working alone & multitasking

[Muse600]

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alright, I'm having a tough time with this...

if I'm by myself for the first 1-1/2 hours or few hours at stores with less tech help, I just get backed up

from the moment I get in, I try to resolve the issues from the night before, and then I can literally be stuck answering call, after call, after call, and ringing customers out before I actually start emptying the queue...sometimes I won't even start until a tech can relieve me from the phone or the front

any pointers? new rph, licensed this year

I can post my morning routine if that helps

 

[Estrace]

I am going through the same thing now. I want to know too.

 

[Momus]

You do what you can...

You are a new rph. Your speed will dramatically improve with time.

Some practical ways I use to maximize efficiency, some of these might sound silly but I've been known to be one of the fastest pharmacists in 3 districts:

• Learn ALL the short cuts WITHOUT using a mouse (I used to be semipro gamer playing RTS game; this comes naturally)
• Place everything within arm distance: trash bin, vials, supplies, pads. Move it close to you even if it breaks the normal placement of items
• Count pill out of stock bottle 10 out of 100 = 90, 40 out of 100 = 60, dump the remaining to new vial
• Stock pile CII rxs you do and file them at the end of the day
• Print multiple labels at once and pull them away using a huge basket so you don't go back and forth
• Type really fast and double check your work as you type them so you don't have to check again when finalizing
• Search using dob first on everything, when pt calls, when pt picks up or drops off rx, it minimizes error and save time on spelling/finding stuff not done
• Know your insurance problems better than your tech
• Let your tech do go backs, focus on getting rxs done
• Learn to say "I'll be right with you" to customers and finish what you are doing before helping them - minimize error
• Try not to call MD so often on small problems
• Defer stuff that takes a while to figure out if you can, and ask someone who knows. Simply stop wasting time.
• When ringing people up, you can leave them and do a quick bagging/pill count or whatever else you can do to squeeze 1-2 task. This tends to drive customer service down, don't do it often unless you are really backed up.
• Put many notes in your own patient profile, INS problems, collections of phone numbers/fax, dosing, whatever you want to put there that reduces time to search for redundant information. When you travel across districts, you pull up your profile and all your notes stay with you.
• Try to find little inefficiencies in what you do and improve them as best as you can, if you can save 5 seconds, do it. Learn from your coworker who is really fast.

It's sad but this is retail.

 

[Ackj]

I have wondered about this as well. I often work 1:1 just a pharmacist and myself, but not all stores have interns, and most pharmacists will work alone from time to time (usually closing hours, not opening). If you're at the counter ringing someone up, and the phone starts ringing, do you tell the patient to wait a moment and answer it or just let it go ringing? Obviously you won't have much time to help somebody find a product in the aisle, but if you do, there's nobody to get the phone while you're helping them.

 

[Momus]

If you're at the counter ringing someone up, and the phone starts ringing, do you tell the patient to wait a moment and answer it or just let it go ringing? Obviously you won't have much time to help somebody find a product in the aisle, but if you do, there's nobody to get the phone while you're helping them.

Answer the phone "Could you please hold, I have 3 patients ahead of you?".

I go out and tell them I can't leave the pharmacy too long, and point the product talk less than 1 min and head back to pharmacy. Or, if they just want to find a particular item, I page "Customer service isle 5"

Another thing, don't ever wait around and waste time, keep doing something:
- Don't wait until screen load/insurance process
- Don't wait until printer finish printing receipts
- Do stuff in batches instead of one, wait, one wait....
- On the phone on hold, keep counting those pills and process rxs!

 

[Sparda29]

You do what you can...

You are a new rph. Your speed will dramatically improve with time.

Some practical ways I use to maximize efficiency, some of these might sound silly but I've been known to be one of the fastest pharmacists in 3 districts:

