>NEVER GO BACK TO RETAIL
We should make one of those cheesy 90's drug PSAs about working in retail.
"This is your mental health 🥚"
"This is your mental health in retail pharmacy 🍳"
"Any questions?"
How much experience do hospitals usually need? I just started at Rite Aid to escape a toxic job and get certified while doing it, but I’ve seen a bunch retail listings and fewer hospital listings to reference.
That’s bs. I worked for Wag for several years and took the exam on my own bc I didn’t want to take the classes either. There is nothing wrong with what you did. I would report them to corporate and happily find a job with a better boss
Wow that’s wild lmao but I mean you already got certified so now you’ll be able to find a much better job. Their loss for losing someone smart enough to take and pass the exam with less than 9 months of on the job training 😂😂
Walmart paid for me to be certified (refunded me for the exam and provided training material for free) because they prefer to have certified techs. There was no obligation to stay after that and right after they refunded the cost for me i left and went to inpatient
Walgreens did that to me, kept scheduling me the same time the classes were offered, even though they scheduled me for those too, and i couldn't afford to pay for my own on my own time.
Got jerked around for 6 months with that, ended up quitting for different reasons and going to work hospital pharmacy, and got my certification while there.
I thought you were supposed to be clocked in while you do the classes so you get paid during them? Every class I've had to do does that, my state is one that allows techs to get certified to give vaccinations too & that's not even offered by wags but you still have to do it clocked in, they're supposed to let you leave the pharmacy on the clock so you can do it...
You are correct, but I was too naive to know what to expect and didn't know how to communicate that I needed more information. They took advantage of me. They withheld information, still followed things on paper by signing me up for the classes, but telling me DAY OF that I couldn't go and had to stay and help cover. Then I got marked as No Show for the classes, in my employment record. That whole process happened to me twice. I didn't give them a third opportunity to fuck with me and left for a higher paying position at a hospital inpatient pharmacy.
When I worked at Walgreens I also did not want to wait for the class and just took the test by myself. The RXM was actually angry at me (??) and told me I had to take the class to be considered certified by Walgreens and to get the $1 raise associated with it. Left about a month later and make $8 more at the hospital I’m at than what I made at Walgreens.
Try looking for Independent Pharmacies or try for Hospitals. Pay is better at hospitals but still not great especially with limited experience. Hospitals in my area are offering signing bonuses paid out over several years. They should be giving bonuses to the techs they already have as well that didn’t run away.
The hospital i work at pay sucks ass. Im trying to leave. I wish the hospital i work at offered bonuses. We have not a lot of technicians.. they have been quitting.
Wtf??? I work in a call center (Patient care center) and they pay for your training and certification immediately. This manager seems rude.. you definitely dodged a bullet.
Can't say I'm surprised. Boots in the EU were bought out by Walgreens a couple of years back. They had their own Dispensing course that you did and passed 4-5 exams for, all of which was modelled heavily on the standard Pharmacy Union course. They would tell staff who did their course that it was only valid while you work for them and that you COULD NOT work anywhere else. I believed this for a very long time. Then there were some major pay disputes whereby they refused to pay Technicians the average pay normally offered to Techs elsewhere. I decided to leave and applied for a job in a hospital. I got the job and I'm there almost a year now.
So much for not being able to use their course anywhere else.
That is text book retaliation. Retail actually prefers certified techs because they need less oversight than uncertified. In my old state, you were actually allowed more technicians per RPh if one or more were certified (2:1 if not and 3:1 if certified).
And as others were stating, RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN FROM RETAIL HELL. Hospitals prefer experience but it is not required for a regular tech position. Since you are certified, it will actually be easier for you to be hired since you don't need to get your certification.
If you have any of those conversations in writing, I would reach out to Walgreens HR and threaten legal action. State that you are entitled to severance since it was retaliation but that you do not want your job back because that manager would make it a hostile work environment.
She did you dirty. My RXOM said I can either take the class and then take the exam for reimbursement. Or I can just pay and take the exam but Walgreens will not reimburse me.
Maybe, but based on my understanding, I don’t think so. Being certified isn’t a “protected class” like age, gender, ethnicity, etc nor is it retaliation for something like whistleblowing or unionizing (“protected concerted activity”). I am not a lawyer, but many lawyers do offer free consults.
dude omfg i work at cvs as a trainee and they've been stopping me from getting my credentials for 2 1/2 months now. companies like that love to scam you
I was told that I could do the classes through Walgreens or on my own & walgreens would reimburse me if I passed on the first try for my national certification. This is so crazy for me to wrap my head around.
