmacy student, I tend to hang out at the Pharmacy section over at the Student Doctor Network site. I happen to come upon a very long, very funny, but rather true to life thread about working in a Pharmacy.


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=117497&highlight=pharmacy+tech+rants+stories

I assure you that you will DEFINITELY get a kick by reading some of the reply. The thread is old and it is buried among thousands of others thread. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Burned out.

I recall with my last entry that I was in the process of obtaining a hospital pharmacy tech job. Initially, I thought, 'great another entry on my resume and applications for pharmacy school as well as another source for really great recommendation'.

Well, I've been working for about a month now and let me tell you: Wow, I'm tired. It's not that the job is very demanding, its the 2 other jobs beside it that's killing me. Recall that I have a 9-5 and then a chain pharmacy job, which is only once a week now, thanks goodness. I barely have time for anything. On average it's about 4 nights a week that I'm at the hospital after work.

A small update for now.

A new adventure awaits...(Hospital Pharmacy)

I am proud to say that in 2 months from now, I have worked in retail Pharmacy as a technician for a year. It may only be a year, but I have learn so so much. It is time for me to look at the other side of Pharmacy -- mainly hospitals. Recently, I have signed up for the PTCB (May 17th) and am planning on passing it with ease. I haven't study yet. But as like for an undergraduate final, I'll probably study 1-2 nights before.

On a random day 2 weeks ago, I searched for Pharmacy techs openings in the many surrounding hospitals. I found a position which is about equally the same distance as from where I live to where my BIG-CHAIN-Pharmacy is located at. I began to fill out the applications and at the end it asked for 3 references! Well I wasn't prepare with any. So I just went "dammit, and x out the window" and forgot about it. The next day, while at work, I received a call from the Hospital recruiting department. Somehow that application did went through although uncompleted (I believed so). I have to take a pharm-calc like test before they would even grant and interview. This was 2 weeks ago and I took the test yesterday. Of course I GOT 100%! Hey,a Bachelors is good for something right.

I'm excited about this hospital position. First, I know I would get pay at least 1.5 to 2 times as much as I'm making now. Money wasn't an issue at first, just the experience was worth it. Secondly, I will now have networking with pharmacy professionals in a hospital environment. Go. Go. Letters of Recommendations! (Yeah, this year cycle is over. No more hopes. Will apply EARLY this time around)

I have an interview with the Pharmacy staffs in 2 weeks. Finger crossed.


P.S. The Angriest Pharmacist is credited for newly added picture. I got the link to the site via his blog. It's awesome!

Why Rite Aid Sucks...

Okay, maybe not all Rite Aid sucks, just the one close to where I live.


You may probably concluded at this point that I don't work for Rite Aid. So why does the nearest pharmacy, which happens to be Rite Aid, sucks? Read on, I'll tell you why.

Today I went to the dentist for a root canal. Long story short, I was given two prescriptions. Rite Aid was down the street, not far from the dental office, so I went there. It is a 24-hour store and so I expected the service to be comparable to where I work. I hand the tech my scripts , gave my information and such. She then told me that the wait time is about 2 hours. I look around for quick moment. I'm the only customer at drop-off. I stare at pick-up and notice 3 people standing in line. There was no one sitting at the wait area.

First of all, at my store, we would have had it ready in 5 minutes, 10 tops given the same scenario. Even with multiples customer standing in line at drop-off, we can still do it in 15 min. Yeah, I know we're JUST THAT AWESOME!

So I figure I'll come back and stop by KFC across the street in 2 hours. I came back again with my buddy. I gave the tech my name and such. The tech proceeds to check their idiotic and funny looking filing system . He/she can't find it. Tech ask me to hold on. So I stood there with disgust while he/she checks the computer. GUESS WHAT! My prescription was still in the to-be-check-by-pharmacist basket. What the fuck. After 2 hours, it's still not ready. I would at least expected it to be completed 30 or so minutes after I left. There weren't anyone there waiting! She/he then ask me to wait a COUPLE minutes.

Now, at this point if it were the store I would work at. I would have banged this out and hurried the pharmacist to check it in 2-3 minutes since it was our fault.

