I accepted a job offer from Walgreen and I start 2 weeks training on monday. I have never worked for WAG and the only retail experience I have is from rotation. I will be on my own after the 2 weeks training. just looking for general advice on the best way to get the most out of the two weeks. what should I focus most on ? thanks
Walgreens 2 weeks training
- Thread starter Estrace
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Welcome to hell
Are you in MI?
Are you in MI?
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Two weeks is pretty insane. I could never have learned that fast as a new grad. It took me 3 months before I was by myself in a hospital setting.
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Surprised no one has dissed retail yet, so I'll give it a try.
You should focus most on Kegel exercises. That, or stock up on incontinence pads.
You should focus most on Kegel exercises. That, or stock up on incontinence pads.
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Just focus on learning verification and product review and how to override the DURs that pop up. Basically the things your techs won't know how to do when the situation arises.. more complicated insurance issues you can write down and take note of but you will learn that over time... and the thing with WAGs is yes they are very busy so you at least will have a tech or two with you pretty much the whole time you are working.. so again focus on things they won't know how to do.. pharmacist stuff. good luck.
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Learn the system ( intercom) as fast as you can so you do not have to depend on techs.
If the techs sense that you do not know things they will take full advantage of the fact.
10 days (2 weeks) are not enough.
As you do not have much retail experience, dealing with insurance issues will be hard for you.
Are you floating or at one store? If you are floating be ready to be super abused.
Out of all the techs you come across, pick one who you think you can get along with and that tech can help you with insurances whenever you are stuck.
Learn the system as much as you can and ask as many questions as possible and take notes while you're training. I carry a little pocket notebook in my pocket all the time and write notes in it as I learn things to refer to later. Ask questions about things you think you may encounter in the future, and write it down. Some stores aren't that busy, so they have less tech hours and you may have to work alone for a few hours. You will learn insurance as you go, but if you encounter a problem and there's no tech to help you, you can always call the insurance company and they can help you with the rejection. Good luck!
I will float once I'm on my own but training will be at one store.
I will keep the bolded in mind. thanks for the advice.
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Keep the store number in your pocket where the tech of your choice works.
Training is always at one store.
As you are floating, sometimes you will be in a store where there is no tech and some times you will be in a store where there is a tech who loves to play games with floaters.
You will come across some good professional store managers and some junky store managers who like to disrespect pharamcists to satisfy their ego.
Store managers are usually big on customer service to the extent that they do not mind breaking laws.Make sure that you do not let them break any pharmacy laws for the sake of CUSTOMER SERVICE.
One more important thing, if you are super busy do not hesitate to call IC3 WAGS store managers are suppose to help when it is busy some opt to help some opt to simply ignore because they are too lazy to help (or they do not care) .If the shift before you is dumping everything on you.You should print screen as you walk in and record the store number and keep it with you.
Remember it is your license on the line and you are the only one who cares for it.
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thank you! thank you for all the wonderful advice..
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That sure made you feel good about yourself, didn't it?
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Are you going to be trained at a busy 24 hour store? If so, I would suggest that you ask to do your training at a slow store where a there is no tech and the pharmacists have to do everything. If you do your training at a busy store, all you will be doing is pressing F4 all day along for the pharmacy manager because there will be plenty of techs and they pretty much take care of everything else. Besides, at a busy store everyone is often too occupied with their own duties that they won't have the time to explain to you things in details.. A slow store will expose you to all kind of situations and allow you to ask questions during these two weeks.
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Most districts have preferred stores for training. They generally choose a quieter store. A lot of the insurance stuff you will pick up on. I still have my notebook with all my notes. My experience through pharmacist training was different because I worked there as an intern and grad intern.
Walgreens is transitioning from SELs to Kronos for payroll. Each system has its pros and cons. My market was one of the first to go to Kronos. For salaried employees, we haven't had many issues with it. For hourly, though, it was a nightmare. The time clock would freeze for 5 minutes after the punch.
Most stores should be using next gen registers or about to upgrade. When you float, if you are going to be alone, for next gen stores, make sure they add you to the register system. You can use the same scan card at any store or just use your storenet login.
My advice is that as a floater if you show the techs due respect, they will repay the compliment. They know you won't know where everything is and that sort of thing. Do not be one of the pharmacists who dre on really unimportant things. It is okay to tell customers that you cannot do something because you are a floater and this needs to be discussed with rxm. Also, be sociable with the techs; it'll make the time go faster.
