Pharmacy Work Question

[ZeroC0mbine]

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Hello everyone. I have just started working retail recently. I would just like to know how long it took for everyone to really get used to everything and solve most issues. I find myself running back and forth asking either the technicians or pharmacists, which is probably really annoying to them. I'm mainly referring to any individual issues that one might encounter with a patient. I'm really trying hard to do my best, but I don't think that I'm even close on par with their expectations. Thanks!

 

[Passion4Sci]

I still don't have all the answers/know everything and I've been "working" different jobs in two different settings for months now.

Don't worry about it and just try to learn as fast as you can, realizing that accuracy is much better than celerity. It isn't annoying to pharmacists that you're inquisitive and learning (As long as you're not repeating the same mistakes/questions multiple times exhibiting the attention span of a goldfish). I believe every pharmacist would rather their employees/volunteers ask lots of questions than make errors.

Be sure your feelings of inadequacy aren't simply in your head and related to something else, meaning that no one else thinks you're not "on par"... Just you. IN other words, you're fine.

 

[Kaiter]

Personally I think its good you're so enthusiastic. Asking questions can get on peoples nerves, but everyone always benefits from when questions are asked (both the proposer and the responder). There are lots of issues you could encounter with a patient, I can't remember them off the top of my head, but I can give you one or two pieces of advice.

1) Always be courteous and respectful to the patient, no matter how they treat you.
2) Always refer the patient to the pharmacist or staff if its something you feel like you should not handle or something you can't handle.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Personally I think its good you're so enthusiastic. Asking questions can get on peoples nerves, but everyone always benefits from when questions are asked (both the proposer and the responder). There are lots of issues you could encounter with a patient, I can't remember them off the top of my head, but I can give you one or two pieces of advice.

1) Always be courteous and respectful to the patient, no matter how they treat you.
2) Always refer the patient to the pharmacist or staff if its something you feel like you should not handle or something you can't handle.

I just started working Retail a little over a month ago. I can't agree more with the above post. Remember that beyond all of the inquires you have and experience you want to gain, you are still there first and foremost to serve your patients- that's what healthcare is.

I could write a blog over the frustrations I've had in my short experience as a tech in training. It's easy to feel like a nuisance asking a billion questions like "was Mr. So and so's script filled," "Why is her co=pay so high," How do I re-bill this script to insurance," etc... But in the end, it's best to check it by someone else if you're unsure, because the last thing a patient needs is to walk out with a faulty script.

I've had a great supporting cast is my fellow techs and that pharmacists in my store, so it also depends on your co-workers. Instead of asking them to do the dirty work in re-bills, and fills for you, attempt to do it yourself with them over-seeing it.

All I can say is when you are posed with a question or task from a patient that you can't fufill yourself, be courteous towards the tasks your other coworkers are doing, but don't be afraid to push them to help you, because in the end the whole pharmacy is the face of what the patient receives in service.