#pharmacy tech

[mylifeasaserver]

Son of Bitch!

Tragically, one of my jobs in the pharmacy is answering the phone.

Today I pick up and am greeted with "Listen you son of bitch" and knew I was about to make a new best friend.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me son of bitch. I want -" and then I hung up because abuse is not part of my job requirements.

He calls back. Caller ID tells me it's somebody who has been banned from the store because he's constantly abusive to staff. At this point he has to send his son in for his prescriptions because he's been trespassed. It will be enforced. I'm not sure what godforsaken hellhole he moved here from, but apparently you can be rude as shit there. He has yet to get the memo that doesn't fly here. Or maybe he's just dealt with retail long enough to know managers don't typically do shit.

"Motherfucker did you hang up on me?"

"Yes, and I will hang up every time until you learn to be polite. Goodbye." And then I hung up again.

Now he calls back.

"Get your manager motherfucker! Now!"

"No. Try again." And then I hung up again. I'm more than happy to spend my entire shift doing nothing but this. I can outlast him if nothing else.

The pharmacy manager, who listens to what's going on around him like it's his job or something, asks me what's up. I tell him who I'm talking to and what's happening. He offers to take the call.

No. This one is mine. I'll gleefully eat any punishment the job throws at me...but this is a battle I want to fight.

He calls a few more times, calls me motherfucker and son of bitch, and each time I just hung up on him. Mostly because fuck that guy in particular.

He calls back again and asks "Does anybody work there but you?"

"They sure do! But I've made sure I'm the one to take your calls. How can I help you?"

Finally, he requests his med refills without any further bullshit. I let him know when the meds will be ready, and he says "bitch" and hangs up.

I could be the bigger person. I could just fill what he needs. Or I could be the same dickhead I always am.

I cancelled all the refills and called him back.

"What?"

"Just wanted to let you know I cancelled those refills. You will get nothing until you can resist being abusive. Have a nice day."

Then, because I'm nothing if not consistent, I hang up.

This man called back, sounding positively exhausted but still angry.

He orders his meds again, I made him go through all of them again partially to ensure that I got them correct and partially to ensure that his suffering was maximized.

Finally he just hangs up. I'm 100% fine with that.

I've been thinking more and more about retiring and being done with people as a whole. -J

#retail #pharmacy tech #pharmacy

[renlo]

A good while ago, I worked as a pharmacy tech, and my husband made it clear that he thought scrubs were cute. I couldn't do any nurse duties, but I could fill a prescription for gabapentin pretty quickly, so that's neat!

#Art #Digital Art #Comic #Comics #Black Art #Black Artist #Procreate #Women of color #Woman of color #Person of color #People of color #WOC #POC #Black love #Pharmacy tech

[softeningthesound]

Non-exhaustive list of reasons behind the delay when you go to pick up your meds at the pharmacy, from a pharmacy tech

It's a long one, so there'll be a read more after the first few points and more in a reblog

Tech filled a prescription for an antibiotic, but when it gets to the pharmacist, they actually need to call the doctor and have the script changed because it’s the wrong antibiotic for the infection indicated. Doctor doesn’t answer at first. Pharmacist starts validating a refill but the doctor’s office calls back and the pharmacist has to stop what they were doing.

We haven’t had time to restock the shelves with all the medications that are lying in bins in the back, and we’re out of your medication on the floor so we need to look through the order list, figure out what bin your medication is, and go rummage in the back.

Someone’s calling to get a box of Covid tests, but we have to give them our rehearsed speech on how the handing out of Covid tests in pharmacies is actually now restricted, and has been since May, to certain patients who are unvaccinated and at risk or to patients who are financially in a situation where they can’t afford to buy them, so unfortunately, person on the phone, you’ll have to go to X center or X clinic to get them, where they’re handing them out no questions asked. This call takes three minutes.

We just received a fax for someone who’s just left the hospital and we have to prepare six new medications for them and when we call the patient, they can’t get to the pharmacy on their own and no one can pick up their meds for them, so we have to organize a taxi for that person’s meds. The pharmacist also has to explain all these treatments over the phone and answer any questions the patient may have, which always takes longer than in person.

The pharmacist had to see two other patients for advice on their medications, patients who had ordered in advance but who find out at the register that the pharmacist wants to speak to them or explain this new medication or what have you, so the pharmacist takes the time to see these two patients who did order before you and also want to leave the pharmacy.

The slot for a certain medication in our pill-counting machine is empty, so I have to go fill that.

Someone’s insurance didn’t go through because they have a new card or are with a new company, so they need to go back over to the first counter and have a tech update that in their file and print the new receipt.

