ITT: I Talk about my experience at Costco

[Sparda29]

So far, although the pay is much better and there is less work, I find working here, very, very, very boring. It's like I've been reduced to a highly paid cashier/pharmacy clerk. The pharmacists don't want me to work drop off even though that's my most comfortable area, the computer system is very similar to Rx2000 and I can get scripts typed in pretty damn fast for this archaic system.

They don't want me to take doctor calls and make recommendations to MDs, and they don't want me to go counsel on OTC products and prescriptions.

So what do they want me to do:
1 - Cashier
2 - Count Rx
3 - Put stock bottles away.

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[khydroxide]

So far, although the pay is much better and there is less work, I find working here, very, very, very boring. It's like I've been reduced to a highly paid cashier/pharmacy clerk. The pharmacists don't want me to work drop off even though that's my most comfortable area, the computer system is very similar to Rx2000 and I can get scripts typed in pretty damn fast for this archaic system.

They don't want me to take doctor calls and make recommendations to MDs, and they don't want me to go counsel on OTC products and prescriptions.

So what do they want me to do:
1 - Cashier
2 - Count Rx
3 - Put stock bottles away.

dude that sounds fuggin awesome

 

[mustang sally]

dude that sounds fuggin awesome

Agreed. I have been on both sides of the fence now and I would take boring over the alternative any day of the week.

 

[Sparda29]

I feel like my brain is slowly rotting away while I'm here. I can't wait for rotations to start next month.

I'm doing 1 care plan/FARM/SOAP every other day to keep myself from going insane.

 

[caramel123]

dude that sounds fuggin awesome

lol seriously. take your notes and study. or better yet go stuff your face with all those free samples costco has all over their store.

 

[Sparda29]

lol seriously. take your notes and study. or better yet go stuff your face with all those free samples costco has all over their store.

Actually that's not allowed, you can do that during breaks but it's a big no-no while at work. And I've lost 15 lbs over the last month, I don't want to reverse that progress.

 

[MyTalon4U2NV]

lol seriously. take your notes and study. or better yet go stuff your face with all those free samples costco has all over their store.

haha thats hilarious, and it kinda works out that u can do it on breaks... saves you from packing a lunch! i envy you

 

[aboveliquidice]

ITT is antiquated meme... how about we do some IAMAs? It would be cool to find out what people actually do.

hmmm... I can think of 8 or so now that would be awesome.

 

[Style]

I feel like my brain is slowly rotting away while I'm here. I can't wait for rotations to start next month.

I'm doing 1 care plan/FARM/SOAP every other day to keep myself from going insane.

You must have a lot of time on your hands. Considering residency then?

 

[Sparda29]

You must have a lot of time on your hands. Considering residency then?

I don't know, I still have another 2 years to figure that out. Care Plans/FARMs/SOAPs are the one part of pharmacy school I enjoyed the most. I wish our exams for therapeutics were all handwritten FARM/SOAP format instead of the joke multiple choice system.

 

[Sparda29]

I'll probably leave and go hospital by the end of August. I called up my preceptor at my last site and I have that intern position at the end of August when the other intern gets licensed and is promoted to pharmacist.

 

[crazybob]

I don't know, I still have another 2 years to figure that out. Care Plans/FARMs/SOAPs are the one part of pharmacy school I enjoyed the most. I wish our exams for therapeutics were all handwritten FARM/SOAP format instead of the joke multiple choice system.

I've heard of SOAPs. It seemed like something I would do in therapeutics later on. Am I right?

 

[aboveliquidice]

I don't know, I still have another 2 years to figure that out. Care Plans/FARMs/SOAPs are the one part of pharmacy school I enjoyed the most. I wish our exams for therapeutics were all handwritten FARM/SOAP format instead of the joke multiple choice system.

I've heard of SOAPs. It seemed like something I would do in therapeutics later on. Am I right?

SOAP practice is useful for organizing your thoughts... They are different in practice though. In your mind, group subjective and objective together (not sure why academia attempts to separate them) and assessment and plan together as well. Your notes in patient charts will be succinct, unlike those you prepare for school.

 

[Sparda29]

I've heard of SOAPs. It seemed like something I would do in therapeutics later on. Am I right?