• 
  [*]Learn ALL the short cuts WITHOUT using a mouse (I used to be semipro gamer playing RTS game; this comes naturally)
• Place everything within arm distance: trash bin, vials, supplies, pads. Move it close to you even if it breaks the normal placement of items
• Count pill out of stock bottle 10 out of 100 = 90, 40 out of 100 = 60, dump the remaining to new vial
• Stock pile CII rxs you do and file them at the end of the day
• Print multiple labels at once and pull them away using a huge basket so you don't go back and forth
• Type really fast and double check your work as you type them so you don't have to check again when finalizing
• Search using dob first on everything, when pt calls, when pt picks up or drops off rx, it minimizes error and save time on spelling/finding stuff not done
• Know your insurance problems better than your tech
• Let your tech do go backs, focus on getting rxs done
• Learn to say "I'll be right with you" to customers and finish what you are doing before helping them - minimize error
• Try not to call MD so often on small problems
• Defer stuff that takes a while to figure out if you can, and ask someone who knows. Simply stop wasting time.
• When ringing people up, you can leave them and do a quick bagging/pill count or whatever else you can do to squeeze 1-2 task. This tends to drive customer service down, don't do it often unless you are really backed up.
• Put many notes in your own patient profile, INS problems, collections of phone numbers/fax, dosing, whatever you want to put there that reduces time to search for redundant information. When you travel across districts, you pull up your profile and all your notes stay with you.
• Try to find little inefficiencies in what you do and improve them as best as you can, if you can save 5 seconds, do it. Learn from your coworker who is really fast.

It's sad but this is retail.

This is probably my best strength. My APM in SC2 was around 150 actions/minute.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

This is probably my best strength. My APM in SC2 was around 150 actions/minute.

lets play some sc2. are you masters yet?

Momus gave some tips. I am going to add on to it.

Send doctor phone call to voicemails unless it is important stuff. A lot of the staff in the doctors office feels the need to talk to a pharmacist even for simple stuff like maintaince medication refills when they dont have to.

If it helps, have a small notebook for to do list/reminders. Print out the screen of what you have to work on so you can get back to it when you do have more help.

Say no to customers for courtesy things like calling to find out their insurance cards if you are really behind.

Use your time efficiently. For example... a lot of doctor's office close from 12-1 for lunch. Take advantage of that time to send your techs on break or fix insurance issues.

 

[Hope1974]

Take the phone off the hook. Make some of the lines busy. That's the only way. It's a loose loose situation keeping a person on hold or not answering the phones.

Patient wants to wait for a medication:
Drugs not in stock?

System down or slow?

Medicaid insurance is down right now.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I usually wait to answer the phone until I'm finished with the person/people at the counter or drive-thru. If someone walks up and I'm on the phone, then they have to wait until I'm finished on the phone until I help them at the counter.

Get to know where things are and memorize each store's layout so that you can tell a customer exactly where something is instead of its general area; this cuts down on the amount of time that gets wasted whenever they come back to counter because they can't find the product.

If you haven't done it already, take a typing class!!!!!

 

[clachan3]

alright, I'm having a tough time with this...

if I'm by myself for the first 1-1/2 hours or few hours at stores with less tech help, I just get backed up

from the moment I get in, I try to resolve the issues from the night before, and then I can literally be stuck answering call, after call, after call, and ringing customers out before I actually start emptying the queue...sometimes I won't even start until a tech can relieve me from the phone or the front

any pointers? new rph, licensed this year

I can post my morning routine if that helps

Same thing here at Target. Probably a tad worse since we are using PDX plus origami. I've been a retail (I know it's supposed to be called community) pharmacist for a few years now, been with Target for almost 2. At CVS we used to fill about 5 times more scripts, so I'm used to doing things quickly. I'd say I'm faster than I used to be when I had techs, but I don't have huge script count to show. Other people look at my script count and wonder what I did all day. Actually I had been working my butt off.

Here is what I do in the morning (always work alone until after lunch)
- File reports
- Print return to stock (complete right away or later)
- Check recalls
- Look through MD calls (see which ones needs to be called first)
- Make MD calls - I always do something else while I'm on hold (file reports, check recalls, fold rx labels, etc) I also leave them voicemails when ever possible and just have them call me back, finish calls by 12p
- Print and fill rx due in the next 3 hours
- Fill in coming new scripts
- Print the rest of the autofill queue before tech comes in

What time does your tech come in? Working alone is not easy, especially if you're at a location with constant interruptions. I guess it depends on what kind of day you are having too. Sometimes I can fill almost 40 scripts by myself, put most of the order away by 1:30p, but sometimes the phone just wouldn't stop ringing, and I barely get my autofill queue printed by the time my tech comes in at 2p.

I also put in coming calls on hold if I'm in the middle of something so I can finish what I am doing. In store guests always come first, and they can always leave us a voicemail or call us back later if they can't hold. When ringing up scripts I just do the basic if it's refills.

 

[clachan3]

Answer the phone "Could you please hold, I have 3 patients ahead of you?".

I go out and tell them I can't leave the pharmacy too long, and point the product talk less than 1 min and head back to pharmacy. Or, if they just want to find a particular item, I page "Customer service isle 5"

Another thing, don't ever wait around and waste time, keep doing something:
- Don't wait until screen load/insurance process
- Don't wait until printer finish printing receipts
- Do stuff in batches instead of one, wait, one wait....
- On the phone on hold, keep counting those pills and process rxs!

