I got this in a email from a national Pharmacist temp service that does placement for one of the large BIG BOX stores… If there are any doubters if/where techs get their sense of power, I think that this would help explain a lot..
The Pharmacy Team works to create amazing customer service moments for their guests. As a relief pharmacist, you play a key role on the team. Consider yourself a high draft choice. They asked for you to be on their team!
Who’s your QB?
We want you to have a great experience as a relief pharmacist at Pharmacies and to get off on the right foot. Here are some tips when you arrive for your assignment:
1. Make the first move – the team is going to expect you to make the first move. This might seem awkward walking into their stadium. As their guest, you have been invited to make the first play.
2. Indentify the Quarterback – find the workflow board and identify the Quarterback (QB). The QB is a technician that is responsible for organizing the workflow for the day. Ask the QB to walk you through the day’s workflow and ask how you can best fit in! They know the pharmacy better than anyone. This simple act will set you apart from all other relief pharmacist and you will blend right into the team.
3. Help them – help them; help you have your very own “amazing moment” as a relief pharmacist.
The Pharmacy Team seeks to provide an environment where guests get first class treatment. They seek to create interactions that wow guests and create “amazing moments”. Pharmacists are able to spend time interacting with guests, getting to know them, addressing their medical needs and helping them locate items in the aisles.
Create your own “amazing moments” as a relief pharmacist at by:
- Working with the QB to understand the workflow.
- Being proactive, ask the staff how you can be of assistance.
- Greet guests, and get to know them professionally.
I find it interesting that they use a sports analogy… and isn’t the QB only in action when the team in is their “offensive mode” ? Of course, the team should never be in a “defensive mode”… you might piss off one of the “guests”?
When I have temped at this organization… there is no “team” of 11 members … as would be with a football team.. typically, it is ME and one technician… who has apparently been told that they are the QB… which if you carry the football analogy out farther… the RPH has 10 positions to play.
And where are the cheer leaders… Imagine the cheers if there were any cheerleaders…
How about…
Get their buck… get their buck… get their last buck….
push them back.. push them back … way back… all the way back to the exit door…
BTW… what does the word INDENTIFY mean… which is from the original email ?
but I digress ….
Filed under: General Problems
I’m glad I’m not your Tech. I’ve seen several posts on this site that disparage pharmacy technicians, and here is another one.
I’ve never even met a tech that has a “sense of power.” Sounds to me like whomever did the training (you?) didn’t do a very good job if your techs think they are in charge. A pharmacy manager or staff pharmacist SHOULD be in charge, but there are many who are content to let the tech lead the way. That’s lazy and dangerous because we don’t have the training, and yet many pharmacists do.
I have worked with many floater pharmacists who think their only job is checking and counseling. That means I am managing drop-off, pick-up, keying, pulling, counting, restocking, answering the phone, helping customers find products, ordering, putting orders away, entering invoices, and generally slaving away while the pharmacist sits down and reads the news paper with their shoes off. Yes, I’m deadly serious.
Am I the QB when we have a floater? Hell yes. That doesn’t mean I want to be, or that I think I’m in charge. I fully respect that the pharmacist has a license to protect, and I do my best to facilitate that.
Floaters don’t give a damn about MY store or MY customers and I do, because I’m going to see these folks again, so if that means I have to direct the day so that everything gets done, I do exactly that.
@EC… I think that you are mixing what has been said on different pharmacist’s blogs… the only tech that I will disparage is ones that believes they are equal or above the Pharmacist that they are working with/for. I had the same tech at my store for the last 10-12 yrs. You don’t keep a tech around that long.. if you make their life unhappy or miserable.
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IMO.. you are mixing up the difference between a “floater” and a “temp”.. a floater tends to be someone who has been trained on the the company’s equipment and P&P.. and they are considered as a staff member.
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I work as a TEMP… I will be called in to work a store.. that I may never have worked at before.. software that I may have never used.. As a temp, one of my requirements is that I have at least one tech that is familiar with the computer system and the cash register. If that is not going to happen I will decline the shift… because I know that I will end up frustrated trying to make the dept properly function and the pts will get very poor service.
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Imagine asking the average homemaker.. to go into a home/kitchen that they had never been in before and told that everything is in the kitchen that is needed to fix Thanksgiving or Xmas dinner.. for a large family… Go for it…
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Finding where all the food stuff is… figuring out how all the appliances work… and putting a meal together and having it on the table on time.
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When I walk into a Rx dept for the first time… I must look to the techs that I am provided to get the job done for my shift. I tend to ask a lot of questions and I find some work environments much easier to work in than others.
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Likewise, I will not always “cave” to a “strong minded tech” when I disagree with how a particular thing or task has to be done… I have had such techs tell me.. :”.. this is how so and so does it…” and when I insist on doing things my way and they keep pushing.. I will tell them “.. I don’t see so and so here today.. and it is my license .. so we are doing it my way..”
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Personally, I have never taken a newspaper or magazine to where I temp… now a days.. I will take my IPad because it has some music on it that I like to listen to.
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I have heard of stories about temps that act/function as you describe.. I am sure that since there is now a surplus of Pharmacists … these Pharmacists are getting few calls.
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I feel sorry for techs that are “hung” with these Pharmacists…
How I hate sports analogies! Someone got paid to dream this up?
As a CPhT who is the sole technician at an independent pharmacy, reading that gave me an upset stomach. It’s only 6:35am. In California, you have to be registered via the state. I went the step further to become CPhT. I believe some states don’t require either and anyone off the street can start doing my job. So, corporate pharmacies have plenty of tech’s available. Locals who aren’t going anywhere. We all know what happens. You get a queen bee. Add in an RPH who happens to believe tech’s are one hairnet above fast-food workers and viola! You have a pile of TNT. I believe the above advice was written to help Rph’s deal with a queen bee in a way to make it appear like a fun game. Most RPH are men, so football is a good way to get the message across with the least insult. Making a game analogy also is appropriate if your queen bee happens to be a narcissistic personality disorder. As they love to play games with people. My honest advice as a tech: introduce yourself, shake hands, listen to the Tech’s. Not obey, just acknowledge they are there and human. The queen bee is another issue. The queen bee in our pharmacy is a clerk who tells everyone she’s the parmacy manager and the owner is afraid to deal with the increasing pile of TNT growing under his feet. I’m just thankful I am CPhT, because I want to get out of retail altogether. So, queen bees are tough. Best to at least appear to kowtow a bit and be thankful you’re just temporary.
I wonder what idiot came up with this silly thing at the temp service where you work? It is this sort of thing that infuriates me. They treat us like we are idiots or teenagers. What kind of pharmacy job have you found that is a wonderful experience?