From what I've seen, SOAP is something that physicians use.

Subjective Findings
Objective Findings
Assessment
Plan

The school prefers to teach use with FARM.
Findings
Assessment
Recommendations
Monitoring

The only annoying thing at the hospital is that this particular hospital where I did my rotations at, has handwritten charts. (MDs suck ass at writing. It's not just their Rxs, everything is chicken scratched.) Thank god this hospital is planning on upgrading their system to be completely electronic charts.

 

[aboveliquidice]

From what I've seen, SOAP is something that physicians use.

Subjective Findings
Objective Findings
Assessment
Plan

The school prefers to teach use with FARM.
Findings
Assessment
Recommendations
Monitoring

The only annoying thing at the hospital is that this particular hospital where I did my rotations at, has handwritten charts. (MDs suck ass at writing. It's not just their Rxs, everything is chicken scratched.) Thank god this hospital is planning on upgrading their system to be completely electronic charts.

SOAPS are written by RPhs anytime a request is put in for Anticoag, AG / Vanco dosing, dosing per pharmacy, Epo, etc. As an intern, I was writing 5 to 10 SOAPs per day.

 

[IndustryPharmD]

I don't know, I still have another 2 years to figure that out. Care Plans/FARMs/SOAPs are the one part of pharmacy school I enjoyed the most. I wish our exams for therapeutics were all handwritten FARM/SOAP format instead of the joke multiple choice system.

You may well be the only person I know who enjoys writing SOAP notes.

 

[jinga]

So far, although the pay is much better and there is less work, I find working here, very, very, very boring. It's like I've been reduced to a highly paid cashier/pharmacy clerk. The pharmacists don't want me to work drop off even though that's my most comfortable area, the computer system is very similar to Rx2000 and I can get scripts typed in pretty damn fast for this archaic system.

They don't want me to take doctor calls and make recommendations to MDs, and they don't want me to go counsel on OTC products and prescriptions.

So what do they want me to do:
1 - Cashier
2 - Count Rx
3 - Put stock bottles away.

Dude, you're whining about having an easy job and getting paid booko bucks to do it? Wow.

 

[Its Z]

soap is just a method of documenting your work on a patient progress note. 2 most important functions of soap are to document and to communicate with others.

 

[Its Z]

You may well be the only person I know who enjoys writing SOAP notes.

I enjoy writing SOAP notes...

 

[Sparda29]

Dude, you're whining about having an easy job and getting paid booko bucks to do it? Wow.

Working the pick up counter is the one thing I HATE WITH A PASSION. Having to look through the bin to find the Rx, and then dealing with the prices bull****, people asking if they can ring up extra stuff, handing you discount and coupon cards at the last second, explaining prior authorization and all that other ****.

This issue came up at my first review at Costco. Apparently, I show hesitance and reluctance to work at the pick up counter and this needs to improve according to the Rx Manager, also I need to be more aware of what is happening at the pick up counter and constantly look over to see if there are customers there.

I'm the sort of tech/intern that gravitates away from the pick up counter, to the production area or drop off, and just tries to stay at that location for the whole shift, or I will roam the OTC aisles and answer questions and counsel about OTC products.

You may well be the only person I know who enjoys writing SOAP notes.

Yes, if our exams were all SOAP and FARM cases, then I would be an A student instead of a C+ student. My grades on the SOAP notes/FARM presentations were always 90+, and these weren't the ones where you had a week to figure the stuff out. You got a case, you have 10 minutes to review it, and then another 5-10 minutes to interview the "patient" (usually a professor), and then another 10-20 minutes to write out the care plan.

The multiple choice exams always messed with my head.

 

[PharmGamerKid]

We do SOAP-ME during rotations, which is SOAP + Monitoring and pt Education.

You can use those activities to study too! When you count pills, you can start looking at prescriptions and familiarizing yourself with doses. When you RTS, you can use that as "flashcards" to quiz yourself on brand/generic, avail dosage forms, mech, side effects, etc.

 

[jinga]

Working the pick up counter is the one thing I HATE WITH A PASSION. Having to look through the bin to find the Rx, and then dealing with the prices bull****, people asking if they can ring up extra stuff, handing you discount and coupon cards at the last second, explaining prior authorization and all that other ****.