Yup, I also do the same thing when waiting for screen or printer. I still talk to the guests in the isle, I'd ask if there is anything else they need as soon as I'm done helping them the best I can, then leave 🙂

 

[clachan3]

Take the phone off the hook. Make some of the lines busy. That's the only way. It's a loose loose situation keeping a person on hold or not answering the phones.

Patient wants to wait for a medication:
Drugs not in stock?

System down or slow?

Medicaid insurance is down right now.

I can't take phone off the hook with cisco phones. I wish I could though One time I put a pharmacist who needed a copy on hold, and he called to complain to the store manager/my boss and said I wouldn't answer the phone. At least he still had a tech at the grocery store pharmacy, I was working alone 🙄

 

[clachan3]

lets play some sc2. are you masters yet?

Momus gave some tips. I am going to add on to it.

Send doctor phone call to voicemails unless it is important stuff. A lot of the staff in the doctors office feels the need to talk to a pharmacist even for simple stuff like maintaince medication refills when they dont have to.

If it helps, have a small notebook for to do list/reminders. Print out the screen of what you have to work on so you can get back to it when you do have more help.

Say no to customers for courtesy things like calling to find out their insurance cards if you are really behind.

Use your time efficiently. For example... a lot of doctor's office close from 12-1 for lunch. Take advantage of that time to send your techs on break or fix insurance issues.

I still call insurance for guests if it's an elderly or when time allows. If they don't have any rx coverage info at all, I won't call insurance either. I just show them what I need, they'll just have to bring back their info (BIN, PCN, ID, Group, etc) Definitely not calling guests or insurance on anything less than $40. 12p to 1p is also my catch up time. It's nice when scripts stop coming in for a while, and no calls from MD.

 

[clachan3]

I have wondered about this as well. I often work 1:1 just a pharmacist and myself, but not all stores have interns, and most pharmacists will work alone from time to time (usually closing hours, not opening). If you're at the counter ringing someone up, and the phone starts ringing, do you tell the patient to wait a moment and answer it or just let it go ringing? Obviously you won't have much time to help somebody find a product in the aisle, but if you do, there's nobody to get the phone while you're helping them.

I just let the phone ring. They can leave voicemail or call later. Sometimes I would put them on hold, but if I know I won't get to them at all, I'll just let it ring. If they want to complain, it's just another way to let corporate know, working alone is very inefficient. 🙄

 

[clachan3]

You do what you can...

You are a new rph. Your speed will dramatically improve with time.

Some practical ways I use to maximize efficiency, some of these might sound silly but I've been known to be one of the fastest pharmacists in 3 districts:

• Learn ALL the short cuts WITHOUT using a mouse (I used to be semipro gamer playing RTS game; this comes naturally)
• Place everything within arm distance: trash bin, vials, supplies, pads. Move it close to you even if it breaks the normal placement of items
• Count pill out of stock bottle 10 out of 100 = 90, 40 out of 100 = 60, dump the remaining to new vial
• Stock pile CII rxs you do and file them at the end of the day
• Print multiple labels at once and pull them away using a huge basket so you don't go back and forth
• Type really fast and double check your work as you type them so you don't have to check again when finalizing
• Search using dob first on everything, when pt calls, when pt picks up or drops off rx, it minimizes error and save time on spelling/finding stuff not done
• Know your insurance problems better than your tech
• Let your tech do go backs, focus on getting rxs done
• Learn to say "I'll be right with you" to customers and finish what you are doing before helping them - minimize error
• Try not to call MD so often on small problems
• Defer stuff that takes a while to figure out if you can, and ask someone who knows. Simply stop wasting time.
• When ringing people up, you can leave them and do a quick bagging/pill count or whatever else you can do to squeeze 1-2 task. This tends to drive customer service down, don't do it often unless you are really backed up.
• Put many notes in your own patient profile, INS problems, collections of phone numbers/fax, dosing, whatever you want to put there that reduces time to search for redundant information. When you travel across districts, you pull up your profile and all your notes stay with you.
• Try to find little inefficiencies in what you do and improve them as best as you can, if you can save 5 seconds, do it. Learn from your coworker who is really fast.

It's sad but this is retail.

You have a awesome list here, Momus. I think my partner needs to read this. 👍

 

[Ackj]

You do what you can...

