Guest guest Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I've decided to stick with volunteering for right now. I think it will give me a better understanding of what I would be getting into. However, I couldn't find any pharmacies that have volunteer opportunities (and the schools near me don't offer a program in pharm tech) so I e-mailed the volunteer coordinator of a local hospital. She is going to mail me an application. I'm not sure if this woul involve pharmacy at all, but do you think it's a good idea anyway for someone who has no experience whatsoever in the health care field and just wants to start out and explore the field a little bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 My appologies hardulakl, I have forgotten what state you are in. Please read my previous (long post) if you are in California. If you are not in CA I will need a refresher. But for the most part if your state does not forbid non-registered employees in the pharmacym then they may hire a clerk. Volunteering in the hospital is a great idea. You most likely will notbe allowed to carry any meds to floors, like they were allowed over 15 years ago in CA. You might not beallowed to volunteer in the hospital pharmacy, but at the gift shop, and nurses stations etc. YES you can learn much by obersvation but really and truly you wont be doing the work of the employees. It will give you a feel for the basic duties and flow of the departments. And there is everything right in volunteering as it shows your comittment to medical field. Btu do not expect oen to hire you just because you are volunteering. It does give youa foot in the door of meeting a pharmacy director and other Rx personnel who may be interested in hiring you AFTER you meet all of yoir state pharm tech requirements. IF you are in a state that allows them to train you in the hospital pharmacy, then it may be a good way to meet a pharmcist who may be in charge of hiring trainess. (again not allowed in CA). In most cases in most states, volunteers are not allowed to run errands for the pharmacy that involve medication or written orders. Since many orders are now faxed the physical transportation of written orders is not as necessary as it once was. In addition, 'runners' must be pharm techs nowadays, AND we also have pneumatic tube systems and dumb waiters to transport many meds. So I am not sure what you would be allowed to do as a volunteer IF your state did allow such in a hospital pharmacy. Perhaps other members of this site can give you an idea of their STATE laws and hospital rules on volunteers. Exploring the options in any field is always good advice and a good idea. The ROP programs for high school students do allow for such a course. The student rotates in about 5 departments in which they observe and shadow various employees such as dietician, doctor, nurse, pharmacist, respiratory tech, radiologist, emergency, admitting etc. BUT of corse they can not observe any confidential patient information or the actual assessmemt of the patient. I hope this helps you , I do hope others who have more information will contribute about what is allowed in their states. hardulakl plesae let us know what state you are in. I thinkyou have in the past but I do not recall. Respectfully, Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Pharm Tech Educator Founder/Owner > > I've decided to stick with volunteering for right now. I think it will > give me a better understanding of what I would be getting into. > However, I couldn't find any pharmacies that have volunteer > opportunities (and the schools near me don't offer a program in pharm > tech) so I e-mailed the volunteer coordinator of a local hospital. She > is going to mail me an application. I'm not sure if this woul involve > pharmacy at all, but do you think it's a good idea anyway for someone > who has no experience whatsoever in the health care field and just > wants to start out and explore the field a little bit? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 I used to live in New Jersey and used to volunteer at a hospital pharmacy during high school there and they let me do a lot of hands on tasks. I filled prescriptions (which were double checked by the pharmacist of course), handled inventory, repackaged drugs for individual doses, stock shelves, etc. I pretty much did the work of a pharm tech minus most IV work and going up on the floors. Thats what got me to fall in love with the pharmacy field and to become a pharmacy technician and aim to become a pharmacist. > > > > I've decided to stick with volunteering for right now. I think it will > > give me a better understanding of what I would be getting into. > > However, I couldn't find any pharmacies that have volunteer > > opportunities (and the schools near me don't offer a program in pharm > > tech) so I e-mailed the volunteer coordinator of a local hospital. She > > is going to mail me an application. I'm not sure if this woul involve > > pharmacy at all, but do you think it's a good idea anyway for someone > > who has no experience whatsoever in the health care field and just > > wants to start out and explore the field a little bit? > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Thank you for yoru input! I must ask can you tell us WHEN this occured/high school volunteering? Why am I asking? Because I need to know if this is currently within the law in order to tell others that they can do this or not in NJ. This is definitely illegal in California. So wondering if still acceptable in NJ or not. and feedback? Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS F/O > > > > > > I've decided to stick with volunteering for right now. I think it will > > > give me a better understanding of what I would be getting into. > > > However, I couldn't find any pharmacies that have volunteer > > > opportunities (and the schools near me don't offer a program in pharm > > > tech) so I e-mailed the volunteer coordinator of a local hospital. She > > > is going to mail me an application. I'm not sure if this woul involve > > > pharmacy at all, but do you think it's a good idea anyway for someone > > > who has no experience whatsoever in the health care field and just > > > wants to start out and explore the field a little bit? > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 Thank you, Jeanetta and berne for the information and encouragement. Right now, I'm living in Illinois; however, I expect that to change in a few months--another reason why I'm going to stick with volunteering rather than trying to get an actual job until my living situation is more stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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