This issue came up at my first review at Costco. Apparently, I show hesitance and reluctance to work at the pick up counter and this needs to improve according to the Rx Manager, also I need to be more aware of what is happening at the pick up counter and constantly look over to see if there are customers there.

I'm the sort of tech/intern that gravitates away from the pick up counter, to the production area or drop off, and just tries to stay at that location for the whole shift, or I will roam the OTC aisles and answer questions and counsel about OTC products.




Yes, if our exams were all SOAP and FARM cases, then I would be an A student instead of a C+ student. My grades on the SOAP notes/FARM presentations were always 90+, and these weren't the ones where you had a week to figure the stuff out. You got a case, you have 10 minutes to review it, and then another 5-10 minutes to interview the "patient" (usually a professor), and then another 10-20 minutes to write out the care plan.

The multiple choice exams always messed with my head.

You're crazy - I LOVE talking to patients! Seriously...

 

[MountainPharmD]

So far, although the pay is much better and there is less work, I find working here, very, very, very boring. It's like I've been reduced to a highly paid cashier/pharmacy clerk. The pharmacists don't want me to work drop off even though that's my most comfortable area, the computer system is very similar to Rx2000 and I can get scripts typed in pretty damn fast for this archaic system.

They don't want me to take doctor calls and make recommendations to MDs, and they don't want me to go counsel on OTC products and prescriptions.

So what do they want me to do:
1 - Cashier
2 - Count Rx
3 - Put stock bottles away.

After all your complaints about CVS you are now complaining about being bored?!?!? Go back to CVS if you miss all the stress and chaos...opps burned all you bridges their!

 

[Sparda29]

After all your complaints about CVS you are now complaining about being bored?!?!? Go back to CVS if you miss all the stress and chaos...opps burned all you bridges their!

Hell no, for the stress and chaos. However, the optimal thing would be what I was doing at CVS with Costco's pay and tech help. Didn't burn all the bridges, just with that one manager. I still know like 3-4 other managers I'm on good terms with over at CVS but not gonna go back there, lol.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Have you addressed your concerns with your pharmacy manager?

 

[caramel123]

Actually that's not allowed, you can do that during breaks but it's a big no-no while at work. And I've lost 15 lbs over the last month, I don't want to reverse that progress.

so let me get this straight. you get paid to do a monkey's job AND can get free lunch everyday if you wanted to? [by going up to the old lady's handing out free weiners]. dude you don't deserve this job

 

[Sparda29]

Have you addressed your concerns with your pharmacy manager?

I have, but apparently interns can only take MD calls if the pharmacist is comfortable with the intern taking them. And apparently according to the other intern here, they didn't let her take doctor calls until right before she graduated.

And they just fired a tech because the tech set the AC temperature to 55 degrees without asking, almost destroying the unit. If it was destroyed, almost $500,000 in drug inventory could have been lost...welp.

 

[CUpharmD2013]

Apparently, I show hesitance and reluctance to work at the pick up counter and this needs to improve according to the Rx Manager, also I need to be more aware of what is happening at the pick up counter and constantly look over to see if there are customers there.

I'm the sort of tech/intern that gravitates away from the pick up counter, to the production area or drop off, and just tries to stay at that location for the whole shift, or I will roam the OTC aisles and answer questions and counsel about OTC products.

HA! I've noticed this from all the techs that I work with. It seems like I'm the only one ever at pick up. Fortunately, my store rotates responsibilities which forces the others to spend time at pick up. I can't stomach standing around and doing nothing. If I'm assigned to pick up and there's no one around I go to production/drop off/etc. to find something to do. If there's nothing to do anywhere, go up and down the aisles and start learning about meds that you're not familiar with. Ask the pharmacist if you can hang out while they verify/counsel so you can pick up on that stuff.

Slow + boring + on your feet all day = hell.

Do you think that you would like working at Costco as a pharmacist? Would it be worth it to you to put up with 2 more years of hell if it gave you a better chance at working there once you graduate? Or do you see yourself doing hospital once you're done? It's good to react to the here-and-now, but looking toward the future can be good sometimes too.

 

[Its Z]

500k inventory seems high. whats the inventory turn?

