The fact that they don’t staff adequately literally makes me hate this profession when it’s absolutely nothing hard about it. But c’mon, honestly ask yourself, how much multitasking can 1 person safely do?????? An absolute nightmare. RETAIL PHARMACY IS THE UNDERDOG OF THIS WHOLE ENTIRE PANDEMIC. For every 1 patient you make smile or save their life….. there’s 20 upset and threatening to take their scripts elsewhere. Can’t win.
I'm in tears watching this because this was literally my life! I would cry in my car after my shift, scared that I made a mistake that might possibly injure or kill someone then just be miserable at home. I'd lie awake at night worrying about having to go back the next day and repeat the process. I'd have thoughts about driving my car off the road into a ditch or tree just to not have to suffer through another day. I stopped to visit my friend who still works for my former big box employer and my chest got tight, my palms started to sweat and I felt dizzy. The PTSD is real! I left retail after 30+ years. I left the career I loved (I started as a cashier then went to pharmacy school) but I just couldn't stay....mentally, emotionally or physically! It was killing me, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression and autoimmune disease!
I used to love my job. I really did. I have patients I love, but it’s honestly too much. It’s given me so much anxiety that my medications had to adjusted. I feel bad for my coworkers because the staffing is awful, but I can’t do it anymore. I’m leaving retail and going to inpatient pharmacy. I’ll miss my job and patients, but it’s just too much.
@@justafractionoftime1984 That's a true crying shame. On so many levels. My heart breaks for you. I understand the conflict of staying or going. I may need to leave as well. Was offered a really good promotion, where I'd do what I believe would be a great job for them. Everything was set and it just had to be made official. And then corporate......they supposedly denied my application based on some stupid income percentage thing (didn't want to compensate me as much as even the minimum entry pay for the position though I've been certified for almost four years and have already been doing a large portion of the work). Also, we have a disproportionately staffed FT to PT ratio. Whatever!!!!! I almost completely lost my job because of their stupidity. It literally went to regional, and that never happens for something so simplistic. No one, literally no one, can understand why they are blocking me. I'm willing to do a job no one wants, and it is a position that needs to be filled, and corporate has taken that from me. And I found out on Christmas Eve. I can't tell you how difficult the rest of that night was to finish out. Then I had to be back the next day. My face swelled up from crying so much it was ridiculous. My RPh that got the ball rolling on it all texted me Christmas morning telling me how in his words his "heart was BROKEN". And I know he means it. He feels totally responsible. He is. But not for my misery. He is responsible for bringing attention to my skills and my attitude. He is responsible for showing me that he has faith in me and believes in me and what I can accomplish (given the opportunity). He's younger than me but has been in this profession his entire adult life. I am humbled at the immense compliment of his faith in me. And it isn't just him. It's all three of our pharmacists, our lead tech, our former inventory specialist, the majority of our techs and the district RX training team. They ALL believe in me. Apparently even our district manager does. But there is some sort of power struggle and ego thing going on as well as corporate and their "We won't pay you what you're worth" attitude. That is extremely disheartening. But to know that I have so many people who care about me, who believe in me and who want me there.......THAT is amazing!!! I love these people. They became my family when my family turned their backs on me when my husband died. They held me up and loved on me when my own mother wouldn't. These people truly are my family. They mean the world to me. And I will do whatever I have to to show them that faith and love isn't wasted. If it means work harder, longer or whatever...I'll do it. They have unknowingly inspired me to fight hard and take what I deserve. It may take a little while, but I will persevere and I WILL win!! Maybe not by getting that position, but nonetheless I feel like I've already won.
Darlene, your post had me in tears. It's true. I started out as a cashier in a retail pharmacy in 2011. In 2016 I became a certified technician. Then the Covid Pandemic, that fall 2 pharmacies in our small town closed town. The stress of that and having the worst boss I've ever had was to much. I started getting sick and having panic attacks, I went on a medical leave for a year. Another retail pharmacy reached out to me, I wasn't going to get back into retail pharmacy but I felt like I had something to prove. I used to love my job and I'm really good with customers. I love my job but the amount of work and stress , long lines, constantly being pulled in a hundred different directions is unbelievably insane. Something has to change. I had a customer threaten to come back with a gun and start shooting people if he had to wait In line again. We have active gun trainings at work. It's a matter of time before this becomes a reality. I guarantee it.... it's so sad.
Omg. Me too. Just before Covid hit my store got closed down and I had to transfer to a district across this horrible tunnel. I’d sit in traffic for hours after a 10 to 11 hour shift. I’d often think about driving my car right off into the ocean.
Hrs cut came from corporate. And if they want to do something about it they should already done it. But at the end of the day, staffing issues go down to pharmacy manager for not well manage the workflow.
Like you said, coporate knows and they don't care. They want the numbers....even if it makes us miserable and risks customers healtggh and our own. Customers should see this more than coporate...they might care since it's their lives on the line if we mess up.
This week for me has been intense so far. You did such a fantastic job portraying the problems we face as pharmacy staff. Especially with understaffing or calling out. "My sister's baby don't have nobody to watch her. So I'm watch her. I won't be therefore about a week" Ok, only to find out, the child is 23.
This video was so triggering. We have been dealing with all of this bs for MONTHS. As one of the few senior techs left at my pharmacy, so much work falls on my shoulders and I am so stressed and overwhelmed everyday. Your videos give me a little peace of mind knowing I’m not the only one dealing with all of this. I don’t want to go to work tomorrow...
God I wish corporate would see this. When I first started about 4 years ago, I had a patient tell me to not lose myself in this profession, to keep my personality & not become like those "zombies". I didn't know exactly what she meant at the time. I know exactly what she's talking about now. I used to be friendly, ready to help, ready to work everyday. I loved my patients and loved my work. Now it's all of these scenarios caused by lack of staffing. All of our workload has doubled & more & more people are leaving. It's not only dangerous to our patients & the public, it's dangerous for our own mental health and well being. It's not okay to put this much pressure on workers. Mistakes will be made but who's ass in always on the line? The PIC. Who cares if they have worked 12+ hours?? Corporate & the board will always blame the PIC instead of improving working conditions
I'm "just a tech" but this is my every day experience now. We are down to 2 of 5 techs and double the scripts from 18 months ago. It's just me handling counter, handling drive through, processing and giving vaccines. My rph is filling and verifying. The lines are neverending and people are still in line half hour after we close. It can't continue. It's hopeless and I have no sense of satisfaction anymore.
