Should pharmacists get a lunch break by law?
I got the following email from a reader asking my thoughts on lunches for pharmacists. I'm not going to post his name or the store he works for, but you'll get the jist of what is going on:
I've been working for [this pharmacy] in [the Southeastern USA] for many years (5+ let's say). Before that, I spent 12 years at Walgreens. Is there any legal issue in a company not allowing their pharmacists a legitimate, leave the pharmacy, timed, lunch break? Well, legally, it must not be, or they would not be so easily getting away with it. As far as I know, it is the ONLY corporately run pharmacy not giving a lunch break in the state in which I live. All the usual suspects, when it comes to these human rights issues, Walgreeens, CVS, Wal-mart, Sam's Club, provide lunches -- sometimes even within a CLOSED PHARMACY. Do you have any comments? How can I post such a question on your site to ask other professionals?
Well, you did it in the right way. Send your questions, comments or guest articles via the CONTACT Page and I'll see what I can do.
Anyway, readers, tell him what you know. Here's what I know. Pharmacists are sometimes listed as salaried management and therefore fall under different guidelines than your every day cashier, technician, or stocker. I'd bet my bottom dollar that is the case where you work. That's the exact story where I live. Fortunately, I'm able to go sit down, even if just for a few minutes to eat some lunch every day. Even if it's a scattered 15 minutes. I shoot for noon when I know the phone will slow down as the nurses are all out to lunch, and patient's slow a bit too -- at least the ones that have jobs. So, I woof down my lunch. If you can't do that, I'm sorry. Move to another store/chain or transfer to a slower store that would allow you more time in general for afternoon tea...:-)
Anything else for the good of the order?
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I currently work for Walgreens and they’re VERY adamant that we take our lunches by the fifth hour of our shift (I’ve gotten written up for clocking out for lunch 1 min over the fifth hour mark). As far as I know, Vons pharmacists are the only people that don’t get a lunch break.
Kroger pharmacists don’t get any type of break. If there’s 15 minutes of downtime they can inhale a sandwich. The pharmacist has joked about bringing in a mini catapult to propel the food to the oral cavity.
Tons of pharmacies have no lunch breaks (or really any breaks) for their pharmacists. CVS, Rite Aid, Kmart…. as far as I know, the technicians are allowed and told to go on lunch break, but not the pharmacists.
Be glad you even have a job, nevermind a well paying one like being a druggist. Alternatively, you could pop a few dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate pills (sustained release of both works best!) from the narcotics lockup and then you wouldn’t feel the need to eat anything. Might even make your productivity go up too! Make sure to have a few alprazolam on hand just in case you can’t sleep afterwards!
Congradulations Mark you know exactly what a high stress job of being a pharmists is! Nevermind the fact that your comment sounds like its coming from a professional drug addict or one that believes you need a pill for every little thing. However, it is sad that someone who is classified as a Doctor of Pharmacy only gets a 30 minute lunch break. They work 8, 10 , and sometimes even 12 hours a day and for what? So corporate can have a good quarterly statement.
I worked for 45 years without a lunch hour
I did,however, eat lunch.
I didn’t have time to play cards or BS
With fellow employees during the usual hour
Others had
I also got paid from the time I got to work until I left.
No matter how busy I was, there was always te for short breaks.
we are “exempt” employees which means that a company can work us until we drop. So they do. I have 3 13 hours shifts each 14 days. I get no paid lunch and no designated breaks. They tell us we can take a rest period but we MUST BE AVAILABLE for any and all questions. counsel. needs. WTF..thats no rest. Thats exactly what I am doing now…working..only with cold food in my face.
If this pharmacist has at least 17 years. In retail, I am confused that they are questioning lunch breaks now. Some of the companies years ago offered pharmacists a 30 minute break if they work an 8 and 1/2 hour day. Not one pharmacist volunteered so they get the nonstop work day
I absolutely think that there should be a law requiring every pharmacy to close for half an hour each day so the pharmacist can take a break. Even if they use it to catch up on stuff that’s running behind. I used to work in a retail chain for 14 hour shifts without even as much as a bathroom break. In my opinion, this is just setting up a perfect situation for errors to occur. Everybody needs a break to just sit down and take a rest, eat something, or do whatever they want for just a little while. I think it would lead to less errors and happier pharmacists. And, face it, if it’s not mandated by law then it’s not going to happen. Even if the pharmacy “allows” for a pharmacist to take a break, odds are they are running so behind that they will never take it. This would be just one of many small changes that MUST be made or else there will be no more pharmacists to meet the increasing demand of patient load.
I seriously doubt there will be a time where there are too few pharmacists in the very near future. Hell, I’d bet the next ten years. We have too damn many!
TaestP and your correspondent: WAKE UP! Why stop at discussing the legality of having a meal? Why not look for examples of other workers, in the U.S. or elsewhere, who are being denied such a human right? Why do pharmacists have to have laws passed IN ORDER TO EAT FOOD WHILE ON DUTY????? Who else on this planet is forced to go hungry during a workday? And, as Jim P has been saying, and rightly so, who ultimately gets harmed when a hungry, tired pharmacist is on duty? the public! On this point, your Ole’ Apothecary becomes one of the angriest pharmacists on earth.