 

[Sparda29]

HA! I've noticed this from all the techs that I work with. It seems like I'm the only one ever at pick up. Fortunately, my store rotates responsibilities which forces the others to spend time at pick up. I can't stomach standing around and doing nothing. If I'm assigned to pick up and there's no one around I go to production/drop off/etc. to find something to do. If there's nothing to do anywhere, go up and down the aisles and start learning about meds that you're not familiar with. Ask the pharmacist if you can hang out while they verify/counsel so you can pick up on that stuff.

Slow + boring + on your feet all day = hell.

Do you think that you would like working at Costco as a pharmacist? Would it be worth it to you to put up with 2 more years of hell if it gave you a better chance at working there once you graduate? Or do you see yourself doing hospital once you're done? It's good to react to the here-and-now, but looking toward the future can be good sometimes too.

As a pharmacist, hell ****ing yes I'd enjoy it. All I'd be doing is verifying, counseling, and going on the internet all day. But I really liked the inpatient rotation I had last month, and they offered me a job starting in the end of August. About the 500K inventory, I don't really know if that was the exact figure or if they were exaggerating. We seem to have less stuff in stock than CVS does. (Only have like 6 bottles of Lipitor on hand at a time.)

 

[PharmDstudent]

I have, but apparently interns can only take MD calls if the pharmacist is comfortable with the intern taking them. And apparently according to the other intern here, they didn't let her take doctor calls until right before she graduated.

And they just fired a tech because the tech set the AC temperature to 55 degrees without asking, almost destroying the unit. If it was destroyed, almost $500,000 in drug inventory could have been lost...welp.

Have you explained your position in such a way to express your desire to train to become a pharmacist?

I changed a few things at my old place.
1. I refused to wear a vest. I wore my intern jacket instead. At the time, $9,000/semester in tuition was not going to be wasted on a vest.
2. I had to push myself into the input station. In this situation as well, I was not paying that kind of money to cashier... whenever I could be learning how to practice pharmacy by calculating day supplies and formulating vial instructions.
3. I proved to my coworkers that I was 100% reliable. In turn, I was scheduled well.
4. I showed that I was a competent pharmacy student, so I was taught the fundamentals of inventory management.
5. If someone had a question, I gave an answer or asked the pharmacist for guidance. I never avoided work...

 

[Rebel78]

Our coumadin clinic uses SOAP notes. When they are a frequent flier, copy/paste is your friend.

Something is seriously wrong with you if you enjoy soap notes.

 

[crazybob]

Our coumadin clinic uses SOAP notes. When they are a frequent flier, copy/paste is your friend.

Something is seriously wrong with you if you enjoy soap notes.

So you're saying that being nerdy or whatever is wrong?

 

[Old Timer]

500k inventory seems high. whats the inventory turn?

They have no clue what inventory turn is.

 

[crazybob]

They have no clue what inventory turn is.

Is there a book that explains more about it?

All I read on it was found on Wikipedia.

 

[jinga]

They have no clue what inventory turn is.

The # of times an inventory gets...turned or sold in a given period of time.

 

[SpirivaSunrise]

Is there a book that explains more about it?

All I read on it was found on Wikipedia.

Of course there are books, but think logically and figure why Z would be questioning this. What concerns might you have for a business' turnover if they're stocking half a mil $ in inventory? Does this sound reasonable to you? What do you think it means?

 

[crazybob]

Of course there are books, but think logically and figure why Z would be questioning this. What concerns might you have for a business' turnover if they're stocking half a mil $ in inventory? Does this sound reasonable to you? What do you think it means?

Low turnover would be overstocking since there isn't enough sales. High turnover might be not stocking enough.

So the half mil inventory place would be overstocking and would likely have a low turnover.

That is unless the pharmacists had to meet some kind of a quota like one article I saw with 45-55 per hour being required of them.

In that case, the turnover might be moderate, and the inventory might seem not as high, but still would be considerably high than it might need to be.

 

[MountainPharmD]

Low turnover would be overstocking since there isn't enough sales. High turnover might be not stocking enough.

So the half mil inventory place would be overstocking and would likely have a low turnover.

