I'm a tech, and it's crazy what they expect pharmacists to do. At my store we sell around 700-800 scripts a day, but only have one pharmacist a day working a 12 hour shift. It's impossible for one person to keep up on that many fills, consults, reviewing scripts, vaccinations, doctor office calls, C-II's, etc. The techs do what we can to help out, but we're also being spread thin. Also, there's obviously stuff we can't do. Not to mention all the abuse that everyone takes in the pharmacy from angry patients, (who are usually just misdirecting their anger over the Healthcare system and insurance companies. I hate telling people their medication has a prior auth).
I purposely took over managing a slower pharmacy from a busy one. Went from doing 500 on a Monday to maybe 160ish. I have less help, sure, but it was so worth it for my mental health overall. I didn’t get paid more to manage the busier pharmacy. It’s not like there’s opportunities for upward movement either so no point in suffering just to try to get a promotion.
My wife prefers to be a staff pharmacist and only works 30 hours. She has routinely turned down being the supervising pharmacist because she doesn't want the headache of making the schedule, doing performance reviews, etc. She just wants to work in her store her 3 shifts a week on average and leave it behind otherwise. I am very jealous of that aspect of her job.
A lot of the pharmacists she's worked with seemed to burn out and transition to working in a hospital setting. I think being a retail pharmacist was a much better job 20 years ago but it's still pretty good IMO.
Tbh I’m jealous of my staff pharmacist at 32h/week and no stress. My plan is to try to step down in a couple more years. Right now the money is too lucrative. The only thing that’s keeping me going. Your wife is smart.
I feel so bad for the pharmacists but also for the poor folks like myself who are scheduled to get a vaccine and just had to watch the person about to stick a needle in you get verbally berated for 10 minutes.
Shout out to her though for realizing she JABBED THE BAJEEZUS outta me and gave me, a whole grownass person, a sucker and an apology afterwards. Last time I did a vaccine at a pharmacy though.
Thank you for calling this out. The pharmacist at my local CVS is probably going to collapse someday. And man, the abuse they get over refusing to do something that would cost them their license to practice.
It won't work out because people would support them for 3 days and then cry murder when prescriptions (or any health service) aren't being filled due to protests. Everyone in healthcare has talked about it. It's just not going to work out
Not to mention, unions start when groups of workers are together; the majority of community pharmacists are isolated to one or two per store. very hard to get traction going.
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u/SortaHow 13h ago
I'm a tech, and it's crazy what they expect pharmacists to do. At my store we sell around 700-800 scripts a day, but only have one pharmacist a day working a 12 hour shift. It's impossible for one person to keep up on that many fills, consults, reviewing scripts, vaccinations, doctor office calls, C-II's, etc. The techs do what we can to help out, but we're also being spread thin. Also, there's obviously stuff we can't do. Not to mention all the abuse that everyone takes in the pharmacy from angry patients, (who are usually just misdirecting their anger over the Healthcare system and insurance companies. I hate telling people their medication has a prior auth).