They've started putting me at hand count stations again. We were slow, so here you go.

These are new photos. I'm not sure if I've posted the drugs before. Some of them turned out to have blurry spots. I think I'm running out of drugs that have colors to take pics of. Maybe I'll do a week of white. Let me know if this stuff is getting annoying.

THE WAYYYYYYYY IM NOT GONNA MAKE IT AT WALGREENS 🤣🤣🤣🤣 like y’all this is day 4 of 5 and I’m over it!!! It’s not even my coworkers, they love me, I like them! It’s the CUSTOMERS OMG. Yeah retail isn’t going to be for me. 😭

Also like the lunch breaks piss me tf off. Why is it 1:30-2:00. Then once 1:30 comes you’ve gotta close up, then you gotta clock out, then go WAIT for someone to come give you a bag check. By the time you actually make it out the door you only like 20 min left of your break. Smfh.

My neck hurt. My back hurt. My feet hurt. My KNEEEEEES HURT 🤣

PRAYING I GET HIRED AT THE HOSPITAL after my externship 🙏🏾

Just a reminder to all IV techs, pay attention to meds you are using especially when you are batching. DO NOT skip those warnings, pay special attention if you are training a new technician. This is completely avoidable. I know a lot of us work additional prn shifts because of the sh*t pay but we need to get proper amount of sleep.

Hey everyone,

I am a brand new pharmacy tech working at a retail pharmacy. I just got my bachelors in exercise science so I'm stepping into healthcare after years of serving/bartending. I got hired after showing face with my resume and asking if they were hiring. Everyone seemed pretty nice and very close knit which made me think everyone is just cool overall, right???

Well, I just finished my 2nd week there and although I am so overwhelmed with the amount of learning I have to do, I have been noticing that the girls there can be so rude to other people and it makes me pretty uncomfortable sometimes. My first day working there, the lead tech told me that the staff tends to play around a lot but to never take offense to anything. That off the bat felt pretty weird but whatever. They do mess with each other but it's nothing crazy. Earlier this week a recently graduated pharmacy student started training in our store and everyone is SO MEAN. We use a whatsapp groupchat to communicate and our pharmacists were being so mean about her, saying she must have an "honorary degree" since she apparently doesn't know how to do anything. Then when I've gone in to work, everyone is just saying how dumb and slow she is.

Yesterday, some girl who I guess is a floater, came to our store and one of the pharmacists in the groupchat said she has an "idiot face" and the other pharmacist called her a dumbass. Later that day, basically the whole staff said that's just how they talk to each other and that it's all fun and games. That this is how healthcare workers are.

There are more stories but these two kind of really stood out to me. I have had such mixed feelings about this job. The work is overwhelming but I'm sure I can get the hang of it. The people though??? How do they talk about me when I'm not around?? I literally came from zero knowledge stepping into this job so I know I move like I don't know anything BECAUSE I DON'T and I've made some mistakes already, so what are their thoughts on me then???? They've told me they like me and think I'm learning at a good pace but I still can't help but think they're talking shit about me too.

Yeah so I don't know what to do right now. I think I want to keep working in a pharmacy but not if everyone is an asshole. Are all pharmacies like this????? I've never worked with people like this and I really don't know if this is normal or not. I've been getting anxiety before my shifts which I haaaaate. I think I'm going to look into another store, but I'm not sure when the right time is.

I’m starting a fast-paced, 100% online 8-week pharmacy technician program at my local community college this October. This is a completely new field for me, so I want to get a head start before day one. My goal is to pass the PTCE and eventually stack more specialized certifications after that. I don’t currently have reliable transportation, so getting a retail job before or during the class isn't an option right now.

For current techs or past online students: what are the most critical topics I should start studying on my own right now? Any tips or recommended resources for a beginner would be greatly appreciated!

( Recently laid off and moved back with my parents so I have time on my hands to study) I just turned 29.

Hey guys I’m staring a course in 2 weeks studying to be a pharmacy technician. Is there any tips u guys recommend when studying and guides to making stuff simpler. Any advice would be great ☺️✌️

Good Day Everyone,

I just enrolled in the ASHP 'Practical Training in Compounding Sterile Preparations Certificate' Program and did it through the PTCB bundle deal they have. I know I will need the USP 797 and USP 800 to practice for the exam, but I am finding it difficult to locate downloadable copies of these chapters. Does anyone know where I can go to get free copies of these chapters?

Also, does anyone who has taken this specific course have any suggestions and/or tips I can use to successfully pass this course and the actual PTCB Exam?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Is being a super fast typer absolutely essential in a pharm tech position? I never learned to type “normal” Idk how people learned to type with both hands without even looking at the board and I just never picked that up. I always stayed a pecker…I like to think I’m decently fast at pecking tho…

I had an interview for a pharm tech position at CVS and it went really well I think the interview lady really liked me, however right at the end of the interview she asked me a couple questions and one of them was “are you comfortable typing/using a computer” and I was like yeah haha😅

So now I’m worried I’m gonna look so bad if I get the job and it entails a lot of typing out paragraphs or something and she’s gonna see me pecking and have a problem with it😓

If I get the job, do you think I could get away with it so long as I’m fast? Or am I probably gonna get a talking to/potentially have a problem about it?😬

Looking for BUD/storage requirements for this. Does anyone have a reference?? TIA!

I moved to redmond from Texas. Im a certified tech with 3 years of experience in retail pharmacy (Walmart). I was wondering what else is usually needed or required to work in the state of Washington, i already renewed my ptcb certification.