Same. I was supposed to be studying for my PTCE, but ever since I learned how to give shots it seems like all I do is that and by the time I get home studying seems pointless. I haven't spoken to my kids or my family in weeks and all I do on the weekends now is retreat from the world....
I’m leaving retail because I’m having the same problems. I’m getting an interview for an IV room in a hospital because I have an old coworker who started there a couple months ago. He left retail and said that it’s the best decision that he’s made. That’s what all the techs who used to work retail say.
Every pharmacist deals with this regardless of where they work. Retail, hospital, specialty and others, there is usually always ONE pharmacist and many, many technicians and other staff. The bottleneck is always the pharmacist. The rate determining step is the pharmacist. Because we are considered the most costly position, companies WILL NOT pay for more than a few hours of overlap hence the lack of pharmacists being able to take real 15 minute breaks and barely a lunch. When people say "more help" or ""more hours" it does not mean another pharmacist. It just means more technicians or clerks which ultimately means more staff coming to just ONE pharmacist for questions, complaints and all other issues. Corporate knows but it's all about profits and stock prices, the state board of pharmacy knows but they just see us as a money generator levying fines to pay to keep their doors open instead of pushing for proper legislation, the labor department knows but all they do is put out more statements requiring proper breaks and staff compliance, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) knows yet they use pharmacists as scapegoats for the opioid crisis requiring us to police and scrutinize every narcotic prescription, the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows but being that it isn't easy to prosecute prescribers so they then come for the easier target which is the pharmacist, drug companies and pharmacies for over dispensing of narcotics. Lastly, the public always places pharmacists near the top as being the most trusted profession in most gallop polls yet treat pharmacy staff like dirt when we can't seem to stick a label on a box or count by 5's like were in a race and vaccinate as if it was just as simple as making a dot on their arm with a sharpie. Yet when people wait 15 to 25 minutes in line at Popeye's for the new chicken sandwich, In-N-Out for their double double, Starbucks for their latte or Walmart on black Friday it's all okay like it's part of their fun-filled experience. The perception of pharmacy by the people we serve, the industry and state boards that governs our profession, the healthcare professionals we work with (nurses/physicians) and the policy makers are with so much disregard and disrespect that going forward there will be less students really wanting to spend 3 to 4 years post undergrad, take on a 6 figure loan to get into such a toxic profession. Especially now when the starting wage of a new pharmacist is less than or equal to when I was a pharmacist nearly 20 years ago. All this while as the profession of pharmacists "progress into the future", all that means is more tasks placed onto the pharmacist like health screenings, limited prescribing power, personal medication management, etc. It'll just be more and more tasks placed onto ONE pharmacist.
This has been my argument all along. It’s just not right! You nailed it with what you said. See my comments above about the legislation/ruling I got passed. It took 4 years.
@@thomassturm1855 I applaud your courage. I no longer have that determination to make any change if it'll take that many years as I'm already near retirement and will focus on my family instead of my career. Thank you for your efforts to try to rectify a failing profession.
Great video; I am so sorry and disappointed the industry is like this. I have 0 knowledge about pharmacies (I am an RN) but the little I’ve been exposed to, I assume they are just as used and abused as the rest of us in the medical field working in the front lines. Just absolutely awful and corporate everywhere DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE about lives/livelihood.
It's why we should all, RN's, pharmacists, techs, ect should form one big union. We could help each other that way, communicate with each other easier (at least I'd imagine so), and we'd have power...enough to make things better for us all. Plus it would be nice to have the support. I'm a pharmacy tech for cvs....it's horrific. I keep having to tell a pharmacist of mine to eat and drink and not just baby sips and not just a single bite of a single sandwich....meanwhile she works 10 and 11 hours....it's not right.
@@DreamsRemorse One of mine has been doing 11-13 hour days this week. I have been doing 10-14+ lately. Today's was my 12th day straight. Granted, I'm not full-time in pharmacy, but I have been there A LOT lately. Week began Sun. I hit 40 hours just before 2pm today. Then worked another 8 hours. I will go in again tomorrow, on my day off, and continue to put my wheels to the grindstone. If I work just what I'm actually scheduled the rest of the week, and now I am at 47 hours(ish), I will end the week around with approximately 70 hours. But they know me, and they know I need the money so I will work long and hard this week. All the OT goes away next week, so I HAVE to take it while I can get it. That being said, we finally got a full crew, but several aren't fully certified, therefore we have to pick up the slack. Some of them try so very, very hard to get it figured out. We do everyone a disservice by throwing them, blind, into a wolves' den. Setting them up for failure - in my opinion.
@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq the hardest part is not giving techs a reasonable wage. We can't hire experienced techs because they know retail is godawful. We can't hire new people without experience because they won't pay enough or even give enough hours to adequately train them. It sucks all around
@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq I am full time and I'm still putting in overtime at my store or other ones which need help. I have also been going in on my days off so I've had either no days off or just one, rather than the two I get on my schedual. It's insane what we all do. I do hope you and the other person try and eat and drink. That many hours - you need to eat and drink.
