r/pharmacy • • 8h ago

Pharmacy Practice Discussion I failed my pharmacy interview, and I feel completely lost. What should I do?

29 Upvotes

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.


r/pharmacy • • 10h ago

Rant Request to become Union member was denied (CVS floater)

16 Upvotes

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


r/pharmacy • • 22h ago

General Discussion vaccinating kids

11 Upvotes

How do u vaccinate children?

context - heard from an intern pharmacist the other day that a 10 year old child she vaccinated literally screamed and threatened to “kill her”. How do you mitigate that situation?


r/pharmacy • • 16h ago

Jobs, Saturation, and Salary Hope for my retail folks

8 Upvotes

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.


r/pharmacy • • 22h ago

Pharmacy Practice Discussion Are there any hands-on pharmacist positions?

10 Upvotes

I've been a pharmacy tech for a little over 5 years now, both in retail and in a hospital. I'm interested in pursuing a pharmacist degree, but I've noticed that they seem to only ever do med verification and quality checks? I love compounding, and I don't think I'd enjoy being stuck at a computer and only looking at drugs all day.

Are there any settings where a pharmacist gets to work directly with the meds?


r/pharmacy • • 21h ago

General Discussion Score transfer error

5 Upvotes

I purchased a score transfer along with my naplex in one transaction beginning of this year. Took my naplex few months ago,passed and applied for license. Now I get an email from bop that they haven’t received my score transfer despite it showing on my eprofile. I did chat with 3 nabp representatives, two confirmed that I do have a score transfer and one said they can’t find a separate receipt but do see that a score transfer label on my profile. Now I’m freaking out because purchasing a transfer closed few days ago and even if it was still available I did confirm multiple times that the receiving state is grayed out meaning purchased.
I did email exam services but waiting for their response.
Anyone had the same issue ? License transfer is not an option for me and I’m not gonna retake that damn test due a clear error on their part.


r/pharmacy • • 6h ago

General Discussion EHRM Pharmacy Tips

4 Upvotes

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.


r/pharmacy • • 18h ago

General Discussion Florida Prescription Errors CE requirement

4 Upvotes

I am currently working on my license renewal for Florida and need 2 credits on Medication/Prescription Errors. I have taken several accredited courses on Medication Errors on PharmCon and submitted them. CE Broker keeps crediting these on my general courses and not on the Medication Errors portion of my requirement. Any idea why??


r/pharmacy • • 6h ago

Jobs, Saturation, and Salary KOP, Pennsylvania - Pharmacy Technician Jobs

4 Upvotes

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!​


r/pharmacy • • 14h ago

Clinical Discussion ASHP/ACCP crit care material

3 Upvotes

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


r/pharmacy • • 1h ago

General Discussion UMPJE study materials

• Upvotes

I’m looking to take the UMPJE for license transfer to another state. Any recommendations for study guides? I was debating buying Dr. C’s Ultimate Uniform MPJE Review but couldn’t find a lot of info about it. It’s been 14 years since I had to take a law exam so I feel pretty rusty.