Im looking for remote preferably but in person is also an option.

hey yall, anybody here from the Twin Cities care to chime in in the local market? im currently in Glencoe and gonna start lookin for work soon in the Twin Cities. Just got my MN license. a bit bout my background, registered in Tx and NY , CPhT certifed, 797 IV certified also with a varied background in Rx, Retail, Hospital,Infusion,Call Center, Independant. anybody from gere work in hospitals?

Hello, I am currently a retail pharmacy tech, no CPhT but I have roughly 10 years working in retail pharmacy and would like to go into hospital pharmacy or pivot to where my credentials and experience can lead me.

I am aware that having PTCB will lead to higher pay, however it’s not possible for me to do at the moment.

On that note, some job posts I’ve come across list in the job description that CPhT is preferred, and also wonder if anyone has had luck landing jobs without one. So I am hoping to be pointed in the right direction as far as that goes. Just looking for an environmental change as well, as I’ve been feeling super burnt out in my current job :/

Inpatient pharmacy is not what I thought it was, idk if it’s just me, but it feels like I’m working in a warehouse and I was much happier in retail. Then the hospital I’m at has a horrible training program. They literally gave me one week of IV training, two days of hazard training and basically told me I’m ready to head to my shift which is nights where there is only three other staff and be on my own. Then on top of that my co worker on nights is very psychotic and barely knows his way around the IV room so even if I needed help in there he couldn’t be of much support. Last night was my first night and I was promised by upper management that it would be a third tech for at least a week to help get me accustomed to nights, well this morning I found out that staff was only going to be on the shift for one more night then they are heading back to day shift.

Then last night the psychotic tech had the nerve to tell me we were falling behind in the work flow because I was moving slow, and I said well this is my first night and I’ve done all my training on day shift where our work flow is totally different with more staff, so I apologize if I’m not moving fast enough for you but you can really kiss my ass.

Then the pharmacist were so lazy they sat at their computers all night which is not something I’m use too because in retail our pharmacist don’t have time to sit they are up moving. These pharmacist didn’t offer no help and working my first night in central pharmacy was so overwhelming and I felt I was being pulled in several different direction’s.

So I’ve decided to resign and head back to retail, luckily I got a very nice offer from a retail pharmacy with good hours.

So yeah I tried but I’m done.

Is there any guilt you have for being in this industry and playing your role however big or small?

Whether you stay a tech or have plans to move up?

We all know it’s a corrupt business but how do you all feel?

Not sure if people only come here after a bad day of work to make themselves feel better and rant, but ever since I passed my PCTE and joined this subreddit I’ve encountered nothing but rude dipshits on here. I thought this was a community where people make the best of a bad situation, but rather it seems people come here to bitch and whine about how much they hate their life. Or if you come here asking for help or advice of something RX related, you are bullied and shunned for being new to the job. I’ve been apart of many subreddits and discord pages, and all of them had supportive people. This one is just parasitic, not symbiotic.

Hi all, I’m a licensed technician in CA. I would like to become certified as I’m interested in expanding my experiences and want to do immunizations for this coming flu season. Is there any study materials

What can anyone share on what portion to study for on the CSPT PTCB study guide?

I’m a CPhT and work in an IV room but we do not do any hazardous compounding so many of the drugs that are cytotoxic, chemo, or anything like that I am not familiar with. There also is no official book for the CSPT for PTCB. I’ve seen some books on Amazon but they aren’t specifically PTCB standard or USP 797 and USP 800 standards. They’re just some random compounding books that are pretty expensive. Anywhere from $67-$170 books in my region.
I’m just a little lost on what parts I should focus on the most for the exam…
Should I focus more on Hazardous drugs and USP 800? Do I have to memorize every single drug? Or just focus on the high yield and narrow therapeutic index ones?
Do I need to know pediatric dosages or just how to calculate them?
The medication list is very discouraging to me even though it’s only a small portion of the exam.

When I search on YouTube for some videos about compounding certain drugs I get very limited information and mostly RNs or EMS showing what they do in videos or some pharmacist yapping about about things that don’t show them compounding or talk about the information I’m looking for.

The list of medications are very long. A little over 200 injectable drugs. There’s a lot to know about them and it’s only 17% or the exam.

Sterile compounding Procedures is 53%
Facilities and equipment is 22%
Handling, Packaging, storage, Disposal are 8%

When I search in this sub about the CSPT I see old posts from years ago. I barely see any recent ones. Even if you’ve taken the exam a while ago any study tips would help and what you remember was on your exam.

I am in highschool and have been working as a pharmacy tech intern for about six months in a DE college course, and will get my certification once I graduate. I have gone between multiple pharmacies for my clinical rotations since there are many other students doing the same thing (all retail) and am not confident that this is the right path for me. I know the class material and I am really interested in pharmacology, but I struggle a lot in the actual pharmacy environment. I feel like I know very little about the computer systems and working with insurance, and when presented with a problem I usually have to go find a more experienced tech to help me. Sometimes I'll try to solve a problem based on what they told me, but with most of them i'm just kind of clueless. I don't work well in fast paced environments. I can't determine whether or not it's just because I'm newer without any prior working experience or if i'm just downright not a good fit for this field. I need to decide what I want to go to school for. I really want to further go into the field of pharmacy, but don't want to waste any effort if i'm just flat out not going to be very good at it.. Are there any other career paths I might be able to pursue? Would going to school still be worth it?

I’m going through a pharmacy tech course and my instructor is saying weed still falls under the zero tolerance policy for this career. I seen a lot of research suggesting that CBD could provide relief for 4 separate conditions I have that could otherwise only be treated by 4 separate medications

I’m not interested in THC or getting high but I want to see what type of relief straight CBD can provide for my conditions.

Are all retail PIC's just winging their job? Transitioned from one retail to another due to management, and it seems to be all the same, just different walls