Anyone have experience with Target?

[OSURxgirl]

I just got assigned my first externship as a PharmD student. I will be spending 4 hours a week at Target pharmacy for the next 10 weeks. I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts and experiences are concerning Target. Is it a good place to be as far as retail goes? I know my friends who got CVS are freaking out about it, but I didn't know if I had reason to freak too. Anything you can share would be great! Thank you!

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[GravyRPH]

It's retail. Target is fine. It will depend more on your co-workers and site preceptor than the name on the building outside. I'm sure there are lots of awesome, willing to teach preceptors at CVS and Target.

 

[dgroulx]

Target has a slow pace, at least here in Florida. If you've never worked in a pharmacy before then you should have lots of time to learn different things. Otherwise, you'll probably be bored. My externship this semester is at a supermarket that does 150 scripts a week and I can't stand it.

 

[GravyRPH]

I'm not sure slow pace equates to learning more. I have learned the most in busy stores. Plus training by fire seems to produce more well rounded pharmacists in my opinion. Most pharmacists who have worked in slow stores tend to look like a deer in headlights when a store hits 500+ scripts.

 

[LVPharm]

I did do six weeks interning at a Los Angeles area Target pharmacy. It was very slow. You would be lucky to break 80 scripts a day. You get to take your time learning how to use PDX, but you also get to take your time doing...nothing! The tech usually ended up bringing the latest gossip mags down to the pharmacy and everyone would end up reading them in between sporadic patient visits and phone calls. Not the best experience for a student...but I never saw a stressed out, unhappy pharmacist while I was there. They genuinely liked to go to work, they had time to get to know their patients, and they don't regret not being in a busier store. One of the pharmacists came from a high volume Rite Aid store...she believes Target to be "retail heaven". She did say that she believes the experience at a more hectic store made her a better pharmacist...and that it helped her appreciate her current position that much more.

 

[MNnaloxone]

I did 5 weeks of a rotation at Target as well. Coming from a 400/day Wags pharmacy that I paid interned at, the 90/day Target pharmacy was heaven. Don't get me wrong, there's Targets here in Mpls that do 800 Mondays, but they seem to be the exception. If I had gone retail after graduation, it would have been at Target.

Gravy is wise, however. It is the people you work with, not the sign on the door that makes it bearable to go to work every day.

 

[OSURxgirl]

I started my rotation at Target today. You guys are all correct. It is sooo slow. Everyone is really nice though. I think I will enjoy working with everyone. They were freaking out because they did 192 scripps today. I've worked places that do waaay more than that. If they had more than 3 to do at once they started to practically panic. At target, they are all about the wait time. They give a promise time for when the prescriptions must be finished. I've never seen a pharmacist check scrips so fast in my life. Even though they weren't busy, to get scrips to patients within 10-15 minutes, the checking went sooo fast. The pharmacist checked an Rx in like 30 sec on average. That doesn't seem right to me. Would people rather have it fast or safe? Although it's a nice setting, low Rx volume, and the pharmacists get a lunch break, I could never see myself working there as a pharmacist.

 

[lord999]

The more experienced you get doesn't mean you get faster. The more experienced you are more aware of when to be a cautious and slow and repetitive. For me, pediatrics and neonatals, comorbid conditions (cardiac and transplant), and the problem drugs (Zantac and Reglan liq, warfarin, Ortho-Tri and Ortho-Cyclen) force me to be a bit more careful.

Even when I echo scripts, it generally doesn't take me more than 45 s to read and repeat if I have no distractions.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Target's model does work and since you are there, the PIC gets balance sheets every day. LEARN THEM!!! It will make pharmacy management at any level much easier if you understand the raw financials of what is going on.

 

[htyotispharm]

My rotation was at a supermarket that did an average of 30 scripts per day in a 10 hour period. I work at a CVS that does 550-600 scripts per day so of course I was bored. The things that made me upset was the fact that the rotation cost $1560 plus $35 insurance and I did nothing. My preceptor read 3 book the 4 weeks that I was there. Once he found out that I had 3 years experience at CVS, he didn't teach me anything. Also, he makes $84,000 per year for 200 scripts per week, while at CVS my pharmacist makes $91,000 per year for 4500 scripts per week. It took him 6.5 year to graduate from the 5 year BS program and he failed the NAPLEX twice before finally passing with a 75.06

 

[Caverject]

Are you trying to say that the supermarket pharmacist deserves less money?

