What to do?

[Charcoales]

I've been scheduled at this extremely busy and understaffed store for overnights... The biggest issue I'm finding is that this store gets a Non-Stop stream of calls almost all night long, with tons of compounds and massive amount of prescriptions being printed off, easily over 150 a night, with massive delete lists, and constant stream of ER scripts... Anyway, I've been told by the RXM to have phones be last priority (I agree since if one tried to answer even a quarter of the calls that come in you'd leave easily almost 70 to fill for the morning crew to do...).

ANYWAY, the issue I'm having is the front end people putting people on park and calling over the intercom for me to pickup... it's happening more and more and the front end people get snooty if I don't pickup within 5 minutes... Like wtf... The front end never EVER helps in the pharmacy either, I would get laughed at even suggesting any help. If I do answer all these calls there is like 60-70 to fill in the morning... If I don't the front end people probably going to start threatening me to get written up or something... Like wtf

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[WVUPharm2007]

I've worked at two different stores that get 250+ of Readyfill and the phones are never really that much of a problem at either. Like 1-2 calls an hour maybe. Why the hell are you getting so many calls that you can't do your job? This sounds rather bizarre. Are you in Florida with a bunch of lonely retirees or something? If the PIC told you to do something, the front store people can pound sand. Hell, they can pound sand in general, period. They aren't your boss, supervisor, or even peer. Tell them your real supervisor told you to do it his way and not their way. Pretty simple.

 

[Charcoales]

I've worked at two different stores that get 250+ of Readyfill and the phones are never really that much of a problem at either. Like 1-2 calls an hour maybe. Why the hell are you getting so many calls that you can't do your job? This sounds rather bizarre. Are you in Florida with a bunch of lonely retirees or something? If the PIC told you to do something, the front store people can pound sand. Hell, they can pound sand in general, period. They aren't your boss, supervisor, or even peer. Tell them your real supervisor told you to do it his way and not their way. Pretty simple.

many of these phone calls are people slowly going through their 10+ long medlist asking what each does again and asking for refills of medications they just picked up and then getting angry with many excuses when I won't fill controls early.

 

[RxPreceptor]

many of these phone calls are people slowly going through their 10+ long medlist asking what each does again and asking for refills of medications they just picked up and then getting angry with many excuses when I won't fill controls early.

Welcome to overnight...those control seekers are obviously wanting to hear a different answer vs. what the daytime shift already told them & those wanting to check their med lists likely forgot already, again, after asking during day time hours. Having fun yet getting calls to see if you can check if there is a particular store front item in-stock & @ what sale price?

 

[Charcoales]

Yep it's really rough, the last overnight quit because there would be 100+ to fill in the am since he would try to answer calls that came in overnight welp...

 

[lord999]

What model of phone does your pharmacy use? There's some engineering tricks to disable the ringer. And while not nice, if you have to pick between no win situations, push off the 10 drugs comments with "I have a physician on the other, I'm sorry as that is an urgent matter" or some script that call back in the AM.

I'd tend to say that E/R waiters have first priority as they'll cause an immediate problem if you don't attend to them. And also, you get done what you can get done. No help = 100% utilization of the pharmacist, and what you don't get done, just isn't going to get done. I assume that you're not particularly incompetent, so you need to do it by the numbers, whatever the RxM counts.

 

[owlegrad]

I used to use a headset so I could keep working while grandma described the color and constitution of her last three bowel movements. Most of the time I think they just wanted someone to talk to.

 

[Charcoales]

I used to use a headset so I could keep working while grandma described the color and constitution of her last three bowel movements. Most of the time I think they just wanted someone to talk to.

Which headsets work with walgreen phones?

 

[owlegrad]

Which headsets work with walgreen phones?

You can find anything on Amazon.

 

[Charcoales]

You can find anything on Amazon.

I just plug it into the telephone jack or sumthin?

 

[lord999]

I just plug it into the telephone jack or sumthin?

It depends, that's why to look for the model. Some IP phones, you can't plug into the jack directly.

 

[Lnsean]

damn this overnight gig sounds stressful as fuk...daytime must be a zoo there

 

[gwarm01]

damn this overnight gig sounds stressful as fuk...daytime must be a zoo there

Yeah no kidding. I did some overnight at a hospital in a major metro area and it wasn't that bad. Maybe one night here and there with multiple ECMO patients or something, but generally it was pretty laid back.