Walgreens is transitioning from SELs to Kronos for payroll. Each system has its pros and cons. My market was one of the first to go to Kronos. For salaried employees, we haven't had many issues with it. For hourly, though, it was a nightmare. The time clock would freeze for 5 minutes after the punch.
Most stores should be using next gen registers or about to upgrade. When you float, if you are going to be alone, for next gen stores, make sure they add you to the register system. You can use the same scan card at any store or just use your storenet login.
My advice is that as a floater if you show the techs due respect, they will repay the compliment. They know you won't know where everything is and that sort of thing. Do not be one of the pharmacists who dre on really unimportant things. It is okay to tell customers that you cannot do something because you are a floater and this needs to be discussed with rxm. Also, be sociable with the techs; it'll make the time go faster.
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My deepest sympathies.....welcome to hell.
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No, the store is not a 24 hours store but the rxm asked me to come in during the day shift (11 am- 7pm) when they have enough tech coverage so that he will have enough time to explain things to me. I will do that the first couple of days and then ask to switch things around so that I work when he is opening/closing. He also agreed that I can train with the other staff pharmacist if I want to.
This is one of my strongest areas. I know for sure I won't be that type of pharmacist. The techs from the Walmart store where I did community rotation still call me because I was that friendly with them.
Thank you for all the advice.
I know for sure that being in hell is better than being unemployed. it can't be that bad.
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For Walgreens floaters does anyone know how we are suppose to record our hours that we work like do we punch in or let the home store know our hours??
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I hope that you have the same feelings🙂 once you are actually in the middle of hell.
I also wish you never face the same problems as I did=better hell conditions for you
It still will be hell because WAGS is drastically cutting tech hours.I am not sure about your district may be your district is better.
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If you are SP8 your schedule should automatically transfer to kronos.
If you are RPT I think you should punch in and punch out
Confirm the above information as Kronos is new and everyone is a little confused.
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If you have Kronos, once per pay period you have to go in and approve the hours. I've been using Kronos since January/February. If you are RPT, then you punch.
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You will soon see my friend......and yes it can be that bad.
The shine wears off that big paycheck really quick. Then your realize......Oh crap this is it? Really?
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Why is Texas bad? I'm planning to go there in the future...
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That is a whole other thread on why Texas is bad!
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15 tips for a happy pharmacy!
1. Dont be afraid to help the techs. If you have nothing to f4 or product review or very few of each, don't be afraid to answer the phone or f1. You are not strapped to your station (unless it's a busy store, then you have no choice) so don't be afraid to help.
2. Go through the TPR's. It will help give you an idea of what insurance limitations are. For example, in my state, Cigna will only cover a 30 day supply of medication. I have never, ever seen a 90 day rx covered by Cigna. I only learned this through experiece. Learn what's on your state's Medicaid formulary. It should be online so you can view it from home. That way when you get a prior auth required on nexium, you can call the md and ask if they would like to switch it to a PPI that is covered or do a PA? The majority of the time they change the drug because they can't be bothered. Quicker and more efficient and gets the patient the meds faster.
3. Just because it says on the script "start taking on 6/3 and continue throughout 6/10" and you're filling it on the 5th doesn't mean you have to stop the entire pharmacy, try to call the office and speak to the doctor, only for him to be like lolwut? And then call the pharmacist in the store down the road and ask what they would do, only to finally fill the prescription without the date written on the directions. Thanks for wasting 45 minutes and backing everything up. Use common sense.
4. Scan in your own prescriptions. Don't hand them to someone else. It is very annoying and shows a lack of respect. Unless the tech offers to.
5. Don't make promises to something you can't fulfill. Telling someone that they'll get their prescription for free because the doctor's office messed up is a no no. They have to take that up with the doctor's office because you didn't do anything incorrectly. When in doubt, say you don't have the authority to do that and ask them to speak to the pharmacy manager.
6. Become BFF's with the market scheduler and when it comes to getting time off, you shouldn't have a problem.
7. Don't cap everything and anything. Review the patient profile first to see if they taken the medication before. If they have been on the medication, and you cap it just to have them answer the question "we have on file you are allergic to X, have you taken Q before?" the techs will be annoyed with you because the patient will respond that they've been taking it for 5 years now without an issue. Also, putting a cap on something to verify the DoB because the doctor didn't call the script in with one is annoying. Write a note on the leaflet and let the techs know to ask. Unless its a common name like Jane smith or if you have 2 people with the same name in your computer. Then you can cap it.
8. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but prior authorizations are a common issue. What exactly is it? The prescribed medication or dosage is not on the insurance's formulary (list of preferred drugs, which are usually therapeutically similar and cheaper). The doctor, or in most lazy doctor cases the medical assistant, needs to contact the insurance company and answer a few questions regarding why they are choosing this over certain other drugs. Usually these questions include if the prescriber has tried alternative therapies first, or if the patient has an intolerance to them, or blah blah blah. It's all out of your control, and the best you can do is contact the office and ask them to do the PA (usually a fax you send them). If the patient is giving you a hard time, offer to call the insurance and check the status of the PA. 9 out of 10 times, when you offer to do this, the office hasn't even started the PA yet. Tell the patient to contact the office. Takes the heat off of you though.
9. When you are training, ask what the most confusing insurance to figure out is. Medicaid in my state has 5 different looking cards, with 5 different names. Each one has no processing information on it, except the ID number, so the only way you can know if it's Medicaid is pure memorization.
10. When someone hands you an insurance card, usually there is an RX on the card to denote that the policy had prescription coverage. If the rx is missing, they usually have coverage through another company.
11. For ALL Medco claims (PAID), you require a 3 digit person code (001,002,003) at the end of the ID number and you MUST link to head of household in order for claim to go through. Most of the time, you can trick the computer by linking the person themself as the head of household. It doesn't check to see if you're correct, it just checks to see if there's a link.
12. Learn which companies require a group number, person code, and which don't. Write them down or remember to f10 so when you're alone at night and can't figure out why the caremark claim won't go through because you didn't put in a group number, you have something to reference. Also, f10 is your friend when you're learning insurances. It tells you if you need a person code or group number and all the basic stuff to get the claim to go through.
13. Read the reject field entirely. Sometimes you'll get multiple messages saying doctor not enrolled prior authorization required refill too soon until aug 13 12. Guess which one it is?! Refill too soon. It's usually the easiest problem to fix when you have multiple messages. Don't tell someone it's a prior auth when it's just refill too soon!! If you're not sure what the reject is, ask someone else! If you still cant figure it out, call the insurance.
14. When you call insurance, don't let them tell you they can't pull up the patient's information. Most of the time, they choose not to listen to you when you spell out the ID for them and they punch in different numbers and letters. Have them read the ID back to you, or the name and dob. I usually read out the Letters in the ID as M for Mary, N for nancy, Z for zebra, etc. It increases the chance they'll get it the first time. However, I have had people when I say M for Mary, still punch it in as N. sigh.
15. Finally, don't just put a msc on something and not tell anyone about it. This makes patients angry if you just tell them theres a problem with a prescription and didn't do anything to resolve it or attempt to resolve it. Tell the techs that this Rx needs to be called on to verify the drug, or dosing, or allergy interaction. Someone will usually call and try to get in touch with the doctor for you and then give you the call if you ask them to do so.
Always show that you made an effort to fix the patient's problem and they won't be as angry with you. Always use positive language saying, let's see what we can do for you. Let me look into this for you, etc.
Ps. IGNORE ALL RUDE COMMENTS. Most of the time, people who come to the pharmacy don't feel well and are cranky. They usually don't mean what they say. Just let it roll off your shoulders and joke about it with your coworkers later.
1. Dont be afraid to help the techs. If you have nothing to f4 or product review or very few of each, don't be afraid to answer the phone or f1. You are not strapped to your station (unless it's a busy store, then you have no choice) so don't be afraid to help.
2. Go through the TPR's. It will help give you an idea of what insurance limitations are. For example, in my state, Cigna will only cover a 30 day supply of medication. I have never, ever seen a 90 day rx covered by Cigna. I only learned this through experiece. Learn what's on your state's Medicaid formulary. It should be online so you can view it from home. That way when you get a prior auth required on nexium, you can call the md and ask if they would like to switch it to a PPI that is covered or do a PA? The majority of the time they change the drug because they can't be bothered. Quicker and more efficient and gets the patient the meds faster.
