I'm a pharm tech by licensure, although I now work a weird hybrid between pharmacy and finance for a hospital system. I did some time in retail years ago when I first started. And by the looks of things, it's only gotten worse.

I procrastinated and waited until the last week to get my flu vaccine. My employee health had no appts, so I went to a retail pharmacy. I did make an appt, but when I got there like 10 other people were also there for vaccines. It was chaos - people complaining about the wait for meds, the wait for vaccines, etc.

Got my vax, went home. Was surprised at how good I felt the next day, as I'm usually someone who has 24-48hrs of feeling like crud post flu-vax. But man, was my arm sore.

Well, the following day I got a call from the pharmacy. I did not get a flu shot. They accidentally gave me a tetanus vaccine, meant for someone else.

Y'all, I was so upset. But not for me. For the PHARMACIST. One pharmacist on staff to check meds, counsel patients, AND give vaccines? And only one tech and one clerk? That's absolutely ridiculous. It's setting someone up to fail.

I was given the corporate number, "in case I want to file a complaint." And I do, but not on the pharmacy or pharmacist. I want to tell them their staffing levels are criminal and dangerous.

Should I call? Because my main concern is that I don't want this poor pharmacist, who was clearly upset with themselves and concerned for my welfare, to get in any extra trouble on my part. I know it's inevitably already been reported, but I don't want to add to the pile. Mistakes happen. No one was hurt or injured. I'd hate to see this pharmacist end up disciplined further on my account.

Would love to hear what you got (or didn’t get) for pharmacy appreciation week and what setting you work in!

For me:
Large AMC, essentially got told our managers can choose what to do for us from a list of: buy food, buy a gift for us, an event, or gift card to our cafeteria. Limit $15 per person.

Can we please stop using food as compensation? Can't even put them in a toaster.

Pharmacy is short staffed and days behind. Everyone is at their whits end. This feels like a slap in the face on so many levels.

I have always tried to be grateful for any gift, big or small, but at this point why even bother.

I'm so desperate and crying because I don't know what to do. I passed the NAPLEX in August and purchased a score transfer to the state. I completed the application and my IdentoGO fingerprints, which show as 'completed' in the portal, but my official school transcript and NAPLEX score transfer from mid-August still say 'pending' or 'uncompleted.'

I've called both NABP and the state board a couple of times. NABP keeps saying the score was transferred through the system and there is no way the state didn't receive it. As for my school transcript, I ordered it via a certified service, and the tracking showed it was successfully delivered. I even verified the mailing address with the state to make sure it was correct, yet they still claim they haven't received it. Still no NAPLEX score and no transcript in the system. This has been unresolved for two months, and I don't know what to do now. Any advice on how to fix this?

Context: hospital pharmacist and work night shift

This is my 7th year working here so my 7th “pharmacy week”.

One thing that always pissed me off is that we never get any of the hot food that the drug reps bring in throughout the year, whenever there is a party they don’t do it at night, whenever it’s pharmacy week and there’s free food brought in every day during pharmacy week, it’s never brought in during evening or night shift.

And then they don’t even leave much out for us. Its all dried up and congealed, or they eat and finish all the best stuff and you get a few spoonfuls of what’s left over, meanwhile they leave out all the trays for us to clean up.

Am I being petty if I stop cleaning up the break room and just leave it a mess because we aren’t getting to take part in the festivities as night shift crew?

Would it be weird if I went to the director of pharmacy and asked them to make sure that we get at least one day this week where the drug rep brings in the hot food during the night shift or late during the evening shift so that we actually get a nice selection of food and fresh for the night shift? We are right outside NYC so restaurants are open late anyway.

Or is this just something that we are expected to accept as night shift that we won’t be able to take part in hospital festivities and celebrations and also that we won’t get the recognition from the big wigs and hospital publications the way that day shift pharmacists sometimes get?

If you celebrated pharmacy technician day today too, what did you do?

New PharmDs in PR: What can you say about the current state of the pharmacy field in Puerto Rico? What challenges are you encountering? Everything seems to be going from bad to worse.

