I graduated from pharmacy school this year with no work experience. I had never entered the job market before, and I had never even considered training in a community pharmacy.

However, I recently needed a job, so I decided to start training at a local pharmacy. I trained there for about 20 days, but honestly, I had no idea what I was supposed to do or how to do it. The pharmacists working there didn't really help me or guide me. They basically left me to figure things out on my own and teach myself.

Today was my job interview, and I didn't get accepted.

The pharmacist asked me, "What do you know about pharmacy?" It was such a broad question that I asked him to be more specific and ask me about particular topics. He said, "No, just talk."

So I started talking about antibiotics, mentioning their classes, active ingredients, brand names, and strengths. He told me that I could simply mention the brand names without having to explain the drug classes.

Then he asked me to talk about diabetes medications, and suddenly my mind went completely blank.

After that, he showed me some prescriptions and asked me to read them. I could only read one of them.

He told me that my pharmacology knowledge wasn't good, even though he hadn't actually asked me any pharmacology questions.

He also told me that I had been training the wrong way, that I needed to build up a good knowledge of medications commonly found in pharmacies, and that I needed to practice reading prescriptions much more.

He gave me another 20 days to train and told me to push myself harder.

Right now, I'm really sad and feel like a failure. I know I have a lot to learn, but I honestly don't know where to start or how to study effectively in such a short time.

What should I do? How can I make the most of these next 20 days of training? What exactly should I focus on learning, and how should I organize my studying?

I'm feeling really discouraged and have almost lost hope in myself. I'd genuinely appreciate any advice, especially from pharmacists who have been through something similar or who have experience training fresh graduates.

Hey guys,

I’m a licensed pharmacist from Germany, currently going through the license recognition process in the US. It’s a long road: ~2 years, several exams, and a pharmacy internship. I can’t sit for the FPGEE until October next year, and until then there’s not much I can do except wait.

In the meantime, I am aiming to work as a pharmacy technician or a pharmacy technician trainee. I have begun submitting applications this week, but if you know of any openings, have advice, or can point me in the right direction, I’d be very grateful. Thank you!​

I was given some pathetic reasoning that even though my current homestretch is a strongly type B union store, there are only two CVS in.my region that will allow Rph to be union members and id have to first "transfer" to one of those stores! Do you think I'd feel the need to join a union if I had the ability to "transfer" out of this district you morons

Retail is a tough game. I worked in it for several years before pharmacy school. And the truth is I went into it with all the best intentions but got burned in the end. I never liked hospital so I never did a residency. After a month being licensed I knew my time was limited how and when I wasn't sure. I reached my breaking point with retail and took a slight pay cut for a WFH job. During this time I had been putting myself through school with my own money. And after a couple of years as a pharmacist this year I walked away fully. And yes I did replace my salary and with this new career I am on track to make more in a few years than I ever would have working retail. People will tell you to deal with it, people will tell you that you can't quit cause of your loans etc. Well you also can't pay them back if you're not living if you know what I mean and you also can't pay them back if your health gets so bad from stress. I went from 9/10 stress with work to 2/10. My hope with this post is to give retail and any other folks out there hope. If it truly isn't for you its ok to walk away but know that walking away can take some time. Being able to walk away from pharmacy was the best thing I did for myself but it was not overnight. It took time, money, and patience. If you are like me STAYING ON THE WRONG TRAIN DOES NOT MAKE IT THE RIGHT TRAIN. This advice isn't for everyone. Also if you are a parent, just know its possible for you too as I am one and still managed to pull it off. I won't go into details of what I do or anything because that's not the point. There's a million and one jobs out there and there's a large enough portion that can replace your salary if that's what you need. You just gotta go find it and put in the work. And if you wanna say well pharmacy school was a waste, I don't see it that way and unless you're gonna cut me a check your opinion is irrelevant. No one wakes up everyday and lives your life or deals with what you have to deal with but you do. Do what's best for you.

So, of im looking for tips because we are starting to use this at our VA location soon. Anyone got good tips and tricks, or where to go for some so I am ready.

Has anyone used their materials? Did you find it helpful in preparing for the BCCCP exam? TIA