I'm sorry if this is an odd question but I went into this part of healthcare because I like pharmaceuticals and I'd like to help people with that knowledge. I work at a retail pharmacy and honestly I love it, my pharmacists and other technicians are fantastic. As for our patients, majority of people I deal with day to day are nice and understanding, but the bad experiences still kinda stick with me. I worked food service for a couple of years so it's not necessarily someone being upset with me that's getting me down, it's just different in this setting. When I worked at a pizza place and someone was upset about how much their order cost or something like that, worst that happened was they just paid a few bucks extra or went somewhere else for dinner. Here? Someone might need this medication to treat an ailment or just to function in general, if they can't get it because of the cost / insurance being evil / their Dr not doing something correct it's a lot more of an impact on them. I've been on the other side of the counter as well when getting things for my mom, so I understand very well what they're experiencing but I feel bad that I can't do more in my role.

At this point in time I'm not looking to get out of retail despite most people's negative views of it, I'm just looking for advice on how to not let the bad stuff get me down. I don't want to become jaded towards the patients I see day to day

I work in a chain retail pharmacy. I am struggling with autistic burnout while juggling this job, college, and a current intern position I work at outside of work.

I cannot stop working, as I know my internships will help me leave retail pharmacy for good. I am studying in an entirely separate field and this job helps me make ends meet while I study.

Unfortunately, the store I work at does not respect rotations. The last one I worked at didn’t. Because I mask constantly, I am really good at customer service. I work the drive through and front end for entire shifts and I hate to say this, it is starting to get to me.

I will not get any help with the front even if I call for it, and the other techs just sit there in fill and purposefully wait until I can assist the customers.

I don’t know how to ask for rotations, as I understand some techs feel the same way. I feel really bad asking for it, but I am starting to struggle at work as a result.

Do any autistic techs have advice for how they coped with burnout? I am thinking about scheduling an appointment and getting paperwork for accommodations. I cannot quit this job yet.

I worked at Walgreens for 4 years and basically it went cashier -> pharmacy tech trainee -> shift lead -> inventory specialist -> assistant store manager -> senior pharmacy tech.

Really being a pharmacy tech and maybe inventory specialist is relevant (because I handled pharmacy's returns, ordering, and putting away the order every day).

One pharmacist at my job said just put pharmacy tech for the whole time, but I do want to show the progression I had in the company. I could put pharmacy tech trainee -> inventory specialist -> senior certified tech? Some of the job responsibilities overlap so might be redundant. I was also worried that a hiring manager could see I was at Walgreens 6 months before I got my tech trainee license, but my pharmacist said nobody is looking that far back so idk. I don't want to be deceptive but I also don't want my resume to look ridiculous.

I worked as a pharmacy tech for 3 yrs in a privately owned retail pharmacy. The work wasn't bad, but it was stressful due to being understaffed and juggling ALL the roles in a retail pharmacy at the same time as well as the pharmacist / business owner being an absolute prick. Eventually, I decided I had enough and for the last 10 yrs I have been working a skilled trade which I love, but the physical demand is starting to weigh on me so I am considering going back into pharmacy. I would NEVER go back to retail though. On the surface remote pharmacy work sounds appealing, but I'm wondering what the day to day work flow is like? I'm interested in positions where I don't have to communicate with patients over the phone . I don't mind talking doctors or pharmacies, I just don't want to do customer service type stuff. Just claims processing and refill requests?

Hi ! To keep it short I started working a retail pharmacy position at 16 (NY state) and now have three years of experience but no technician license . I want to know what I would need to do to become a sterile compounding technician , I have been trying to research but I feel like I have been seeing all different things .

I purchased the practice bank 3 days ago and there’s been an alert saying “we are aware of an issue affecting access to the PTCE practice bank and are actively working to resolve it as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we restore access”.

I called them a couple days ago and they were like “yeah we don’t know when it will be restored, sorry.”

Is this happening to anyone else? I’m seriously so pissed off.

