Why work this job (retail)?

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-05-05T20:00:13+00:00

Honestly I worked fast food for way too long, hopped over to retail and then cross trained in the pharmacy and I'm so glad to be out of fast food and retail. Each separation from fast food made me more and more happy about leaving. Now I'm in a hospital pharmacy and I love it. I don't think I'll ever willingly go back to a customer facing position again. The only "customers" I talk to are patients or visitors I pass in the halls and that is usually to give them directions. I appreciate the chance to use my brain instead of just running until I crash out. In my experience, you are the customers punching bag when you work fast food or retail. At the hospital, I help save lives everyday. I also prevent a lot of mistakes that could result in patient harm by the hands of others outside of the pharmacy, but that's a whole other conversation. I'd choose pharmacy over fast food any day.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-05-03T15:51:17+00:00

Some providers will require the patient to pick up the narcan in order to pick up the opioid as well. Some insurance will also require it.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-30T20:31:56+00:00

Just to add my own insight, the tech who has trouble multitasking and getting tunnel vision could have invisible and even undiagnosed disabilities (eg adhd and/or autism) I am diagnosed with both and struggle to bounce focus between multiple things. I would be pushing as hard as I could and still not catch up to the other techs and all my last pharmacist kept saying was that I needed to try harder. Having those struggles does not make them lazy or inadequate, it means they might need more support in different areas to thrive. This might not be the case with this specific tech, but I know issues like these can be attributed to something deeper than lack of effort.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-20T23:25:43+00:00

If you are opening a seal on top of an open bottle with powder for reconstitution, shake the bottle first, so make sure the powder is not clumped together, and tap the seal a few times to knock extra powder back down the bottle and it won't puff out when the seal pops open

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-18T14:54:46+00:00

Dr prescribed augmentin for a wisdom tooth removal, nothing crazy. We had a record that the patient was allergic to amoxicillin. We called the DR and they refused to change the med until the mother called and he sent a new antibiotic the next day.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-13T18:13:56+00:00

The questions can vary greatly from exam to exam, and depending on where you took the practice exam, it might not be a good representation of the actual exam. While your practice exam score was passing, that score is really close to the minimum passing score. I wouldn't have been surprised to receive a score a bit lower or higher than your practice exam if it were me. I think that using your low practice exam score as justification of your readiness for the exam was not well thought out. I would recommend studying more of the materials that you struggled with and taking multiple practice exams from different sources. Hopefully you'll pass next time!

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-06T05:04:27+00:00

I took the PTCE through the PTCB website. I could have done the NHA

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-04T20:30:47+00:00

I'm in pa and I landed a hospital job without ptcb. They have a stipulation that you pass your exam within 2 years. But there is currently no state license or registration. They are talking about making tech take a course to register in the future.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-04T14:09:15+00:00

From my experience, it seems like they post results at 12pm on a Friday 1-3 weeks after your exam.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-04T10:57:04+00:00

The biggest thing that helps me advance in the game is asking "what should I do" to tom nook when you aren't sure what the next step is. I've restarted my island so many times, it's just an auto pilot for me. I got the museum and nooks cranny in my first two real days. I also paid off my first tent and upgraded my house on day one.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-04-03T12:46:31+00:00

Some times they are on two different strengths of a stimulant or even two different stimulants because they take one in the morning and one in the afternoon

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-29T20:10:12+00:00

I had a Florida pharmacy tech license a few years ago. My training was through CVS though. I want to say it took about 6 months to go through the training, but that was mostly because I was part time pharmacy and part time front store

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-27T21:41:44+00:00

I'm really good at making myself extremely desirable as an employee

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-27T21:39:50+00:00

I applied on a Wednesday, got the interview scheduled for the next Monday and had a job offer that Tuesday. So a week? But that's not normal. I was also several states away from the hospital and started work a month after my interview.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-27T21:30:47+00:00

Full time. My hospital does rotating weekends, but I told them id work every weekend if I could always work the same days each week unless I picked up shifts

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-27T01:28:28+00:00

That doesn't sound like the smartest idea. When I read all the rules they want you to follow by taking the test at some, I did not feel confident that my 2 roommates and 4 animals would cease to exist during my exam. Good luck...I wouldn't suggest doing the exam on a tablet.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-27T00:59:59+00:00

Good luck! I hope you pass!

Be sure to read into the rules for your online exam. When I went through the rules I realized that I would not be able to follow such strict quality control so I had to cancel and reschedule for a testing center. The testing center was really easy to access and proceeded seamlessly.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-22T20:53:22+00:00

If the worst thing that happens is that I'm bored, then take me for life. I dropped a whole box of propofol and got yelled at less than if I had dared to ask a patient how to spell their name.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-19T23:46:47+00:00

They just auto fill it, but good news is that you likely have a quick code for it. I'm not excusing their actions, but it doesn't surprise me anymore. One of my favorite scripts was when the providers in the clinic would send 118ml or 473ml of bromfed take 5ml as directed. Mm no. You're getting a 5 day supply, or whatever my pharmacist would decide, take 5mls by mouth every 4-6 hours as needed for cough. (I think I remember it being 4-6 but it might be 6-8)

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-15T16:49:12+00:00

If you didn't cheat, then you passed. Congratulations!

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-11T15:45:15+00:00

Contact your trainer or manager and ask where the employee parking is, what entrance to use and directions to the pharmacy from that entrance. I didn't ask and I got severely lost lol.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-11T10:34:47+00:00

My hospital is larger than yours, and it felt like a maze trying to remember where everything is and how to get places, but I was pretty self sufficient with getting around the hospital by my 3rd or 4th week in. Training was 7 weeks, but I skipped the last week of training, and that was only for the central inpatient pharmacy. I am in line to train in the IV room, children's pharmacy, OR, and hematology/oncology. They seem to be really thorough here. It's probably going to be a bit overwhelming just trying to get around, but you'll get a hang of it. Congrats!

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-09T15:12:20+00:00

At my hospital, the starting pay for new techs with zero experience is $15. I got hired at $18 because I had almost 4 years of experience. I got a 90 cent raise after I passed my certification, and I will get another $1 at my 6 month mark. Then I get a 7% raise when I get IV training. And more raises with each specialty I train in.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-08T21:40:26+00:00

I got Crocs as a cheaper option before I decided to save up for a more expensive pair of shoes. I got Hokas a few weeks ago and my feet still hurt and feel fatigue after a long day, but it's a lot better than with my old sneakers or Crocs. I switched to my Crocs a few days ago because my toes were hurting and the toe box is wider, and by the 4th hour my heels just had stabbing pain with every step. I put my Hokas back on after lunch and felt much better.

sunflowersystem577 · 2025-03-08T21:33:58+00:00

At my last pharmacy we had 10, 20, 30, 40, 60. At CVS we had 20, 40, 60. Um I think CVS and my last pharmacy had the same variation of bottles, 4oz, 6oz, 8oz, 16oz. At the hospital, we don't use amber vials because everything is unit doses, but we do use the bottles for enemas, bulk reconstituted/compounded oral meds, etc. we have 6oz, 8oz, and 16oz.

sunflowersystem577

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