NOPE! It took ~30 freaking minutes to verify and check 2 scripts. Worst of all, they (all the other techs including the pharmacist)weren't even hustling or bustling. Seriously, accuracy is crucial and all but I dropped it 2 hours ago. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It should be fucking READY TO GO. I don't know what kind of system Rite Aid have, but its fucking shitty as hell. Maybe it's just THAT store. I expect a 24-hour store to be much better than that. From what I can see, they have 3 techs and 1 pharmacist working at that time. They aren't understaffed.

On another note, the person at drop-off was SLOW AS HELL. I mean to go look for a person script and scan a couple of bar codes. This shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes. I have to say that my average customer, (when I'm working pick-up) will be in and out in under 2 minutes providing there weren't any insurance problem.

I learned my lesson today. I'll never drop anything off there again. But if you must know why I didn't go to my store. It is because it's about half an hour away.

In conclusion: RITE AID SUCKS! (at least the one near me.)

P.S. I may be getting a job in a hospital soon! But sshhhhh, don't tell my Big-Chain-Pharmacy!

How to NOT get your pain medication filled...

Here's how you will not get your prescription for Narcotic painkillers filled.

Customer comes in and hand a script over at drop-off.

"Do y'all have brand name?"

Even before I even peek at what medication it was for, I heard those words. Of course, it was for << insert narcotic painkiller here >>. I proceeded to check customer's profile. Never been here before nor any other related stores.

Then I notice there weren't a DEA number on the script. Walked over to the pharmacist to confirm.

::A minute or so passes.::

"Sorry, we do not have the medication in stock."

::Customer walks off grumbling::

I hear a slight racial slur...that was the end of it.

Goodbye. Come again. In a Apusque tone. (From the Simpsons..)

It's Either Yes or No to Cash Back!

How mindless can some people be. Either you want Cash back or you don't.

Rarely do you encounter a customer who have already decided to use plastic and thus have their card ready to go. The majority of the time; however, they'll have to dig it out of their wallet or really over sized purse/handbag. Once they manage to get it out, they'll spend at least 15-30 second figuring on how to insert it.

COME ON!. Credit/debit cards are so commonplace nowadays. Half of the people who uses it can't even figure out how to swipe the card. So what if their are different types of debit/credit card terminal. Just look at the fucking picture. It is there for a reason!

When I'm lucky [a hint of sarcasm] enough to work the cash register, I'll have to aide every other customer on using their credit/debit cards. They don't notice the simplified picture located right next to the insert. Once they manage to swipe it, I would still have to help them finish the transaction. Just fucking read the prompt. Look down and READ. Hit Cancel if you want to do credit. Enter your damn PIN if you want to do Debit. Don't fucking hit CANCEL and then bitch that you wanted to do DEBIT. FUCKING READ. Don't hit "Yes, I want Cash Back" if you DON'T really want it. You got 2 choices there. Yes or No. It's even colored in Green which is synonymous for "Yes/Go" and Red for "No/Stop". Two of the most common and easiest word in the ENGLISH language to comprephend. But somehow, they always pick the wrong one.

Now, why does this pisses me off? Simple. I like to herd people in and out of my line. I strive to provide the quickest service while maintaining accuracy on my drawer count. Hence, I really hate it when they can't use 0.000000001 % of their brain power to operate a simple Credit/Debit card processor/terminal. It just throw me off on my groove.

Well.. Do you want to wait 15 minutes? Or Come back in 1 Hour?

I just don't understand some people. Every time I'm about to finish entering a script into the system, I would estimated how long it would take for it to be filled based on the current volume. Usually, it will only take us 5-10 minutes from the point where I hit enter to it being finished being QA by the Pharmacist. Those that care about their script(s) would sit and wait. While others would say they'll be back to pick it up. Remember, it was either wait or 1 hour. I entered as so. As they are about to walk away they will undoubtedly say, "I'll be back in 20 minutes". WTF, I told them "15 minutes or less or 1 hour.

Sometime, it's slow and that's fine. No problem there. However, when it's really busy with 2 or more stacks of baskets piling up, it really pisses me off. It will just ruin the flow of production for me. Sure, it's a small thing you may say, BUT, they were given two fricking options.