• Count pill out of stock bottle 10 out of 100 = 90, 40 out of 100 = 60,

I always do the 10 for 90, but the 40 for 60 I'm not too sure. I tried a few of them the past few days, and I think it might be quicker to make four more spatula strokes than to open two bottles, count, put the amount back into a stock bottle, and then dump the remainder into a vial. Jury is still out for me, though.

 

[Rph2015]

Biggest thing in a pharmacy is the phone because it can waste a lot of time.
-learn to get on and off the phone quick. it frees up a lot of time for you and everyone else. One of our pharmacist is very very good at it and the other is very poor at it so when the other one works I try to beat her to the punch because sometimes she gets stuck for 10+ minutes for a simple 30 second phone call.
-also have your techs understand there is only one Rph, even if my pharmacist isn't busy but needs to catch up give the doc a little white lie and say hes counseling someone in the aisle, it might be a couple minutes. When they get a chance they will be able to handle the call.
-another thing is organize your labels that you print by bay and fast movers and birth controls. If we are really backed up when i come in the late afternoon to close, I will print stuff that I can slap a label on bc it at least clears the que at little. The que is a mental thing so the faster you get it out the better the day goes.
-pharmacy is all about prioritizing and time management

our pharmacy at 8am
-pharmacist clears 20-25 rejections that come in from autofill
-prints 9ams and around 30 fast movers
-by 830am these are all counted
-pulls another 30 and starts checking there rxs
-let the electronic scripts build up unless theres an antibiotic or something important
-by 10am the que is down to 3 or 4 pages
-someone does the pending inventory rxs and the que goes up a page
-hopefully between 12-2 the que will be at 3 or less pages and eventually cleared once more staff comes in

every pharmacy is different in volume and tech hours, but hopefully this helps

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Biggest thing in a pharmacy is the phone because it can waste a lot of time.
-learn to get on and off the phone quick. it frees up a lot of time for you and everyone else. One of our pharmacist is very very good at it and the other is very poor at it so when the other one works I try to beat her to the punch because sometimes she gets stuck for 10+ minutes for a simple 30 second phone call.
-also have your techs understand there is only one Rph, even if my pharmacist isn't busy but needs to catch up give the doc a little white lie and say hes counseling someone in the aisle, it might be a couple minutes. When they get a chance they will be able to handle the call.

OMG this. I used to be really fast when I was a full time tech, but now that I don't work as much, and I work at a bunch of different stores when I do, I got really slow.

People seem love to chat on the phone and explain a bunch of unnecessary information (not really their fault, they don't know what we need/don't need to know), but if you can answer them nicely and still get off the phone as quick as possible it will be invaluable. This is probably what I'm usually worst at, but there's a reason.

Also when you do have a tech/intern & someone asks directly for the pharmacist, tell them to say "it is something I could perhaps help you with?" or something like that. bc it often is.

Get a laser pointer if you find yourself stepping out of the pharmacy too much to point out the Bonine or Emetrol or whatever... this only works if you're close enough to the OTCs though. People seem to think it's funny/helpful & don't think it's rude or anything.

This has already been said & it depends on where you work, but if you can (some places frown upon this), I think it's helpful to print a bunch of labels & pull the bottles all at once. Then put the used bottles in a big bin until you're done instead of putting each one up back on the shelves.

Economy of movement might not really seem like it helps, but it does. If you're OCD like me & you can't stand disorganization, just quickly make sure everything is organized & lined up really well so you don't make a mistake.

GET A PHONE WHERE YOU CAN TALK HANDS FREE. This is a big problem for me because the phone slips when I try & hold it on my shoulder so it's hard for me to count/do stuff when both hands are needed.

It's weird because some pharmacists are slower stores tell me I'm fast or efficient, but then I feel sooo slow & stupid at my home store which is busy. Maybe I'm just usually tired when I work there or something... idk.

 

[amox]

The phone is a huge time waster, find a polite way to cut the patient's long and unneccesary story short. Answer however you do and say whats your last name?

"X Pharmacy, This is Y RPh, may I have your last name? And how may I help you?

With that info you can solve any problem in the que without the pt explaining anything. Sometimes I have to listen 2-3 minutes before I can cut them off.

Momus broke it down amazingly! I work at a pharmacy that does ~400/day and we have 1 drop off, 2 pickups, and a drive thru. It's hard sometimes!

 

[psychoandy]

I play fps...I guess k/d ratio is no substitute for APM and that's why I'm bad@retail.