@@DreamsRemorse I work full-time but RX is my secondary responsibility. My main one is the actual store. Though, working in pharmacy pays me more, so I'm willing to do it more. It's just me at home now so I don't really have anything else to do. Plus, any time I can make more money it helps me. I should have 70 (billable) hours this week. Sound awful but I was really shooting for 80. Partly just to see if I could. Gotta be able to keep up with the young folks nowadays 😂. I just hate that so much responsibility and stress is placed upon the people who you really don't want to be so stressed. I have someone in my store who wants to redo their tech trainee license (she let it expire a couple of years ago) just because she wants extra pay. She doesn't want to do any training, but she wants the extra money for being a "tech". Uhhhhhhh, we don't need people like that in pharmacies. We need people who actually WANT to do the job. When I can do something to help, it motivates me to do better. I guess that's the difference between a job and a calling. But since all this OT will no longer be approved after Saturday, I'm taking it while I can get it. Still trying to play catch-up after my husband passed away from COVID in Sept. I can tell you this, every time I give a shot, it makes me feel better inside. I KNOW I e helped save someone else's family from going through what mine did. And that means a whole lot to me!!!!! To each and every one of you going out there day after day, doing what we do, THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Your work is important and so are you!!!!!!
Literally sobbing watching this because it’s so true, thankfully I’m leaving retail this month but I feel so guilty for my techs I’m leaving behind and everyone that has to deal with this. Thank you for bringing awareness to the problems within the profession 💜
Good for you!!! Don't feel bad! You deserve so much more, like being treated by your employer as a HUMAN! Been there. You can leave now, or you can leave later on a stretcher. Are you out yet?
Well, I had enough. I contacted my legislator in Vermont, testified to the healthcare subcommittee, crafted a bill with him. Then he took it to the Board of Phamacy who chose to write a new ruling that put a watered down guideline in the books. It wasn’t perfect. I got grief from management, stepped down as manager, and retired eventually at 60. But at least I did something. You can too. Save this video, show it to your state legislative representative, and get the ball rolling. Be brave if not for yourself, then for future generations of pharmacists, the profession, and most of all, the safety of the public!
@@Austin-mc3tp seriously? Your legislator hasn’t responded? Try again, and again. And then ask them to champion you while there’s a crowd around. Make sure he knows other states have done this AND it’s a health care crisis. When you get their ear, let me know and I’ll send you the legislation I crafted with my legislator
@@Austin-mc3tp BOP won’t care until they are pressured. It’s why it took 4 years to get it accomplished here. And find a free well connected people to sponsor your cause
@@thomassturm1855 I would love to see the legislation you helped pass. They responded they just don't care. My state level Rep Tina Liebling is a monster and said to either quit my job, ask for better conditions or unionize. She won't do anything because it would be complicated and take a lot of time. Does that mean I can turn away my patients (mostly coming from Mayo Clinic from a round the world- so lots of transfers, transplant, cancer pts etc) becsuse they're complicated and take more time ie need translators? My senator Carla Nelson acted concerned but canceled my meeting last minute and she does have a very terrible history but I was trying to give her the BOTD. But literally no one else has responded. I've contacted every local news station, newspaper, public radio, the Mayor. No one cares about pharmacy. And my city is called "Med City" what a joke. They need to rename it Mayo City. I guess it will take patients dying of med errors before people start to care. But I'm sure they'll just blame us and hate us more when that happens
Having myself just gotten off a shift where the entire day we only had three techs working (one morning one mid one close) with one pharmacist at a time and about 500 scripts with Covid/flu shots every 10 mins and both rapid and pcr testing I started to cry while watching this video. This needs to stop. If we don’t have the people we should not be working at this measure. The testing should go down the time slots should be more spread out. The companies we work for should adjust to what we have in terms of available staff and not the other way around. Not to mention all the added skills we’ve had to acquire and adapt to through out this pandemic with not a dollar difference sent our way. This is just sad and hard to watch. I really loved pharmacy a few years ago I really wanted to be a pharmacist myself but now I just don’t know anymore. I feel at such a loss with all that’s is going on I don’t know who I am or what I’ll be. This all just sucks.
This is a perfect summary of what retail pharmacy is like post covid. Even if you worked for a pharmacy that didn't constantly cut hours, finding the staff to fill those hours under these stressful conditions especially when you could make more money than a tech working at a star bucks with no credentials needed. And because most pharmacist are salary they are left with the brunt of what can't get done by the techs within store hours. It is dangerous and the system In place places no value on patientcare
I don't have it this bad but I do turn away walk-ins even though we have a sign that says walk-ins welcome. I would decline all testing and extra stuff if I were you. My license, my rules.
Dude, I don’t know if anyone will see or pay attention to this, but this I think is the first RUclips video to make me cry, especially at the end with the music in the car. I’m a FT tech at CVS and I can’t take it anymore. I transferred locations thinking that was the problem. It was ok for a while, but when the vaccines picked up and flu and boosters with NOO extra help, in fact less help, that put the dagger in it for me. I struggled with drinking too much as well. Can’t blame it entirely on the job but it was a big part. I’m in therapy now for that. Retail pharmacy literally makes me sick enough to vomit the food I haven’t eaten in 9 hours because hey, pharmacy staff aren’t human, why would they need to eat? Anyway thanks for your content, your channel really cheers up me and a few of my ride or die coworkers. I just wish there was more I could do to help. My mission is to find as many sources as I can and contact them. We can’t just pretend it’s ok cuz PIZZAA ISN’T FUCKING WORKING!!! ✊✊✊
This video needs to go viral. Perhaps send it to a major news outlet, 20/20 etc.The public needs to know what’s going on. I could not find one second of this video that I could say “ oh that’s exaggerating a bit much”. I feel my PTSD symptoms coming back as I watch this. Such a powerfully accurate portrayal of a day in the life of a retail pharmacist 😓.
I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL! We are beyond overwhelmed! It's extremely hard and no one appreciates us. I'm dreading everyday and being yelled at everyday is wearing me down.
