tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post885057618274552033..comments2024-03-27T07:27:26.027-04:00Comments on Eric, Pharmacist: StaffingEric Durbin, RPhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09170995334706647447noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-41497989343349680542011-11-08T15:30:35.161-05:002011-11-08T15:30:35.161-05:00This is great insight into the mind of a pharmacy ...This is great insight into the mind of a pharmacy manager. It must be very difficult managing the hours, and also having to follow guidelines such as no overtime PERIOD.Mikehttp://www.careerstaffrxblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-53516824894159264132011-05-18T12:27:04.550-04:002011-05-18T12:27:04.550-04:00I am also concerned about the practice of pharmacy...I am also concerned about the practice of pharmacy and the degradation of it by high volume, low staffing discount pharmacies. I worked in it for 3 years. The good news is that the experience strengthened my desire to help the elderly with their prescription management. I am trying to figure out how to make a living (not a killing) helping the elderly, e.g. MTM services. Any one else doing this?Woodyhttp://woodyhoward@att.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-51451268886184260012011-02-23T18:37:48.909-05:002011-02-23T18:37:48.909-05:00I also worked at WalMart in a previous life. But ...I also worked at WalMart in a previous life. But the store where I worked did about 3-4000 scripts in a week. What a nightmare! At least the store manager stayed away from the Pharmacy. One of my favorite things was the way the techs and/or cashiers became locked out of the Pharmacy system or registers, if they hadn't taken their breaks on time. Came in one morning with 572 in the queue for filling before we even opened. That scheduling program was not enforced by our store manager. Good thing, since we never would have ever got any of the scripts to that point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-80616574908277453552011-02-18T12:30:20.365-05:002011-02-18T12:30:20.365-05:00I work for a national chain that ate a regional ch...I work for a national chain that ate a regional chain. Our tech hours were immediately cut and are now down to 120/week. Today, the pharmacist is alone for nearly 2 hours, 1st tech works 10-5, 2nd tech 1-9, with an "overlap" tech 4 to 8. From 4-6pm both techs work the register leaving the pharmacist to type,fill, check, answer the phone, and resolve insurance.<br /><br />My dad worked in a factory and was able to "retire" at age 58. Sometimes, I think that was a better way of life.bcmigalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-21283116240861729182011-02-18T08:29:46.524-05:002011-02-18T08:29:46.524-05:00I work for a large chain. Most mornings it is just...I work for a large chain. Most mornings it is just me and a tech until 12:30 pm. We have 2 drive thru lanes and fill about 1200 a week. Yesterday morning I had our slowest tech, 2 compounds and a boatload of CII's. I can't take it anymore. I am thinking about law school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-41944349599294835802011-02-17T21:29:34.348-05:002011-02-17T21:29:34.348-05:00Good God... "scanning," "filling st...Good God... "scanning," "filling stage," computer-generated schedules. Eric, this is a great post and it reminds me why I work for an independent and always will! <br /><br />Take the prescription from the patient, fill it, bill it, chat with them about it, and get them out the door. <br /><br />There is no reason for it to be more complicated than that.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-47283478907137888332011-02-16T20:06:49.269-05:002011-02-16T20:06:49.269-05:00I wondered why there was such a shortage of pharma...I wondered why there was such a shortage of pharmacists working at Wal-mart. <br /><br />When I worked for agencies, this chain was the one I most frequently worked. I thought the computer system was awesome for a pharmacist to 'come in off the street' and really be able to have an idea of what they were okaying to go out the door. When I worked, it was usually by myself for a good part of the day, occasionally one other pharmacist. <br /><br />Techs came and went all day long in order to fulfill their mandatory breaks and no overtime (good thing, too, because it was crazy-busy and if they'd not been penalized for not taking breaks they would've never been able to tell customers that they had to take a break).<br /><br />One crazy time I worked a Wal-mart shop where cashier help was pulled off the floor to help out. The one that came over had a completely rotten attitude and was overly sympathizing with patients about how long scripts were taking to fill, and so there were milling crowds of yammering patients within earshot with the techs slamming things and this rude cashier yelling trashtalk. The floor manager came in the shop and demanded to know who I was and what was taking so long to fill prescriptions. I felt it would not be a pretty sight if I told him that if he did not remove himself from my work area immediately, I was closing the shop, and leaving. By that time I was past exploding, and just resigned to showing him very politely what was going on. He left rather quickly, when he saw the organized operation, phones ringing, and the stack of work piled up and realized he could not do a single thing about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-61083796467972555312011-02-16T18:25:19.042-05:002011-02-16T18:25:19.042-05:00My time with Walgreens a few years ago was just as...My time with Walgreens a few years ago was just as frustrating. For a brief period I was PIC while at that company and that might have been the biggest mistake of my career. They had some ridiculous scheduling function that would do the same poor job at schedule creation as you describe here. And upper management tried to make it mandatory to use that function to create the weekly schedule. <br /> I really think this is what is wrong with pharmacy and with America as a whole. We have idiots who are out of touch with reality running the show. My current employer has implemented some recent policies that quite literally a blind monkey could pick apart and tell you why they won't work and yet here we are trying to do these things and still do the jobs they hired us to do. It is both frustrating and disheartening at the same time.The Redheaded Pharmacisthttp://www.theredheadedpharmacist.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5133434752101334071.post-71649581204567730322011-02-16T17:10:40.963-05:002011-02-16T17:10:40.963-05:00I subbed in a Walmart four times....It was do-able...I subbed in a Walmart four times....It was do-able (barely) until the third time when the store manager decided it would be the perfect time to pull two of three techs for mandatory training leaving me to literally flounder. Did one more shift and left Wally's to their fate. My wife won't go in the local one anymore..claims it smells..at least they don't have a drive up.<br />Hoooorst WessellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com