That is unless the pharmacists had to meet some kind of a quota like one article I saw with 45-55 per hour being required of them.

In that case, the turnover might be moderate, and the inventory might seem not as high, but still would be considerably high than it might need to be.

There ya go!

 

[CUpharmD2013]

Having to look through the bin to find the Rx

I thought about this statement last night as I sifted through the overfilled bins at CVS. Didn't you say in a previous thread that Costco has some kind of individual filing system? I'm trying to think of ways of improving this system as it is one of my pet peeves too.

 

[Sparda29]

I thought about this statement last night as I sifted through the overfilled bins at CVS. Didn't you say in a previous thread that Costco has some kind of individual filing system? I'm trying to think of ways of improving this system as it is one of my pet peeves too.

It definitely is better, but it is all out hell if someone scanned in one location and put the items in another location. For example, we had an incident a few weeks ago where there was a prescription for this lady for Ritalin. The prescription was already ready, and placed in one of the item locations. The lady called and asked if it was ready, the pharmacist said yes it was, took it out of the location and placed it on the counter and told me that it's there when she comes in.

Now, he told me about this while I'm filling a prescription so I probably won't remember it. She came in about 2 hours after he left, and I'm searching for it for a while. The other pharmacist doesn't know about it, and he says that we probably cancelled it or something and used the quantity for another Rx, while the prescription was staring us right in the face from the counter. So we just gave her a 5 day supply and told her to come back in 4 days. Except, this had already happened before, and now she was pissed. So while she's at pickup, I find the Rx sitting right there next to the phone, and now I have to make up some BS about us definitely having it by 10AM the next day.

 

[CUpharmD2013]

It definitely is better, but it is all out hell if someone scanned in one location and put the items in another location. For example, we had an incident a few weeks ago where there was a prescription for this lady for Ritalin. The prescription was already ready, and placed in one of the item locations. The lady called and asked if it was ready, the pharmacist said yes it was, took it out of the location and placed it on the counter and told me that it's there when she comes in.

Now, he told me about this while I'm filling a prescription so I probably won't remember it. She came in about 2 hours after he left, and I'm searching for it for a while. The other pharmacist doesn't know about it, and he says that we probably cancelled it or something and used the quantity for another Rx, while the prescription was staring us right in the face from the counter. So we just gave her a 5 day supply and told her to come back in 4 days. Except, this had already happened before, and now she was pissed. So while she's at pickup, I find the Rx sitting right there next to the phone, and now I have to make up some BS about us definitely having it by 10AM the next day.

Yeah, I could see how scanning it in one location and placing it in another could create a HUGE problem. The pharmacist should have known better than to take it out of its designated location. People call all the time, say they'll be up there in like 5 minutes and then don't show up for hours. If you have a designated location, then that's the best spot for it. What he thought was going to save the patient 10 seconds of wait time caused an unacceptable inconvenience.

We had a case the other day where the tech at drop-off was handed two scripts with 3 medications (1 on 1 and 2 on the other) for the same patient. She entered the 1st med into the correct file but then entered the next 2 into a different file of a patient with a very similar name but different DOB. When the patient came to pick up all 3 meds, we only had record of 1 med. It took us a few hours to find that the paper script was logged to the other patient with a very similar name. Luckily we retain all the paper scripts or we may never discovered that error. Needless to say, the patient wasn't very happy.

 

[museabuse]

This issue came up at my first review at Costco. Apparently, I show hesitance and reluctance to work at the pick up counter and this needs to improve according to the Rx Manager, also I need to be more aware of what is happening at the pick up counter and constantly look over to see if there are customers there.

I'm the sort of tech/intern that gravitates away from the pick up counter, to the production area or drop off, and just tries to stay at that location for the whole shift, or I will roam the OTC aisles and answer questions and counsel about OTC products.

.

CVS didn't think you were a good employee, COSTCO doesn't think your a good employee. Hmmm... Maybe your not cut out for retail, maybe you should do hospital...

 

[Its Z]

Of course there are books, but think logically and figure why Z would be questioning this. What concerns might you have for a business' turnover if they're stocking half a mil $ in inventory? Does this sound reasonable to you? What do you think it means?

It's reasonable if OP and the employees are using Half Mil $ to exaggerate their claims.

