Exactly 6 months after registering in the US, and exactly 23 months after leaving the UK, I started my new position as a pharmacy manager in one of the stores for my sponsor. It's all happened rather suddenly, and has of course been very exciting, taking on the role of PIC - Person In Charge - of a US pharmacy, with all the responsibilities that go with that position, as well as the functions of a pharmacy manager in terms of staff, audit, customer service, loss prevention, interaction with the store manager/book-keeper/scheduler and so on. It has been a bit of a steep and sudden learning curve, but thankfully my district manager doesn't expect me to master the role in a day, so I have the chance to learn the finer functions over a period of time, including attending two training days, whilst I simply get on with the job itself, and find out how to do the job to the best of my abilities over the next few weeks and months.
I have also been trained to give immunizations and CPR (including use of an ECD), but more of that in another entry, as it will be a while before I get all the correct documentation to actually start stabbing patients.
There have been, as there always seems to be with my story, problems. The main two issues I have currently hit relate to the new position being in a slightly different location than my original position, and therefore not strictly within the terms of my H1B. So apart from issues regarding my sign-on bonus, which I wont go in to, but seem to have been resolved now, the issue of my visa is still ongoing. As it happens I am currently waiting for my 2nd extension to come back from USCIS, and when it does I will raise the matter with my sponsor, but I'm not mentioning it currently. There were other issues arising too, but I can't go in to those here, but let me assure you that you really need to make sure every i has a dot, and every t has been crossed, or the results can be a seriously ugly mess!
It always seems to be such a difficult learning curve, and I am sure there are easier ways to learn how to do everything right, but it seems no one helps you until everything goes wrong, rather than help you before they go wrong. For example no one explains how to get a smog check on your car, or how to file your tax return, or how to manage your bank account or apply for Medicaid or get your kids shots done or apply for schools for the kids, or a million other small issues that have cropped up and each proved to be a small nightmare until the lessons were learned the hard way. I could make a whole blog just about arguing over one false parking ticket, for a completely different person with a completely different car, in a place I have never been on a date I was no one near the alleged parking violation took place, and which took about 5 letters, two on-line claims and about 6 months of worry to get cleared off the system. Crazy.
Anyway, back to the job, and it really is all going well thank goodness. There are the usual legal updates to note (CII's can now be sent by electronic means, under certain circumstances) and I should really explain more about what a Person-in-charge means in greater detail, but for now I just wanted to share with you that I was now a pharmacy manager, and that (apart from the usual problems I get) all is going well.
Good luck to you all,
Steven C
Wow Steven, 6 months and you're a PIC already! I am really surprised. You must have been doing a very good job before. I hope the promotion came with a sizable difference in income as well. As usual I always check back with you to see how you're coming along. Especially now I finally went through FPGEE - TOEFL - Intern license so I am seriously applying for jobs now (and getting them) so your blogs are full of useful advice for me.
ReplyDeleteTake care!
----HB
I've loved reading your blog... I just finished reading all of them! It's been an enormous help in trying to figure out what steps I must complete to get a pharmacist job in the U.S.
ReplyDelete(I'm a pharmacist in Canada - been practicing 10 years now.)
One thing that worries me about the H1B visas... I've heard that they are only good for 6 years max, then you have to leave the U.S. for a year before you can come back... have you heard anything about this?
If I recall correctly, you mentioned on one of your previous posts that it would take you 7-8 years to get your green card... do they just get you some kind of extra extension on the H1B after the 6 years is up then?
If you have the time to reply, it would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Well I can finally reply 4 years later! Yes, it took me nearly 7 years to get my green card. And yes, when you are nearing the green card you can extend the H1b passed the 6 year maximum if needed. Hope all these years later you got yourself sorted out :-)
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