I agree with this entirely. I’m a technician and my pharmacy is down two of our weekday techs. It’s just myself on open with the pharmacist and one closer who comes in at 1pm. We are up over 20% in volume (we fill about 300 a day), have tests every 15mins, vaccines every 10 minutes (I’m also a certified immunizer) up until a half hour before closing, phones ringing constantly that we can’t answer. It’s overwhelming. Looking at my heart rate from my Apple Watch after work it looks like I’ve literally run a marathon for 9 hours. Easily over 100bpm most of the day. Highest it got this week was 150bpm. I’m so exhausted when I get off of work it takes every bit of will I have left to make myself dinner or tidy up around my apartment. My mental health is on a decline. I used to love my job and I used to love helping patients, but they have been so nasty. I have been told by a patient that my best wasn’t good enough after a long wait in drive thru, I have been cussed at, screamed at over the phone. I don’t deserve this abuse. None of us do. I don’t care anymore and I don’t want to help anyone anymore. I hate that I have lost my sense of purpose, my compassion, and my patience with people. Under these conditions it would be impossible not to.
And then corporate gets on us for not picking up phones by the 3rd ring, scripts not verified on time, calls not being done to remind patients to pick up scripts.
After 20 years at CVS, I finally quit. I had enough. A man passed out at my counter and all I could say out loud is, I don't have time for this shit. And I knew at that moment I was done. I was sad to leave my coworkers because I knew the extra burden they would be facing but my mental health was more important. It's been almost 3 months at my new job as a department manager at the spark and the stress is not even comparable. I hope there is a change coming ❤️
It’s insane that this is considered normal in retail pharmacy. Workers need unions and better working conditions. Patient safety is the last care of these big box retail stores, and employee well being doesn’t matter to them either.
Sometimes unionization doesn't always work out. Look at Kelloggs deciding to permanently replace all 1200 strikers with new people. There's enough pharmacists & technicians with huge school loans that will just take the job "temporarily" but then only to realize after a few years that it was a bit too long.
I am a tech and we are union When we complain to them they say there is nothing they can do about the hours. It is the company's choice and they can't make them give us more hours.
100% correct. Retail is getting DANGEROUS. The pharmacy is understaffed and they’re cutting hours. We have to be alone for two hours while opening AND closing! A lawsuit is GOING to happen and soon. Patients are getting fed up and so are we
Pharmacy was bad when I left in 2019. I was a tech for years, first at 3 letter and then at an independent, and I was in a pre-pharm program when I realized that it was not a good career path for me. I graduated with a different degree during the beginning of the pandemic and I've just watched my former co-workers get worse and worse in terms of mental health and stress. I'm an English teacher in Spain now, as far from pharmacy as I could get, and I'm so glad I got out when I did. I was extremely involved as a tech, I was on the board of directors for the technician academy of my states association, I made pretty decent pay, my independent was one of the ones still able to stay afloat, and it was still so draining. When I left, I cried because I was so worried that no one would care for my patients the way I did, so I know how hard it is for anyone still in pharmacy to even consider leaving, aside from financial reasons. These chains literally do not care about you. My lead tech died in 2014 and they didn't give us any time off to mourn her death, and didn't replace her for months; they just had me and the other full time tech step in and work overtime for 3 months until they found someone, because they said I didn't have enough experience to officially take the job, despite having done it for months. They didn't even send flowers for her, corporate and district barely acknowledged she was gone, and she had worked there for 15 years.
WHY do people say "11th of the 2nd"? Why can't they just say February 11? I had never heard people express dates this way until I was in the pharmacy. Why??????
Not applicable to all patients-BUT Europeans and Canadians seem to do this because that is how it is written for them and how they are taught so to them we are the ones that do it backwards 😆
The pharmacy I worked at fired me because they wanted 18 med 4 week blisters done in 20 minutes all while answering phones, managing the pick up counter and filling everything else in the to do list. on-top of the new scripts coming in and it was just too much. That level of multi tasking is just impossible for most people. Because they fired the tech before me as well because she couldn't do it either.
This is about to go viral. Now, we need a video of every other medical profession because this represents what’s happening across the board in health care. I’m glad I retired two months before Covid and thank God everyday that I got out alive
I feel it too. I've been a Tech at a Retail Pharmacy for the past year 2021 and things have just gotten progressively worse. Once I thought I got the hang of the job/routine, the vaccine demands started and put it on Retail pharmacies. I did not sign up to work at a Covid Crisis Center with the calls and questions about vaccines. On top of that is the constant demand to fill prescriptions and no patience or understanding why there may be a "wait". It gets more frustrating every shift. Going to work is going into a shitshow.
As a former Pharmacy Tech & Best Buy employee it has been my experience that Corporate doesn’t care bc they will still make their all mighty dollar!! I 💯🙏🍀 for pharmacies and the ppl working there, I continue try to explain to my friends and family to not go off on pharmacy workers bc it’s NOT their fault!! God Bless & Good Luck
All 100% true. The instances demonstrated here I've seen happen where I am. Sign on bonuses help a bit with actual staffing but there is FAR from efficient training for people who have no prior experience. It's completely insane. But, here is what also bothers me about this video and with where I am. WHY IS THERE APOLOGIES!? When you apologize you create a negative situation. Say, "thank you so much for your patience" or "thank you for waiting". Apologizing instantly sends a message that, yes...we have a problem. Make it a POSITIVE message.
I am sorry you had to make this video. Supposedly the greatest country in the world and this is how health care professionals treated. As replaceable parts. Of course you will take any job that you can get right out of school because you are staring down a six digit student loan balance. Pharmacy schools graduate how many new Doctors of Pharmacy to throw into this meat grinder every year? Right, their class sizes have doubled in the last twenty years. Churning out more new pharmacists to replace the ones the system breaks. This is what happens when you allow health care to become a business.
I quit my job at Walgreens a month ago without notice after do 400-600 scripts a day with vaccines, and sometimes the pharmacy would be closed because company couldn’t find a pharmacist to work. Best decision I made this year even tho I’m left without a job. Although I do have an interview tomorrow for a hospital job.
This is my first day off of a 64 hour week. I’m a technician at the 3 letter and I’m not even marked as full time. I’ve had hours like that since April when we had to let one of our techs go. Now it’s just me and another technician. The other 2 techs we have are both 65+ and retired and just help out. One will be gone for most of December. My last day is the 22nd. I feel bad about leaving but I can’t do it anymore. I’m not an immunizer but between vaccines, script count, pickup and drop off, plus making care calls, there’s not enough hours in a shift to get everything done. Something seriously has to change. I started in July 2020 and I never thought it could get this bad. I need to get as far away from retail pharmacy as I can.
