I use to spend my extra time doing per diem at Walgreens and Ralphs. I thought the right thing to do in order to make the world better was helping people with their pharmaceutical needs. The weekend would consist of working 8 hours and being treated like a dog pile by customers the whole time. I always prepared myself for a day at work by praying and asking GOD to give me the strength to smile and be kind to people. Holding a smile while getting yelled at and having racial slurs flung at you is not easy. I would go home and cry myself to sleep thinking the world hated me. I went to get some counseling and got great advice. I started to deliver pizzas on the weekend instead of working at a pharmacy. I started to see the world in a different light. People were nice to me when I delivered pizzas to their home. I got smiles and thank yous for once in my life. I found meaning and purpose. I hope everyone who reads this understands that pharmacy is not everything. There is a kinder world outside of pharmacy. Carpe Diem.
I been doing the per diem thing all wrong
- Thread starter MrBonita
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Chain pharmacy typically means interfacing with all the degenerate trash of society. These are the type of people who bitch about Extra Help copays and conflate your pharmacy with the poorly-managed clinics that they go to, but take no responsibilty for their lives, e.g., they will by a 24-pack of regular soda despite being on 3 oral diabetes meds and TDD > 100 units/day of basal insulin (and you know they live by themselves because they rant about their ****ty lives while you ring them up). They will mix up their MTX dispensed in August with their folic acid dispensed Oct and then accuse you of a misfill. Even though they are 5% of the customers they will disproportionately eat up your time.
I don't even know how people actually want to work per diem in retail. You hardly know anything about the store and the freak-show patients and whether the techs are intentionally being obtuse slugs (or even better not even showing up) when the regular pharmacists aren't around.
I don't even know how people actually want to work per diem in retail. You hardly know anything about the store and the freak-show patients and whether the techs are intentionally being obtuse slugs (or even better not even showing up) when the regular pharmacists aren't around.
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I used to always compare my pharmacy with a Starbucks or Boba shop. When people are buying frappes and smoothies, the line can be miles long and they'd wait however long it took, smiling and enjoying the company of others in line. The longer the line, the more appeal. "Whatever they're serving must be bomb."
I tried imagining someone throwing a fit and swearing at a cashier for not having their drink made in 5 minutes. Or someone ordering like 20 things and then saying, "Nah, don't need it anymore."
The inevitable look of disgust and shaming from other customers prevents most people from even thinking of doing this in a regular establishment.
But what about pharmacy? People don't spend their time willingly here, nor do they want to spend more than 5 mins being reminded they have little control over their ailments.
Unfortunately, we serve to the sick and afflicted. Any smiles and gratitude we get can are usually fleeting moments in between the chaos of their lives.
So yea, we get stuck with the manifestations of other people's burdens. For this, we need to forge armor and weapons. Empathy and curiosity serve me well for defense. Verbal de-escalation and root cause analysis for the attack. Lots of professional skills we can learn and perfect.
The real thing that keeps me going is purpose like you said. Purpose to teach others, solve problems, and be a better leader. Without these channels, I would be demolished by the crazies. We regularly need to "sharpen the saw" in order to protect our longevity. I'm glad you found a way to do that. May we all find our true calling!
I tried imagining someone throwing a fit and swearing at a cashier for not having their drink made in 5 minutes. Or someone ordering like 20 things and then saying, "Nah, don't need it anymore."
The inevitable look of disgust and shaming from other customers prevents most people from even thinking of doing this in a regular establishment.
But what about pharmacy? People don't spend their time willingly here, nor do they want to spend more than 5 mins being reminded they have little control over their ailments.
Unfortunately, we serve to the sick and afflicted. Any smiles and gratitude we get can are usually fleeting moments in between the chaos of their lives.
So yea, we get stuck with the manifestations of other people's burdens. For this, we need to forge armor and weapons. Empathy and curiosity serve me well for defense. Verbal de-escalation and root cause analysis for the attack. Lots of professional skills we can learn and perfect.
The real thing that keeps me going is purpose like you said. Purpose to teach others, solve problems, and be a better leader. Without these channels, I would be demolished by the crazies. We regularly need to "sharpen the saw" in order to protect our longevity. I'm glad you found a way to do that. May we all find our true calling!
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Throwing a bitch fit about being 3rd in line for 2 minutes and not paying for a cart full of **** is typical at low-class Walmarts.
Being paid and appropriate staffing is all I need to do this job.
Being paid and appropriate staffing is all I need to do this job.
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How did the take home pay compare?
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Funny how much your occupation affects the way most people treat you. Worked in fast food for a while and everyone treated me like crap. Went to an ice cream store and the majority of people were usually pretty happy to be out getting ice cream. Everyone was so much nicer.
owlegrad
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Yeah when I worked at a grocery store people pretty much stopped just short of spiting in my face. At a clothing store people were much friendlier in general.
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It's amazing how mad people get when you forget pickles in their burger.
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A fast moving pharmacy is high speed drudgery......chains are just more high speed....IF..by some oddity of fate you work a long time at a chain...you will be ruined..or nearly so....
