Hot take: a pharmacy degree does not make you a good pharmacist.
The counter does. And too many people in this profession have that backwards.
In 2013 I know someone who was a pharmacy technician. Counting pills, running the register, absorbing the anger when a prescription wasn’t ready on time.
Then lead tech. Then pharmacy school. Then Assistant Pharmacy Manager, and finally, Pharmacist in Charge.
Here is what most people will not say out loud.
Those years on the floor taught me more about keeping patients safe than any exam ever did.
School taught him the drug. The counter taught him the job. They are not the same thing, and pretending they are is how people get hurt.
1. Errors do not hide in a textbook. They hide in the rush, the interruptions, the short-staffed afternoon when everyone is drowning.
2. You cannot lead a team you have never stood beside. Respect is earned at the bench, not handed over with a title
3. Patients do not care about your GPA. They care whether you actually see them.
I will say the thing most won’t. I trust a sharp tech who worked their way up over a brand new grad who never did. Every time.
So be honest. If you were staffing your own pharmacy tomorrow, who are you betting on? The 4.0 who never worked a counter, or the tech who earned every step?
MBH/PS