 

[txpharmguy]

Depending upon your system, use a fax for rx clarifications... No rx date, qty missing, garbage sigs, etc. I work for WAG so we can scan image, type up rx, create a MSC exception and fax off rx image to MD pretty fast. Let customers know that the prescription was incomplete and we've contacted the MD for clarification. I know plenty of pharmacists who sit there on hold while trying to clarify rx and sometimes they don't do anything else. As a pharmacy manager, that drives me insane! Granted, if you're dealing with a sick kid or somebody who just had surgery, have the tech call and get somebody on the phone while you work on other tasks. Then, and only then, should you get on the phone to clarify rx. We work in an interruption driven business. You're success depends on how well you manage exceptions.

 

[Sparda29]

lets play some sc2. are you masters yet?

Momus gave some tips. I am going to add on to it.

Send doctor phone call to voicemails unless it is important stuff. A lot of the staff in the doctors office feels the need to talk to a pharmacist even for simple stuff like maintaince medication refills when they dont have to.

If it helps, have a small notebook for to do list/reminders. Print out the screen of what you have to work on so you can get back to it when you do have more help.

Say no to customers for courtesy things like calling to find out their insurance cards if you are really behind.

Use your time efficiently. For example... a lot of doctor's office close from 12-1 for lunch. Take advantage of that time to send your techs on break or fix insurance issues.

Not even close. I'm usually in high Silver league or mid Gold league. I had a MTM preceptor who is Top 8 in Masters League, he went to St. Johns and graduated in 2011. I was told I couldn't pass the rotation unless I lasted more than 10 minutes against him. Thank goodness for movable buildings. My main problem in the game is that I get tunnel-visioned onto doing one specific thing and forget to scout ahead, next thing I know there are dark templars tearing up my SCV line or my army walks onto enemy creep and banelings come out of the ground.

 

[Estrace]

Depending upon your system, use a fax for rx clarifications... No rx date, qty missing, garbage sigs, etc. I work for WAG so we can scan image, type up rx, create a MSC exception and fax off rx image to MD pretty fast. Let customers know that the prescription was incomplete and we've contacted the MD for clarification. I know plenty of pharmacists who sit there on hold while trying to clarify rx and sometimes they don't do anything else. As a pharmacy manager, that drives me insane! Granted, if you're dealing with a sick kid or somebody who just had surgery, have the tech call and get somebody on the phone while you work on other tasks. Then, and only then, should you get on the phone to clarify rx. We work in an interruption driven business. You're success depends on how well you manage exceptions.

Do you have any more tips for a new pharmacist with WAG ? I always ask the tech for easier ways of doing things but I have come to realize that some of them become an ass the moment they know you are new.

 

[txpharmguy]

Do you have any more tips for a new pharmacist with WAG ? I always ask the tech for easier ways of doing things but I have come to realize that some of them become an ass the moment they know you are new.

I'm assuming since you're new, you're probably floating. I'd say arrive a few minutes early and get to know layout of pharmacy and drug locations. First thing I do in the morning is clear out all data reviews...usually 10 minutes or so. When you're one tech and one RPh, the RPh does all the filling. I just let ALPS print for me. So, if I have 5 labels to fill, I go fill them place on belt and go back to data review. I look at number of F4s (data reviews to be done in next 2 hours) and I always add a couple to stay ahead or do a couple for other stores if that caught up. Then I product review. Then I'd check if there are voice mails. More labels print. Lather, rinse, repeat. When second tech comes in, I can focus solely on RPh duties. Caught up on data/product review? Start hitting the adherence calls. Do them in between tasks.
If you have a bunch of waiters and an immunization, everything will be filled in time order. I don't necessarily put an rx in front of an immunization (unless sick child, acute pain med, etc.). Complete all necessary data reviews and product reviews ahead of immunization (waiters with promise time ahead of immunization ). Make sure techs are filling waiting rxs (entered after immunization) while giving immunization. Come back and product review those. Obviously, everything depends on how good a tech you have.
Since the original topic is about pharmacist as a solo act, I'd get thru all my exceptions in the morning. Refax WCB >48 hours, Check unworked TPRs, look at DURs and MSC. Due to the volume of most WAGs, it's probably pretty rare that you'll be working a solo shift, unless it's the weekend at a brand new store or something.
I try to do as much WLB (work load balancing) as possible. I suppose I believe in karma. You can help those when help is needed, and it should help you when you're in the weeds.
Of course, you're day can be made or broken by the quality of technician you have. If you are working with a great one, thank them for their hard work after your shift. By the techs drinks or snacks.
If you have specific questions, you can always PM me or post a scenario and I'll tell you how I'd handle it.