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Yeah, LTC night shift is much more satisfying than retail ever was. Dealing mostly with professionals (nurses, docs) and since the same people tend to work nights you know everyones' names, etc. Much more personal than retail and people are thankful for the help you give. Not like retail, where you just begin to hate EVERYONE....
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Wholesome AF
"It looks like your Percocet is 5 days too soon, and since it's a controlled medication we can't fill it early. Do you want us to schedule it to fill when it's due?"
vs
"Your Percocet isn't due until Friday, call us then and we will fill it"
People actually seem to flip the **** out a lot more when you word it the first way. It's like people can smell that you are trying to kiss their ass and try to take advantage. Be strict and to the point, but never get into a pissing match with a customer.
vs
"Your Percocet isn't due until Friday, call us then and we will fill it"
People actually seem to flip the **** out a lot more when you word it the first way. It's like people can smell that you are trying to kiss their ass and try to take advantage. Be strict and to the point, but never get into a pissing match with a customer.
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my first year after graduation, i witnessed a black customer spitting on the face of a black pharmacy technician at the pharmacy checkout. this happened on the east side of Washington, DC. he called the cops, gave them name & address, etc. to arrest him. i never knew the dark side of people until i worked for CVS. ten years with the company and i'm still seeing garbage. no adequate staffing, pissed off customers. yelling and cursing.
Working in retail pharmacy is worse than any job I have ever worked. I would rather hold a sign on the street during a hot day for 8 hours than battle with narc addicts inside a pharmacy all day. At least when I was holding a sign on the street, people felt sorry for me and would give me free water and ask me if I was ok. Retail pharmacy, people have zero sympathy even if they see long lines, phone ringing, and no staff support.
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You must have a nice life then. Many people would kill to make 6 figures to work inside a pharmacy.
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6 figures? LOL.
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Bonita I thought you worked for KP, had a cake gig, making way better $ than the rest of us?
My adventures in per diem pharmacy is what I am writing about. Not my actual full time job.
wait you have a nice cake job at Kaiser making bank and still want to work more? are you a workaholic or something
well actually most people that are qualified to make 6 figures would not kill to work in a retail pharmacy lol
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The median household income is 60k. Many jobs are stressful but pay much less than what pharmacists make. The most obvious example is a tech who makes $10/hr, who gets yelled at by more customers than the pharmacist who hides behind the computer and verifies all day.
errrrm you can always compare people who have it worse but you have to compare people on the same level. That's why I said people who are qualified to make 6 figs... median household income is 60k but not everyone have a doctorate
and also pharmacist hides and just verifies all day? lmao which utopia pharmacy do you work at? do you even work retail? and if you do, I feel sorry for the ppl who has to work with you
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A doctorate is just a stupid title. Remember the tech that worked as a Walgreens pharmacist for 12 years before anyone noticed? So much for being on the same level.
I worked 4 years in retail, that was enough for me. In a busy 24 hr store, the pharmacist primarily stands there and verifies. They are the last to speak to a customer and last to pick up the phone. The techs are at the front lines getting yelled at all day and screening phone calls.
now you are just belittling the whole profession lol there are fake MDs that gone for years before being discovered too, are MDs just a title too? lol
again don't use your limited experience to cover all pharmacists, you just look clueless
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Sounds like you are the one belittling people, saying people are not on the same level as pharmacists just because they don't have a doctorate. Pretty soon pharmacists won't be making 6 figures so I guess we'll be on the same level as people with bachelor's? Should the retail Rphs with bachelor's be paid less than pharmD cause they're not on the same level? LoL.
god damn you are dense.... you can't honestly be that...nvm
when I said not on the same level I meant that as in education level, experiences and years sacrificed in school and such, not as in they are less of a person
and when you try to compare professions and what people rather do, you have to compare it with other people who are also making 6 figs
and if our salary ever drops to that of some one with a regular bachelor degree, then hell yeah make that comparison and by that point it would not make any sense to become a pharmacist
for you to say that a tech can do a pharmacist job however IS belittling the profession and the knowledge that we gained
also by your logic, everyone who works hard should make 6 figs, why can't waitress make the same as the restaurant owner?! they are in the front line and are the ones making the restaurant running smoothly and getting bitched at
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0 chance a tech could pass the BCPS. Naplex yes, BCPS no.
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If your typical retail single mom tech could pass NAPLEX that would be a miracle. Some of these techs can't even pass PTCB even with multiple attempts
That Walgreens fake tech probably did little to no meaningful counseling, wouldn't recognize any complete bull**** scripts including fake controls (as shown by the BOP complaint) and wouldn't be able to make any recommendations to prescribers on the spot
Yes some pharmacists can't do the above but that might be maybe 15% of all pharmacists versus ~0% of techs
That Walgreens fake tech probably did little to no meaningful counseling, wouldn't recognize any complete bull**** scripts including fake controls (as shown by the BOP complaint) and wouldn't be able to make any recommendations to prescribers on the spot
Yes some pharmacists can't do the above but that might be maybe 15% of all pharmacists versus ~0% of techs
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It is a very difficult time. People want what they want and they want it now. But they'll wait at Verizon forever and not complain.