Well, I was just sitting in my kitchen after work today (that’s all I have the energy to do) and wondering how I am going to make it through tomorrow and your video popped up. It made me realize how horrendous it is for everyone and the toll it is taking on all of us including our patients and families. It’s sad that we are all stuck on this sinking ship.
This was my life. Every day I wanted to drive my car into a tree. And now I'm fighting for those that feel they can't. And I'm fighting for Ashleigh #shewaited #PizzaIsNotWorking
Thank you for making this video. You exemplified so well what is happening. I am in tears, as this was my life until I left the big chain. I am so sad for our profession, all of the pharmacists and technicians still working in this awful environment because they don’t have any other options. Thank you.
Two things 1. Imagine doing this and NOT making $40+ /hr. Pharmacist should be getting paid more already now imagine a technician getting paid $16 maybe $20 tops!Rent, gas, and food has increased in price but technician pay hasn’t, if we’re on a single income with no help WE CANT PAY OUR BILLS!!! We’ve lost technicians because of pay, and when pharmacist advocate to pay techs more they get laughed at by corporate. 2. Patient accountability could help us so much in retail. The amount of (excuse my French) dumb shit these customers come in with is at an all time high. We need to really start explaining to patients what our work flow is and why it’s important for THEM to stay on top of their medications and health in general.
If I had a dollar for every time a patient ran out of refills and chewed ME out for it, I wouldn’t have to work in pharmacy lol I actually got kind of snotty to a patient who was yelling at me about his new script not being put on auto refill. I explained to him that, at the end of the day, it’s HIS medication, HIS medical condition that he has to manage, and HIS responsibility to take care of himself. Or, my favorite, when a prescription wasn’t picked up on time and put back (happens so much more now because we don’t have time to call and remind people), and the patient comes to pick it up. “Oh, I’m sorry, we must have put it back.” “Well. I need it.” “Okay, what mediation was it so we can fill it for you?” “I don’t know, but I need it. Can’t you look up which one it was?” And I just tell them no, go home and figure it out. Then call us. If it was soooo important, they’d have picked it up on time 🙄🙄🙄
That was the most important message I've ever seen and one that has to be shared. It was hard to watch, but damn I live it every working day! I remember being told by the store manager that the solution to my problem was simply to quit. Does my quitting fix anything but my own suffering? Does it stop the awful working conditions? No it just makes someone else who hasn't burned out yet have to face the same thing....until they burn out.
100% accurate description of what is going on now in retail pharmacy. So recently I thought I would be a good guy and help out some small town community pharmacies that had no pharmacist......I hadn't done retail for a while...what a nightmare!! Not going back. The corporations know better...the work environment isn't safe and they know it. It's an unsafe work environment and I'm not putting my license on the line for their greater glory. Someone has already died recently from a med error in my state. I keep an imaginary bottle of "Jack Daniels" under the counter...I will go no faster than I can fill accurately. Corporate exploitation.
Called life365 after my own attempt at suicide... what a joke. Got a final written warning cause I wasn't there to open the pharmacy after 8 years of 4's and even two strait 5's on annual reviews. Word to the wise: don't take the sign on bonus, don't take the employer sponsored education loans, don't take a 401k loan they are all designed to force you to stay.
This is not your typical type of thing but I commend you for taking a moment away from the humor to highlight a serious issue. Things need to change and I hope people will start to see that. Thank you!
Oh my god my man. Fellow retail pharmacist here. Love to you and your family. This is me. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Yes. I am 47 now. I feel like im 60. I keep going for my kids. My wife. And for the few patients that appreciate me.
This is so true. I just got mt virtual board inspection and they were complaining that we didn't change the product expiration date on the labels we use on our compounding record form to 30 days from the day the medication was picked up. They never try to improve any of the real problems we face in pharmacy.
I retired from Walgreens over ten years ago. I couldn't wait to retire. I still wake up with nightmares about working there. I honestly think I suffer from PTSD.
It's a sad situation with retail pharmacies. The understaffing overwhelms you and there is so much going on. And yes, it is dangerous that this is allowed because the higher ups only care about profit and not only do the pharmacists and technicians suffer, but so do the patients. It sucks. I truly hope that you find something that rekindles your joy and improves your quality of life. I hope this channel you have created has brought you abundance. It is absolutely GENIUS! Sincerely, a stranger from the same profession.
This video perfectly describes my current working conditions ;-; (I'm a pharmacy tech tho who typically works w 1 pharmacist n 0-2 techs in an extremely busy pharmacy during a typical shift)
No one cares about the pharmacies and no one cares that lives are at stake in our profession!!! If doctors can have a secretary and a billing office and professional staff and so can we We apologize TOO much !!!
I became a pharmacy tech when the pandemic hit and I stayed there for a year and half. I just couldn’t do it anymore. My mom and boyfriend would even tell me. Your so different. I love it at 1st. I loved the patients and crew. But with the pandemic hitting and the lack of staffing. It became unbearable. I can relate with how he felt. I’m just lucky I was able to do something different. I’m so Grateful.
I think I needed to watch this. Had such a bad day at work due to a couple of mistakes I made and I was seriously considering quitting. I’ve only been a tech for 4 months, so there are things I’m still learning. Always nice to remember I’m not alone in this 🙏
7:34 It haunts us because we actually CARE! My advice to anyone still there: GET OUT BEFORE THEY KILL YOU! I left 6 years ago and wouldn't go back for $1M/year. It almost killed me.
