Help with a Little Conumdrum

[TLaw8860]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey All,

I am currently a floater at a retail chain where half of the stores I go to are OK and the other half are pretty rough. I would say that for the majority of the past 6 months I have been at the rougher stores (high medicaid population, high percentage of scripts are Norco/Perc's, extra DEA compliance). Currently there is an opening at a store that I believe is the least desirable store in the district (rougher store, 45 minutes away from my house, extended hours store, weak staff). I have a feeling (my speculation) that my district manager will ask me to staff at that store on a permanent basis.

So my conundrum is that I want to advance with company and be a team player but I know that my quality of life will suffer significantly if I accept the position. Shall I decline the position I feel that I would have a stigma about me (not interested in staffing or helping the company) and I would float for a very long period of time (hence delaying my advancement within the company).

I'm just asking for advice on what you guys/girls have noticed with your companies where RPh's decline a position and how the company reacted to it.

Thanks for the help

PS- The only pro is that my bonus potential would be significantly higher.

 

[Mounjaro]

I had a pharmacy manager decline a position to train others in our district, doesn't mean it diminished her chances any more to become DM. She was chasing it too.

Anyways, if you accept the position, be prepared to be miserable. If it's CVS (this sounds like CVS) and your scores count, it's not worth going to that area and taking the position knowing that you'll also be responsible for the drop in scores due to any lack of help you may have. Sure you'll somehow be helping out the store and they might consider you a "team player", but if you're doing crazy volume and there's a steeper drop in scores, expect to take responsibility for it while your DM sends you an email asking why it's happening. Likewise, eventually you'll blend into all the other pharmacists regardless of you handling the large amount of volume, unless you're some sort of magician and are capable of increasing the scores for your store to set yourself apart a bit more.

So, my conclusion upon this subject would be for you to continue floating (and maintaining good scores and dealing with volume and lack of help in areas, which I consider being more of a team player) or find a permanent position at a better store where you know you're capable of keeping up scores and can advance to pharmacy manager there.

 

[Sine Cura]

What does advancement entail? Getting a staff position in a good store? Becoming RXM? 45 minutes from your house sucks.

Example: staff pharmacist declined to be PIC at a crappy store after someone resigned. Got moved to a not-so-crappy store. Nothing else happened. So it was actually a plus for this pharmacist.

 

[TLaw8860]

I am just a little afraid that this will prolong my floating for another 6+ months or so and the negative perception from middle management would delay me from getting a manager position. But I do think that I am one of the best floaters in my district and the fact that my boss is giving me the option to take the position says something (typically they just place people at their stores with no input from the floater) that he values what I bring to the company.

 

[BidingMyTime]

It may give a bad impression to your supervisor, but how you turn it down can make a big difference. You don't want to turn it down for any reason that hints that you don't like that store or don't want to deal with its problems, and you don't want to turn it down for a personal reason like the drive is to long. Best way to turn it down is to play up on how much you are learning by floating around to different stores, but that you think you still have stuff to learn from the floating experience, so you aren't ready to settle down in one store yet, that you just don't think you have fulled learned from the floating experience yet to give it up.

Bare in mind, most staff position openings will always be in the least desirable stores--as the people there will get first dibs on the better stores when positions open up there. So, by turning down this position, you may be prolonging the inevitable, you may have to take a less than desirable staff position, in order to ever get the chance at a better one.

 

[TLaw8860]

Great points guys and I will take everything in consideration. My next question is I would lose my mileage reimbursement and floater bonus in result of the move. Do you think it would be appropriate to ask my supervisor for a raise to compensate that plus a little extra or do you think that could turn him off and look negative on me. Essentially I was thinking about asking a bump in base salary that would put me in the higher tier of floater RPh's (I am currently in the lower tier) as I transition into a staff pharmacist (it would take into account the lost in mileage reimbursement, my monthly bonus, and the value that I bring into the store).

 

[wagrxm2000]

I haven't read the other comments but I wanted to add something small. Walgreens and I would assume other chains can't include controls in incentives so if you do take the job and make an effort to decline patients controls (with a legit reason) you could improve the store. No one's bonus includes controls so your dm shouldn't get mad at you especially if you can increase the other scripts.

