New PIC

[Cleaveland]

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Hey everyone,

Hope all is well. Was wanting to reach out for some guidance on being a new PIC. Figured I'd take the time to get ideas, pointers, advice etc. from you all. Got hired on as a staff when I passed my boards last year, so I did get my feet wet for about 7 months. Did about 350+/day and with Readyfill Soothing / 2-step kicked in December. Overall it's been a pretty decent ride thus far. Ready for snow-bird season to end as well.

So I'll be relocating and my commute will be cut in half which is great. Not sure about the volume on this store yet, I just found out I'll be getting promoted.

I look up to you all who have been working for quite some time already and always would love some help. I want to thank you in advanced. (And also, wish me luck!)

 

[JustFillIt]

Number 1 - your skills of communication and ability to balance everyone’s happiness (techs, the public, your manager, the store manager, etc) is the key to harmony.

A lot will come up that will threaten this balance - sally, your best tech wants a raise or she will quit - Harry is pissed at sally because she takes several 20 minute bathroom breaks due to her IBS in the middle of the day and he wants you to do something about it - at the same time Bernie
The imbecile is freaking out because you screwed up and properly billed his insurance and his insurance won’t cover the medication..... all the while your store manager is wondering why your department is wildly out of control.

So how I would deal with this as a pic is - I would pay sally out of my own pocket due to the fact that if she quits it would be absolute hell. I would also provide adult diapers and say no more bathroom breaks. I would tell Harry that eventually he would get used to the smell - then I would throughly brown nose my store manager and make him feel like he/she is ultimately the one in charge.

Just some suggestions

 

[owlegrad]

It's a tough gig to do well. The big picture is that you will always be expected to do more with less. If you ever do get a handle on the pharmacy the metrics will change. 7 months isn't long enough to really get a feel for this - the score card changes every year (sometimes more frequently than that if they add a new program in the middle of the year, which they will) so you have to be good at making your team change priorities to whatever the company is pushing that year. It's hardest with the techs that have experience because they have seen it all before and pretty much know they can ignore it unless you are willing to be a total hardass and harp on them constantly about it. On the other hand your pharmacy will be a disaster without at least some techs with experience so it is a balancing act somewhat. Of course if you can get buy in from the lifers you will be golden, but good luck with that.

As for advise, I suggest observing the pharmacy for a week or two to see how the pharmacy runs, who the top performers are, etc. Once you have a good feeling for what is going on start having team huddles where you "lay down the law" and tell people how it is going to be. Set clear goals and expectations. Then hold people accountable. Treat everyone fairly/equally. The hardest part for me was turnover - the constant need to train became such a drag I never felt like I could make any progress on improving the pharmacy.

Good luck!

 

[Cleaveland]

Number 1 - your skills of communication and ability to balance everyone’s happiness (techs, the public, your manager, the store manager, etc) is the key to harmony.

A lot will come up that will threaten this balance - sally, your best tech wants a raise or she will quit - Harry is pissed at sally because she takes several 20 minute bathroom breaks due to her IBS in the middle of the day and he wants you to do something about it - at the same time Bernie
The imbecile is freaking out because you screwed up and properly billed his insurance and his insurance won’t cover the medication..... all the while your store manager is wondering why your department is wildly out of control.

So how I would deal with this as a pic is - I would pay sally out of my own pocket due to the fact that if she quits it would be absolute hell. I would also provide adult diapers and say no more bathroom breaks. I would tell Harry that eventually he would get used to the smell - then I would throughly brown nose my store manager and make him feel like he/she is ultimately the one in charge.

Just some suggestions

This is too epic! I love the Game of Thrones Intro. Gives me goosebumps every single time. I appreciate your real life scenarios, haha! I will take into the consideration of the balance to everyone's happiness.

It's a tough gig to do well. The big picture is that you will always be expected to do more with less. If you ever do get a handle on the pharmacy the metrics will change. 7 months isn't long enough to really get a feel for this - the score card changes every year (sometimes more frequently than that if they add a new program in the middle of the year, which they will) so you have to be good at making your team change priorities to whatever the company is pushing that year. It's hardest with the techs that have experience because they have seen it all before and pretty much know they can ignore it unless you are willing to be a total hardass and harp on them constantly about it. On the other hand your pharmacy will be a disaster without at least some techs with experience so it is a balancing act somewhat. Of course if you can get buy in from the lifers you will be golden, but good luck with that.