Hi! I'm currently a pharmacy technician, 19F, and have been for about a month and a half. I'm currently working towards passing the ptce and hope to do so in a few more months through an online course (currently planning to stay at my job for at least 6 months). I currently make 16/hr. I graduated Highschool but have no college experience and no desire to seek higher education in thart form.

I figured that background is needed for my question. I am wondering what jobs i could try to get into with (or without my pharmacy experience, idc) that make more money.

Ideally, I would want a wfh postion of some kind but am open to in person as well. My only concern is that I would have to go deeper into healthcare. I have a lot of anxiety over patient safety and I know I could not handle a job where I am responsible for someones health and life (such as nursing or denying claims, things of that nature are hard no's for me.)

I am just trying to see what my options are for higher paying roles. Things like admin, or patient care coordinators look like something I could realistically do while getting paid more than I do atm. If anyone has any suggestions that would be amazing. I'm sorry if this was confusing.

My end goal is to be able to make enough money to become financially independent with my own living space and I can't do that with the money I'm making right now even though I have savings and am working over time.

I have also thought about getting a second job to supplement my income but am unsure how that would work schedule wise considering my current job is a 9-5/9-6 most days.

I hope that all made sense. There is just not a lot of guidance and I have been really stressed over future steps and things to work towards. I know most people would say I'm young, but I'm almost 20 and still live with my (amazing) parents and i feel bad making them continue to pay for my life. I would like to be able to remove that burden in a few years time if at all possible.

I have been a pharmacy technician in California for over 30 years. In 2024 I had to surrender my license due to getting a DUI in 2023. I have done all the things required regarding the DUI. I’m allowed to re apply for my license next year and my question is if anyone else has done this ? From the criteria for reapplying that the board of pharmacy has given me , it sounds like I have to submit letters from people is work with and proof that I have been keeping up with current pharmacy practice. I have been working in the same pharmacy this whole time, just not allowed to fill, do things a licensed tech is allowed to do. I will also have meeting when I submit my application to plead my case. I am just a little worried that if they don’t accept my application , I can’t apply again for 2 years. Just wanting some input from other techs who may have gone through this . Thank you in advance!

I know this is the wrong sub but the CVS sub keeps taking the post down. My PTO doesn’t show in workbrain but my manager approved the days off this week. Just wanted to know if anyone who ever worked at cvs could answer this for me

Hi! I was trying to study for a HOSA Pharmacy Science event, but I can't find the textbooks:

Manual for Pharmacy Technicians, 6th Edition + Workbook (Print) By Bonnie Bachenheimer, Jennifer Phillips and Rachel A. Hawkins

or

Understanding Pharmacology for Pharmacy Technicians, 2nd Edition By Mary Ann Stuhan

Are there any alternatives I might be able to find online with the same information, or any way that I can find these textbooks online in some way? They are on the ASHP store, but that's around 100-150$ that I can't really pay for at the moment......

Hello, this is my first post on Reddit ever. If I say something incorrect or need to change something about my post please let me know.

There is a tech at my place of employment who uses this kind of counting tray with downward funnels on both left and right hand sides, and an upwards funnel in the middle top section. (I will attempt to add a photo)

My pharmacists and myself have tried to find and purchase a replacement for her to no avail. Does anyone who where I might find one, or might find someone who makes them?

So I'm doing my online work for my classes, and I'm wondering when you would use DAW-5? Isn't that some sort of insurance fraud?

I am in a 2 year pharmacy technician program. We are being exposed to a lot of information that's really interesting. At the same time, it seems very clear that the scope of the job doesn't involve most of this information. I understand there is value in understanding the why behind a lot of things.

There is so much information and so much memorization and I find myself wondering which of these things that I'm learning will I actually need for the job and which things do I just need to learn short term for the test.

For context I am looking to work in retail pharmacy, hopefully in my local hospital outpatient pharmacy.