I repeat: who else has to debate whether or not they have the human right to eat?
It is yet another insult to our profession that we have to consider getting special laws passed to guarantee us a right that most workers take for granted as part of their rights as members of the species “homo sapiens.” Whether we are classified as salaried employees in certain ways is irrelevant.
I stop at noon every day no matter what. I merely posted his comment for him. Sure, I wish everyone were happy and got a lunch, but it’s not gonna happen with a bill, law, constitutional amendment, public awareness, an APhA public awareness campaign, or daily rants on every pharmacist blog on the planet. So, what’s the point?
If you don’t get what you want, go to an employer that will give you that. All things being equal, only the free market will settle this thing out. But, we all know that too many of our colleagues wont do shit….and the cycle will continue…
Not that my old job was any where near as important as a pharmacist, but when I worked as a cell phone sales rep (Four horrible years of kissing idiot’s asses) we never got breaks. They said “oh, if it’s slow you can take one!” But that never happened. If we did find a break in the day and went to get food to bring it back, it would inevitable get busy and we’d get bitched at for taking a break. There are other industries where it happens. I read this blog because I can relate to the customer service part of it. Oh lord, how customer service sucks.
Yes, we were salary (plus commission). When I worked retail in high school the state mandated a break and if you didn’t take it you had to sign a waiver for that shift.
I think no matter where you work, you should feel comfortable taking a lunch break at some point around lunchtime-ish. Whether that’s actually allotted time via a closed pharmacy or not, do it. Most patients will understand that pharmacists need to eat. Your technicians/interns should also understand and do what they can to help give you a break.
Our pharmacy recently eliminated our half-hour-closed-pharmacy-lunch-break. I (currently an intern) will go out and grab food for the pharmacist if they need me to, and I also have no problem taking charge as much as I can while they sit down to eat. I have also known many technicians who do the same for their pharmacists.
Important note: I have no problem telling patients they have to wait longer, and most people do not complain. When they do, I explain that the pharmacist is eating lunch – if they keep whining, they can go someplace else.
It seems to be like this in Australia too. I’ve worked at a few different pharmacies (chains and independents) and unless there’s more than one pharmacist rostered on the same day, the pharmacists tend to just go out the back and have lunch whenever there’s a lull rather than getting a scheduled break. Even at the slow stores, I’ve been sent to go and do a lunch run for the lone pharmacist who can’t leave the store to get something to eat purely because he/she is the only one working that day.
Although I know it’s due to contract differences over here as well and there doesn’t really seem to be a way around it (since obviously it costs the store more money to have two pharmacists on at once) it makes me feel sorry for them. The pharmacist has to be on his or her feet all day just like the techs and assistants do in my store, and we spend all day looking forward to the scheduled half hour we get that disappears so quickly. We do have an intern pharmacist at our store, and she often helps with patient questions and such to take the pressure off the pharmacist when it’s busy…but I’m pretty sure (at least in Au) it’s a legal requirement that a fully trained pharmacist has to be on duty at all times.
I have been a pharmacist for 16 years and did not have any lunch break for the first 8 years of my job. As I was just out of school and did not know otherwise, it really did not bother me. When I left this job, it surprised me that I got a lunch break at my new employer. It took some getting use to, but after a while the break was something I came to look forward to. I was not allowed to leave the building, but I could sit inside the closed pharmacy and eat, walk around the store, or go to the bathroom. Recently, my employer did away with my lunch, and I must say that I really do miss the break. I now eat in between customers and run to the bathroom only once a day, and I am miserable because of this. I have also gained 20 lbs in the past several months since the lunch break stopped. I have a feeling that it is because I am munching in between customers and I am not really cognizant of what I am eating, so I eat more than I should. I also feel more tired at the end of the day, and resentful at being trapped in the box for 12 1/2 hours, without any break. Many weeks I work four 12 1/2 hour days in a row and by the end of the 4th day I am going out of my mind.
I am not really sure, why my employer took the lunch break away. We had been closing for lunch for over eight years, and never had any problems or complaints. Most of our customers knew when the break was and would not come when we were closed. If they forgot, they would either wait until we opened or come back later.
No other salaried professions that I know of, works the hours that we work, without any type of break. My friends that are engineers, nurses, accountants, are amazed when I tell them I get no lunch or break, and everyone always asks isn’t that illegal?
The state boards of pharmacy, and most pharmacy organizations are worthless, and really do not care about our well being. Maybe pharmacists that commit prescription or medical errors, need to start lawsuits against their employers for unsafe working conditions. Perhaps forming a pharmacists union might help regulate conditions. I am not holding my breath, as unfortunately I do not see any changes coming about.
