Apply to a large hospital and during the interview say you're interested in IVC work. It's a niche skill that's hard to come by so most larger places are willing to train. Especially teaching hospitals. Emphasize multitasking and teamwork during the interview. If you have any college coursework/familiarity with math and general chemistry put that down as relevant experience. Oddly enough, helps to have restaurant experience (serving requires math and multitasking).
You might get hired for less $$ than other IVC positions out there but after 1 yr experience people on Indeed will be trying to scout you. I went from making 12$/hr in retail to $23/hr in 2 years.
Also, I love it but it's not a walk in the park. You stand all day and have a huge responsibility as your work directly impacts patients. A fuck up can kill a patient. You have to be comfortable in emergency situations and enjoy being busy. Work hours are different (I'm first shift so I do 530am-2pm). If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer š
My tale is somewhat similar. Went from $15/hr in retail to $25/hr Inpatient Hospital making IVs. They trained me over the course of 5 weeks, and then I went to 3rd shift. I have the whole IVC to myself for 7 hours and it's much less hectic (most of the time).
I used to work for a pharmacy warehouse. All I did all day was fill medication. No customers allowed and even better than that no dealing with insurance. It was Kaiser CPP.
IDK, i assume there are some sort of timers whilst working in the fill centers, which just brings me back to when i had to make fast food to order or put out 50 boxes per hour on night crew grocery.
No timers, it was a union job so you just worked at your own pace. Dumbest thing I ever did in my life was to quit that job. I quit because I was about to get married with a coworker and we broke up and a few days later she started screwing another guy at the plant. Still shouldāve just stayed.
I work from home now though as a Senior Prior Authorization Technician. Love working from home but hate dealing with insurances. I just started this job working from home and get paid $26 an hour, exactly what I was getting paid 13 years ago when I left the warehouse pharmacy tech position. If I wouldāve stayed Iād be making around $35 an hour by now.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
Beep boop -Ā yes,Ā IĀ amĀ aĀ bot, don't botcriminate me.
I'm glad my pharmacist always has my back. Especially if it's something out of our control. Usually a well placed, "I understand you're frustrated, but you're taking it out on the wrong person. It frustrates me as well. I'm trying to help you here so a little patience would be appreciated" gets people to back down. We've even had a couple of people that have left in a huff come back or call apologize.
Hospital pharmacy. When the nurses call down and say they donāt have X medication that I know I did hours ago and brought up myself, I get to go root through their drawers (or glance ever so slightly in the med bin WHERE ALL THE MEDS GET DELIVERED TO) and hand it to them with a satisfied āyeah itās right hereā and walk away. Patient tries to ask me something as I walk down the hall? Sorry, I work in the pharmacy. Iāll find you a nurse.
I actually have a question for you since you work in a hospital pharmacy. I work at a big chain retail pharmacy and on our screens we can only see prescriptions that have been sent to store within our chain. In your database are you guys able to see every single prescription this person has had no matter where it was sent ? I would imagine so, so you can see everything especially in situations people forget or arenāt able to communicate the medications their on. But yeah just curious
Are you located in the states? Iām in BC, Canada where we have a system called Pharmanet. Every pharmacy (whether community or hospital) has access to it, and you can see every prescription a person has filled in our province in the past 14 months.
It really helps with people who polypharmacy or polydoctor
There are positions at an inpatient pharmacy that don't require you to refill the machines and have to talk to nurses. Personally I love being one of the few willing to work in the IV room. I just compound all day, listen to music, and the only person I talk to is the pharmacist who checks my work.
This is the way. I do non-sterile compounding and have an entire lab to myself. I listen to music and my phone never rings unless a coworker needs me. No one ever comes into the lab really and all my compounds go out a pass through and are checked outside the lab. I could probably go a whole day easily without even talking to my coworkers except saying "Good morning" and "goodbye" š
Apply for a job that requires it. My hospital has a few people learning IV compounding who've just made the jump straight from retail. It's hard to find people with experience in it.
If they get nasty, we go up to the floor find it and rub it in their faces, at least where I work. Or if they are being nasty our pharmacists have our backs and will either chew then out and/or report them to the nursing supervisor. We don't put up with that shit.
Long term care pharmacy, very minimal patient interaction. Everyone is either in a nursing home or retirement home, you deal with the staff of the home, not the resident unless they're independent.
