another classic from Wags, this time regarding immunizations
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what's wrong with an employer requiring immunization certification?
Im not sure what's "classic" about this. In our district, you wont get hired without it
Im not sure what's "classic" about this. In our district, you wont get hired without it
some people dont like needles, others dont like blood, they shouldnt be forced to get the crappy shift as a result....unless the contract specifically states, which it doesnt, forcing people to get certified or else they get screwed in the schedule is really harsh
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It's a part of pharmacy practice, not a Walgreen's policy.
This is one of the few things that causes the public to see pharmacists as something other than pill pushers, I don't think a fear of needles should factor in at all.
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Immunizations....Where do I start? When Pharmacists were first allowed to immunize I thought it was a great idea. However, I thought there was no way in the world it would ever catch on because we barely have time to get prescriptions filled let alone give shots. I took the course in Pharmacy School fully expecting to never give a shot.
A funny thing happened. The megalo-corporate pharmacy chains figured out they could make a lot of money off immunizations. All of a sudden this nice idea of pharmacists giving immunizations turned into another corporate nightmare. On top of everything else that has to be done with one pharmacist and to little staff we have to try and squeeze in immunizations.
I still think it is a great idea for pharmacists to give immunizations. One of the biggest barriers to immunizations is access. No one is more accessible than pharmacists. What I have a problem with is a company exploiting my certification for their financial gain. You see with immunizations you are expected to do the same amount of work with the same amount of hours and give shots. You do not get any extra hours or help or pay. I do not know about the rest of you out there but I do not have enough staff to safety fill prescriptions most days let alone try and give immunizations.
I think pharmacists should give immunizations. I feel we should be given extra compensation for doing so. I am all for expanding our roles. I am also all for getting fair compensation when we do.
A funny thing happened. The megalo-corporate pharmacy chains figured out they could make a lot of money off immunizations. All of a sudden this nice idea of pharmacists giving immunizations turned into another corporate nightmare. On top of everything else that has to be done with one pharmacist and to little staff we have to try and squeeze in immunizations.
I still think it is a great idea for pharmacists to give immunizations. One of the biggest barriers to immunizations is access. No one is more accessible than pharmacists. What I have a problem with is a company exploiting my certification for their financial gain. You see with immunizations you are expected to do the same amount of work with the same amount of hours and give shots. You do not get any extra hours or help or pay. I do not know about the rest of you out there but I do not have enough staff to safety fill prescriptions most days let alone try and give immunizations.
I think pharmacists should give immunizations. I feel we should be given extra compensation for doing so. I am all for expanding our roles. I am also all for getting fair compensation when we do.
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You should feel lucky at Walgreens. Pharmacist at my company that do not want to give immunizations have been fired.
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We have the right to immunize everywhere in the US except DC, which will come soon hopefully.
We wanted immunization as a profession for years. Now we have it. It will become our responsibility. It will benefit our patients.
Implementation...well lets see how organized we get in the next few years.
We wanted immunization as a profession for years. Now we have it. It will become our responsibility. It will benefit our patients.
Implementation...well lets see how organized we get in the next few years.
Took the words right out of my mouth! Very well put. I chose not to get certified simply because I knew that there was no way in the world I would be able to maintain my current script load AND handle various walk in immunizations. It simply is not possible (at least not safely, in my opinion). I do feel like I'm missing out on a really interesting and rewarding area of pharmacy practice, however. Not to mention the patient interaction aspect....Oh well!
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I actually like that. Giving shots is awesome. I'm not so cool about receiving shots though, which is why I wasn't too happy about how the training session for this was designed (students had to practice on each other), I was hoping that we would be practicing our techniques on the professors.
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The best part is giving shots to the old ladies with no muscle. You can barely get the needle in until you hit bone. I love it.
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Pinch up that shriveld delt, insert at a 45 degree angle and you are good!
If you hit bone back off just a hair.
i staff at a store that has the clinic, so i dont technically need it cuz they should be able to get shots at the clinic....but they are still pushing me to get certified
again i dont mind it, i just dont like getting financially exploited
i take the class in a week, is it hard at all?
again i dont mind it, i just dont like getting financially exploited
i take the class in a week, is it hard at all?
talked to part time floaters who lost hours since they werent certfied and no 2-10 spots open in their area, i have rph calling me repeatedly asking to switch shifts with me cuz they cant do a 2-10 shift for various reasons....its really sad....what a pathetic company
I completely agree. It's a bullying mechanism! people don't go into pharmacy with the idea that they are going to give immunizations. Some people are afraid of needles and fluids or just simply do not want to give shots. I am ok with giving them and am certified but think those who choose not to give shots shouldn't be punished.