The accuracy is unreal lmao. These past two days were absolute hell for me. 31+ pages today and I left it at 27. Drive thru closed for a month now Bc we’re so far behind so everyone flocks in store to the register. Thursdays are usually really bad for me in the sense that it’s just me and one of her tech plus the pharmacist, so we get nothing done. Fortunately it wasn’t terrible in the sense they sent a bunch of floaters over to help, but it didn’t really do much. Payroll at my store is irrelevant at this point but it’s the fact no one wants to come up and help out or work at our store 🤷🏻♀️🥲
This is so true. Surprised the skit didn't include verbal self confirmation of who is going to stop living and point towards the pharmacist themselves explaining stress is going to be their undoing. #pizzaisnotworking
100% accurate @ Walgreens. We pay our pharmacy technicians lower then cashiers at Walmart or target. It’s such a large turn over rate, we cannot keep staff. We hired a new girl who quit after 2 hours. We’re running a pharmacy with one pharmacist and one technician to cover a 7 day work week because every one else quit and the pay is so awful nobody new will take the job
Bro, I felt that on so many levels. I have experienced the worst of it from constantly being whipped around, to a ton of unempathetic patients to coworkers yelling at you for not knowing what to do. It has out me in some really bad head spaces, basically felt like everyone would be happier if I dissapeared, oh and the alcohol too went through that as well. But luckily I have a couple of cowerkers that have supported me through the worst of it and lowkey I kinda owed them my life.
I found your channel prior to an interview for a pharmacy dispensing job (I was just a lackey, not qualified in pharmacy but I was at uni at the time). I got the job, worked one day and quit immediately. I actually loved working there for that single day, but the pharmacy manager tasked me with many things that a new worker shouldn't be tasked with - like selling drugs to people without knowing the proper interactions. I hated having to consistently bother the extremely busy pharmacist for advice because I was worried about the patients safety. I voiced my concerns to the manager and she gave me a book containing thousands of drug interactions and told me to learn them. This job was barely scraping minimum wage, they expect too much of everyone in the pharmacy and it's dangerous and unfair.
The gun/suicide scene may trigger some people but the strong message is clear. I have known several pharmacists who have contemplated suicide from the atrocious working conditions. One almost successfully did so (although not with a handgun) until family intervened.
Forreal like my pharmacy is mad understaffed it’s not even funny like it be four of us one pharmacist running around in a chicken coop with our heads chopped off 😂😂🤣😅
This is so depressing to see, I go to pharmacies here in New Zealand and quite often there's 1 pharmacist and a 2-3 techs for even small local pharmacies.
This is 100% accurate. Things were bad before the pandemic but are now 10 times worse.
The fact that they don’t staff adequately literally makes me hate this profession when it’s absolutely nothing hard about it. But c’mon, honestly ask yourself, how much multitasking can 1 person safely do?????? An absolute nightmare. RETAIL PHARMACY IS THE UNDERDOG OF THIS WHOLE ENTIRE PANDEMIC. For every 1 patient you make smile or save their life….. there’s 20 upset and threatening to take their scripts elsewhere. Can’t win.
look how many people are working at mcdonald's or taco bell at any given time!!!!
I'm in tears watching this because this was literally my life! I would cry in my car after my shift, scared that I made a mistake that might possibly injure or kill someone then just be miserable at home. I'd lie awake at night worrying about having to go back the next day and repeat the process. I'd have thoughts about driving my car off the road into a ditch or tree just to not have to suffer through another day. I stopped to visit my friend who still works for my former big box employer and my chest got tight, my palms started to sweat and I felt dizzy. The PTSD is real! I left retail after 30+ years. I left the career I loved (I started as a cashier then went to pharmacy school) but I just couldn't stay....mentally, emotionally or physically! It was killing me, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression and autoimmune disease!
I used to love my job. I really did. I have patients I love, but it’s honestly too much. It’s given me so much anxiety that my medications had to adjusted. I feel bad for my coworkers because the staffing is awful, but I can’t do it anymore. I’m leaving retail and going to inpatient pharmacy. I’ll miss my job and patients, but it’s just too much.
@@justafractionoftime1984 That's a true crying shame. On so many levels. My heart breaks for you. I understand the conflict of staying or going. I may need to leave as well. Was offered a really good promotion, where I'd do what I believe would be a great job for them. Everything was set and it just had to be made official. And then corporate......they supposedly denied my application based on some stupid income percentage thing (didn't want to compensate me as much as even the minimum entry pay for the position though I've been certified for almost four years and have already been doing a large portion of the work). Also, we have a disproportionately staffed FT to PT ratio. Whatever!!!!! I almost completely lost my job because of their stupidity. It literally went to regional, and that never happens for something so simplistic. No one, literally no one, can understand why they are blocking me. I'm willing to do a job no one wants, and it is a position that needs to be filled, and corporate has taken that from me. And I found out on Christmas Eve. I can't tell you how difficult the rest of that night was to finish out. Then I had to be back the next day. My face swelled up from crying so much it was ridiculous. My RPh that got the ball rolling on it all texted me Christmas morning telling me how in his words his "heart was BROKEN". And I know he means it. He feels totally responsible. He is. But not for my misery. He is responsible for bringing attention to my skills and my attitude. He is responsible for showing me that he has faith in me and believes in me and what I can accomplish (given the opportunity). He's younger than me but has been in this profession his entire adult life. I am humbled at the immense compliment of his faith in me. And it isn't just him. It's all three of our pharmacists, our lead tech, our former inventory specialist, the majority of our techs and the district RX training team. They ALL believe in me. Apparently even our district manager does. But there is some sort of power struggle and ego thing going on as well as corporate and their "We won't pay you what you're worth" attitude. That is extremely disheartening. But to know that I have so many people who care about me, who believe in me and who want me there.......THAT is amazing!!! I love these people. They became my family when my family turned their backs on me when my husband died. They held me up and loved on me when my own mother wouldn't. These people truly are my family. They mean the world to me. And I will do whatever I have to to show them that faith and love isn't wasted. If it means work harder, longer or whatever...I'll do it. They have unknowingly inspired me to fight hard and take what I deserve. It may take a little while, but I will persevere and I WILL win!! Maybe not by getting that position, but nonetheless I feel like I've already won.