 

[Estrace]

I'm assuming since you're new, you're probably floating. I'd say arrive a few minutes early and get to know layout of pharmacy and drug locations. First thing I do in the morning is clear out all data reviews...usually 10 minutes or so. When you're one tech and one RPh, the RPh does all the filling. I just let ALPS print for me. So, if I have 5 labels to fill, I go fill them place on belt and go back to data review. I look at number of F4s (data reviews to be done in next 2 hours) and I always add a couple to stay ahead or do a couple for other stores if that caught up. Then I product review. Then I'd check if there are voice mails. More labels print. Lather, rinse, repeat. When second tech comes in, I can focus solely on RPh duties. Caught up on data/product review? Start hitting the adherence calls. Do them in between tasks.
If you have a bunch of waiters and an immunization, everything will be filled in time order. I don't necessarily put an rx in front of an immunization (unless sick child, acute pain med, etc.). Complete all necessary data reviews and product reviews ahead of immunization (waiters with promise time ahead of immunization ). Make sure techs are filling waiting rxs (entered after immunization) while giving immunization. Come back and product review those. Obviously, everything depends on how good a tech you have.
Since the original topic is about pharmacist as a solo act, I'd get thru all my exceptions in the morning. Refax WCB >48 hours, Check unworked TPRs, look at DURs and MSC. Due to the volume of most WAGs, it's probably pretty rare that you'll be working a solo shift, unless it's the weekend at a brand new store or something.
I try to do as much WLB (work load balancing) as possible. I suppose I believe in karma. You can help those when help is needed, and it should help you when you're in the weeds.
Of course, you're day can be made or broken by the quality of technician you have. If you are working with a great one, thank them for their hard work after your shift. By the techs drinks or snacks.
If you have specific questions, you can always PM me or post a scenario and I'll tell you how I'd handle it.

Yes, I'm a floater. I clear out data reviews too first thing (if I'm opening). I do not like the idea of the pharmacist doing all the filling when you are working with one tech. It sounds easy if you have been working for WAG but it can be very challenging for a new pharmacist (especially for a floater). The first time I did it on a 12 hrs shift, I posted my lowest KPI score (58%). Now, I make the techs atleast pull the medications and then i fill. Every WAG is set up differently. It is a huge waste of time to be running around inbetween the shelves looking for meds.
I also agree that your day can be broken or made by the quality of the tech you are working with. I have worked with some really awesome techs and some lousy pharmacist wanna be ones.

I have worked alone a couple times ( tech comes in 2 hrs after I get there or leaves 2 hrs before closing).

I haven't started doing immunization. I just took the certification class and they said we can start as soon as possible but.......ha! scary cat like me, still taking my time.

What do you expect from floaters when they work at your store ? Just want to know what RxM appreciate most when done by floaters ?

Your advice on WAG issues on this forum is exceptional...thank you.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Depending on the state, there may not be work load balancing. We used to do it in Florida, but when I moved to Georgia I believe the BoP didn't want to allow it here.

 

[txpharmguy]

Yes, I'm a floater. I clear out data reviews too first thing (if I'm opening). I do not like the idea of the pharmacist doing all the filling when you are working with one tech. It sounds easy if you have been working for WAG but it can be very challenging for a new pharmacist (especially for a floater). The first time I did it on a 12 hrs shift, I posted my lowest KPI score (58%). Now, I make the techs atleast pull the medications and then i fill. Every WAG is set up differently. It is a huge waste of time to be running around inbetween the shelves looking for meds.
I also agree that your day can be broken or made by the quality of the tech you are working with. I have worked with some really awesome techs and some lousy pharmacist wanna be ones.

I have worked alone a couple times ( tech comes in 2 hrs after I get there or leaves 2 hrs before closing).

I haven't started doing immunization. I just took the certification class and they said we can start as soon as possible but.......ha! scary cat like me, still taking my time.

What do you expect from floaters when they work at your store ? Just want to know what RxM appreciate most when done by floaters ?

Your advice on WAG issues on this forum is exceptional...thank you.

If I come in for a closing shift after floater opens, I just hope it's not chaos when I walk in. If everything is going smoothly that's my expectation. Granted there's always going to be something that screws up any day, but don't let one task burden you too much. If at all possible, try to defer those to a later time or have Sr Tech help you out. If I'm opening after a floater closes the night before, I expect the filing to be done, trash emptied, counter clear and no clutter everywhere. Not too much to ask for 🙂