Second post of the day sorry but I have a question that I feel people here could help me with. I've been doing some job searching recently because I'm moving in the next few months and I keep noticing posting for remote work. Honestly until recently I didn't even know it was possible to be a pharmacy technician remotely which makes me wonder if anyone knows about it?

I'm really looking for information about what exactly you'd be doing working from home. I'm assuming mostly data entry and phone calls? Would that even be a good job for a tech who's been use to working in a hospital for so long? 🤔

So I currently work in a hospital and I've been a tech there for a year and a half. There are do many differences I'm not only work flow but the environment compared to my retails. Some things good and naturally some things that drive me up a wall. Having joined this group I've noticed mostly retail posts and it made me wonder.

Hospital pharmacy technicians, what annoys you the most?

Personally I notice my annoyance can range anywhere from feeling like not everyone is on the same page on how to do things. To things as simple as wishing nurses would for the love of all that is holy and pure just look in the fridge and/or patient bin for meds we've already provided before sending a missing med message. Or even a particular favorite of mine, trying to get them to take care of their crash cart supplies so I can green lock it.

I'm not sure how many hospital staffers there are here but I'd love to see how different or relatable things are across the board.

Hi, guys I'll be short and sweet with this question. Can you still be a pharmacy technician if you have another healthcare related license that was temporarily suspended? My friend and I can't find anything on the VA Pharmacy Board of Regulations website regarding this, but maybe we're looking in the wrong spot. They're pharmacy tech license is still valid until the middle of next year, but their other license is suspended until November of this year.

Hey, guys where do I have access to this preferably online. What are the steps in finding this?

At my pharmacy we have two registers which are divided by the door to walk into the pharmacy leaving ample room between the two. Our patients line up down the middle aisle and there is a pole at the end of the aisle asking patients to stay behind there until called forward to respect patient privacy.

I was busy with a patient at one register and pharmacist was with another patient who was having a mental health breakdown at the other register. It was only us two working.

Woman and her mom get in line and stand directly behind the man having the mental health breakdown. Even if we didn’t need people to stay back for patient privacy it was just too close just in general. Like if someone stood as close as they were standing behind me at the grocery store it would make me uncomfortable type close.

I’m literally opening my mouth to ask her to move behind the sign for patient privacy when the patient my pharmacist is helping asks the pharmacist if he and the pharmacist can step aside to consult so they can have more privacy. Which the women behind him had to have heard him say since I’m much further away and could hear it loud and clear. So I then say “Hi! Line forms down this aisle - if you could please wait behind the sign for patient privacy I’ll be with you in just a moment!”

Woman and her mom look very irritated at my request and walk over and STAND DIRECTLY BEHIND THE PATIENT I WAS HELPING! I’m about to ask them to please get behind the sign when the patient I’m helping turns around and says “she was talking about the sign over there. For patient PRIVACY”.

These women couldn’t give a fuuuuck. They literally said nothing and just stood there. I repeated again this is for patient privacy and they stayed standing there! The pharmacist couldn’t do anything because he was dealing with the patient who was having a literal panic attack (literal not even exaggerating) because we could only fill 83 of his 90 count pills until the rest came in on Monday.

Anyway they eventually walked away and came back like fifteen minutes later. Completely ignored me and went right over to my pharmacist 🙄😂

Also side note - the dude having the mental health breakdown was explaining to us that he doesn’t have anyone in his life and he lives alone and how he has no friends and no one he could rely on for transportation or financial help etc. so when he leaves our pharmacist turns to me and goes “then what the fuck is he doing with all the sildenafil he gets every month?” 😂😂😂😂😂😂

And I knew immediately what he was talking about. (United States). Know what it was?

Hi! I just got an interview to work remotely as a pharm tech with Cigna and I was wondering if any remote pharm techs had any interview tips they'd be willing to share. I am working at the big three letter retail pharmacy and I have about 1 year and 2 months of experience. Please help! I desperately want to get out of retail. Thanks! <3

my answer: knowing regardless of what happens throughout the day i’m getting paid for it.

so, if a customer comes up aggravated at me for something their doctor did (like not sending in their prescription), they’re wasting their time. they’re wasting my time too, but at least i get paid for it.

Hello! I moved to Florida recently, and am figuring out which CEs I need. I know that patient safety has the 05 code, and law has the 03. But which code is for medication errors?? That's not one I used to be required to have

I just passed my PTCB, so I have 2.5 years to think about it, but has anyone considered getting the CPhT Adv? Is it worth it? I have my eye on which courses I want (Immunization being first, since my RXM wants all the techs to have it).

Do any of you have experience working for ArchWell Health?

hi there, i'm a pharmacy technician student planning to take the mcq and ospe in september. Does anybody have any advice or tips on how to prepare?

