Desturbing Trend

I wanted to comment on a disturbing trend I've noticed lately. I get alot of "floater" pharmacists through my store due to vacation coverage and whatnot. Many of these are young, newly licensed pharmacists. The trend I'm seeing is young, mostly male pharmacists who are treating their job as if it is just a spring-board to something bigger and better. I see them spending a majority of their time at work on the phone "workin' a deal" of some kind. I've even seen them bring their lap-top to work so they can work their on-line business in their "spare" time. It just amazes me! I spent six years in school to become  a pharmacist. That's what I wanted to be when I was done. Most of these guys are talking about owning or working a business from their computers so that they can do what? Sit around all day on the computer? Uh, we do that anyway (minus the sitting part). They say they want to spend a few years in pharmacy and make enough money to quit and do something else. I don't know what kind of money they think we are making. I mean I know it sounds like alot to a starving college kid, but when you factor in taxes and life in general, we do o.k. but not much past that. I guess it just disturbs me that their focus is not on pharmacy as a profession but as a tool for something else. Where is the pride in that? Obviously these guys had someone else pay for their education, because if they have student loans then that is just one more factor in when they can "quit and do something else". Some could argue that it's no different than the women that only work a few years then quit to have babies, but somehow I see a difference there. It's a sacrifice rather than a selfishness, maybe.
I don't know. I just really had to comment on this trend. For someone who loves being a pharmacist regardless of all the negativity out there, it's just disturbing. I almost feel like I have an enemy in the camp. We spend so much of our time defending what we do as a profession then we have these young people coming right into our midst and under-mining our work. I wouldn't consider someone a professional if, while filling my prescription, they were working a deal on the phone to sell their brand of energy bars (true case). Not only is this a conflict of interest by selling product similar to that of you employer's but it is stealing. Yes, I said stealing. When you are paid to do a job and you spend your paid time doing something else, that is stealing. If you paid a babysitter to watch you kids and she spent the entire time in bed with her boyfriend, would you feel like paying her? It's called Self Interest and it takes the care out of health care.
Maybe this is just a trend in my area, I don't know.

Here We Go Again

Here we go. My store was robbed again on Tuesday. Thankfully no one was hurt. That makes twice in less than four months. I practice in a very small town so if we are having this much trouble I can only imagine what it's like in larger cities. Over the years I have seen this job become more and more dangerous and most people have no idea. I have always said that this job is 90% law enforcement only we don't get to carry weapons or wear body armour. At what point are the corporations going to add more safety precautions to our stores? We have counseling windows that are so low that anyone can jump across them with no difficulty. Why do they have to be so low? When I posed that question to my superior I was told that they have to be handicapped accessible. Uh, if someone is in a wheelchair I can easily leave the pharmacy to counsel them face-to-face, I don't have to do it at the designated window.
  I know I'm rambling but I am very concerned about this. The perpetrator came to the window and handed the technician a note that said, "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the f**ing hard way!" The tech gave the note to the pharmacist who proceeded to give the guy what he wanted. This was a real threat even though a weapon was not produced. The guy left with no further difficulty. Then my company steps in. They didn't close the pharmacy or allow the staff to go home to recoup. So, it's the first of the month, busy as all get out and my staff pharmacist is having to talk to the police in-between counseling and filling prescriptions! At no time was it even offered to my staff to take a break or go home all together. Then the real kicker is that I, as Pharmacist-in-Charge, was not even notified that this had happened. I was off that day and no one bothered to call me. I didn't find out until the next day when I went to work. I'm a little upset about this situation as you can tell. My staff were courageous and handled this situation with poise and professionalism. My company on the other hand left alot to be desired.

The Results Are In!!

  After many responses to my last post, the results are unanimous: Certified Pharmacy Technicians are healthcare professionals. Everyone pretty much has the same opinion that if the job requires specialized training, education and licensing then it qualifies as a profession. I was not surprised by the results. That being said, I have to denounce Walgreens for making their technicians work as cashiers on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They would not have gotten away with asking the pharmacists to do the same. I have also seen a marked change in attitude toward my technicians ever since. The rest of the front-end staff is treating them like "hey, if you can do my job I'm sure that I could do yours just as easily". This practice devalued my staff in the eyes of other employees and store management. I'm not saying that the techs are personally better than the front-end help but I am saying that they are professionally better and should be treated as such. I know it's a mute point because starting this year all Walgreens pharmacies will be open so the techs will have to work the holidays, but at least they will be doing "techy" things instead of selling cigarettes. And at least they will have more than 2 weeks notice that they will have to work..unlike last year.
  I want to extend a huge thank you to all the technicians out there who acted as team players and did their best in the position they were placed in. This in itself proves that you are consummate professionals! You make me proud every day that I work with you. I know that this blog is anonymous but my "thank you" goes out to not only my own staff but all the hard working technicians across the country (and elsewhere). We cannot do our jobs without you nor do we want to try!
  My state is implementing a law this year that will require all technicians to be certified. That tells me that even the state board recognizes that the job requires special training and dedication which is the hallmark of a professional!!

Update and Question For The Masses

  I know I haven't posted much recently. With the onset of colder weather, I am struggling with worsening rheumatoid arthritis. Typing is difficult. Working is difficult. Being patient with my patients is difficult. Being patient with my employer is most difficult. In an industry where speed is valued over anything else, there isn't much room for someone who has difficulty moving quickly or needs help getting lids off bottles. Luckily, I'm a good manager and my store is doing well enough that some of my short-comings are over looked.
  The question I wanted to pose to the masses is this: Are certified pharmacy technicians considered healthcare professionals? I want to state right away that my answer to this is a resounding "YES"! However, I think there are some employers who do not agree. My company made the decision several weeks ago that if a technician worked in a store that had the pharmacy closed on Thanksgiving or Christmas, that the technicians had to work one of the holidays as a front-end cashier. What kind of message did that decision send to these valued employees? It said, "We don't think of you as healthcare providers. We don't care that you already had plans made for your holidays (the decision was passed down a mere 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving). We don't care that you had to study and pass a certification exam. On these days you are no different than the unskilled, minimum wage cashiers that we employ." Now the next question is: What message did this decision send to the customers of the store? Many of these customers were regulars to the store. They saw their pharmacy technician behind the front counter selling cigarettes. That, in my eyes, was the wrong message to send. The techs had no choice in this but yet their reputation as a caring healthcare professional was tainted by this decision made by some out-of -touch corporate flunky who was probably trying to impress someone. And who didn't have to work the holiday himself.  Not to mention the fact that because it was a holiday everyone that worked was getting paid double-time. I don't know, I'm not a business major, but that math doesn't add up to me. Minimum was vs. CPhT wage? Hmmmm!
  Anyway, I would like to hear some thoughts on this subject.  I actually had one of my best technicians quit over it. She went to work for a PBM where she has a cubical, a desk and an hour lunch break. She evaluates prior authorization requests. It sounds to me like she made the right decision, don't ya think? Let me hear from you on this. I would like to know if any other companies made such a stupid decision to try and alienate some of their most valued professionals.