 

[htyotispharm]

no, I was simply comparing the difference in pay and workload of the two settings. One of the benefits of being a pharmacist is the the fact that if you do one or one thousand prescriptions, you are going to get paid.

 

[Caverject]

no, I was simply comparing the difference in pay and workload of the two settings. One of the benefits of being a pharmacist is the the fact that if you do one or one thousand prescriptions, you are going to get paid.

Thank you for the clarification!

 

[bananaface]

Thank you for the clarification!

Clarification...one of the underappreciated roles of a pharmacist.

 

[MountainPharmD]

I heard Target was the best place to work! I also heard CVS is really great. Since this is such a new a novel question what do you guys think?

 

[SHC1984]

I heard Target was the best place to work! I also heard CVS is really great. Since this is such a new a novel question what do you guys think?

Their computer system really SUCKS though. I can't wait till they FINALLY get a new computer system.

 

[jawnly211]

are they planning on getting a new comp system? is it in the works?

 

[dangerdog]

allow me to chime in. Right now I'm doing a rotation at target. I had chosen target because of all the good things other pharmacy students have mentioned such as the slower pace which allows time for counseling.

Well... maybe it's just me, but I am rather disappointed, even a little annoyed by the inefficiencies of the practice. There is no barcode scanner to verify the techs picked the right med. The labels are a real pain in the butt to manipulate. Prescriptions are not scanned. Verifications are done by hand. There is no electronic inventory. You couldn't fill next day's prescriptions if you are slow. The computer system belongs in a museum, makes no sense at all (;c to reset screen... what is this? DOS 3.0?)

Me and a pharmacist can do 150 Rx at Walgreens in a 8 hour shift without being stressed. But the target pharmacy doing similar numbers needs 2 pharmacists and 3 techs for the 12 hours, much due to the inefficiency of the whole work flow. I don't love walgreens either. Their priority is on numbers and $, nothing else matters. But in work flow and pharmacy management, walgreen system is light years ahead of Target.

Target does have some good things. Assigning a color or each family member's meds is a good idea, but using a rubber ring is probably not the best way to integrate that. The 1/2 hr lunch is great. Having a starbucks in the store rocks. No drivethru saves you a lot of aggravation. And theoretically you can do more counseling, but not really that much in reality. Patients are no more willing to ask questions or be counseled than anywhere else. And students on rotations are not allowed to touch the registers, which keeps us away from the front of the pharmacy and counseling opportunities. <sigh>

P.S I don't know about other target pharmacies. But the one I'm at is a female only pharmacy. The excessive estrogen talk that goes on in a 12 hour shift making me want to hurl. Finally yesterday, a male floater comes in, only to turn out that he's gay. Guys, when you are picking rotation sites, that's one more thing you want to keep in mind.

 

[Old Timer]

My rotation was at a supermarket that did an average of 30 scripts per day in a 10 hour period. I work at a CVS that does 550-600 scripts per day so of course I was bored. The things that made me upset was the fact that the rotation cost $1560 plus $35 insurance and I did nothing. My preceptor read 3 book the 4 weeks that I was there. Once he found out that I had 3 years experience at CVS, he didn't teach me anything. Also, he makes $84,000 per year for 200 scripts per week, while at CVS my pharmacist makes $91,000 per year for 4500 scripts per week. It took him 6.5 year to graduate from the 5 year BS program and he failed the NAPLEX twice before finally passing with a 75.06

Wow, where do you work? In podunkville?

• Target $40.38/hour
• CVS $43.75/hour

What is this, circa 2005? Unless you are in a very small town where the COL is nil, your numbers can't be accurate...

 

[Praziquantel86]

Wow, where do you work? In podunkville?

• Target $40.38/hour
• CVS $43.75/hour

What is this, circa 2005? Unless you are in a very small town where the COL is nil, your numbers can't be accurate...

It was from '04, actually. What I'm wondering about is when he mentioned paying for a rotation (plus insurance). Do some schools actually charge more for different rotations, or is that lost wages/tuition?

 

[Old Timer]

It was from '04, actually. What I'm wondering about is when he mentioned paying for a rotation (plus insurance). Do some schools actually charge more for different rotations, or is that lost wages/tuition?

I think he divided the # of rotations into the tuition and came up with the money he paid for the experience.

 

[RX8]

I work for a Target now as a floater and I love it. The system is behind the curve, so to speak, with regards to Walgreens' system, but I find it much more user friendly than the system I used over at CVS. I've been at stores that do 150 a day, and others that do 300 a day. They are well equipped to handle either work load, and are more than adequately staffed at the "busier" stores.