I've worked in healthcare for about 11 years now. A close friend of mine struggled to find work. I encouraged him to start applying to healthcare jobs. He finally got an offer for a pharmacy tech at a local store.

He is going to be starting soon. His employer wants him to eventually get certified. I think he said it was something like 6-8 weeks.

My friend has had a very bumpy road in life and I want to help him get his life on track. What things should he do to make himself more employable in the field? How easily can he find another job once certified? Is hospital work better? What sort of promotions should he consider?

Thanks!

I am trying to see what dates the PTCB exam is offered in my state.

However, the website wants me to pay BEFOREhand. Is there a way to see the exact test dates and locations without paying?

I've worked in healthcare for about 11 years now. A close friend of mine struggled to find work. I encouraged him to start applying to healthcare jobs. He finally got an offer for a pharmacy tech at a local store.

He is going to be starting soon. His employer wants him to eventually get certified. I think he said it was something like 6-8 weeks.

My friend has had a very bumpy road in life and I want to help him get his life on track. What things should he do to make himself more employable in the field? How easily can he find another job once certified? Is hospital work better? What sort of promotions should he consider?

Thanks!

My facility uses omnicells with controlled drug dispensers and we were recently told (don't know by whom) that the tearaway portion of a Civica fentanyl vial is a "tamper seal" so we can no longer use them in the dispensers. This is a real hassle, as our purchasing dept. isn't able to guarantee we'll get product without a "seal". Has anyone else heard this?

Hey y'all! So I recently took the ExCPT through my high school, currently waiting on my results. I want to eventually work in a hospital pharmacy as a pharmacy technician. From my understanding, most hospital pharmacies require the PTCB to hire and you're required to go through a PTCB-recognized training program to qualify to take the exam. I tried to research it and most people recommend going through training programs like the Walgreens pharmacy technician apprenticeship, which takes 9+ months. Unfortunately, I leave for college in 4 months so I won't be able to do a program like that since I will be moving away from home. Should I enroll in an online accredited training course to take the PTCB or wait until I get to try to get an apprenticeship?

Hello fellow IV techs! How are yall mitigating the bicarbonate premade bag shortage? We’re currently hand batching 10+ a day at my hospital and there has got to be a better way than +-150mL for every bag 😭 If you guys are doing anything different please tell me!

i’m a brand new tech getting settled into my new workplace. one of the factors that made me excited to work at this store was my pharmacist who seemed really nice and relaxed when i met him to interview.

since then i’ve come to realize that he is generally nice but it depends on his mood. if i ask too many questions he gets annoyed and short. sometimes he acts annoyed if i call him over for a DUR. if he’s ever on the phone or having a conversation with another tech he doesn’t want to be interrupted if i have a question, DUR, or anything else. i have to stand there waiting with a customer at the register until he’s done.

i get that it’s annoying to get asked lots of questions all shift but i’m not rlly sure what the alternative is? i ask my coworkers questions as much as i can to avoid asking the pharmacist but they’re usually busy too.

does anyone have any advice? how do i deal with this until i get more experience and stop having to ask questions all the time?

Hey y’all! I am currently a pharmacy tech at a pharmacy near my college. I’ve worked there almost the whole school year since November and they have been pretty accommodating of my schooling needs.

The pharmacist asked me a couple weeks ago if I would be staying over the summer and when my last day would be, and I told him no since school ends the 7th of may. I will be taking classes over the summer and since I really need to focus on them I wanted to go home and really work hard.

My biggest worry was money, because even if I will be having less expenses I have college bills and stuff. My mom said I should ask the pharmacists if it would be a possibility for me to transfer over and work at the pharmacy closer to my house (same company) over the summer. But I am really scared because I’m already an anxious person as is but I don’t know how it would work since I’d be coming back to my college pharmacy in the fall.

Hello,

I’ve been working as a pharmacy tech at cvs for 8 months in Illinois and planned to move in September to Florida. How do I go about the transfer, and also will my hourly pay changed once I do transfer or will I get to keep my hourly pay rate. I know Florida tend to make less hourly. Has anyone transfer and got to keep your hourly rate? Please share and thank you so much.

had a customer come in to pick up a few medications. she asked how much it cost, and i told she “two medications costed almost $100 each w insurance.” they requested for me to print out a sheet with the medication and prices on it.

patient: print out a sheet that shows the cost of (only one of the expensive medications) i’ll be buying it but i need to show my doctor how much it is. (she also said she would be buying EVERYTHING)

me: okay that’s fine. (i go to print it and then i had her the paper and start scanning)

patient: why am i paying over $200?

me: because two medications costed almost $100.

patient: no, you’re overcharging me.

me: no, i told you there’s two that costed $100.