My controls year to date are down 5% and my other scripts are up 4%. I'm beating my goal which my dms bonus is also based on so he is happy despite less scripts.

 

[Rx_Leo]

I haven't read the other comments but I wanted to add something small. Walgreens and I would assume other chains can't include controls in incentives so if you do take the job and make an effort to decline patients controls (with a legit reason) you could improve the store. No one's bonus includes controls so your dm shouldn't get mad at you especially if you can increase the other scripts.

My controls year to date are down 5% and my other scripts are up 4%. I'm beating my goal which my dms bonus is also based on so he is happy despite less scripts.

This never makes sense to me. Controlled RXs are most time consuming scrips(PMP/GFD/double counting/logging..) and yet they won't include that in bonus.

OP, IMO sometimes you have to get your foot in a less desirable store as a staff before you'll get promoted/transfer to a more desirable location.

I started out as a PIC in a ghetto store. Then got promoted to a nicer neighborhood after a year. I learnt a lot from working in a rough neighborhood and the experience really increased my tolerance to tough customers...lol

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[BenJammin]

Why would you go from floating to staffed at a store? Maybe it's chain specific but I know in the grocery store pharmacies you would be essentially asking for a demotion. People manage at stores for years just for a shot at being a floater.

 

[wagrxm2000]

This never makes sense to me. Controlled RXs are most time consuming scrips(PMP/GFD/double counting/logging..) and yet they won't include that in bonus.

OP, IMO sometimes you have to get your foot in a less desirable store as a staff before you'll get promoted/transfer to a more desirable location.

I started out as a PIC in a ghetto store. Then got promoted to a nicer neighborhood after a year. I learnt a lot from working in a rough neighborhood and the experience really increased my tolerance to tough customers...lol

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

It takes time but you slowly get rid of the bad scripts and it becomes less time consuming.

 

[Sine Cura]

So Walgreens shows controlled volume numbers without having to run a bunch of reports? There would be no way for me to know % increase or % decrease in controlled volume without running a bunch of reports manually (both CVS and WM). I was doing ~15-16% at CVS (~10% CIIs) and now ~12% at WM (5% CIIs)

Chains don't want to incentivize filling controls because it can be seen as giving pharmacists a financial motivation to fill them.

 

[npage148]

If you take the store, make all the red flag narc patients jump through all the corporate and fed hoops. Id at drop off and pick up, calling md to verify legitimacy, extra time to verify pmp. Once the patients and the doctors get wind of your overZealous ways hey will direct their buddies and patients to go elsewhere. Nothing pisses off a sketchy doctor than calling often for ice-10, documentation of a pain contract, pill counts, drug tests and attempts at dose reduction etc.

And NO One above you will call you on denying narcotics if following proper procedures. Have fun.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Simple answer:

Anything that decreases your quality of life should be no.

You only have one life. Why sacrifice it's quality?

 

[BidingMyTime]

This never makes sense to me. Controlled RXs are most time consuming scrips(PMP/GFD/double counting/logging..) and yet they won't include that in bonus.

I think the reason most chains no longer count controlled RX's in metrics and bonuses (they used to), is because of the DEA cracking down, I think the DEA frowned on pharmacies "encouraging" in any way, the filling of controlled RX's.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

I am just a little afraid that this will prolong my floating for another 6+ months or so and the negative perception from middle management would delay me from getting a manager position. But I do think that I am one of the best floaters in my district and the fact that my boss is giving me the option to take the position says something (typically they just place people at their stores with no input from the floater) that he values what I bring to the company.

This week I'm mopping floors, next week it's the fries...

You are over thinking it. Your supervisor doesn't care. Do what is best for you.

 

[sosoo]

whether the store is rough or not has a lot to do with how you handle control substances scripts. for example, and an example only, at a 24 -hour store in DC, they do not accept opioids scripts above 30 pills. their store become more manageable, and their metrics improved significantly, and their annual bonus pumped up as well. management are happy, repeat customers are happy, and the staffs are happy as well. the worst stores are the ones who push narcotics out like a pill mill!

 

[TLaw8860]

Thanks everyone, I made my decision.... Only time will tell if I made the right one.