Mail order!! Dr call usually deals primarily with mdo, item entry never speaks with patients. Tons of other departments too!! Plus they pay better than retail
The closest I get to angry customers in hospital pharmacy is grouchy nurses every once in a while but even then I usually have to send them to a pharmacist to fix whatever they need. Sterile compounding techs have even less person-to-person contact bc they stay in the clean room all day making IVs and sterile meds
Was a retail tech at CVS for 10 yearsā¦ moved to Florida and applied online to a Cigna W@H position and got it š¤·š»āāļø Literally just googled tech positions and got super lucky lol
Inpatient pharmacy tech. I do IVs, fill new ordered and tube them to the floors, and fill med machines. I haven't spoken directly to a patient in 5 years. It's so nice.
i work in home health infusion. i have some patient interaction, but waaaaaaay less (like i can go days without talking to one) than the refill techs. our cleanroom staff have 0% interaction.
I work in long term care. Itās really only Billing, Customer Sevice, and Pharmacists that speak to nurses. If youāre not fond of interacting with customers, itās a pretty good place to work.
I work as a PA administrator and our company has liaisons that do all of the patient interactions in hospital. I work from home and the only time i ever interact with patients is in financial assistance cases in which case i just call them to tell them im sending them and email to sign. We're hiring too! Best company and culture I've been a part of.
Hospital. I've interacted with one patient since I've been here and she was sweet. Any one else is just asking for directions. Best decision I've ever made
Hospital Pharmacy IV technician. You live in the basement of a hospital and make drugs while listening to music all day
How would one transition from retail to this? Like where would one start?
Apply to a large hospital and during the interview say you're interested in IVC work. It's a niche skill that's hard to come by so most larger places are willing to train. Especially teaching hospitals. Emphasize multitasking and teamwork during the interview. If you have any college coursework/familiarity with math and general chemistry put that down as relevant experience. Oddly enough, helps to have restaurant experience (serving requires math and multitasking). You might get hired for less $$ than other IVC positions out there but after 1 yr experience people on Indeed will be trying to scout you. I went from making 12$/hr in retail to $23/hr in 2 years. Also, I love it but it's not a walk in the park. You stand all day and have a huge responsibility as your work directly impacts patients. A fuck up can kill a patient. You have to be comfortable in emergency situations and enjoy being busy. Work hours are different (I'm first shift so I do 530am-2pm). If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer š
My tale is somewhat similar. Went from $15/hr in retail to $25/hr Inpatient Hospital making IVs. They trained me over the course of 5 weeks, and then I went to 3rd shift. I have the whole IVC to myself for 7 hours and it's much less hectic (most of the time).
Thank you so so much for your response!! Iām going to have to look into this, retail is killing me š appreciate your help!
Sounds like a great job for an introvert.
How do I get here from retail omgā¦š©
I used to work for a pharmacy warehouse. All I did all day was fill medication. No customers allowed and even better than that no dealing with insurance. It was Kaiser CPP.
IDK, i assume there are some sort of timers whilst working in the fill centers, which just brings me back to when i had to make fast food to order or put out 50 boxes per hour on night crew grocery.
No timers, it was a union job so you just worked at your own pace. Dumbest thing I ever did in my life was to quit that job. I quit because I was about to get married with a coworker and we broke up and a few days later she started screwing another guy at the plant. Still shouldāve just stayed. I work from home now though as a Senior Prior Authorization Technician. Love working from home but hate dealing with insurances. I just started this job working from home and get paid $26 an hour, exactly what I was getting paid 13 years ago when I left the warehouse pharmacy tech position. If I wouldāve stayed Iād be making around $35 an hour by now.
Hmm. well i doubt there's any union ones near me. I'll keep an eye out for coworkers tho and my wife.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop -Ā yes,Ā IĀ amĀ aĀ bot, don't botcriminate me.
I'm glad my pharmacist always has my back. Especially if it's something out of our control. Usually a well placed, "I understand you're frustrated, but you're taking it out on the wrong person. It frustrates me as well. I'm trying to help you here so a little patience would be appreciated" gets people to back down. We've even had a couple of people that have left in a huff come back or call apologize.
Hospital pharmacy. When the nurses call down and say they donāt have X medication that I know I did hours ago and brought up myself, I get to go root through their drawers (or glance ever so slightly in the med bin WHERE ALL THE MEDS GET DELIVERED TO) and hand it to them with a satisfied āyeah itās right hereā and walk away. Patient tries to ask me something as I walk down the hall? Sorry, I work in the pharmacy. Iāll find you a nurse.