They don't job you like Walgreens and give you two techs for 300-400 scripts. At Target, you'll have at least 3 to 4 techs if you are doing 150 and above. I love it.

 

[Roxicet]

I worked for Target for 2 years and mostly loved it. I was an intern during pharmacy school and then a pharmacist when I got my license, for 3 months of those 2 years. As an intern, I was always the extra help. I didn't realize until I was the pharmacist alone with 1-2 techs that 150 rxs a day would feel like 300, similar to what another person stated, because of lack of technology/workflow. But I still love Target. The only reason I quit was because I was moving to a smaller town that has only 2 Targets and only one of those has a pharmacy. They were fully staffed and I had zero chance of transferring. There are rumors going around here that a new Target with a pharmacy will be built in the next few years (probably later than sooner because of the slow economy), and I would gladly go back to Target in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

Sometime in the last 6 months or so, many Targets nationwide had to offer severance packages to some pharmacists at slower locations, and cut back to hours to 10-8 M-F (now 10-hour shifts instead of 12), 9-6 on Sat, and 11-5 on Sundays. They still get to close for 30 minutes for lunch. Those hours make the deal even sweeter!

 

[alenadoma]

I worked for Target for 2 years and mostly loved it. I was an intern during pharmacy school and then a pharmacist when I got my license, for 3 months of those 2 years. As an intern, I was always the extra help. I didn't realize until I was the pharmacist alone with 1-2 techs that 150 rxs a day would feel like 300, similar to what another person stated, because of lack of technology/workflow. But I still love Target. The only reason I quit was because I was moving to a smaller town that has only 2 Targets and only one of those has a pharmacy. They were fully staffed and I had zero chance of transferring. There are rumors going around here that a new Target with a pharmacy will be built in the next few years (probably later than sooner because of the slow economy), and I would gladly go back to Target in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

Sometime in the last 6 months or so, many Targets nationwide had to offer severance packages to some pharmacists at slower locations, and cut back to hours to 10-8 M-F (now 10-hour shifts instead of 12), 9-6 on Sat, and 11-5 on Sundays. They still get to close for 30 minutes for lunch. Those hours make the deal even sweeter!

Wow, I didn't realize some Target pharmacies are open that long. Ours is open 9-7 Monday - Saturday and 11-3 on Sundays. And we close from 130-2 for lunch too.

 

[pharmdinfl]

My husband works for Target and likes it pretty well. He left Walgreens for Target and in comparison, he enjoys Target much, much better. He is at a Super Target and works 12 hour shifts (his store is still open M-F 9 am - 9 pm and Sat/Sun 9-6 pm with no changes in store so far). He works just 3 days one week and 4 days the other which is pretty cool.

There is a new computer system in the works that is supposed to replace the very outdated current system.

 

[clachan3]

My husband works for Target and likes it pretty well. He left Walgreens for Target and in comparison, he enjoys Target much, much better. He is at a Super Target and works 12 hour shifts (his store is still open M-F 9 am - 9 pm and Sat/Sun 9-6 pm with no changes in store so far). He works just 3 days one week and 4 days the other which is pretty cool.

There is a new computer system in the works that is supposed to replace the very outdated current system.

Any news on the new computer system at Target??

 

[MountainPharmD]

I worked for Target for 2 years and mostly loved it. I was an intern during pharmacy school and then a pharmacist when I got my license, for 3 months of those 2 years. As an intern, I was always the extra help. I didn't realize until I was the pharmacist alone with 1-2 techs that 150 rxs a day would feel like 300, similar to what another person stated, because of lack of technology/workflow. But I still love Target. The only reason I quit was because I was moving to a smaller town that has only 2 Targets and only one of those has a pharmacy. They were fully staffed and I had zero chance of transferring. There are rumors going around here that a new Target with a pharmacy will be built in the next few years (probably later than sooner because of the slow economy), and I would gladly go back to Target in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

Sometime in the last 6 months or so, many Targets nationwide had to offer severance packages to some pharmacists at slower locations, and cut back to hours to 10-8 M-F (now 10-hour shifts instead of 12), 9-6 on Sat, and 11-5 on Sundays. They still get to close for 30 minutes for lunch. Those hours make the deal even sweeter!

I would be careful about Target. They have closed up their pharmacies before. Many stores have cut their hours down to where they can operate with a full time pharmacist and a part timer. The new computer system is encouraging and surprising. I was honestly expecting Target to pull out of the RX business.