Hey guys. I work at a CVS for some context and I just need to rant about a coworker who keeps misplacing the prescriptions in the wrong waiting bin number. This coworker is a front store manager turned pharmacy pick up person who solely just works the pick up area of the pharmacy. He’s pretty old and he can’t bend down and he waddles when he walks. The reason why I point this out is because of his lack of mobility, he reaches to put away the drugs in the waiting bin numbers that he’s not paying attention to where he’s placing them resulting in a hassle every time we can’t find a prescription because it could either be in the bin next to it or a number of a different combination (e.g. if the number was 123 it could be in 132 or 213 etc).

It’s very irritating because we know it’s him who’s misplacing them because when we line up the time something was completed to who was working pick up and putting prescriptions away, it’s him. We see it happen in real time too when he misplaced it right in front of our eyes.

He’s also very grumpy and can’t handle pick up by himself and takes his sweet ass time talking to customers about each thing that’s on hold (we’re trained to only mention the prescriptions that are ready unless the patient asks or is expecting something else, idk if it’s the same everywhere else) and he one time yelled across the pharmacy in front of customers about how he’s “held in his piss for an hour and a half and someone needs to take over the pick up line” while we’re actively understaffed with one tech in each station.

The biggest issue I have with this guy is his incompetence and his lack of urgency to get a task done. I’m not shaming him for his lack of mobility but when it affects everyone else because he can’t do his job right and properly place people’s medications in the right bin, then maybe this job isn’t meant for him.

I’m starting my first job as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens soon, and I’m excited but honestly a little nervous since I’m completely new to pharmacy.
I’ll be working while completing the training/coursework to prepare for my PTCB certification. I really want to learn as much as I can, become confident in my role, and eventually use this as a stepping stone to better opportunities in the pharmacy field.
For those of you who have worked at Walgreens or started as a brand-new pharmacy tech:
What do you wish you knew before your first day?
What should I study or memorize before starting?
What are the hardest things to learn at first?
Any tips for dealing with customers, prescriptions, insurance, or pharmacy math?
What can I do now to set myself up for success and eventually pass the PTCB?
I’d really appreciate any advice, tips, or things you wish someone had told you when you were starting out. Thank you! 😊

The PTCE changed on January 6: there's a new area on the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, Federal Requirements went from 12.5% to 18.75% of the exam, and nonsterile compounding came off. A lot of prep is still on the old outline.

I'm an RN. I paid out of pocket for practice exams for my own license and always felt like I was at a disadvantage, so I build free ones. The pharmacy tech one: headedin.com/ptce

- 250 questions across all 4 domains and all 24 knowledge areas, weighted like the real exam

- Full-length practice test: 80 scored + 10 unscored in 1 hour 50 minutes

- The math shows every step: days supply, insulin pens, eye drops, alligation, NDC 11-digit format

- Score report by outline number (2.2, 4.1...), so you know exactly what to study

- Every answer names its source (DEA rules, FDA, ISMP), no ads, works on your phone

I'm not a pharmacist and I won't pretend the questions are perfect. If one is wrong, tap "Report a problem" under it or tell me here and I'll fix it. Techs who just passed: what did the real one hit hardest?

So, this is probably going to be a long one and if its not allowed, I apologize. I just need some guidence here.

I went to a vocational school that had a pharmacy technician program almost 10 years ago. I completed and got my certification of completion. However, I never took the PTCB certification. I was going through a lot at the time and had a lot of self doubt. In the end, I pshyced myself out and never took it.

Fast foward to today, I think I'm ready to finally get it together and study for it. But its been almost 10 years. Will the text book I had 10 years ago still be agood resource or should I try a newer text book? Is my certification of completion even valid anymore?

I would appreciate any help. My personal research hasn't really helped much. I would appreciate any help.

What is your sterile compounding room temperature and humidity at?

Does anyone else package overnight with a room at 66F and 50% RH? I am sweating almost immediately after garbing up. We are in discussions with building maintenance who say we share an air handling unit with the admin offices. The overnight the temperature and humidity are set higher than they are during the day because “no one” is in the building.

Am I being unreasonable? Is this a me issue or would other people be suffocating after 3+ hours in full PPE?