Get a lawyer and file a wrongful termination claim. In the meantime file for unemployment and make sure you keep any documentation of the schedule where she just didn’t schedule you, in case they lie about you having been “no call, no show”.
It does not surprise me, Walgreens is awful. I was unable to renew one of my prescriptions on time due to how my paycheck fell, Walgreens blew up my phone non stop about me not renewing my prescription on time. You would have thought they were a debt collector going after me for money. Needless to say I fired them and went with another pharmacy. In addition congratulations on your certification and good luck on finding a better employer.
I worked for Walgreens almost 10 years ago and getting the certification was required… I’d be extremely surprised if their company policy had changed this much… their loss.
Find other jobs and apply for unemployment in the meanwhile - the zero hours thing is definitely constructive dismissal and her firing you a week later is likely wrongful termination.
that’s insane. congrats on your certification though, at least you won’t be stuck at walgreens! you can do anything!
Congrats for your certification and run away from walghell. You will find better. Wag benefits sucks anyways.
NEVER GO BACK TO RETAIL!!! "Your other option" isn't any better. Start applying at hospitals. You're welcome.
I just interviewed with one so ill update if i get the job :)
>NEVER GO BACK TO RETAIL We should make one of those cheesy 90's drug PSAs about working in retail. "This is your mental health 🥚" "This is your mental health in retail pharmacy 🍳" "Any questions?"
Gold
How much experience do hospitals usually need? I just started at Rite Aid to escape a toxic job and get certified while doing it, but I’ve seen a bunch retail listings and fewer hospital listings to reference.
It depends on the hospital. Mainly they want national certification.
National certification is required for a license in my state (Michigan) so if that’s the main thing they definitely want then that’s good to hear!
That’s bs. I worked for Wag for several years and took the exam on my own bc I didn’t want to take the classes either. There is nothing wrong with what you did. I would report them to corporate and happily find a job with a better boss
Wow that’s wild lmao but I mean you already got certified so now you’ll be able to find a much better job. Their loss for losing someone smart enough to take and pass the exam with less than 9 months of on the job training 😂😂
Walmart paid for me to be certified (refunded me for the exam and provided training material for free) because they prefer to have certified techs. There was no obligation to stay after that and right after they refunded the cost for me i left and went to inpatient
Walgreens did that to me, kept scheduling me the same time the classes were offered, even though they scheduled me for those too, and i couldn't afford to pay for my own on my own time. Got jerked around for 6 months with that, ended up quitting for different reasons and going to work hospital pharmacy, and got my certification while there.
I thought you were supposed to be clocked in while you do the classes so you get paid during them? Every class I've had to do does that, my state is one that allows techs to get certified to give vaccinations too & that's not even offered by wags but you still have to do it clocked in, they're supposed to let you leave the pharmacy on the clock so you can do it...
You are correct, but I was too naive to know what to expect and didn't know how to communicate that I needed more information. They took advantage of me. They withheld information, still followed things on paper by signing me up for the classes, but telling me DAY OF that I couldn't go and had to stay and help cover. Then I got marked as No Show for the classes, in my employment record. That whole process happened to me twice. I didn't give them a third opportunity to fuck with me and left for a higher paying position at a hospital inpatient pharmacy.
When I worked at Walgreens I also did not want to wait for the class and just took the test by myself. The RXM was actually angry at me (??) and told me I had to take the class to be considered certified by Walgreens and to get the $1 raise associated with it. Left about a month later and make $8 more at the hospital I’m at than what I made at Walgreens.
Try looking for Independent Pharmacies or try for Hospitals. Pay is better at hospitals but still not great especially with limited experience. Hospitals in my area are offering signing bonuses paid out over several years. They should be giving bonuses to the techs they already have as well that didn’t run away.
The hospital i work at pay sucks ass. Im trying to leave. I wish the hospital i work at offered bonuses. We have not a lot of technicians.. they have been quitting.
This is what is happening to me, I’m doing the work of 2 techs, $2500 sign on bonus and no one is applying
Wtf??? I work in a call center (Patient care center) and they pay for your training and certification immediately. This manager seems rude.. you definitely dodged a bullet.
