10 Things I Want For Christmas – Pharmacist’s List

Pharmacist’s “10 Things What I Want for Christmas” List

1.  A set schedule, preferably M-F, Day Shift and nothing else

2.  Patients who tell me how much they appreciate my help.  They like to ask me about my medications.
(for retail pharmacists: They never leave voicemails telling me they want “all their medications”, nor ask me to ring up their coupons)

3.  A boss who acknowledges me frequently for the contribution I am making

4.  Working in a pharmacy that doesn’t require roller skates to keep up with how busy it is.  One that is always fully staffed.

5.  A clinical position, as clinical as I would like it to be Read more

Can’t Work on Saturdays. Employer Turned Off-Any Suggestion

Chen, I cannot work on Saturdays for religious reasons.  I offer to work every Sunday and every legal holiday.  As soon as the employer hears this they are no longer interested in offering me the job.  I do not want to mislead the employer by not saying anything about the scheduling issue. For this reason I am forced to think about retraining in a different profession.  I would much rather stay in pharmacy.  Have you any suggestions how I can handle the scheduling issue?

Answer:  Two things come to mind.

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Love My Job, But Concerned About Stability. What to Do?

Question:  Chen, I was wondering if you can give me some advice…I am currently working for Rite Aid and I love my store. I work with great people, and the schedule is 8-8 compared to most retail. Only problem is the stability of the company. CVS in the area just contacted me, I’m conflicted. I used to work for them before I moved to North Carolina, would have stayed with them but at the time they didn’t have an opening at the area…most CVS I have worked had been high stress, bad schedule 8-10pm, but the company is doing a lot better than Rite Aid financially…what would you do?

Answer: It sounds like you like a good schedule, and CVS doesn’t typically have the environment of supporting its pharmacists well since it’s high stress. Knowing that Rite Aid is in financial trouble, here are a few things to think about: Read more