How long did you study for the BCPS? Tips on a study schedule while working full time? Anyone willing to share their ACCP study material? Any tips and advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I am hoping those who agree with this initiative can sign this petition that calls on the Ministry of Health and Ontario College of Pharmacists to allow pharmacists in Ontario to perform therapeutic substitutions within the same therapeutic class. Ontario is one of the last provinces where this is not possible and I believe this is something that is already within the framework since we can now do therapeutic substitutions for controlled medications. During the pantoprazole magnesium backorder we had to constantly fax doctors for a simple switch to pantoprazole sodium, so if you agree with the premise of this petition I am hoping you can sign it: https://c.org/zwsfLdqHBQ

I believe this expansion in scope will prove useful to not only pharmacists but also prescribing healthcare professionals who trust our judgment to switch. I also know this subreddit is not specific to Ontario, but it is one of the bigger reddits I have seen for pharmacy so I am hoping that some Ontario pharmacists frequent this subreddit.
Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns. The goal is to reach 500 signatures, but more is always appreciated as well.

In light of the fact thwt ive been busting my ... for CVS for 3 years who do I ask for to get me to what is an "average" or "above average" hourly in my region

Hello! Does anyone know where I can apply for a remote Order Entry Technician position that involves processing prescriptions and refills? I’m based in the Philippines. Thank you!

Hi, my company recently had a big lay off and now I’m looking for another remote pharmacist position. Any companies hiring for permanent, full time pharmacists. I did MTM for a little bit but looking more for remote verification work. Any insight on which companies/pharmacies I can apply to. I’m licensed in Florida and Texas

I was working a per diem hospital job with a CACI and they have a BUD of 4h from the time of preparation if made inside the caci. USP 797 had an update in 2022? (I graduated 2017) that said immediate use is good for 4 hours as opposed to 1 hour that I learned? My current workplace has 0 quality control, no clean room, no IV room, no MFRs. So if we are using vial mate or occasional compounding for immediate use if vial mate is not an option, then what would be the mandated BUD? Or does it vary from state to state? I heard California is sticking with 1 hour bud? Does anyone have the updated literature or guidance as to when the changes happened? Tia!

I'm not in the trade and would like someone to critic this tool I've built. I need it to work correctly and have actual value so everyone is welcome to give advice. I've been googling as much as I can but now in need of real people's eyes and views.

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate some advice because I'm going through a difficult situation at my new job. I recently started working as a pharmacist in Belgium. I moved here from Italy, and after 2 months of searching for a job, I finally got hired in a Family-run pharmacy with a permanent contract. I was so happy and grateful to God for this opportunity.

However, I've only been working there for two weeks, and I'm already struggling emotionally.

I have no previous experience working in a community pharmacy, so I have a lot to learn: the Belgian medications, the computer system, how to advise patients, and also the Dutch language, which I'm still learning.

The people who hired me are very kind and supportive, but unfortunately, I don't feel welcomed by my coworkers. They barely talk to me, don't try to include me, and sometimes seem annoyed when I ask questions or try to observe how they work. I often feel like they don't want me around. They are supposed to provide me with proper training, but unfortunately, they are not doing so.

Recently, the pharmacist in charge told me that she feels anxious when I do certain tasks and that she said that it is impossible for me to replace a colleague who is leaving in December. Hearing this after only two weeks was very discouraging, especially because I was promised three months of training.

I genuinely want to work, learn, and become a good pharmacist. I'm studying at home and trying my best every day. I don't expect everyone to like me or become my friend, but I wish I could work in an environment where I feel supported while learning.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Would you speak up or stay quiet and keep pushing through? How do you deal with coworkers who make you feel unwelcome when you're new and still learning? What should I do?

I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you for reading. ❤️

Hello! I'm a writer. Writing a story about a Medical Officer stealing a bunch of illegally imported drugs from his hospital's storage. A crazy plotline I know but I have come to Reddit because I have some questions lol

For Context - the hospital isn't big, its more like an Out-Patient clinic attached to a huge research institute concerned with development of medicine and other treatments for Neurological disorders. I'm not very educated on Biology and the medical side of things so I would like to know few things.

Obviously I can't have 100% realism because the story is fiction. But I would just like to get a general idea of how this would work, it would help. Nothing big, just a basic idea. Obviously I'm not asking how to rob a hospital or anything lmao more like I just want to understand how it would work in the first place.

The questions,

1. Usually what kind of space is the standard for a large-scale storage of medicine? Are they usually stored above ground? Or underground? (like in basements)

2. Is everything ranging from cosmetic stuff to things like anesthetics stored under one roof?

3. Do they have temperature controlled sections? If so, what type of medicine goes where?

4. Usually, who has access to the storage? (Job titles would be great!) and how often does the storage get accessed?

5. Any other thing I should know in order to write this story?

I know this might be a super unserious, silly post on a serious subreddit but... I'd like to learn from actual Pharmacists and folks with experience in the field. And what better way than asking from reddit lol

IF this gets any actual responses, theres a LOT more questions I wanna ask haha. So I hope it does get answers.