We… don’t have a full time cashier, so the technicians need to take turns being at the register.

It’s lunch time and people are on break, which they rightfully deserve, so there’s an employee or two less than there usually is.

You came in at the same time as four other people who also wanted just a single refill, but we still fill them one after the other and can get interrupted by phone calls, by problems at the register, etc.

We need to substitute your dosage, which is back order, for two different dosages that you’ll take at the same time. This takes more time, because we need to copy the prescription and modify it, have the “new” prescription validated by the pharmacist, have the pharmacist, legally, explain the new posology to you even if you were told at the first counter that we were going to have to make that change.

Someone wants advice for a cough syrup, and as a technician, I am not legally allowed to give any recommendations even though I know for a fact that the pharmacist is just going to say that the cough syrups we sell don’t do anything and mostly just have a placebo effect and you should just drink water. The patient has to wait behind people who came in front of them, just so the pharmacist themself can tell them that, because I can’t. It’s frustrating for me too, but I can’t say anything.

We’re behind on preparing the refills that people ordered hours ago because our day has been hectic, so I have to give you a longer wait time so that realistically, we can get some of those filled by a technician and validated by a pharmacist.

Daily patient comes in for their dose of methadone or suboxone to help with an opioid addiction, and the pharmacist has to prepare their medication, too.

This happened recently but uhhh some guy comes in pissing blood out of his arm and we urgently have to help him while we call an ambulance, and a patient comes in thirty minutes later and the blood has been mopped up and there’s no trace that anything happened but I’m at the counter and a little fucking traumatized and this patient wants me to synchronize their medications and I am not mentally processing anything

There are complicated files and prescriptions and types of ways we fill prescriptions (ex: people who get their medications weekly in these little packs sorted by day and time of day and their files are really complicated to navigate and usually taken care of by a specific technician)

Your medication is a special order medication that gets made by another pharmacy and we sent the invoice and everything and are waiting for them to send us the medication but the ball’s in their court and we still haven’t received your meds

Main reasons for delays are just… a lot of calls and lots of people coming in at the same time for refills and questions that require a varying amount of time and effort to fill and answer. People who come in when we just opened usually barely have to wait, but we have rush hours just like every other store and there are five people in front of you waiting for a counsel and/or their meds. Sometimes, a quick little refill that took the tech literally thirty seconds to fill is immediately noticed by the pharmacist and gets validated right away ahead of the more complicated cases and sent to the register, but sometimes it sits on the counter for a while because the pharmacist is resolving a difficult situation, or showing someone how to inject their insulin, or explaining side effects to someone, or in a consult to prescribe the morning-after pill and has lots of questions to ask the patient.

Sometimes, we have patients who are very mean and rude and short with us. They are often in pain, or have been slighted by the medical system, or have had bad experiences at the hospital or the pharmacy before, and they take a lot of time to talk to and try to reason with. During this time, your request, or even refilled medication, sits on the counter in a little basket waiting to be validated.

More in reblog

#pharmacy #medication #medications #meds #pharmacy tech #pharmacist #medical information

[tahlreth]

The more I work as a pharmacy tech, the more I realize that people absolutely fucking HATE IT when pharmacists do their jobs.

Why isn't your covid medication ready? Because that Paxlovid can absolutely fuck up your kidneys even if they're at 100% and your doctor won't give my pharmacist the renal function test we need to make sure it won't actually kill you.

Oh, you're mad because your new diazapam script isn't filled? M'am, you are on a dose of oxycodone that could knock out a horse and also take zolpidem at night on an "as needed" (wink wink) basis and my pharmacist is concerned you're going to sedate yourself into an accidental death, so yeah. She's gonna need to verify that your doctor really wants to do this.

Sorry we didn't immediately fill the antibiotic the ER sent over, but we're showing that you have a severe allergy to this one and we're trying to get an alternative, but the ER keeps hanging up on the pharmacist. She's called 4 times. If you really WANT the pill that's going to kill you along with that infection, I guess we can fill it anyway.

Like... we are not purposefully trying to deny you meds. We are not trying to make your day worse. But this stuff could kill you or otherwise fuck you up, so maybe calm the hell down and let the pharmacists do what they do best.

