IAmA Pharmacist from Chemist Warehouse Australia. AMA!

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I'm trying. For a pharmacist, I am a slow typist.

I heard Chemist Warehouse is planning to dominate the market by changing how pharmacists work and your work contract. Is this true?

Sorry but I think I'm going to have to ask you to rephrase this. I'm not sure what you mean by changing how pharmacists work and our contracts? We have to sign and agree to new contracts, so they can't really slip something in without us knowing.

How much are you paid per hour?

Well award rate for a basic pharmacist is $27.19/hour. CWH is generally nicer than this and gives you a little more, so like $28+. The more years you work they generally do some sort of pay review, our you ask for an increase and they bump you up to about 29/30. I have heard of some pharmacy managers getting above $40/hour or on some salary equating to this. As for my personal wage, lets just say between $28 and $40 /hour ;)

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For more info, check out the pharmacy award wages here

I’ve gotten cheaper versions of drugs from CWH that were like printed wrong in the blister pack but otherwise fine. How does CWH do this but other pharmacies don’t? Where do the rest of the reject drugs go?

Printed wrong on the blister pack? Like wrong strength or wrong drug? This is honestly the first I've heard of this. Generally if there is a problem with medication, the company who makes it will eventually find out from people returning it and complaining. They will then issue a recall and eventually get a heavily QC'd batch out.

See this TGA recall about valium back in 2017. Was a major hurdle and most pharmacies were out for months.

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Also, the cheaper versions of drugs that we sell are mostly similar to any of the generics that most other pharmacies sell. Our generic brand of choice is SANDOZ, which i know some other pharmacy chains use, albeit at a higher markup than us.

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In terms of reject drugs, Australia has the RUM (Return of Unused Medicines) program, where we put returned or expired medications for collection in secure bins. These then get taken off and presumably incinerated.

Are there any owner-operated pharmacies in Australia or just chains? How hard is the college degree over there?

We have some big chains; Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Amcal, Terry White, Chemmart are some of the biggest, but we also have independents around everywhere. some owners own a few small stores, or just one.

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Its 4 years of undergraduate study. Not too bad for the science minded kid. Quite a bit of chemistry and physiology. then just straight drug knowledge classes. and some pracs about how to make creams, gels ect and how to analyse compounds to determine what they are. It was a fun 4 years. That is followed by 1 year of paid internship at a community pharmacy or hospital.

I don’t get it, why are you doing an AMA?

As the /r/IAma FAQ states:

Please don't submit a post just to "see if there's interest." There will be, you should do the AMA.

So I just did the AMA...

Can you talk about how CWH gets around the legislation of a pharmacist not being allowed to own x amount of outlets?

CWH works kinda like what i think a franchise would be. There is an "Owner", but they might not necessarily be the name on the front door or the PBS approval number holder. From what I've heard, a percentage is owned by CWH the group, then a few silent partners with money (or high ups in the group), then a couple of Pharmacists who will put their names on the door. Overall the "Owner" probably owns about 20-30% of the store properly. They also get a Owner salary. Not sure what it is, but enough to pay their bills even in a store isn't profiting (I'm assuming).

Do you enjoy your job?

I guess its like most jobs. Some days are great, some not so. Being a pharmacist is like being in any retail job, except you have a degree and a little more authority. We stare at a screen all day long, usually while standing all day as well. Customers can be good and joke and be fun, or can yell and scream because you won't break the law to give them exactly what they want. The staff are good. Every store is a pretty close little family and that really helps getting through the tougher days.