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So if all the Pharmacists get certified does that mean no one works the night shift? 
Of course, My logic is flawed and they would just spread the nights through the pharmacists schedules.
Of course, My logic is flawed and they would just spread the nights through the pharmacists schedules.
Both of my staff RPhs are immunizers, but I am not. I have been with WAG for 20 years now and if they want to force me to do it, I may ... but no one has spoken of forcing one to do it. My best friend (my former supervisor in my old district) is now a Market Director for a couple states and he hates the whole situation. He believes they rushed into it without better preparation. Only being given 2 weeks warning before they started the Sept 8- Sept 30 10am-4pm immunizations was tough to make it through certification class. And many only did it to avoid the 2-10 shift.
I can understand how some with children at home would feel, but it doesn't bother me because mine and grown and gone. I am working 2-10 5 days a week for this month and have no complaints.
And far as the immunizers receiving additional compensation - no way! Not because I wouldn't get any, but I am finding myself working a lot harder now to free up the immunizers to do their job effectively. I prepare them each night for the next day, take care of faxing/scanning/filing the paperwork that they amass from the shots as well as keep the work queue cleared out. I keep things flowing and make it easier for them ... a point they acknowledged from the first day. I'm not getting compensated any more!
I can understand how some with children at home would feel, but it doesn't bother me because mine and grown and gone. I am working 2-10 5 days a week for this month and have no complaints.
And far as the immunizers receiving additional compensation - no way! Not because I wouldn't get any, but I am finding myself working a lot harder now to free up the immunizers to do their job effectively. I prepare them each night for the next day, take care of faxing/scanning/filing the paperwork that they amass from the shots as well as keep the work queue cleared out. I keep things flowing and make it easier for them ... a point they acknowledged from the first day. I'm not getting compensated any more!
Holy frickin crap man. I totally hear you. Today I walked in at 3 to find a stack of prescriptions to be filled (56), 11 to be typed, and 9 to be F4'ed. All because the pharmacist was too busy giving immunizations to be keeping up with the workflow. I was incredibly pissed off. Took until 7 pm just to get caught up with the 7 o'clock prescriptions to be filled. Only to print ahead through 3pm the next day to try to help out the immunizer for the following day...which meant a crap-ton more to fill while helping waiters, checking voicemail...etc. Unbelievable how much Walgreens understaffs, and how much they EXPECT from their employees. I'm peacing out of this joint first chance I get. I'll be leaving so fast I'll be kickin' up dust on my way out the door. I've only been with them for 1 year, and they'll be lucky to get another couple months out of me. F that noise!
I tip my hat to you for having been with them for so long. I have no clue how you were able to do it. They've got me burnt out pretty bad and managed to do it in a very short time.
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Welcome to the hell of retail pharmacy and immunizations. I hope you plan on getting out of retail because it is this same **** everywhere. My grocery store company has been doing this crap for two years. No help, to much work to get done in one day and they want us to do walk up immunizations whenever the pharmacy is open.
Maybe if retail pharmacy chains made more than sliver profits they could hire more techs and clerks and pay them more so you guys could have more competent help.
There is absolutely no reason a pharmacist should spend his afternoon typing up bullsh*t labels and billing insurance companies.
There is absolutely no reason a pharmacist should spend his afternoon typing up bullsh*t labels and billing insurance companies.
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What other option do we have other than to quit? They have cut my tech hours down so much that 80% of the time my pharmacy is open I have one tech and one pharmacist on duty. I have an in window, an out window, a counseling window, and five phone lines that never stop ringing. Plus the idiots at corporate want me to do walk up immunizations all day. All of this for 2 stressed out people to handle.
Working for a mega-corporation that focuses on maximizing puny profits is torture. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Maybe if pharmacies were just pharmacies with no OTC stuff. Like literally just a hole in the wall with a computer, a register and the drugs. But alas...
Thanks, but ...