#pharmacy #pharmacy tech #retail pharmacy #let them do their jobs #stop yelling at us #or next time we'll let you take the pills that will fuck you up #pharmacy life #countin' pills and being verbally abused

[mosqitofood]

Resources

Radio Garden : Radio stations all over the world

Electronic Library: Part of Z-Library project. The world's largest ebook library

Medical Books Free

Free Books 4 Doctors: Promoting free access to medical books

Pharmacy Tech Review: Your study buddy for Pharmacy tech certification

Dave’s ESL Cafe : Find ESL & EFL teaching opportunities available around the world

#radio #resources #bookmark #links #books #medicine #free books #textbooks #medical book #pharmacology #pharmacy tech #pharmacy technician #esl #teaching #efl

[amazon-me-bitches]

psa

If the pharmacy doesnt have your meds. Guilt tripping me about it over the phone "okay i surreee do need those...i sure hope i dont die without these" is rude and does not do anything. I DO NOT CONTROL THE RATE AT WHICH THE COMPANY SENDS US DRUGS! if something is on backorder that is your answer....conversation over. telliing me you need this drug does nothing. If you need it today then you are free to transfer it.

I am sympathetic but powerless. Please understand this.

#Pharmacy #Drugs #Pharmacy tech

[love-and-ejoy]

“He’s a 10, but...”: Pharmacy Edition!

-He’s a 10 but he asks why it takes you so long to pour some pills in a bottle and slap a label on it

-He’s a 10 but when you tell him that you’ve sent a request already and that he should call his doctor, he says, “Isn’t that your job?”

-He’s a 10 but he insists that you don’t know what you’re talking about, the doctor prescribed it, of course he needs this medication, remove the prior auth immediately!

-He’s a 10 but it’s your fault, personally, that his doctor didn’t give him more refills.

-He’s a 10 but “The doctor said it would be ready when I got here!”

-He’s a 10 but the computer is lying and he’s never ever had a copay in his life and he’s calling corporate when he gets home. No don’t put the Xanax back he needs it.

-He’s a 10 but can you ring his entire cart up with 29 coupons and a complaint already formed for the front end manager

-He's a 10 but if you whisper the word tadalafil behind a paper while nobody else is in a 25 mile radius, the entire country will know he's taking Viagra, how could you be so insensitive

-He’s a 10 but [excruciatingly loud truck noises in the drive thru but refuses to pick up the phone to talk]

-He’s a 10 but “How do you spell that?” “J-O-H-N Szierbajeck”

-He’s a 10 but he swears a coupon card is cheaper than his insurance.

-He’s a 10 but “fill my entire profile”

-He’s a 10 but “no no don’t run through the errors just get me whatever’s ready” “Where is med, med, med, and med? How was I supposed to know there were errors?!”

-He’s a 10 but the concept of offering vaccines to consenting adults who make their own decisions is obviously a crime against humanity

-He’s a 10 but obviously the pharmacist is absolutely overjoyed to not be able to fill his prescription and, despite pharmacist trying for over 2 hours to get authorization, pharmacist must be withholding his medications.

