Pharmacy Technician-Compounding
Only a select few pharmacy technicians are ever, in their entire career, able to join this elite, little known group of specialists in a compounding pharmacy. This is completely different than working in retail pharmacy, where you process and fill commercial medications for patients.
At Koshland Pharm, you actually make custom-formulated medications to exact standards in a laboratory-like environment. You do this in order to make therapies available to patients that are not mass-manufactured by drug companies. While the finished products you create each day help improve patients’ quality of life, in your day-to-day work, you’re not interfacing with patients directly—we have another team that handles that.
You will become an expert compounding pharmacy technician as you continuously learn new skills, including making rectal rockets, capsules, creams, suppositories, rapid dissolve tablets, troches, suspensions, and more. You will also have the opportunity to step into more leadership if you choose the path of becoming a senior compounding technician, responsible for an important aspect of pharmacy operations such as potency testing, QA tracking, technology updates, and more.
If you compared pharmacies to restaurants, most pharmacy technicians would be similar to waiters, taking orders from customers, picking them up from the kitchen, and delivering them. At Koshland, you’ll be similar to a chef, following exacting formulas to carefully make each patient’s order, working “behind-the-scenes” in our state-of-the-art lab. It’s no coincidence that many on our team love cooking and baking!
Here are the key differences between working here or in retail:
Patient interface: Here, our team of 12 pharmacy technicians has no direct patient contact, as nearly all our prescriptions are shipped, and we have a customer service team that takes and makes all the phone calls. In retail, every day is full of face-to-face patient contact.
Hours: Here we are only open M-F. No weekend hours required, unlike in many retail environments.
The work: Here you are actually making custom medications every hour of every day. In retail, you are often answering phones, running insurance, processing prescriptions, filling prescriptions, and helping patients at pick-up.
The environment: Here you are working in a lab-like environment. In retail, you’re in a store.
The team: Here, you’re on a closely bonded team of 12, learning from each other and tackling the prescriptions together. It’s rare in retail to work on such a large team of technicians focused on the specialized skill of compounding.
The leadership: Here the head pharmacist is the owner, an industry expert who is passionate about patient care and compounding. And your team leaders are approachable supervisors dedicated to training and supporting their team, with over 22 years of experience in the compounding pharmacy field.
The career: Here there is a career path, including job advancement opportunities based on yearly performance reviews. You will be given clear competencies for each position you move into, from compounding-technician-in-training to compounding technician to senior compounding technician to assistant supervisor, if you are interested in developing people management skills. You will know exactly what is expected of you in each role and what you can do to grow further in your position at Koshland Pharm. Pay range for the compounding technician role goes from $24-32/hour, with a starting range of $24-26/hour.
Position Qualifications:
The required qualifications for the open compounding pharmacy technician position are:
1) A current California pharmacy technician’s license
2) The physical ability to stand on one’s feet throughout the day
3) An on-going commitment to learning and performing the skill of making medications at the highest level of quality in the compounding field
4) A demonstrated ability to pay close attention to detail
5) A consistent approach that is oriented towards helping co-workers achieve success with their jobs
6) A demonstrated ability to set goals and see tasks through to completion
7) A positive, problem-solving attitude
8) A genuine commitment to patients' good health
9) Demonstrated reliability
Job description:
The compounding pharmacy technician’s duties include:
- Supporting Koshland Pharm’s mission of improving the health and well-being of patients by making high-quality, customized medications
- Compounding various dosage forms including capsules, creams, troches, suppositories, suspensions, nasal sprays, and rapid dissolve tablets
- Using compounding-specific equipment accurately and efficiently, including balances, ointment mills, pH meters, etc.
- Filling prescriptions (preparing customized medications that are made at the pharmacy for dispensing, putting them into their final dispensing form)
- Managing inventory
- Actively participating in on-going quality assurance and team meetings
- Communicating well with fellow staff members, technician supervisors and pharmacist supervisors to ensure smooth and efficient pharmacy operations
- Being a dependable member of the technician team and the overall pharmacy team as reflected by reliable attendance, punctual arrival, and a commitment to team accountability
Hours:
- 10am-6:30pm, Monday through Friday
- 9:30am start time on the first Monday of each month for all staff meeting
Compensation & Benefits:
- $24–$26/hour starting pay (based on experience)
- Pay increases with mastery and tenure; experienced team members earn up to $32/hour
- Quarterly profit-sharing cash bonuses (begins after 90 days)
- Company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance (Silver plans)
- 401(k) with 4% company match
- 2 weeks PTO in year 1 + 80 hours planned unpaid time off
- PTO increases after years 1 and 3
- 6 paid holidays
About Koshland Pharm
Koshland Pharm is an independently-owned pharmacy located in downtown San Francisco that has served patients since 2009 by providing them with high-quality, customized medications. We are a small company of 30+ employees who are committed to working together on common goals and supporting each others’ growth and development in our work positions and careers.
We are a unique pharmacy where all of our medications are made on-site. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of patients through creative solutions to health challenges. We accomplish this mission by providing patients and their doctors with exceptional product quality, clinical expertise, and personalized care.
At Koshland Pharm, we specialize in medications used for hormone replacement therapy and thyroid treatments. We also make customized dosage forms for pain management, dermatology, and mental health. Many important therapies are not available as mass-manufactured drugs, and therefore must be formulated and compounded in a specialized pharmacy such as ours. We are the only compounding pharmacy in San Francisco accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board, demonstrating our commitment to safety and quality. To learn more about our quality assurance procedures, see our virtual tour at https://www.koshlandpharm.com/doctors/
Like many of our team members, our Founder Peter Koshland did his time in retail pharmacy but knew he had more to offer than regular dispensing allowed. So, in 2009 he started his own company, and it’s grown every year. (Watch a short introductory video with Peter Koshland at https://www.koshlandpharm.com/about-compounding/.) Today we have over 30 people and are one of the most successful compounding pharmacies in California. (Watch a short video featuring current employees at https://www.koshlandpharm.com/about-us/).
Physical Demands of Job:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands and fingers and perform tasks that demand manual dexterity, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms. This position requires the ability to frequently lift up to 10 pounds. It also requires regularly scheduled eight hour shifts in a negative pressure room when compounding medications.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $24.00 - $26.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- What do you know about compounding pharmacy, or what questions do you have about this particular field?
- Why are you considering a career change at this time?
Experience:
- Pharmacy technician: 1 year (Required)
License/Certification:
- Pharmacy Technician License (California) (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- San Francisco, CA 94105 (Required)
Work Location: In person