The first 15 years or so were awesome - it was a totally different company under Charles R Walgreens III and L. Daniel Jorndt. They ran a great company to work for. However, the last 5 years, it has been going totally to hell. Maybe it's partially due to the economy, but the understaffing and high expectations now are unbearable. But, I'm riding it out - I see the light at the end of my career's tunnel. It's YOUR generation I feel badly for in the retail business.
The glory days of watching the stock quickly climb to 50 and then split only to repeat in a very short time is over, too. The 90's were the glory years financially for us as RPhs for WAG.
A lot of the burn out I see too is due to changes in society. The public these days is an absolute bitch to work with! When I started working in a pharmacy in the early 80's through most of the 90's, it was an enjoyable job to go to every day. People were very appreciative. Now it's a drag because people are very hateful - simply a means to pay the bills. Maybe it will be better soon because those who are in charge now remember it for what is was and don't realize that it's much different now at the store level. As they clear out, maybe people who deal with this **** now will be more understanding. But I'm not holding my breath!
The understaffing coupled with the logarithmic increase in paperwork and insurance problems synergistically robbed retail of any of its likability quite some time ago. It's only gotten worse in the recession, I imagine.
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the sad part is, as long as they dangle a 5-10k bonus along with a mid 50 an hour rate, somebody will do it. just speaking about retail in general, i'd rather make slightly less and have enough techs
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atleast we have jobs in this economy
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Can someone please explain to me how this flu shot thing at WAGs works? So you still have only 1 Rph running the store and just going up and doing flu shots upon request? Or do you have like flu shot days where an extra rph would come in and administer them?
The recession is pretty much in the waning stages at this point. Pretty much a lot of what you hear in the news is the healthcare reform bill, etc. Not really a lot of gloom and doom about the economy we were bombarded with earlier in the year. Even stocks are holding up pretty well unless another nasty pullback occurs...
The recession is pretty much in the waning stages at this point. Pretty much a lot of what you hear in the news is the healthcare reform bill, etc. Not really a lot of gloom and doom about the economy we were bombarded with earlier in the year. Even stocks are holding up pretty well unless another nasty pullback occurs...
As of right now, the pharmacist on duty is responsible for doing walk up immunizations on top of managing current script load. As you can imagine, everything else pretty much gets put on hold and **** hits the fan in a matter of about an hour or two. Soon, Wags plans on having a couple of flu clinics where there will be a pharmacist solely responsible for administering flu shots, while another will be handling prescriptions. What sucks is that our first flu clinic isn't scheduled until the middle of October at my store. WEEEEEEEE!!👎
I wouldn't be so sure that there will be a dedicated RPh to give the shots on clinic days. There is the National Flu Shot Day on Oct.1 in which each store has a flu shot clinic, followed by one or two other dates per store.
As many shots as we're doing at our store now (25-35 per day), I doubt the clinics will be a big deal for the stores i.e. they'll probably be staffed as they are now during our walk-in daily shots. I doubt they'll put the payroll of an extra RPh into the stores for the scheduled clinic days.
I am SERIOUSLY considering pulling out of the immunization class and just working 2-10, im young, i have no kids, and I am currently single, plus i always love staying up late
our store does 4000+, with no midshift rph, we have a take care clinic, but i guess there are some insurances they dont take that we do, so that means we have to immunize them....a typical day for me at noon includes 20 to F4, 20 to F1, 65 to fill, and 40 to 'REV'....i keep as much as i can, but now add flu shots and id be screwed
althou i might just do the class for the CE and then just tell em I dont feel comfortable doing it and just work 2-10 shifts
our store does 4000+, with no midshift rph, we have a take care clinic, but i guess there are some insurances they dont take that we do, so that means we have to immunize them....a typical day for me at noon includes 20 to F4, 20 to F1, 65 to fill, and 40 to 'REV'....i keep as much as i can, but now add flu shots and id be screwed
althou i might just do the class for the CE and then just tell em I dont feel comfortable doing it and just work 2-10 shifts
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We have an immunizer working the 8-4 shift every day to cover the 10-4 immunization schedule the company has imposed. The lawn signs (ones with the stakes that go into the ground and are posted outside around the store) say "flu shots now available". We make sure these are ONLY out from 10-4 daily. The phone system has the recording and signs are posted in the drive thru all around the store. Since doing this (especially pulling the lawn signs at 4pm daily) we have had no problems/complaints. Patients understand - they're overwhelmed with signs!
