Do you have a thick skin for RETAIL?

[pharmkj]

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Do you have a thick skin for retail?

I worked in retail as an intern for several years, and ya I had the few patients scream at my face. But I feel like the pressure is different once you become a pharmacist.

You are now responsible for every single person that works in the pharmacy as you are supervising them. Plus when dispensing a medication, your name is on the label as the pharmacist who verified and dispensed the medication...

It's been almost a year since I graduated in May (but I did train for like 2-3 months) but I still have much anxiety as a pharmacist going into work. And I do let my emotions and the stress get the best of me sometimes. LIke the other day a patient freaked out cause I gave them a partial and then attached to that partial bag , the remaining completed quantity (and she freaked cause I gave her medication in 2 different bottles)... you think this is nothing.. but still for a new grad, I felt like I dispensed the wrong medication by the way the patient was screaming at me....

So to all retail pharmacist out there, do you have any encouraging words of advice on not letting the stress and emotions get the best of ya?

 

[crazybob]

Do you take time to explain to the patient about what's going on so they don't get confused, frustrated, and/or worried?

 

[J ROD]

helps..but not necessary.......

Just remember that you are in control and the customers are not....

 

[BrightLight]

Just picture every customer who walk into your pharmacy as a big glowing dollar (or sometimes peso) sign, and everything will be alright.

 

[gtpederson]

I think a big thing is not getting into futile arguments with 'them.' We had a pharmacist argue with a lady for a good ten minutes about how she was switched from one form of free state medicaid to another, and the back and forth of 'oh no I ain't, I gots MEDICAS" drove me insane. Just fix the problem and get them out as fast as possible.

 

[rph3664]

helps..but not necessary.......

Just remember that you are in control and the customers are not....

No, we aren't the ones in control. The district manager is. 😡

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

No, we aren't the ones in control. The district manager is. 😡

You missed the point of the post buddy. On a day to day basis in the pharmacy when it comes to patient interactions, the pharmacist is the one who needs to remain in control of the situation.

Sure, in the big picture the DM is your boss, and they have their own boss and so on and son on. But that has nothing to do with the point of the post.

 

[R2pharmD2]

Do you have a thick skin for retail?

Some people are going to yell regardless of what you do, but it's usually possible to defuse these types of situations before they ever come to that point. In the example you mentioned, the problem probably could have been avoided entirely if someone had explained to the patient about the partial fill, no? (And really, why not just combine the partial and the completion so there isn't any explanation necessary?)

But mistakes will happen regardless, and if they do start yelling at you, do as gt mentioned: fix it and get them out asap. Sometimes that means you just need to let them yell for a bit, and it's important not to take it personally. I always try to keep in mind that the people I deal with are often under a good deal of stress for whatever reason, and try to be understanding. Take the high road. Be the bigger person.

 

[nnguyenc]

Gtfo!

 

[Dr Wario]

Rule #1 in pharmacy and in life, people are stupid. Remember this rule and all patient interactions will go much more smoothly.

 

[DAW2]

Rule #1 in pharmacy and in life, people are stupid. Remember this rule and all patient interactions will go much more smoothly.

then rule #2 is if you thought you met the stupidest person today, just wait, because you will meet someone even more stupider than that. and soon. it's sad cuz it's true

 

[diplomat]

Rule #1 in pharmacy and in life, people are stupid. Remember this rule and all patient interactions will go much more smoothly.

Very True. Always remember that it is fact that 50% of American society have the intelligence and literacy of a 6th grader. Someone on here (I forgot who) gave some pretty good advice about retail pharmacy. I think it went a little something like this, "You are nothing more than a *****, prepare to be treated as such."

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Yes, thick skin helps. However, there are also a few simple rules that can save you a lot of grief:
- Do not overexplain things. Most people will not understand your explanations and get frustrated.
- Do not take things personally, a lot of people just have bad manners and there is nothing you can do about that, unless you want to spend the rest of your day babying them.
- Do be calm and confident at all times. People are just like dogs in that they are genetically programmed to recognize and obey authority if authority asserts itself correctly.

I think that in my 9 years in the wonderful world of retail (vast majority of it part-time, though), I have had less than 10 patients who truly upset me, and most of the time it was because I was already getting short-tempered for other reasons when they happened to come in.

 

[pharmkj]

Some people are going to yell regardless of what you do, but it's usually possible to defuse these types of situations before they ever come to that point. In the example you mentioned, the problem probably could have been avoided entirely if someone had explained to the patient about the partial fill, no? (And really, why not just combine the partial and the completion so there isn't any explanation necessary?)

But mistakes will happen regardless, and if they do start yelling at you, do as gt mentioned: fix it and get them out asap. Sometimes that means you just need to let them yell for a bit, and it's important not to take it personally. I always try to keep in mind that the people I deal with are often under a good deal of stress for whatever reason, and try to be understanding. Take the high road. Be the bigger person.

Trust me I would love to pull the partial from out the bin and get the complete fill and come the 2 into 1 vials (or at least have my techs do it). But we are understaffed at me do about 3700 scripts a weeks, so you have to choose your battles on what you can and cant do.

Ya its still hard for me to let things roll off my back, I do take it personally/to heart. but i guess its a growing process

 

[pharmkj]

Yes, thick skin helps. However, there are also a few simple rules that can save you a lot of grief:
- Do not overexplain things. Most people will not understand your explanations and get frustrated.
- Do not take things personally, a lot of people just have bad manners and there is nothing you can do about that, unless you want to spend the rest of your day babying them.
- Do be calm and confident at all times. People are just like dogs in that they are genetically programmed to recognize and obey authority if authority asserts itself correctly.

I think that in my 9 years in the wonderful world of retail (vast majority of it part-time, though), I have had less than 10 patients who truly upset me, and most of the time it was because I was already getting short-tempered for other reasons when they happened to come in.

lol... thanks for the humourous yet useful information that probably solve alot of my consultation with patients.

 

[lorain]

i have the skin to do deal with customers: ive had racist insults thrown at me, doctors yelling at me, pill poppers harrasing us, i was able to keep up with that no problems

but when they cut the staffing down, especially taking away the 3rd rph and 2 techs on MON where the store does 475+, that was when I knew it was my time to go...i could not do that for a long time

 

[IndustryPharmD]

lol... thanks for the humourous yet useful information that probably solve alot of my consultation with patients.

Trust me, it works in many situations outside the pharmacy too. I can't tell you how many times I have regretted elaborating my thoughts on these boards alone.

It helps that by the time I had become a pharmacist I had been an intern long enough to become properly jaded. And I have never bought into such fallacies as "customer is always right" or "all people are created equal".