3. Just because it says on the script "start taking on 6/3 and continue throughout 6/10" and you're filling it on the 5th doesn't mean you have to stop the entire pharmacy, try to call the office and speak to the doctor, only for him to be like lolwut? And then call the pharmacist in the store down the road and ask what they would do, only to finally fill the prescription without the date written on the directions. Thanks for wasting 45 minutes and backing everything up. Use common sense.
4. Scan in your own prescriptions. Don't hand them to someone else. It is very annoying and shows a lack of respect. Unless the tech offers to.
5. Don't make promises to something you can't fulfill. Telling someone that they'll get their prescription for free because the doctor's office messed up is a no no. They have to take that up with the doctor's office because you didn't do anything incorrectly. When in doubt, say you don't have the authority to do that and ask them to speak to the pharmacy manager.
6. Become BFF's with the market scheduler and when it comes to getting time off, you shouldn't have a problem.
7. Don't cap everything and anything. Review the patient profile first to see if they taken the medication before. If they have been on the medication, and you cap it just to have them answer the question "we have on file you are allergic to X, have you taken Q before?" the techs will be annoyed with you because the patient will respond that they've been taking it for 5 years now without an issue. Also, putting a cap on something to verify the DoB because the doctor didn't call the script in with one is annoying. Write a note on the leaflet and let the techs know to ask. Unless its a common name like Jane smith or if you have 2 people with the same name in your computer. Then you can cap it.
8. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but prior authorizations are a common issue. What exactly is it? The prescribed medication or dosage is not on the insurance's formulary (list of preferred drugs, which are usually therapeutically similar and cheaper). The doctor, or in most lazy doctor cases the medical assistant, needs to contact the insurance company and answer a few questions regarding why they are choosing this over certain other drugs. Usually these questions include if the prescriber has tried alternative therapies first, or if the patient has an intolerance to them, or blah blah blah. It's all out of your control, and the best you can do is contact the office and ask them to do the PA (usually a fax you send them). If the patient is giving you a hard time, offer to call the insurance and check the status of the PA. 9 out of 10 times, when you offer to do this, the office hasn't even started the PA yet. Tell the patient to contact the office. Takes the heat off of you though.
9. When you are training, ask what the most confusing insurance to figure out is. Medicaid in my state has 5 different looking cards, with 5 different names. Each one has no processing information on it, except the ID number, so the only way you can know if it's Medicaid is pure memorization.
10. When someone hands you an insurance card, usually there is an RX on the card to denote that the policy had prescription coverage. If the rx is missing, they usually have coverage through another company.
11. For ALL Medco claims (PAID), you require a 3 digit person code (001,002,003) at the end of the ID number and you MUST link to head of household in order for claim to go through. Most of the time, you can trick the computer by linking the person themself as the head of household. It doesn't check to see if you're correct, it just checks to see if there's a link.
12. Learn which companies require a group number, person code, and which don't. Write them down or remember to f10 so when you're alone at night and can't figure out why the caremark claim won't go through because you didn't put in a group number, you have something to reference. Also, f10 is your friend when you're learning insurances. It tells you if you need a person code or group number and all the basic stuff to get the claim to go through.
13. Read the reject field entirely. Sometimes you'll get multiple messages saying doctor not enrolled prior authorization required refill too soon until aug 13 12. Guess which one it is?! Refill too soon. It's usually the easiest problem to fix when you have multiple messages. Don't tell someone it's a prior auth when it's just refill too soon!! If you're not sure what the reject is, ask someone else! If you still cant figure it out, call the insurance.
14. When you call insurance, don't let them tell you they can't pull up the patient's information. Most of the time, they choose not to listen to you when you spell out the ID for them and they punch in different numbers and letters. Have them read the ID back to you, or the name and dob. I usually read out the Letters in the ID as M for Mary, N for nancy, Z for zebra, etc. It increases the chance they'll get it the first time. However, I have had people when I say M for Mary, still punch it in as N. sigh.
15. Finally, don't just put a msc on something and not tell anyone about it. This makes patients angry if you just tell them theres a problem with a prescription and didn't do anything to resolve it or attempt to resolve it. Tell the techs that this Rx needs to be called on to verify the drug, or dosing, or allergy interaction. Someone will usually call and try to get in touch with the doctor for you and then give you the call if you ask them to do so.
Always show that you made an effort to fix the patient's problem and they won't be as angry with you. Always use positive language saying, let's see what we can do for you. Let me look into this for you, etc.