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I do not know about the rest of you but I am sick to death of immunizations. I had a flu shot mosh pit in front of the pharmacy yesterday.
I am about ready to snap. If you here a story about a pharmacist who went crazy running around the store naked except for a lab coat, speaking in tonuges, stabbing people in the eye with a vanish point syringe.....don't be surprised.
How did things every get as bad as this. Sad, sad, sad.....
I am about ready to snap. If you here a story about a pharmacist who went crazy running around the store naked except for a lab coat, speaking in tonuges, stabbing people in the eye with a vanish point syringe.....don't be surprised.
How did things every get as bad as this. Sad, sad, sad.....
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well we're here doing the h1n1 shot too. cleared out 800+ seasonal flu shots in aug-oct and now here we go again. and they're cutting tech hours too. and it's PISSING ME OFF!!!
ack...ahem...yeah at least i have a job i should feel on top of the world
ack...ahem...yeah at least i have a job i should feel on top of the world
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Somebody ought to write a book about high script counts and the safety issues of it. Maybe it'd revolutionize the profession with some regulations about requiring a certain number of techs or overlapping pharmacists. Nobody wants to get the wrong med, so making a big fuss about the chances of it under stress could shake things up for the big chains.
its gonna get worse imo....esp with these swine flu shots...400 + shots is undoable....you should see our stars reports, its crazy!!!! im just working 2-10 and not doing shots, this way i focus on the pharmacy (Granted its a mad house)...there was a fight in the store over swine flu shots, with the rph caught in the middle of it.....its not worth it for me lol
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Nothing will change unless the public demands it. Do you think the public cares about 100k a year pharmacists being stressed out and over worked? Nope, they want their medications RIGHT NOW and thats all they care about. Most of the major pharmacy regulations came about because of patient deaths and the resultant public outcry. It would have been smart to have enacted those regulations before anyone died because it was the right and safe thing to do. Unfortunately that is not the way we do things.
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Thats kind of the reason I liked the reference to The Jungle. Even though it was written about the workers, the public mostly was concerned about the contamination. Regardless of their lack of sympathy, reforms were still made that improved quality of food and, subsequently, worker conditions.
This mirrors well because, you're right, nobody cares about pharmacist stress, but they DO care about their meds, and they should be concerned if you don't have time to ensure they got the right one. Reform for the sake of accuracy still would help relieve stress.
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The problem is, would it actually do anything? Being realistic, Wags would probably just find it more advantageous to make barcode technology standard for every store and tout that as being their way to ensure product safety while doing sweet ****-all for the pharmacists. A little PR is much cheaper than overhauling your business model, and the public will buy it better to boot.
But, like I've said before, having talked to multiple engineers (you know, people whose jobs absolutely depend on quality control) and having shown them Walgreen's pitch for POWER, they all agree that the **** is going to hit the biscuit sooner or later. So reform may happen anyway.
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immunization is really a freaking joke....i went to pharm school not to give shots. That's really RN, LVN job. Unfortunately, in retails, people just think of $$$$$ and thus push the pharmacists to give the shots👎
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Back to late shifts again? Sorry to hear that! This time around, our WAG district is just telling patients to some back when the immunizer is in (early some days, late others). A pain in the ass, but PURE profit. We get the vaccine for free from the government and are charging $18 per.
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How much are h1n1 going for at walgreens? We are one of the few places that have the vaccine and weve been administering them like crazy. Our independent pharmacy charges 25 bucks a shot. Thats our administration fee since the shot is apparently not covered by insurance.
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locally, the two big W's were doing the H1N1 immunizations for about $18 a pop.
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Yeah thats the figure I heard as well. Ive been pre-filling syringes all week. Its nuts how much money my pharmacist is making off these shots.
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what's crazy is you guys are still offering flu shots. People should have went and got them months ago.
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It depends on where you live. In Texas Flu season does not peak until January and February. Right now is a perfect time to get a flu shot here.
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At least he is getting the extra money from administering the shot. I am busting my butt at chain so someone else can make a crap load of money. My paycheck hasn't increased one dollar despite all the immunizations I have given.
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My friend told me of a pharmacist that got a huge bonus for giving out so many seasonal flu vaccines. They were the stop store in IL for the shot.
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