Now, what is going to happen? The pharmacist will hand the script to the cashier on duty. He or she will not see "Waiting" on the label and won't call the name out. Even if they come back, they'll be waiting longer. If only they had say "Okay, 15 minutes", they would get their script in 15 min. I would probably be too busy dealing with phones and customers to know if their script is done or not.

Inventory Hell.

I got off work today at 4:45ish and started my usual drive to where I work. Ugh, Philadelphia traffic is the worst. I thought I was smart and decided to take another route that's usually faster if there's little or no traffic. The backup was horrible. I got there at 6:05 PM. Can you believe that it takes me over an hour to get to work after working 8 hours already! I could find a store that's nearby but I love that place no matter how bad it can get.

We got INVENTORY coming up. Since all the months I've been working this is the first inventory that I noticed or being involved in. We're a 24 hour chain store so it get pretty busy around 4-8pm. With inventory coming up, the Robotic Inventory Auto-Counter Whatchamacallit was not fully loaded. This is because a complete count of all medications is required, so the RPH doesn't want the techs to load it. This led to major backup in filling the massive amount of scripts. I guess I've been spoiled by this wonderful machine. The top drugs are auto-counted for us and I only need to double count the Controls.

IT WAS BUSY! I got in and worked nonstop until 8:30ish when it slowed down a little. If I wasn't putting scripts in, I was at production or answering the continuous phone calls. Worst of all, today was "Truck Day". There were like 10 full totes that needed to be put away. I was jumping around from station to station. And plus, we had a relatively new tech working and one tech who was working here longer than I but never really manage to learn beyond the register and answering phone calls.

I was glad that one of our senior intern was there to help out. She is graduating with a PharmD this May thus she knows her stuff pretty well. I would've been so swamped and agitated.

On the plus side though, at least I don't have to work this Friday! INVENTORY HELL.

Pharmacy Staffs Can't Read Mind!

I worked the 4-11 shift tonight. Usually, truck day (where all the drugs ordered comes in) is today. But when I got there, the truck was a no show. On any given Sunday, everything would be put away by the time I get there. Today was not the case. So I spent half the time putting drugs away when it actually arrived.

Anyway, it was a slow day until a customer comes in for his refill of (insert ED drug here. Henceforth, the customer will be referred to as ED). Here's how the conversation happened albeit a few changes to not give away any potential reference.

Me: "Hi, may I help you, sir?"

ED: "Yeah, I'll like a refill for one."

[I'm like WTF. I can't read your God-damn mind. Oh wow, I just used the "lord name in vain". I can do it because I don't believe in G-o-d. It's just a normal part of my speech, however incorrect it may be. My excuse is that I'm ESL! Yeah, you would think that I'm going to Hell. But there isn't one! Back to topic, Cmon! Does he think I can read his mind.]

Me: "Okay, what's your last name?"

ED: "xxxxxxx".

Me: "And your first name?"

ED: "xxxxxxx."

Me: "Can you verify your birth date?"

[I ask this even if there's only profile comes u]

[I pulled ED's profile up and notice just the one ED drug, but I'll still ask:]

Me: "And what medication do you need refill, sir?"

[I'll rather be safe to make sure he's the person he's saying he is. At this point, I can see his body language saying "ain't it obvious". However, I can't and don't read mind. I treat every customer the same irregardless of what I see or able to infer from their profiles]

ED: (Insert ED drug)

Me: "And how many would you like?"

[At this point, he's really obvious about "You (meaning me) should know" kind of attitude and body language.]

What the hell, I must've slept through the class on Mind Reading as an undergrad. Some customers come in for 1 tablet, while other come in for 10 tablets or more. How am I suppose to know what he wanted. Yes, I can check his record for the last severals fills, but what if this time he wants 2 or 3. Without specifying, I wouldn't want to guess. There's another regular customer who only get 1 every time but I'll still ask 'how many' every single time.

This is just one example of how customers make it seem that the Pharmacy staffs can read their minds.

To be continued...

Not Giving Up........Just yet

Long story short, I realize that I wanted to be a Pharmacist during senior year as an undergrad albeit going to the 'Oldest pharmacy school in the nation' for a BS. Being the timely-challenged person that I am, I applied late for a few schools. It was particular due to not taking an earlier PCAT. However, I was invited to Temple for an interview early March.