Darlene, your post had me in tears. It's true. I started out as a cashier in a retail pharmacy in 2011. In 2016 I became a certified technician. Then the Covid Pandemic, that fall 2 pharmacies in our small town closed town. The stress of that and having the worst boss I've ever had was to much. I started getting sick and having panic attacks, I went on a medical leave for a year. Another retail pharmacy reached out to me, I wasn't going to get back into retail pharmacy but I felt like I had something to prove. I used to love my job and I'm really good with customers. I love my job but the amount of work and stress , long lines, constantly being pulled in a hundred different directions is unbelievably insane. Something has to change. I had a customer threaten to come back with a gun and start shooting people if he had to wait In line again. We have active gun trainings at work. It's a matter of time before this becomes a reality. I guarantee it.... it's so sad.
Omg. Me too. Just before Covid hit my store got closed down and I had to transfer to a district across this horrible tunnel. I’d sit in traffic for hours after a 10 to 11 hour shift. I’d often think about driving my car right off into the ocean.
this should be mandatory watching for corporate. Sad thing is, most of them know this already
Hrs cut came from corporate. And if they want to do something about it they should already done it. But at the end of the day, staffing issues go down to pharmacy manager for not well manage the workflow.
Like you said, coporate knows and they don't care. They want the numbers....even if it makes us miserable and risks customers healtggh and our own. Customers should see this more than coporate...they might care since it's their lives on the line if we mess up.
They know and don’t care.
This week for me has been intense so far. You did such a fantastic job portraying the problems we face as pharmacy staff. Especially with understaffing or calling out. "My sister's baby don't have nobody to watch her. So I'm watch her. I won't be therefore about a week" Ok, only to find out, the child is 23.
This video was so triggering. We have been dealing with all of this bs for MONTHS. As one of the few senior techs left at my pharmacy, so much work falls on my shoulders and I am so stressed and overwhelmed everyday. Your videos give me a little peace of mind knowing I’m not the only one dealing with all of this. I don’t want to go to work tomorrow...
Wow after years at cvs i retired early and am getting major anxiety watching this ! This is 100% real !! change is far from overdue
yeah well who owns CVS? Now its Blackrock and the big Hedge Funds.
God I wish corporate would see this. When I first started about 4 years ago, I had a patient tell me to not lose myself in this profession, to keep my personality & not become like those "zombies". I didn't know exactly what she meant at the time. I know exactly what she's talking about now. I used to be friendly, ready to help, ready to work everyday. I loved my patients and loved my work. Now it's all of these scenarios caused by lack of staffing. All of our workload has doubled & more & more people are leaving. It's not only dangerous to our patients & the public, it's dangerous for our own mental health and well being. It's not okay to put this much pressure on workers. Mistakes will be made but who's ass in always on the line? The PIC. Who cares if they have worked 12+ hours?? Corporate & the board will always blame the PIC instead of improving working conditions
I'm "just a tech" but this is my every day experience now. We are down to 2 of 5 techs and double the scripts from 18 months ago. It's just me handling counter, handling drive through, processing and giving vaccines. My rph is filling and verifying. The lines are neverending and people are still in line half hour after we close. It can't continue. It's hopeless and I have no sense of satisfaction anymore.
Same. I was supposed to be studying for my PTCE, but ever since I learned how to give shots it seems like all I do is that and by the time I get home studying seems pointless.
I haven't spoken to my kids or my family in weeks and all I do on the weekends now is retreat from the world....
How are you liking capitalism now? and it is only going to get worse. you know that right?
I’m leaving retail because I’m having the same problems. I’m getting an interview for an IV room in a hospital because I have an old coworker who started there a couple months ago. He left retail and said that it’s the best decision that he’s made. That’s what all the techs who used to work retail say.
Idk what the fuck these chains are doing. By now they surely have noticed the damage that has been done.
I feel like it's a fever dream doing 45-55 covid tests by myself every Sunday. I am so glad I quit and got a better job.
Every pharmacist deals with this regardless of where they work. Retail, hospital, specialty and others, there is usually always ONE pharmacist and many, many technicians and other staff. The bottleneck is always the pharmacist. The rate determining step is the pharmacist. Because we are considered the most costly position, companies WILL NOT pay for more than a few hours of overlap hence the lack of pharmacists being able to take real 15 minute breaks and barely a lunch. When people say "more help" or ""more hours" it does not mean another pharmacist. It just means more technicians or clerks which ultimately means more staff coming to just ONE pharmacist for questions, complaints and all other issues. Corporate knows but it's all about profits and stock prices, the state board of pharmacy knows but they just see us as a money generator levying fines to pay to keep their doors open instead of pushing for proper legislation, the labor department knows but all they do is put out more statements requiring proper breaks and staff compliance, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) knows yet they use pharmacists as scapegoats for the opioid crisis requiring us to police and scrutinize every narcotic prescription, the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows but being that it isn't easy to prosecute prescribers so they then come for the easier target which is the pharmacist, drug companies and pharmacies for over dispensing of narcotics. Lastly, the public always places pharmacists near the top as being the most trusted profession in most gallop polls yet treat pharmacy staff like dirt when we can't seem to stick a label on a box or count by 5's like were in a race and vaccinate as if it was just as simple as making a dot on their arm with a sharpie. Yet when people wait 15 to 25 minutes in line at Popeye's for the new chicken sandwich, In-N-Out for their double double, Starbucks for their latte or Walmart on black Friday it's all okay like it's part of their fun-filled experience. The perception of pharmacy by the people we serve, the industry and state boards that governs our profession, the healthcare professionals we work with (nurses/physicians) and the policy makers are with so much disregard and disrespect that going forward there will be less students really wanting to spend 3 to 4 years post undergrad, take on a 6 figure loan to get into such a toxic profession. Especially now when the starting wage of a new pharmacist is less than or equal to when I was a pharmacist nearly 20 years ago. All this while as the profession of pharmacists "progress into the future", all that means is more tasks placed onto the pharmacist like health screenings, limited prescribing power, personal medication management, etc. It'll just be more and more tasks placed onto ONE pharmacist.