Ps. IGNORE ALL RUDE COMMENTS. Most of the time, people who come to the pharmacy don't feel well and are cranky. They usually don't mean what they say. Just let it roll off your shoulders and joke about it with your coworkers later.
It's a really bad time to join Walgreens right now. This whole company is doing a complete 180 degree turn and is going down the sht hole.
BUT since you have already signed on with WAGS...my advice is to learn how to type really fast...and the only way to do that is to NEVER USE YOUR MOUSE. YOU WILL BE TEMPTED BUT DON'T.
ALWAYS USE KEYBOARD...and SIG CODES when typing. It makes everything really efficient and fast.
For example: script says "take 1 tablet by mouth every day"
You type in: + D
Label reads: Take 1 tablet by mouth daily.
thank you guys for all the great advice on this thread. Just completed day 2 of training and so far so good. I even get 30 mins breaks and both pharmacists at the store get lunch breaks as well. It's alot to learn in 2 weeks ( doing the PPL training and actual training at the same time ) but it's doable. the only concern I have is that the pharmacist training me has never trained a pharmacist before and he just kept asking me what I want to learn.
thanks for taking out time to write such a detailed response..
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During training you do not see the ugly side or I will say feel.
You mentioned the other pharmacists also get a chance to have lunch that is great and rare now a days.
My pharmacist who trained me also didnt have much experience in training and she never had the time to ask me what I want to learn
Atleast, they are asking
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You'll be lucky if you actually get the two weeks of training. My two weeks with Wags turned into one weekend of training and then a Monday morning shift by myself at the busiest store in the district. Good luck.
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Yep...same thing happened to me.
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OP, dont listen to negatoids on this forum. You might end up liking retail once you know what you are doing. I have a couple of friends who absolutely love working for cvs.
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Dude put the crack pipe down.....Rule #1 of SDN...Do not post while on the crack as it is whack.
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It is absolutely hard for me to believe that a sane person can love working retail.
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hehe..Hey, you never know. Lets give the girl a chance.
someone gotta do it (retail)...
owlegrad
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Yes, I am sure of all the 150,000+ retail pharmacists in the US not one sane one could possibly love their job. Apt observation indeed.
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I love working retail. I also love working hospital. There are pros & cons to any job....sure there are people who are not cut out for retail (and people not cut out for hospital), but many times if someone can't stand their job, its either because that particular job is bad or the person is just misfitted for that particular job--not that the person is not cut out for any possible jobs in that arena.
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Been in 31 pharmacies in 4 states, have had many days when I wanted to put my head in the wall but retail is where my heart is.
I don't think that's what I'll be doing every day of my career, but I certainly dread the day when I have to leave it.
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I don't think its retail itself that is bad. I actually enjoy being in front of patients. Its when the pharmacy isn't adequately staffed that you run into problems.
The same happens in hospital. The stress level was so high when we had less staff. Now we are a well oiled machine.
The same happens in hospital. The stress level was so high when we had less staff. Now we are a well oiled machine.
Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice on this thread. Just completed the two weeks training yesterday. It wasn't bad at all. Intercom plus is a very easy system to learn and it basically does everything for you. I enjoy retail and can't see myself working in hospital, pbm or ltc. I will be bored out of my mind. The patients were nice and very appreciative. I did "new to therapy call" yesterday and was amazed at how appreciative they were that we were calling to check if they have any concern with their new therapy.
One thing I didn't like was patients bringing in their entire grocery to check out at the pharmacy. it felt like I was bagging groceries at walmart. I also feel that the people that call in prescription from the doctors offices are very rude. In my honest opinion, they are worst than the patients. I wonder how many people they have killed by calling in the wrong prescriptions.
I hope I won't have to take back any of the comments I made above. I'm looking forward to having a good experience with Walgreens
One thing I didn't like was patients bringing in their entire grocery to check out at the pharmacy. it felt like I was bagging groceries at walmart. I also feel that the people that call in prescription from the doctors offices are very rude. In my honest opinion, they are worst than the patients. I wonder how many people they have killed by calling in the wrong prescriptions.
I hope I won't have to take back any of the comments I made above. I'm looking forward to having a good experience with Walgreens
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Yeah, I kinda dig the new to therapy calls. It seems to change the dynamic with customer's perceptions like us actually caring about how they are doing. People are usually pretty floored we're calling without being able to make money on the call (or at least that's how I perceive it).