Now... I don't know the Inventory Turnover quota for retail pharmacy. But we like to keep it at around 14 for hospital pharmacy. Maybe it's 6 for retail..who knows.

Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold/Inventory

So.. at 14 turns, it means Costco had to have sold $7million worth of drugs..and 20% gross margin means they had to have sold $8.75million worth of prescriptions..

And if average prescription costs $65... it means they're filling about 370 scripts a day if they're opened M-S.

 

[Sparda29]

It's reasonable if OP and the employees are using Half Mil $ to exaggerate their claims.

Now... I don't know the Inventory Turnover quota for retail pharmacy. But we like to keep it at around 14 for hospital pharmacy. Maybe it's 6 for retail..who knows.

Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold/Inventory

So.. at 14 turns, it means Costco had to have sold $7million worth of drugs..and 20% gross margin means they had to have sold $8.75million worth of prescriptions..

And if average prescription costs $65... it means they're filling about 370 scripts a day if they're opened M-S.

That whole post just went above my head. Business jargon is harder than pharmacy jargon. I know that Costco has much higher sales of OTC products than they do of Rx products.

 

[Sparda29]

CVS didn't think you were a good employee, COSTCO doesn't think your a good employee. Hmmm... Maybe your not cut out for retail, maybe you should do hospital...

Maybe I've been infected by academia. The pharmacists I've worked with at Costco basically have this mentality that your job as a pharmacist in the retail setting is simply to fill what the prescriber writes for, not suggesting alternatives, etc. Their reasons for this are:

#1 - You don't know what is happening with the patient just based on their medication profile.
#2 - It pisses off the physicians and they do not want to do that.

One instance of this was when a patient brought in a prescription for Crestor, it was too expensive for her so I told her to go back and have the physician switch it to Simvastatin or Pravastatin or Lovastatin. The pharmacist I was working with did not like hearing that at all and said I went beyond the boundaries of what a pharmacist is supposed to do.

CVS has that whole generic switching program where they call MDs and try to switch the patients to generics, so I'm sure that's within our boundary, right?

 

[Old Timer]

Maybe I've been infected by academia. The pharmacists I've worked with at Costco basically have this mentality that your job as a pharmacist in the retail setting is simply to fill what the prescriber writes for, not suggesting alternatives, etc. Their reasons for this are:

#1 - You don't know what is happening with the patient just based on their medication profile.
#2 - It pisses off the physicians and they do not want to do that.

One instance of this was when a patient brought in a prescription for Crestor, it was too expensive for her so I told her to go back and have the physician switch it to Simvastatin or Pravastatin or Lovastatin. The pharmacist I was working with did not like hearing that at all and said I went beyond the boundaries of what a pharmacist is supposed to do.

CVS has that whole generic switching program where they call MDs and try to switch the patients to generics, so I'm sure that's within our boundary, right?

You know kid, the grass is not always greener on the other side. You have more pharmacists and you have more techs but you practice less pharmacy. Interesting, very interesting.

 

[Sparda29]

You know kid, the grass is not always greener on the other side. You have more pharmacists and you have more techs but you practice less pharmacy. Interesting, very interesting.

It's weird. Of all the different settings I've been in, I like independent community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy the best. Independent because as I have learned, I like to do stuff my way, and as long as you work for someone else, you have to do it their way or they find a way to get rid of you. Hospital because you get to use your brain a lot more often. <3 calculating creatinine clearances, making IVs, epogen reviews, going out on the floors. I can do that stuff all day.

CVS didn't think you were a good employee, COSTCO doesn't think your a good employee. Hmmm... Maybe your not cut out for retail, maybe you should do hospital...

Employee is probably the key word. As an employee, you apparently don't get to do things the way you think they should be done. For example at CVS, when I was hired, I was constantly told, you have to do things the "CVS" way. At Costco, "here we do things the Costco way". I need to find a place that allows me to do things, "The Sparda Way".

 

[mickfan13]

CVS didn't think you were a good employee, COSTCO doesn't think your a good employee. Hmmm... Maybe your not cut out for retail, maybe you should do hospital...

that is too harsh.

i think the managers are not utilizing his talent effectively.

 

[Its Z]

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