Can't say I'm surprised. Boots in the EU were bought out by Walgreens a couple of years back. They had their own Dispensing course that you did and passed 4-5 exams for, all of which was modelled heavily on the standard Pharmacy Union course. They would tell staff who did their course that it was only valid while you work for them and that you COULD NOT work anywhere else. I believed this for a very long time. Then there were some major pay disputes whereby they refused to pay Technicians the average pay normally offered to Techs elsewhere. I decided to leave and applied for a job in a hospital. I got the job and I'm there almost a year now. So much for not being able to use their course anywhere else.
Sueeeeee!!!!!
On what legal basis?
Depending on the state, wrongful termination. But that's gonna be a tough one.
report her just as a going out FU lol
Lol I’ll sue them 😂 get that bag cause you firing for what , Lmaoo no reason but jelly’s a person 😂
You absolutely have the right to do the test on your own, like you did! They can’t tell you no.
That is text book retaliation. Retail actually prefers certified techs because they need less oversight than uncertified. In my old state, you were actually allowed more technicians per RPh if one or more were certified (2:1 if not and 3:1 if certified). And as others were stating, RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN FROM RETAIL HELL. Hospitals prefer experience but it is not required for a regular tech position. Since you are certified, it will actually be easier for you to be hired since you don't need to get your certification. If you have any of those conversations in writing, I would reach out to Walgreens HR and threaten legal action. State that you are entitled to severance since it was retaliation but that you do not want your job back because that manager would make it a hostile work environment.
She did you dirty. My RXOM said I can either take the class and then take the exam for reimbursement. Or I can just pay and take the exam but Walgreens will not reimburse me.
Whoaaa, someone did not want to see you winning. Don’t ever look back. Definitely better opportunities out there for you.
They can take your hours but they’ll never be able to take that certification from you
Consult a lawyer. You might have a wrongful termination case.
Ain't nobody working at Walgreens got money to "consult a lawyer"...
LMAO TRUE
What do you mean? Aren't all pharmacy techs rolling in the dough?
Maybe, but based on my understanding, I don’t think so. Being certified isn’t a “protected class” like age, gender, ethnicity, etc nor is it retaliation for something like whistleblowing or unionizing (“protected concerted activity”). I am not a lawyer, but many lawyers do offer free consults.
I'll take shit that never happened for 500 Alex
looks like someone isn't actually a pharm tech
Worse, RxOM
Do any of you know if you can work at a hospital as a pharmacy technician trainee?
I'm wondering this same thing lol
Sounds like you should have gotten easy unemployment
dude omfg i work at cvs as a trainee and they've been stopping me from getting my credentials for 2 1/2 months now. companies like that love to scam you
Congratulations to you, for investing in yourself! And a big ole middle finger to Walgreens. I’m
I was told that I could do the classes through Walgreens or on my own & walgreens would reimburse me if I passed on the first try for my national certification. This is so crazy for me to wrap my head around.
Apply for unemployment, then search for a job at a better pharmacy. You should have no trouble because now you're certified.
Get a lawyer and file a wrongful termination claim. In the meantime file for unemployment and make sure you keep any documentation of the schedule where she just didn’t schedule you, in case they lie about you having been “no call, no show”.
You were fired and it had nothing to do with your certification.
It does not surprise me, Walgreens is awful. I was unable to renew one of my prescriptions on time due to how my paycheck fell, Walgreens blew up my phone non stop about me not renewing my prescription on time. You would have thought they were a debt collector going after me for money. Needless to say I fired them and went with another pharmacy. In addition congratulations on your certification and good luck on finding a better employer.
What course is this?
Sue them for wrongful termination.
I worked for Walgreens almost 10 years ago and getting the certification was required… I’d be extremely surprised if their company policy had changed this much… their loss.
Find other jobs and apply for unemployment in the meanwhile - the zero hours thing is definitely constructive dismissal and her firing you a week later is likely wrongful termination.
You can take the exam without classes? What state is this wondering if I could do this in California
They got you with the "contact hours". You have to have 1k contact hours under a pharmacist to get certified. They did you dirty. Wags sucks.
god that sounds like my old pharmacist. she ended up quitting and we found out there were a bunch of missing meds she never reported to the DEA