 

[quickpic007]

I've been scheduled at this extremely busy and understaffed store for overnights... The biggest issue I'm finding is that this store gets a Non-Stop stream of calls almost all night long, with tons of compounds and massive amount of prescriptions being printed off, easily over 150 a night, with massive delete lists, and constant stream of ER scripts... Anyway, I've been told by the RXM to have phones be last priority (I agree since if one tried to answer even a quarter of the calls that come in you'd leave easily almost 70 to fill for the morning crew to do...).

ANYWAY, the issue I'm having is the front end people putting people on park and calling over the intercom for me to pickup... it's happening more and more and the front end people get snooty if I don't pickup within 5 minutes... Like wtf... The front end never EVER helps in the pharmacy either, I would get laughed at even suggesting any help. If I do answer all these calls there is like 60-70 to fill in the morning... If I don't the front end people probably going to start threatening me to get written up or something... Like wtf

let each call go for at least a couple min, many dumb question people will hang up.
compounds should be worked on the minute u arrive should be done before midnight
do not answer phone unless its dr line when techs are present/available
make sure techs help with returns/deletes (reset the expectation that this is your job it should be theirs)

 

[wucool33]

What compounding are you guys talking about? I’ve read that multiple times on this forum already. I have never had to do any compounds. I mean if you consider magic mouth wash as a compound, then maybe one or two here and there...

 

[Charcoales]

What compounding are you guys talking about? I’ve read that multiple times on this forum already. I have never had to do any compounds. I mean if you consider magic mouth wash as a compound, then maybe one or two here and there...

Like 5-7 a night usually .5-1 pound of random steriod + aquaphor, or drug suspension (X drug + ora-plus + ora-sweet)

 

[wucool33]

Like 5-7 a night usually .5-1 pound of random steriod + aquaphor, or drug suspension (X drug + ora-plus + ora-sweet)

Damn I have never done any of those day or night... is this an east coast thing? Lol

 

[Charcoales]

Damn I have never done any of those day or night... is this an east coast thing? Lol

our state's medicaid will cover it ($0 copay), that may be why

 

[RxPreceptor]

I don't know about your place but returns (including other metric enhancing efforts) can take up to 2 hours @ my location. If you have the luxury of tech help, have 1 of them do RTS. Of course no one during the day dare perform a single return, they just toss them in a basket for me to sort through.

Got to have time to discuss BMs you know. But really, it is essential to do automation stuff overnight because daytime will be messed up otherwise causing a circle of chaos

 

[rockpharm]

Just unplug all the phones in the store except 1

 

[gwarm01]

Just unplug all the phones in the store except 1

 

[BidingMyTime]

It can be tricky to learn, but you have to be able to cut people off. Answer the call, listen for a couple of minutes as was suggested, then either give them an answer (if they have articulated the problem in any sort of way), or cut them off by telling them you must help other customers (which you are by filling prescriptions and doing compounds.) And it's essential that you keep working while giving them the 2 minutes to talk. Some people are practiced and won't stop ever stop for a breath, you have to be assertive and interrupt them and tell them you have to attend to other customers. Then just hang up. You want to do what you can to answer genuine questions and issues, but many people just want to talk or have issues that you can not help with (ie when someone tells me about some invasive problem and that they've already been to 3 specialists who haven't helped them, but wants to know what I would suggest....yeah right.)

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

It can be tricky to learn, but you have to be able to cut people off. Answer the call, listen for a couple of minutes as was suggested, then either give them an answer (if they have articulated the problem in any sort of way), or cut them off by telling them you must help other customers (which you are by filling prescriptions and doing compounds.) And it's essential that you keep working while giving them the 2 minutes to talk. Some people are practiced and won't stop ever stop for a breath, you have to be assertive and interrupt them and tell them you have to attend to other customers. Then just hang up. You want to do what you can to answer genuine questions and issues, but many people just want to talk or have issues that you can not help with (ie when someone tells me about some invasive problem and that they've already been to 3 specialists who haven't helped them, but wants to know what I would suggest....yeah right.)

You have to be able to screen the people who are calling just to tell the MD/pharmacist who's getting in the way of their fix, "well this pharmacist at X pharmacy said it was ok!!!"

They all kinda sound the same

 

[GrapePropel]

I used to use a headset so I could keep working while grandma described the color and constitution of her last three bowel movements. Most of the time I think they just wanted someone to talk to.

pure gold