I’m currently a staff pharmacist and am working every Sunday (my partner does not work Sundays). having done this for 2 years I’m thinking about requesting a schedule change. Either having 1 Sunday off a month or every other Sunday off. I have been picking overlap shifts at my store for 3 months and those shifts have been added into my schedule as part of the permanent rotation (so I would maintain my full time status). The only problem is the company would have to find floater coverage if I stopped working every Sunday.
Do you think this is a reasonable request?

Annual Salary

I might have opportunity to jump. What is the 401k match? Is using vacation time a hassle due to seniority?

Anyone works in an institutional setting they absolutely love- pay, people, manager, upper management and work culture- that they absolutely love?
What makes it wonderful?
What city/town/remote?
Company?
Dont gate keep, tell us if you have openings 😁

Hi folks,

I'm thinking about applying for a nuclear position. If I remember right, due to the half life of the compounds, it is typically really funky hours (2am to 10am?).

I'm curious if anyone knows the typical schedule. Any chance it is 7 on/7 off?

I'm in a very fortunate position where I currently love my job. The only thing that would get me to jump is 1) nuclear pharmacy and 2) more time off.

The post says: "This role is a permanent night-shift role and requires consistent availability during very early morning/night hours. Flexibility to work alternate early morning/night shift schedules may be needed based on operational requirements"

Any guidance/advice is greatly appreciated.

TIA

ETA: Thanks ya'll for really solid answers and a peak behind the curtain. Looks like I was wish casting and overlooking the obvious on why a 7on/7off would be unlikely.

This is why I love reddit though. Sure, there are bots on bots. But you can ask a really niche question and some stranger will share their insights.

I have 1 month to study for BCACP. I have both the accp materials and the full package of med101. What’s the best way to study. I was planning on just doing questions for each topic and and reading the chapters in question questions wrong on. Should I focus on doing the accp questions or the med101. I guess what would be the best way to go about it.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00101-012-1999-z

I m posting here as local laws in my country requires any safety issue to not be public and since this is documented in reasearch under other drug names, my safety reports were denied escalation. So this is about a safety issue with Buccolam 10 mg, which is under-documented in psychiatry and the drug used mainly by caregivers of people with epilepsy without the relevant precautions. In my country, it is also used for adults. The legal issue is neither the package leaflet nor the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) mentions it, thus making it an issue equivalent to the Depakine/Sodium valproate case.

Anaesthetists know that the drug's active substance (midazolam) can, in rare cases, alter memories into memories of sexual assault. One dose of Buccolam roughly corresponds to the dose that can produce a false memory of sexual assault in the operating theatre (sodomy in men), and it is slightly higher in women because of the difference in body weight. The url is a review cited several times, published in a peer-reviewed Springer Nature journal. In Germany, the review recommends that patients should never be anaesthetised or sedated without qualified healthcare staff present as an independent witness or filmed. This matters because the risk of a prison sentence is particularly high when a memory of sexual assault is involved: innocence is particularly difficult to prove, and the use of midazolam is not proof that no sexual assault took place. There is also a case similar to mine involving another drug used for the same purpose: Jodin Froeber, in Wisconsin, who did not, however, make the connection. The Europpean Union Buccolam package leaflet and SmPC only mention hallucinations, but in psychiatry, where patients with epilepsy are concerned, people think of things like pink elephants, not of a legal risk, or of having to kill oneself or be killed in order to protect your familly who now dislike you. I acknowledge, however, that I do not have the means to survey psychiatrists to assess what proportion of them are aware of this: if the number is high, then this is medical school knowlwedge and the problem only concerns caregivers/relatives of people with epilepsy.

Consequences:

For the patient: post-traumatic stress. Suicidal thoughts, or even suicide. Breaking off relations with the family or the relative concerned, while ultimately being glad to have made that decision, in the sense that the false memory leads to a false or genuine realisation of how terrible such a person is in reality.

For the accused: a sentence of decades in prison for sexual assault of a vulnerable person, and/or a vendetta, or even, in the most extreme cases, gjakmarrja. Since the latter cannot be stopped by the police or the courts, the only way to escape it remains to emigrate or to pay for a squad of round-the-clock bodyguards for each of the family members who need protecting.

The problem is within countries under the EMA authority from the Europpean Union. The Canadian SmPC do mention the risk.

I have 1 month to study for BCACP. I have both the accp materials and the full package of med101. What’s the best way to study. I was planning on just doing questions for each topic and and reading the chapters in question questions wrong on. Should I focus on doing the accp questions or the med101. I guess what would be the best way to go about it.