As for advise, I suggest observing the pharmacy for a week or two to see how the pharmacy runs, who the top performers are, etc. Once you have a good feeling for what is going on start having team huddles where you "lay down the law" and tell people how it is going to be. Set clear goals and expectations. Then hold people accountable. Treat everyone fairly/equally. The hardest part for me was turnover - the constant need to train became such a drag I never felt like I could make any progress on improving the pharmacy.

Good luck!

Thank you Owlegrad, it's always great to hear from you. Always nice to get your past experience advice!

 

[JustFillIt]

This is too epic! I love the Game of Thrones Intro. Gives me goosebumps every single time. I appreciate your real life scenarios, haha! I will take into the consideration of the balance to everyone's happiness.



Thank you Owlegrad, it's always great to hear from you. Always nice to get your past experience advice!

Haha thanks for seeing my sarcastic humor!

Seriously though the job of a pic is all about people. It’s all about how well you balance everyone’s needs. Second to that it’s all about goal setting, accomplishing these goals, and building strength/confidence on this foundation. Training and team building is a top priority - you never know when you will loose your key people.

It really is a bit like game of thrones.. kinda weird but true. The tables turn so quickly in the pharmacy and you have to be thinking 10 steps down the road

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

It's a tough gig to do well. The big picture is that you will always be expected to do more with less. If you ever do get a handle on the pharmacy the metrics will change. 7 months isn't long enough to really get a feel for this - the score card changes every year (sometimes more frequently than that if they add a new program in the middle of the year, which they will) so you have to be good at making your team change priorities to whatever the company is pushing that year. It's hardest with the techs that have experience because they have seen it all before and pretty much know they can ignore it unless you are willing to be a total hardass and harp on them constantly about it. On the other hand your pharmacy will be a disaster without at least some techs with experience so it is a balancing act somewhat. Of course if you can get buy in from the lifers you will be golden, but good luck with that.

As for advise, I suggest observing the pharmacy for a week or two to see how the pharmacy runs, who the top performers are, etc. Once you have a good feeling for what is going on start having team huddles where you "lay down the law" and tell people how it is going to be. Set clear goals and expectations. Then hold people accountable. Treat everyone fairly/equally. The hardest part for me was turnover - the constant need to train became such a drag I never felt like I could make any progress on improving the pharmacy.

Good luck!

Spot on. My biggest mistake when I was a new manager was trying to change everything the first day I started. I had a vision, and I started running.

Not realizing I left my team in the dust, I estranged my team, and couldn't get their buy in for anything.

Rapport goes a long way. Personalize your leadership. Don't shoot for perfection. Failure is okay in the beginning. Support and teach. Don't supervise the methods. Only measure results.

Accountability is a process, and you have to give your team the chance to account for their responsibilities and failures.

The Secret Behind Pharmacy Accountability – The Corporate PharmD

 

[Cleaveland]

Spot on. My biggest mistake when I was a new manager was trying to change everything the first day I started. I had a vision, and I started running.

Not realizing I left my team in the dust, I estranged my team, and couldn't get their buy in for anything.

Rapport goes a long way. Personalize your leadership. Don't shoot for perfection. Failure is okay in the beginning. Support and teach. Don't supervise the methods. Only measure results.

Accountability is a process, and you have to give your team the chance to account for their responsibilities and failures.

The Secret Behind Pharmacy Accountability – The Corporate PharmD

Wow, is this your site? I took a peak and it's absolutely amazing.

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

Wow, is this your site? I took a peak and it's absolutely amazing.

Thank you for visiting.

It's definitely a work in progress.

The voice of the cynics, pessimists, and downtrodden are so loud in our profession.

I want students and new pharmacists to hear something different.

My Mission – The Corporate PharmD

 

[Thoughtfulsinner]

How to you accept a new position with not at least inquiring on the volume of the store?