-He’s a 10 but the concept of time is a social construct and therefore he needs a refill of her controlled medications

~~~

#this is not gender specific though #literally all of these have happened with both men and women #besides the Viagra of course! #Some of the more tame ones aren't the end of the world for us #We don't hate you for asking about a coupon card for example #But please trust us when we say [generic coupon card] will not beat your insurance's $1.30 copay #Also we don't mind trying to help you get your controlleds! Sometimes I hear people super apologetic for asking #If you're polite and understanding of when we can't do something you're just fine #this trend has always been super funny to me #feel free to add more lol #pharmacy #pharmacy tech #retail pharmacy #tales from retail pharamacy #he's a 10 but #work #work stories #tw vaccine discourse? #only thing i can think of #honestly i know some people are opinionated but i really dont mind people not wanting to get a certain vaccine if they adhere to the rules #like okay you're an adult that makes their own decisions #if you make the decision not to get your flu shot or booster shot that's on you #but the minute you try and make ME feel a certain way or endanger MY customers #nope. you're out #you make decisions for yourself fully knowing that mask rules or travel restrictions or whatever else will apply to you #you dont want it? ok. say no #unless you're looking for input or advice don't tell us your life story please #rant #vent #after work vent

[monsieurenjlolras]

Every drug in the world is on backorder right now I hate this

#pharmacy tech #live from the musain

[wikipediapictures]

Pharmacy technician

#pharmacy technician #pharm tech #pharmacy tech #pharmacy #pharmacore #pharmacology #wikipedia #wikipedia pictures #healthcare #medications #medicine

[learnatrade]

How to become a Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy technicians are crucial members of the healthcare team who assist pharmacists in dispensing medications and providing excellent customer service to patients. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, becoming a pharmacy technician could be a great option. Obtain a High School Diploma or GED: The first step in becoming a pharmacy tech is to obtain a high school diploma or…

View On WordPress

#career #career advancement #certification #earning potential #education #hands-on work #healthcare career #job opportunities #job security #Job training #pharmacy tech #Skilled Trades #vocational training #work experience

[purple-heart-x]

friend from high school: oh yeah i heard you work at [pharmacy]

me, mentally scrolling through the list of people who pick up from us or have seen me there and realizing friend and their family doesn’t know anyone who had: wait how’d you know?

friend: oh

friend: you didn’t see the facebook post?

#NO BUT MY OTHER FRIEND'S MOM IS REALLY SWEET #BUT SHE LOVES POSTING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE #She got told by someone ELSE and made a post #tagging a completely random account with an alternative spelling to my last name #this was SO awkward #ive decided to just... not acknowledge it #0_0 #pharmacy #pharmacy tech #retail pharmacy #but seriously what was the reason??

[mylifeasaserver]

The Lawsuit

Occasionally, we get somebody who is confused about the way prescriptions work, especially the schedule 2 stuff, like Adderall, morphine, dextroamphetamine, and the like. 

The reality of it: we get the prescription, check to see last fill, calculate when the new fill is due - if due it’s run through insurance, if not due it’s put out until it is -  and then it’s the same process as every other prescription.

The way this insane shitbitch thinks it works: we get the prescription, we fill it because HER DOCTOR sent the prescription to fucking fill it and give it to her IMMEDIATELY.

At first, I attempted to explain to her that the prescription was almost a month too early. Not the answer she was looking for.

She hit me with “BUT I’M OUT! AND YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM TO ME! I HAVE A PRESCRIPTION!”

I got the pharmacist, who explained to her that we cannot and will not give her Oxycodone 24 days early. She got a month’s supply a mere 6 days ago. 

Now she gets teary. “But I’m out! And in pain!”

The pharmacist asks what happened to the 24 days she had from the last prescription.

“I don’t know.”

In the end, the pharmacist told her that under no circumstances was she getting a new prescription from us until it was due.

Now we’re apparently going to be sued. According to her, the pharmacist, me, and the company can expect to be sued to oblivion.

I welcome the challenge.

I started running again. I have very poor decision making. -J

#retail #pharmacy #pharmacy tech

[jaffefuneralhomes]

Pharmacy is really hard and makes me want to cry a lot, but on days like this, when we're all in sync and can bounce around to help each other and take over when needed, and customers are appreciative of everything that we do...

It's worth it

#dev shut up #pharmacy tech

[tahlreth]

It's almost time to go back to my full-time TA job, and I'll miss being in the pharmacy so much 'cause I do like it.

Also if a customer ever like, hit me or threw something at me, the pharmacy manager would call the cops and the other full time pharmacist would go absolutely feral on their asses and then call the cops.

At school the principle will ask what I did that escalated the child to that point, then suggest that maybe I should get better at dodging. So.

On the other hand... I do love my kiddos.

Especially the one who called me a "frickin' ignorant jellyfish" last year while we were working on curbing her habit of cussing. Best thing anyone's ever called me as an insult. I want it on a t-shirt.

So it's a mixed bag, the end of August. Here's hoping I can get through all of September without anyone drawing blood!

#teacher life #teachers assistant #pharmacy tech #end of summer #i should be paid more #someday i'll only have to work one job #someday

[mosqitofood]

#drinks #boba #pharmacy #work #taro #mango tea #green tea #boba party #life #we hate capitalism #pharmacy tech #starbucks #85 #cake #food

[amazon-me-bitches]

Hey as a pharmacy tech can I make a few requests of everyone?

-I have audio processing disorder PLEASE talk LOUDLY AND SLOWLY at the drive through and if you are in the passenger seat, tell your driver what you want to say and THEY can tell me I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THERE. -If you are picking prescriptions for two people don't just ramble off two birthdays and two names. ONE AT A TIME. LET ME LOOK YOU UP AND GO GET YOUR BAG FIRST. the second you gave me another set of numbers after the first birthday I forgot the first birthday before I had time to put it in. 

-When I ask for the birthday, you can say it at a normal speed I am not judging you, I don’t assume you have forgotten it lol. You don’t have to say it so fast I think you work as a auctioneer in your free time. -Please understand that something on nationwide backorder is not going to be in tomorrow or next week. you just gotta wait like everyone else, I know it sucks but we can’t help you. -Please have some idea what pills you are looking for ‘I don't know what it was or what it does, is it here yet?” like.....nah man come prepared. -”I just left the Dr.s office 3 seconds ago they should have called it in, is it ready?!” chill. these things take time.

#pharmacy tech #I am new at this and these might just be my own struggles