There’s already a pharmacists union. At the cvs I work, cashiers and techs get 30 minute breaks and Pharmacists work ’till they drop around the clock. I mean I thought it was reasonable, since Pharmacist’s worked 80 hours one week and are off the next. But, a pharmacist actually just quit her job at our store, because she got a kidney stone due to the fact that she was unable to pee, eat, or drink, ever. Which i found unfathomable, considering the bathroom & break room is right outside the pharmacy door. I’m studying to be a Pharmacist, and this type of news is very discouraging. I don’t see how Dr’s of Pharmacy can be treated as irrelevant people, they had to fight to be acknowledged as a genuine medical field, had to fight for a decent pay check, and now Pharmacists have to fight for the right to take a break? That’s just nonsensicality at it’s finest.
In retail-land, there is no such thing as breaks or lunches for pharmacists unless it is a sufficiently busy pharmacy to require 2+ pharmacists and then you can take turns covering. If you are the lone pharmacist, it is a “stomach feeding tube” scenario. Although in some retail settings, lunches are setup but it is rare. In hospital settings, lunches and breaks are scheduled, i.e., there are other pharmacists to cover. My state has a labor law that provides for breaks and lunches for supervisors/managers/salaried personnel; however, no retail pharmacies acknowledge it.
Your company probally stopped the lunch closing for monetary reasons. If your numbers are down, the company wants to increase them by whatever means that works for the company. If you sell nothing but one box of condoms during that time, it will please the company. Inventory out, money in. It isn’t about you having no complaints or customers understanding.
I recommend changing your schedule since it is racking you. Something like this: on mon,on tue, off wed, off thur, on fri, sat, sun, off mon, off tue, on wed, on thur, off fri, sat and sun. repeat. have another pharmacist work opposite you and have a part time pharmacist to help cover the heavy spots prn if you have enough allowable hours.
Are you kidding me with the no break? WTH??? I would MUCH rather have my prescriptions filled by a person that is not starving and exhausted.
Are you all allowed to go to the restroom at all? Wow. Talk about slave labor.
There are various avenues of pharmacy practice that by and large allow time for lunch breaks. For example, hospital practice, industry, etc. The only place where a lunch break has and always will be in question is retail pharmacy practice that include all the various classes of trade in retail, ie: chain, big box, supermarket, etc.
Let’s face it, pharmacists are a big expense to the bottom line. Most retailers are struggling with their bottom lines, so the easiest place to eliminate expense is to not have more than one pharmacist logging hours at any given time during the hours the pharmacy is open. And that pharmacist must be present to dispense medications at any given time.
It’s unfortunate, but the reality is what we’ve made of it. We offer drive-up service, and delivery just to remain competitive. This is retail folks and we will always pay the price by logging long hours with no official bathroom breaks or lunches. Other people with retail jobs take breaks. Heck, if there is one or two associates on lunch break at Best Buy or Sears, the customer can go to someone else for help. That won’t happen in a supermarket. The pharmacy customer will never be able to get pharmacy services from the meat or produce manager!
Our pharmacists get a 30 minute break, but thats only because its a pharmacist-owned independent store.
Ok, everyone quit your whining!!! You are legally mandated to take a 30-minute uninterrupted lunch break. Take it! It is legally yours. And so are your 10-minute breaks for every 4 hours worked. If an employer requires you to work thru your lunch, they must have you sign a lunch waiver. Don’t sign it if you want a lunch break. There are labor laws in this country. Don’t let the bullies win. If your coworkers have a problem with it, they are in danger of breaking labor laws. We as professionals have been eating crumbs off the floor for too long, and then saying “thank you.” Please!!! Where is our pride? We need to start respecting all the blood, sweat and tears we endured to get our degree, license and work skills.
I don’t know what state you live in, but you are wrong when considering the vast majority of states in our nation. That is definitely not the law in my state nor the policy of my company. You must just be in a good situation. Congrats. The rest of us just don’t enjoy the same protection and privileges.
In my state this was the case but ONLY for people paid hourly. Like said before, people on salary get a different set of rules. I know Wal-Mart here closes for a half an hour, but none of the others do.
The profession of pharmacy sucks! I’ve been out of school for almost 26 years and it keeps getting worse! Yes we make good money, but we aren’t supposed to eat or pee!!!! How flipping ridiculous! Doctors take breaks and eat, don’t they? We are very underpaid if we are so important that we can’t eat. Food feeds our brain and helps us keep putting the right medicine in the right bottle!!!! Come on, lets ban together and get a union going for our rights. I pity the “newbies” fresh out of school. Their biggest questions from the patients will be, “how long will it take and how much will it be!” Sorry maam, I forgot your ketchup on the burger! Not as bad as giving you the wrong medicine. Everyone is in a big hurry and we’ve spoiled the consumer to think everything should be done immediately!
If the company that you work for doesn’t give you a lunch break, do what I do. Increase the wait times during the time you want to eat. This is what most pharmacist do I would think. In other words, tell the Oxycontinpickers that the wait time is 1.5 hours. Part of retail pharmacy is training your customers….it takes a while but it eventually works.