About 3 days ago, I got an email stating that I was accepted as "Alternate Admission". From my understanding, all the spot are filled/sent an acceptance out, waiting for reply deal. So now, I'll wait with hope dwindling day after day as I read on SDN (Student Doctor Network), that students are being accepted and what not. On the other hand, I haven't completely giving up yet. I've heard stories and recently read that a student will be giving up his/her seat. Last semester, a fellow tech who started Temple mentioned that 4 students didn't show up to orientation, thus losing their spot. So THERE IS STILL HOPE!

The only concern is the uncertainty of not knowing where I'll be next year is really stressful. The landlord sent a mail stating that my roommate and I have 30 days to decide if we want to keep the lease or not. Roommate is already looking at other places while I'm here clueless to what my plans are. Everything is dependent on TEMPLE. Damn, the stress.

On the bright side, it's Friday! I get to work with my favorite pharmacist Sunday nights too. It's always fun when it could be.

I Got Me a Raise!...Still Not Far From Minimum Wage

So after 8 months of busting my ass, I've finally gotten a raise. But, It's only one dollar up from minimum wage. I know, better than no raise, right? I really appreciate the pharmacist that got me the raise, it wasn't even his job. He realize that I deserve a tidbit more for the FINE work that I'm doing.


I am glad I don't depend on this job to pay the rent anymore. Seriously, Pharmacy techs does and take so much shit, but are paid comparable to Mexican farm workers! I don't mean call out any race here but it's the TRUTH. Day in and day out, we deal with loud and angry customer at drop-off, at the register, on the phone, and for those unlucky techs, at the drive thru.

The retail pigs are hoarding all our hard work for themselves. These porkers need to reward us,the individuals got them into their millions dollar mansion and Italian racing cars, with better paid. CHRIST! I'm even embarrassed with how much I make as a Pharmacy technician. The job requires a hint of professionalism, more common sense than the average person, and the patience of ten Buddhist monks. I am required to wear a nice shirt, a nice pair of pants, and maybe a tie. Hell, I even dress better then some of the male Pharmacist. With ties, I used to wear them for the first couple of months. However, I quickly realized that I'm not getting paid enough to warrant a tie. I kid around on that subject about not wearing a tie because of the paid. However, in the end: nothing is further from the TRUTH.

Lately, I've been working only a night a week; therefore, I don't have anything "angry" to bitch about. I hope this coming Sunday won't fail me with copious amount of customers that will offer me that "what the f---" feeling.

What Really Grinds my Gears (ala Family Guy)

First off, if you watch Family Guy then you know what I'm talking about. I am alluding to the one episode where Peter lands a job on television with his "What Really Grinds my Gear.." segment.

I worked at CVS last night. I was going to post this but I got home at 1 am. Usually, I work 2 to 3 times a week in the evening. Apparently, they have me down for Sunday nights indefinitely now too . Anyway, you know what really grinds my gear?

In no particular order:


1) When a customer comes up to the Pharmacy counter with a SHOPPING CART full of shit. Worst yet, there are like 3 people waiting in line behind this person. It's not that I don't want to ring them out but come on. They should just pick up their scripts and go to the front to check out. By the time that I'm done with that ONE person there are like 6 people in line.

2)When a customer have to dig into their wallet/purse to get their cash/cards out. Like seriously, They KNOW that they're buying something. And buying something means you got to fucking pay for it. But no, no, they wait until you have to announce how much the total is before they start digging for their money or credit/debit cards. Have some common sense people, get your damn money ready. You're wasting my time, and especially YOUR time.

Last night, I had to wait at the cash register while someone had to run to their car to get like $3 dollar to pay for their meds. I think this happen at least once when I work the cash registers.

3) Mentioned in previous post, when a customer comes to DROP-OFF to pick up and vice versa. I think the Pharmacy area needs to have those bright neon signs so even a blind person won't miss the obvious.

