Pharmacy Staffing Made Easier: How Local Pharmacies Can Access Pre-Trained Talent
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Pharmacy tech staffing in California has never been more challenging. With rising prescription volumes, increasing administrative demands, and high turnover among entry-level staff, many community pharmacies are struggling to keep up.
Finding dependable pharmacy technicians who are already trained and ready to contribute can feel impossible.
That’s where CALRegional comes in.
By partnering with CALRegional as an extern site, pharmacies gain access to pre-trained, insured pharmacy technician students completing their final phase of on-the-job training. It’s a simple, no-cost way to strengthen your team, reduce hiring time, and connect with local job-ready trainees before they hit the job market.
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Why It’s So Hard to Maintain Pharmacy Tech Staffing in California
Across California, pharmacies are feeling the squeeze. The demand for skilled technicians continues to rise, but the supply of qualified candidates isn’t keeping pace. In fact, a 2021 survey showed that more than 70% of pharmacies reported difficulty filling technician roles.
Many leave the field within their first year due to burnout or lack of workforce support, creating a constant cycle of posting jobs, interviewing, training, and starting over again.
Externships solve that problem by connecting you directly with pharmacy technician students who are already trained, motivated, and eager to learn. Instead of competing for limited talent, you can build your own training pipeline of potential hires.
How CALRegional Supports Pharmacy Tech Staffing in California
An externship is a supervised, unpaid placement that allows students to apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom to a real pharmacy setting.
CALRegional administers several allied health programs across California, including the Pharmacy Technician Program.
Every pharmacy technician student must complete an externship to graduate. Your pharmacy provides the hands-on learning environment, while CALRegional manages the rest, from student screening and scheduling to documentation and insurance coverage.
Read More: Answering Our Top 10 Externship Questions
Externships are 120 hours. Students are fully insured and supported by CALRegional throughout the placement, so your staff can focus on mentoring, not managing logistics.
These pharmacy partnerships help employers strengthen operations while giving students valuable experience in live pharmacy settings.
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The Benefits of Hosting Pharmacy Technician Externs
1. Access Job-Ready Trainees at No Cost
Externs arrive with classroom and lab training complete. They’ve studied pharmacy operations, dispensing procedures, and customer service fundamentals. By hosting an extern, you gain temporary staffing support and the opportunity to observe potential hires in action without incurring payroll expenses.
2. Simplify Recruiting and Training
Externs work alongside your pharmacists and technicians, learning your systems and workflow. If you choose to hire them later, they already understand how your pharmacy operates, which shortens onboarding and reduces early turnover.
3. Reduce Risk and Liability
All CALRegional externs are covered by full liability insurance. You can confidently bring students into your workspace knowing your business is protected.
4. Save Time and Resources
CALRegional handles matching, paperwork, and scheduling. You tell us your needs and availability, and our team coordinates the rest. We also check in during the externship to make sure everything runs smoothly.
5. Strengthen Your Community Impact
By hosting externs, you help train the next generation of pharmacy technicians, many of whom want to stay and work locally. It’s a way to give back to your community pharmacy while solving a real staffing need.
How Pharmacy Externships Support Entry-Level Pharmacy Roles
Pharmacy technician externs are trained to assist in key operational areas, including:
- Counting, labeling, and packaging prescriptions under pharmacist supervision
- Managing inventory and restocking supplies
- Handling phone calls and customer interactions
- Preparing insurance claim information
- Supporting pharmacists with administrative and recordkeeping tasks
Externs work under your supervision and within their approved scope of practice. They are not employees, but they can make a meaningful impact on your team’s efficiency and patient service quality.
Read More: Inside the Pharmacy Technician Program
How to Partner With CALRegional for Pharmacy Tech Staffing in California
Becoming an extern site with CALRegional is simple and fast.
- Submit the interest form on CALRegional’s website.
- Our team reaches out to confirm program fit and your site’s capacity.
- We match you with qualified, pre-screened pharmacy technician students.
- You interview the student if you’d like to confirm fit and expectations.
- Externship begins, with CALRegional managing oversight, insurance, and check-ins.
Externships last about three to four weeks, depending on scheduling and student availability. When the placement ends, you can provide feedback or bring your extern onto the team if it’s a good match.
Why This Partnership Makes Sense for Pharmacies
Many independent and retail pharmacies can’t afford long hiring cycles or costly temp agencies. Externships offer the best of both worlds, offering trained talent at no cost, with full insurance coverage and zero administrative burden.
Read More: About CALRegional’s History and Mission
You get to meet skilled pharmacy technicians before anyone else, evaluate them in real-world conditions, and decide whether they’d make a good long-term fit.
That’s how smart pharmacy owners are solving their pharmacy tech staffing challenges in today’s competitive market.
FAQs
No. Externships are unpaid learning experiences that give students real-world practice in pharmacy operations. Your pharmacy provides training and supervision, but not compensation.
All externs are fully insured through CALRegional. We provide liability coverage for every placement, so your business is protected.
Once your interest form is submitted, CALRegional can typically match you with pharmacy technician students within a few weeks, depending on your location and program availability.
Get Started
Hosting pharmacy externs is simple, free, and highly effective. Whether you want extra support during busy months or need a better way to find pharmacy technicians for hire, partnering with CALRegional connects you to pre-trained, insured talent that’s ready to help your business thrive.
Ready to build your staffing pipeline? Join more than 1,500 healthcare facilities across California that partner with CALRegional to train and hire the next generation of healthcare professionals.
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