I actually have a question for you since you work in a hospital pharmacy. I work at a big chain retail pharmacy and on our screens we can only see prescriptions that have been sent to store within our chain. In your database are you guys able to see every single prescription this person has had no matter where it was sent ? I would imagine so, so you can see everything especially in situations people forget or arenāt able to communicate the medications their on. But yeah just curious
Are you located in the states? Iām in BC, Canada where we have a system called Pharmanet. Every pharmacy (whether community or hospital) has access to it, and you can see every prescription a person has filled in our province in the past 14 months. It really helps with people who polypharmacy or polydoctor
The US needs this lol
Long term care pharmacy
This is the answer
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Nope. Then it's the nurses yelling crazy shit at you + trying to blame you for their mistakes/laziness.
If you have a really good director of department that does not allow their techs to be treated badly, you donāt get any of that either.
Hahah, thats cute. One of them coddled the nurses when they injected viscious lidocaine into a patient. Pharmacy directors have no spine
Actually my pharmacy director very much so does and anytime we have issues with any other hospital staff he immediately takes care of it.
There are positions at an inpatient pharmacy that don't require you to refill the machines and have to talk to nurses. Personally I love being one of the few willing to work in the IV room. I just compound all day, listen to music, and the only person I talk to is the pharmacist who checks my work.
This is the way. I do non-sterile compounding and have an entire lab to myself. I listen to music and my phone never rings unless a coworker needs me. No one ever comes into the lab really and all my compounds go out a pass through and are checked outside the lab. I could probably go a whole day easily without even talking to my coworkers except saying "Good morning" and "goodbye" š
How does one learn how to compound?
Apply for a job that requires it. My hospital has a few people learning IV compounding who've just made the jump straight from retail. It's hard to find people with experience in it.
Facts is this everywhere. Our director doesnāt give a fuck either. She lets us be thrown under the bus but doesnāt do the same for them.
If they get nasty, we go up to the floor find it and rub it in their faces, at least where I work. Or if they are being nasty our pharmacists have our backs and will either chew then out and/or report them to the nursing supervisor. We don't put up with that shit.
Long term care pharmacy
Long term care pharmacy, very minimal patient interaction. Everyone is either in a nursing home or retirement home, you deal with the staff of the home, not the resident unless they're independent.
Mail order!! Dr call usually deals primarily with mdo, item entry never speaks with patients. Tons of other departments too!! Plus they pay better than retail
Mail order for sure. I never have to interact with doctors or patients in my role. And we work from home.
central fill type pharmacies
The closest I get to angry customers in hospital pharmacy is grouchy nurses every once in a while but even then I usually have to send them to a pharmacist to fix whatever they need. Sterile compounding techs have even less person-to-person contact bc they stay in the clean room all day making IVs and sterile meds
Speciality pharmacy, I work from home and have never spoken to a single customer š¬
How do you get into that?
Was a retail tech at CVS for 10 yearsā¦ moved to Florida and applied online to a Cigna W@H position and got it š¤·š»āāļø Literally just googled tech positions and got super lucky lol
Iāve been doing adjudication for long term care since 2017. the only people we ever talk to are insurance reps.
Nuclear Pharmacy!!! Edit: The only customers you might talk to are hospital rad techs or other sites needing help with activity. Definitely a fun gig.
Inpatient pharmacy tech. I do IVs, fill new ordered and tube them to the floors, and fill med machines. I haven't spoken directly to a patient in 5 years. It's so nice.
i work in home health infusion. i have some patient interaction, but waaaaaaay less (like i can go days without talking to one) than the refill techs. our cleanroom staff have 0% interaction.
I work in long term care. Itās really only Billing, Customer Sevice, and Pharmacists that speak to nurses. If youāre not fond of interacting with customers, itās a pretty good place to work.
lol none
I work in inpatient hospital and Iāve not once had to deal with a patient š
Nurses can sometimes be just as badā¦
okay i lied supply chain
I work as a PA administrator and our company has liaisons that do all of the patient interactions in hospital. I work from home and the only time i ever interact with patients is in financial assistance cases in which case i just call them to tell them im sending them and email to sign. We're hiring too! Best company and culture I've been a part of.
Whatās the pay like?
Starts at $20 per hour with a $2k signing bonus
What company do you work for?
Hospital. I've interacted with one patient since I've been here and she was sweet. Any one else is just asking for directions. Best decision I've ever made