Any former/current pharmacy techs around?

JoeyDog · Aug 9, 2006

Hi! My mom is a pharm tech in a retail facility. She works with computers as far as pulling meds, checking allergies, looking up customer info ect. She also works as a casher in the pharmacy, just checking out pharmacy customers who have a copay or who p/u OTC things. I don't think your exp. will help you out that much except that you will be vastly ahead of other students, and maybe even instructors when it comes to the pharmacology courses you will have during nuring school. It may help you out with multitasking. I know at the pharmacy my mom works in they are always busy and she says she is constantly doing three things at once. Anyway I hope that helps you out some. Good luck in school!!!!

LauraF, RN, ASN, CNA, LPN, RN · Aug 9, 2006

This is going to be a great help to you. I worked pharmacy tech and the lead tech through nursing school. My job consisted of decyphering what the doctor wrote, putting into computer watching for when the computer flags an interaction. Pulling the drug and handing to pharmacist. This was great for me. Some docs would right a certain amount of medication to be given orally and I would have to calculate how much should be given. Of course all of this was double checked by the pharmacist. But I was heads above the other students when it came to dosage calculation and meds. You will learn the generic names for medications and their brand names. I worked retail a place called Medicare Glaser and then later at Walgreen's. You will really be glad you took this job, if you can handle the fast pace and irritable customers. Remember the reason the customer is generally at the pharmacy is that they are ill. Generally not there by choice. ENJOY!!!!!!

amandafromtx · Aug 9, 2006

My experience as a pharm tech may have been a little different from yours would be because I worked in a hospital pharmacy for about 3 years. (The same hospital that I am now working as a new RN) Prior to starting to work as a pharm tech, I had no real medical experience. I was working on my prereq's for RN school. In my time as a pharm tech, I definitely learned to multitask in a fast paced environment. I learned and knew almost all of the drug calculations that we were required to test on in nursing school. In my school, we had a math test every semester, you had to get above an 80 (with one chance to retake if you didn't pass the first time). If we got below an 80 on the retest, we failed clinical for the semester and had to repeat it. All of the math was mostly review for me then, and I wasn't having to learn something new on top of all the nursing stuff....

I learned the brand-generic names of MANY medications, along with what the more common ones are used for (I promise this helps when instructors are asking you why you will give a pt this medication). Also, I learned to decipher doctors writting, or at least most of the time could. This has helped me immensily as a new nurse (I finished RN school May 2006).

Also, as a pharm tech, you will learn some of the more common dosage ranges of medications. This has helped me to avoid making some med errors, because doctors are human too, and have been known to add an extra zero to the end of a dosage sometimes, and if something looks out of the norm, I guarantee you will be more apt to look up the drug to check out the actual therapeutic range.

In my personal opinion only, I love my nurses aide's where I work, but the pharmacy gave me more skills that helped me through nursing school and in my new job....

Best of luck with whatever decision you make. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Amanda

P.S. One last helpful thing to point out...if you are having any problems when you take your pharmacology class for nursing school, you are working with some of the best people to teach it to you out of class **Pharmacists**

BSNinTX · Aug 9, 2006

I was a pharm tech for 3 1/2 years while in school; I am still certified. While doing that, I went through my BSN. My work was strictly hospital, so that's my perspective on pharmacy.

I think it would be valuable, but in a drug store the position is very limited. Mostly you will learn drug names, to read scripts, count pills, dosage forms, how to deal with insurance companies. If you take the initiative, you may benefit a lot.

If you have a chance to be a hospital pharm tech, you will learn a great deal. You will all the above, plus IV therapy, sterile technique, and perhaps most importantly the hosptial environment. Yes, how things work in units, etc. More importantly, though, you will have both sides of the nursing-pharmacy divide...and it can be a very big divide.

At the same time, there is something to be said about nurse aid work. I've never done it, but others on this site have said a lot.

Hey guys and gals,
I couldn't find that much recent info regarding pharmacy techs while doing a keyword search, so I'm hoping that some more current users of the site can help me out.
I was just offered a position as a pharmacy tech for a drug store. I will begin a Nurse Aide course in just a few weeks which lasts for about two months. Then in January I will begin nursing school.
I'm not really that familiar with the field, so I was wondering if anyone could provide a little insight on what to expect. It was emphasized at the interview that I would work on a computer a lot and deal with customers a lot--I can deal with both of those. Also, will this job help make nursing school a little easier? I'm reading a lot about how many suggest working as a Nurse Aide before becoming a nurse, but if I can keep this job since the hours are flexible, the pay is far more than I expected, and the people I met so far seem really nice, then I'd like to do so.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

gracie05 · Aug 9, 2006

I was a pharmacy tech for 10 years and it helped me greatly in school. I first got my BS in nutrition and graduated in May from nursing school. I did not work as an aide at all during school which did not hinder me (I am working in surgical intensive care), I do think it would have made clinicals less nerve wracking. I could not afford to work as an aide during school and the pharmacy pays (especially when you are certified) well (relatively). The pharmacy I worked at was fast paced and crazy all the time. You are going to become a great multi-tasker, which is important in nursing. My knowledge of pharmacology was hugely important during nursing school...and now. Good luck in nursing school!!!

ortess1971 · Aug 9, 2006

I worked as a pharmacy tech,(before I was a surg tech) and my last clinical instructor complimented me on my knowledge of meds. As a pharmacy tech, you learn alot by doing and by listening. Trust me, when you're in clinicals and can rattle off info about drugs without even glancing at the drug book, you will make a great impression. I also worked in a drug store, and the customers could be cranky but it will give you insight on how to handle irritable docs and coworkers. I say, take the job. Sounds like a good oppourtunity.

MrsMommaRN · Aug 9, 2006

jump at the chance for the exposure. i did it before i started nursing school. it truly helps having the exposure to so many medications. being a tech you are sure to be exposed to so many different meds some more than others depending on the clientel. good luck.

dano · Aug 10, 2006

I work in the photolab of a drug store. I've considered becoming a pharmacy tech, but the hours don't match up well to what I can do and what my budget demands.

I can tell you that one skill you'll pick up really quickly is learning to deal with irate and incompetent patients. People will yell at you for things that are not your fault (their insurance denies a prescription for example). Get used to it the first time it occurs because it will happen again and again. Heck, I work in the front end of the store and I have pharmacy customers yell at me for something that occured in the pharmacy that I had nothing to do with!

What everyone has said about dosage calculations, learning generic and brand names, and learning to double-check doctor's orders will be invaluable skills learned as a tech. Also being in a drug store means you've got access to aisles of OTC medications a hospital pharmacy can't offer. You'll learn to know what to recommend for small children versus adults, skin ointments, etc.

manofbess · Aug 10, 2006

Thank you all so much for your responses. I feel a bit more at ease now. I'm trying not to go in there with the expectation that I'll learn everything overnight, as I tend to do. Hopefully after a few weeks, things won't be so bad and I'll feel like an expert Thanks again!

nurseash2 · Aug 10, 2006

I worked 4 years as a pharm tech at a drug store through nursing school. It was definetly a big help. When we went to clinicals, I was usually the only person who knew anything about the meds. The pharmacist I worked for helped me with drug calculations, and a lot of it you use there. Hope things work out for you!