Floaters don’t go to pharmacy

[Mao263]

hello everyone. Question to those who float or maybe regular staff and covers shift sometimes in other pharmacy. Which places that you won’t go and what the main reason? For example I have going to one place and although it’s busy and crazy customers but I like people working there and it’s always a pleasure. Other place I met such nasty techs that next time I probably will never agree to go.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Chrish]

As a floater, you don’t have a choice to “never agree” to go somewhere if it’s a part of your regular shifts; you can deny it if it’s your extra shift. If you had a bad experience at any particular place, you can reach out to your supervisor and scheduler and let them know that you would prefer not to go to one particular place if it can be helped. But it should come in the form of request, not a demand.

Conflict between techs and staff pharmacists is fairly common. Why exactly are they nasty to you? Is it because they are bad or because you aren’t helping them out as you should? You need to reflect on who is at fault. If you are confident it’s them and not you, you can write an email to their manager explaining the circumstances and also tell them that you have already spoken to your supervisor. In that case, they might have to write up the tech.

 

[Mao263]

You are right, it’s not like I never agree unless it’s extra shift. You come there to help, someone work with just a pocker face, no open conflict. As a tech and intern I was always nice to anyone who come. My techs are always nice to new pharmacist although any floater who come obviously everyone have their work style. If I go somewhere I always ask how this and that what other rules in store. Maybe some techs annoyed at new pharmacist and only good with their regulars

 

[Chrish]

You don’t have to pick up any extra shift at any store if you don’t want to. If they schedule you, you just tell your scheduler that you won’t go to X store for any extra shift with brief explanation regarding bad experience. No one can force you.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

I never had stores that I refused to go to as a floater because I don't really see that as an option. Your job is to go where scheduled/needed.

I do have a couple that I would refuse to pick up shifts at. The two that jump to mind: one had a pharmacy manager that would report stupid things as errors and the other let her techs walk over her so the store was always a nightmare. The techs would come in and leave whenever they wanted (or choose not to come) with no warning and when they were there they would barely make any attempt to work.

I don't pick up anything any more though. We're short staffed because the company is trying to shaft newer grads with reduced pay. I figure if I pick up extra shifts I'm undermining their ability to negotiate more reasonable wages/conditions.

 

[mentos]

Floaters get blamed for everything, I wouldn't sweat it. The store staff will always have their back against a floater. The DM won't care about worker conflicts, that should be handled at the store level. I speak to techs and pharmacists as little as possible to avoid drama.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Let's not sit here and act like nothing changes when Bobby Portis gets subbed into the game for Giannis. I mean....there's a reason people roll their eyes and sigh loudly when they hear it's floater day. You got starters and you got backups. The really good teams with good starters (high volume teams) can really feel the difference when the backups come in. Other teams it doesn't matter (low volume store) so floater day is pretty "meh" to them.

 

[WorthlessOxygen]

Let's not sit here and act like nothing changes when Bobby Portis gets subbed into the game for Giannis. I mean....there's a reason people roll their eyes and sigh loudly when they hear it's floater day. You got starters and you got backups. The really good teams with good starters (high volume teams) can really feel the difference when the backups come in. Other teams it doesn't matter (low volume store) so floater day is pretty "meh" to them.

Agreed but my district has a couple of floaters that are better than the majority of staff pharmacists so it does tend to annoy me when people automatically assume floater = bad

 

[JustFillIt]

Floaters are the perfect scapegoat. It’s like a get out of jail free card

 

[Chrish]

Trust me good floaters are appreciated. When my staff hear certain names, they become delighted. Bad ones are the ones who leave a mess for the next day pharmacist, don’t help out with answering the phones, or typing/ filing. They don’t even do bare minimum. If there is any patient complain, they would tell pt to call “when the manager is here” instead of handling it themselves.

Don’t be one of those guys.

 

[JustFillIt]

Trust me good floaters are appreciated. When my staff hear certain names, they become delighted. Bad ones are the ones who leave a mess for the next day pharmacist, don’t help out with answering the phones, or typing/ filing. They don’t even do bare minimum. If there is any patient complain, they would tell pt to call “when the manager is here” instead of handling it themselves.

Don’t be one of those guys.

I would be one of those guys these days - not because I want to let down my peers. Rather - I am not going to kill myself for Walgreens.

I would work at a pace that is reasonable for any worker. I won’t fall for that crap anymore.

 

[DH1987]

I floated for nearly 5 years before I finally got a solid staff position. Not to toot my own horn, but most would agree that I am a very competent pharmacist, and have been since the beginning of my 2nd year. I believe they were slow to promote me because they didn't want to give up one of their only good floaters. But the store that I'm at now convinced my DM to staff me.

 

[Sunshine98*]

I floated for nearly 5 years before I finally got a solid staff position. Not to toot my own horn, but most would agree that I am a very competent pharmacist, and have been since the beginning of my 2nd year. I believe they were slow to promote me because they didn't want to give up one of their only good floaters. But the store that I'm at now convinced my DM to staff me.

Yeah I once floated too and was kept out of stores on purpose due to politics. Sad really. Always got told there's no one else.....except when I moved...they had no choice to find someone when there was "no on else". Amazing how coverage was still found after that.

Saw 1 pharmacist who was already in a full time position be allowed to transfer to another store in no time at all, where I applied to several and was denied. Sad thing is, there was a floater who applied to the same store and she should of been allowed to have the store, but they denied her to keep her as a floater (and she was solid and should of received that store). Other RPh only wanted to transfer cause the store was bad. If I was DM I would of denied her and let the floater have the store. Now the floater has moved on and is staff somewhere else and Im glad she left.

You can only drag along people for so long and it gets old.

 

[Dred Pirate]

The only way I could deny a store was when I moonlighted - it was easy- I would just pick and choose which stores I would go to and which ones I wouldn't. It wasn't like I could be forced or face consequences. There was one store were a tech "told on me" for doing something - I can't remember what it was even. I straight up told the scheduler I refuse to work that store any more if that is the kind of staff they have. She responded "You are not the first one to say that, I will notate that" I told her she might want to dig into the reason no one wants to work there.

 

[Sparda29]

Trust me good floaters are appreciated. When my staff hear certain names, they become delighted. Bad ones are the ones who leave a mess for the next day pharmacist, don’t help out with answering the phones, or typing/ filing. They don’t even do bare minimum. If there is any patient complain, they would tell pt to call “when the manager is here” instead of handling it themselves.

Don’t be one of those guys.

Pharmacists are above answering the phones. Have you ever seen a physician pickup a phone call that hasn't been pre-screened by the people at the front desk? The tech's job is to screen the call and make sure that nothing gets through to the pharmacist that doesn't need them.

 

[JustFillIt]

Pharmacists are above answering the phones. Have you ever seen a physician pickup a phone call that hasn't been pre-screened by the people at the front desk? The tech's job is to screen the call and make sure that nothing gets through to the pharmacist that doesn't need them.

Although I would not frame it as, “pharmacists are above answering phones” I would agree with this, for the most part

 

[GrandTheftAutumn]

Pharmacists are above answering the phones. Have you ever seen a physician pickup a phone call that hasn't been pre-screened by the people at the front desk? The tech's job is to screen the call and make sure that nothing gets through to the pharmacist that doesn't need them.

aRe yOu tHe pHaRmAcIsT? i nEeD A ReFiLl oN My vIaGrA