Hello! I'm a P2 pharmacy student in the US.
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Hi! Thank you for your interest in my blog!
It depends on the requirement in your state, assuming you live in the US. For my state, the minimum age requirement was 18 years old. My first pharmacy technician job was during my senior year of high school, about a month after I turned 18. It was an incredibly rewarding work experience and a great way to learn about one aspect of pharmacy/healthcare. I worked as a technician there for about 2 and half years; currently, I am a pharmacy technician at my local hospital.
During pharmacy school, you will have more opportunities for mini-internships at different settings like hospital, community, clinics, industry, marketing, government, etc. But for now, getting a job at a pharmacy can be a great learning experience and seeing what you like in the pharmacy profession.
In my future posts, I will write more about my job as a pharmacy technician in a community/retail pharmacy setting and in a hospital environment. Let me know if you any more questions. I’ll be happy to answer them!
Infographic Of The Day: The Insane Choices You Face At The Drugstore
“At first sight, you might assume that this is merely an illustrative chart—that all the branches are simply hypothetical choices that one might face. But the chart, in fact, has real data in it—it just happens to be done so tiny that you can’t easily read the actual drugs on offer.”
Created by the Beta Nu chapter of Phi Delta Chi, Professional Pharmacy Fraternity.
Take a moment to ask your pharmacist about medications. They can help you… maybe even save your life!
What Bill Gates Says About Drug Companies
Few outsiders have had as clear a view of the drug business as Gates. Over the past decade, Gates has relied on giants like Merck, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis to provide the vaccines that are a lynchpin of his charitable work.
Does big pharma need entrepreneurial leadership?
This article argues that a “Steve Jobs” is needed for the pharmaceutical industry.
“The pharma industry seems clearly to have moved in the other direction – we’ve long ago decided that making medicines is far too important to be left to either the doctors or the scientists, and as a consequence, large companies are now run, for the most part, by seasoned business executives who seem a world removed from founder scientists. At first blush, this makes sense: running a multinational corporation is a distinctly non-trivial undertaking, and you can understand why it’s comforting to have this role in the hands of an experienced business expert. On the other hand, without the passion and drive of an entrepreneur, I suspect something vital gets lost.”
Shadow a Resident
On October 21, 2011 I had the wonderful opportunity of shadowing a PGY1 Resident undergoing her General Medicine rotations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. It was a wonderful experience thanks in great part to Midwestern University’s ICHP Chapter.
I became interested in a pharmaceutical residency prior to beginning pharmacy school since I knew while living in a saturated community here in Illinois that I would be competing with many highly qualified graduates in a market with jobs catered to pharmacists who are specializing in various divisions of medicine including cardiology, infectious diseases, etc. It made me want to become a better candidate for the jobs in my area while having a greater handle in certain areas of medicine that are highly relevant today.
Why don’t people know what pharmacists do?
Pharmacy as a career doesn’t have that instantaneous, love-at-first-sight feeling of “this is what I wanted to do since I was 6 years old!”
First of all, most 6 years olds don’t know what pharmacists actually do. They probably only remember pharmacies as places where they can get balloons, candies, toys and snacks. My friend had asked a kid what he thought a pharmacist does, and the kid replied: riding sheep and playing with farm animals! Haha, seems like the “pharm” part is deceiving…
And second, we’re never in TV shows/movies. I can’t name one pharmacist character… yet I can rattle off doctors, secret agents and spies, teachers, sport players, etc.
Third, we need to advocate more and get our profession out there in the community.
Title Interior of undentified drugstore, Seattle, Washington, ca. 1910.
Photographer Lee, James P. (James Patrick), b. 1894
The modern supermarket is a post-WWII phenomenon. Before that, in most places, you would write up a list, go to the pharmacy, grocery, butcher, or the like, hand it to them, and they would pick out all of your items for you. Items were warehoused in the back of the store, leaving the front for displays, ads, candies, and indulgences.
Target’s medicine bottles are so revolutionizing! They’ll help so much in patient compliance and I hope they will implemented in all the pharmacies pretty soon. Here are some reasons as to why they are so beneficial:
- Flat sided bottles so all the info is readable at once.
- Color coded rings on the neck of the container. Each household member is assigned their own color so you know at a glance which meds are yours.
- Cautions on the back, again readable without turning the bottle, and obvious.
- An envelope on the back (behind the cautions) containing the patient info sheet for the drug. You know how most pharmacies just staple the info to the bag, then you go home and either read through the info and toss it or never even bother to read it? Then when you go to take it you think “Crap, I threw that out!” Well, no more…
- Behind the patient info is a little magnifier for those who find the small print difficult to see.
- Med name on the end so you can see what it is at a glance if it is stored in a drawer.
Why Drug Companies Are Shy About Sharing On Facebook
“…the FDA also hasn’t told the companies how to use social media and still follow the “fair balance” rule. In November 2009, the agency held public hearings on how pharma companies should use social media. But the FDA has yet to issue official guidance. Jewell says that because of that, his employer and other companies are erring on the side of caution.
Tenderich says patients would benefit from a rich interaction with drug makers. She sees more and more drug company employees interacting on her site, giving advice on behalf of their employers. That’s a huge benefit for patients, she says.
The pharmaceutical companies could benefit, too, she says, by learning what problems patients are having with drugs, and how to make them better.
“They could get so much fantastic, free, very high-value feedback,” she says.”