patient: THEN WHERE IS IT ON THE SHEET?!

me: (atp i was getting hot bc i started to get mad) (i grab the sheet and point at both medications bc luckily i accidentally printed prices for both!!) right here it shows both cost almost $100.

patient: WELL I DONT WANT THAT SHIT THEN DAMN

me: (yelling) okay, well you said you did and i printed off the sheets for you. no need to yell because you messed up.

patient: well don’t give me my damn medicine, i don’t want this shit i just want this one. (points at the expensive c2 drug)

pharmacist walks over

pharmacist: you said you wanted both, then proceeded to yell when she charged you for the two you wanted. you got your paper, you got your medicine now please pay for the one you want a leave.

then the patient stood at the register for 10 minutes and then sat on the ground watching us for another 5 and then left.

my pharmacist said i handled it well and the patient was ridiculous

This is just my appreciation post for the good side of retail that we don’t always get to see. Some weeks can be so horrible it makes you question why you work retail to begin with. But weeks where I get to see my regular patients and catch up with them, and when I get to help a patient out with something that they’re struggling with and you can see and hear the true appreciation can sometimes make it all worth it.

Having a line full of my regulars and getting to crack jokes with them and my co workers can sometimes fill me with such a high on life it’s crazy. So on days like this I love to appreciate the small ways that we can and do change peoples days and potentially lives.

I know it sounds a little naiive and idealistic, but to me it’s so true.

my answer: when i was younger i thought all techs were pharmacists

Hi all! I am taking my sterile compounding exam today. Has anyone taken it recently and have any pointers? I feel relatively prepared but seeking last minute pointers because of the lack of official practice exam for this test. Thanks in advance!! Have a great day everyone

Passed my ptcb today!

Hey so r/Publix_Pharmacy doesn’t allow posts at the moment for some reason, so I was hoping someone may know here.

I’m a technician that will transition to immunizing intern. Will I be able to get a pay raise for the new position?

Thanks!

Ok everyone, looking for some honest opinions.. I was hired almost a year ago, but I have pharmacy experience(started with another retail chain and trained VERY differently than CVS trains),nationally certified. -when I started it quickly became clear to me that the PIC kept the same 2 technicians on the bench and treated the other technicians like cashiers, no interest in teaching them anything. Shortly after I started I pushed to implement a fair rotation schedule…

Fast forward to today, there have been A LOT of changes in my store and I got my way and we do have a modified rotation schedule and if we stick to it- we all do 2hrs at pick up, 2hrs at drive and 2hrs without customer responsibilities. So yes that leaves 2 hrs that one of us might have to do double duty at a station. I have NEVER been unwilling to work every station and my multitasking ability is one thing I actually take pride in. I am also aware that I have chosen a retail pharmacy job and customer service is 100% part of my job. I’m fast on my feet and don’t have to think twice about where my drugs are, so I don’t mind supporting my main production tech more than I actually produce even if I produce faster. I am fast but I am not the fastest producer in my store (we only do a few hundred daily). I am also the only one who will do the OV order and drop QI…

Let me get to the point- I had no real intention of penning a novel😒 Typical day goes like this— 9am - noon DT and production “2”, folding labels, pulling drugs, producing. I even support my main production tech by grabbing pick up when I can. 12-1:30 Pick up, OV order, QI, RTSs if not already pulled, fold labels, pull/return drugs, and help out with DT if I have a chance. I am not the tech that HAS to be on the bench and have 2 techs who have been doing this for 5 minutes and act like they are being punished if they aren’t producing and responsible for customer service. And I have to fold labels and pull drugs if I put myself in the main production spot anyway because they’re salty af. So I will 100% support production after lunch to avoid the shade and attitudes. But I literally spent the first half of my shift at either pick up or drive… after lunch I am back up customer service for at least 2 hours unless that queue is blowing up. I complete cycle counts, finish RTSs if needed, complete any OV return requests, pull outdates and help out with pick up/drive if I have the chance. If I’m in the middle of something, the help I receive 99% of the time is “we will be right with you”. One of them will only put the drugs they used away.

F*ck… you are amazing if you are still here and my appreciation for you is strong. I understand that customer servicing sucks arse.. but it’s retail pharmacy. Am I wrong to think that everyone should be doing their time? Especially since none of us want to- not all day for sure. I certainly can’t identify anything I’m doing to earn the shade they have reserved for me.

Should I be tom Petty and stop supporting them when I’m assigned to off production tasks? Act like my feet are glued to the floor when I am producing?? I honestly don’t believe I have it in me. Is it like this everywhere?

I wish I had a prize for those of you who made it to the end. Real MVPs!

Not even joking. And no, the customer didn't even have time to complain, this was straight from the pharmacy manager.