4) I work at a 24-hour CVS and I love it when I get a call like this:

me: "CVS Pharmacy, May I help you?"
idiot: "Hello, what time are you guys open til" or "Are you guys 24-hour?".
me: "Yes, we're 24/7". <>

What's wrong with this pictures you ask? We'll lets see. When you call the CVS phone number, there is an automated message that go along the line of: "Welcome to your !!24HOUR!! CVS Pharmacy located at _______ and ________...". Enough said.

5) When a customer comes up to the counter WHILE talking on their cellphone. Fucking hell. If that's not bad enough, they continue to keep on talking while I stand there like a fucking idiot. I dropped whatever MORE important things that I was doing to run over and help. Yet, they're still yapping away. If you want your medications, GET OFF THE FUCKING PHONE!

6) When a customer, whom I know is receiving state or federal health care plan is bitching about a $1.00 co-pay. This is the shit that pisses me off. They're getting hundreds of dollars worth of medication for practically FREE and bitches about the co-pay.



Add your own to the list. I am sure I missed numerous scenarios here.

Why can't you HAND me your money like how I HAND you your change/prescription!?

I should be at work right now. No, not at the pharmacy but "real" work. Yeah, I got a real job. My definition of a real job is anything that pays you more than stinking $10. Being a retail tech with only about 8 months of experience doesn't pay much. I'm more there for the experience with aspiration for Pharmacy school.

So why am I not at work?

So the last couple of days, it was raining. A lot of rain. It accumulated on my dilapidated piece of shit apartment complex and it started to drip in the bathroom. Long story short, a section of the ceiling is now on the floor so I'm here waiting for the maintenance guy to be finished cleaning and fixing it.

BACK TO THE RANTING.

I would say it's only about 10% of all customers that I help who actually HANDS me their money. I appreciate it and tries exceptionally hard to help them if they have any problems.

On the other hand, I can't speak for the other 90% of fucking douchebags who seem to think a Pharmacy tech is riddled with the plague or something. They need to remember they're the one here picking up prescription(s) for who's know what disease. They're the one coughing in my face. I'M THE ONE AT RISK HERE! When it's time for them to pay, they'll throw the money down on the counter. I don't think I have ever, ever done that to anyone helping me check out at the register. I ALWAYS hand the cashier the money. It is a small sign of respect! But fucking douchebags just throw it on the counter. When I mean THROW, I literally mean it. They don't place it down nor even slide it to you, they just take it out of their cheap wallet or money clip and throw it at you. I feel like a cheap slut. I can't stand that and I can't say anything, but I'll bite my tongue and get them out of here ASAP. I don't even says "thanks, have a good day/night" to those types anymore. They just pisses me off too much.

What if I just throw their change or prescription on the counter. How would they feel. In a perfect world, that could happen. But admit it, we're not living in a perfect world. However, it'll be better when we're a Pharmacist. We won't have to deal with most of the customers. Consequently, at that juncture there will be other douchebags for us to worry about also.

For the love of god, speak up when I ask "What's your last name?"!

As a pharmacy technician, one of the possible jobs I have to deal with is the cash register and pick-up. There, I would greet customers with a "Hello (sir,mamm,or miss), may I help you". The customer typically then says they're here to pick up prescription(s). I'll ask them "What's the last name?". But then they utter something so indistinguishable, so quiet, dull, and in monotone way that I have to ask them to repeat. At time, It makes me looks like a jackass or someone who doesn't understand English. (I'm non-Caucasian) I'll ask them what's their last name again, and AGAIN they'll answer you the same way. And when you ask them for the third time, they get pissy at you. What the fuck! Learn to pronounce and enunciate your god damn name. They're holding my line up because they refuse to tell me their last name. Sometime you can get a wind of it can decipher 2 or 3 letters. But damn, they need to SPEAK THE FUCK UP.

And then, there the type of people who are so stupid that they can't see which register are open and ready to help them. Now, let me ask you this. Would you approach a register with no one standing by it or someone who's standing eagerly at the other awaiting customers? They'll be so dumb to walk up to the other empty register. And let me add the kicker: I'll have to ask them not once, but at least twice, to come over before they slide 2 feet over to be helped. My god.

Lastly, how retarded can people be. We have signs that says "DROP OFF" and "PICK UP" for a reason!