Amen to everything you wrote. Yep. I agree with every single word. Well written.
This is exactly what we face in Jamaica too. Talk about appearance versus reality.
This has been my argument all along. It’s just not right! You nailed it with what you said. See my comments above about the legislation/ruling I got passed. It took 4 years.
@@thomassturm1855 I applaud your courage. I no longer have that determination to make any change if it'll take that many years as I'm already near retirement and will focus on my family instead of my career. Thank you for your efforts to try to rectify a failing profession.
@Kristine Tanner my comment to customers who were impatient would be “I’m not the Deli”
Great video; I am so sorry and disappointed the industry is like this. I have 0 knowledge about pharmacies (I am an RN) but the little I’ve been exposed to, I assume they are just as used and abused as the rest of us in the medical field working in the front lines. Just absolutely awful and corporate everywhere DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE about lives/livelihood.
It's why we should all, RN's, pharmacists, techs, ect should form one big union. We could help each other that way, communicate with each other easier (at least I'd imagine so), and we'd have power...enough to make things better for us all. Plus it would be nice to have the support. I'm a pharmacy tech for cvs....it's horrific. I keep having to tell a pharmacist of mine to eat and drink and not just baby sips and not just a single bite of a single sandwich....meanwhile she works 10 and 11 hours....it's not right.
@@DreamsRemorse One of mine has been doing 11-13 hour days this week. I have been doing 10-14+ lately. Today's was my 12th day straight. Granted, I'm not full-time in pharmacy, but I have been there A LOT lately. Week began Sun. I hit 40 hours just before 2pm today. Then worked another 8 hours. I will go in again tomorrow, on my day off, and continue to put my wheels to the grindstone. If I work just what I'm actually scheduled the rest of the week, and now I am at 47 hours(ish), I will end the week around with approximately 70 hours. But they know me, and they know I need the money so I will work long and hard this week. All the OT goes away next week, so I HAVE to take it while I can get it.
That being said, we finally got a full crew, but several aren't fully certified, therefore we have to pick up the slack. Some of them try so very, very hard to get it figured out. We do everyone a disservice by throwing them, blind, into a wolves' den. Setting them up for failure - in my opinion.
@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq the hardest part is not giving techs a reasonable wage. We can't hire experienced techs because they know retail is godawful. We can't hire new people without experience because they won't pay enough or even give enough hours to adequately train them. It sucks all around
@@qqq1q1qqqqqqq I am full time and I'm still putting in overtime at my store or other ones which need help. I have also been going in on my days off so I've had either no days off or just one, rather than the two I get on my schedual. It's insane what we all do. I do hope you and the other person try and eat and drink. That many hours - you need to eat and drink.
@@DreamsRemorse I work full-time but RX is my secondary responsibility. My main one is the actual store. Though, working in pharmacy pays me more, so I'm willing to do it more. It's just me at home now so I don't really have anything else to do. Plus, any time I can make more money it helps me. I should have 70 (billable) hours this week. Sound awful but I was really shooting for 80. Partly just to see if I could. Gotta be able to keep up with the young folks nowadays 😂. I just hate that so much responsibility and stress is placed upon the people who you really don't want to be so stressed. I have someone in my store who wants to redo their tech trainee license (she let it expire a couple of years ago) just because she wants extra pay. She doesn't want to do any training, but she wants the extra money for being a "tech". Uhhhhhhh, we don't need people like that in pharmacies. We need people who actually WANT to do the job. When I can do something to help, it motivates me to do better. I guess that's the difference between a job and a calling. But since all this OT will no longer be approved after Saturday, I'm taking it while I can get it. Still trying to play catch-up after my husband passed away from COVID in Sept. I can tell you this, every time I give a shot, it makes me feel better inside. I KNOW I e helped save someone else's family from going through what mine did. And that means a whole lot to me!!!!!
To each and every one of you going out there day after day, doing what we do, THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Your work is important and so are you!!!!!!
Literally sobbing watching this because it’s so true, thankfully I’m leaving retail this month but I feel so guilty for my techs I’m leaving behind and everyone that has to deal with this. Thank you for bringing awareness to the problems within the profession 💜
Good for you!!! Don't feel bad! You deserve so much more, like being treated by your employer as a HUMAN!
Been there. You can leave now, or you can leave later on a stretcher.
Are you out yet?
Well, I had enough. I contacted my legislator in Vermont, testified to the healthcare subcommittee, crafted a bill with him. Then he took it to the Board of Phamacy who chose to write a new ruling that put a watered down guideline in the books. It wasn’t perfect. I got grief from management, stepped down as manager, and retired eventually at 60. But at least I did something. You can too. Save this video, show it to your state legislative representative, and get the ball rolling. Be brave if not for yourself, then for future generations of pharmacists, the profession, and most of all, the safety of the public!
Bravo to you
I've been contacting legislators, BOP, press, governor, everyone. No one cares 😭😭
@@Austin-mc3tp seriously? Your legislator hasn’t responded? Try again, and again. And then ask them to champion you while there’s a crowd around. Make sure he knows other states have done this AND it’s a health care crisis. When you get their ear, let me know and I’ll send you the legislation I crafted with my legislator
@@Austin-mc3tp BOP won’t care until they are pressured. It’s why it took 4 years to get it accomplished here. And find a free well connected people to sponsor your cause
@@thomassturm1855 I would love to see the legislation you helped pass. They responded they just don't care. My state level Rep Tina Liebling is a monster and said to either quit my job, ask for better conditions or unionize. She won't do anything because it would be complicated and take a lot of time. Does that mean I can turn away my patients (mostly coming from Mayo Clinic from a round the world- so lots of transfers, transplant, cancer pts etc) becsuse they're complicated and take more time ie need translators?
My senator Carla Nelson acted concerned but canceled my meeting last minute and she does have a very terrible history but I was trying to give her the BOTD. But literally no one else has responded. I've contacted every local news station, newspaper, public radio, the Mayor. No one cares about pharmacy. And my city is called "Med City" what a joke. They need to rename it Mayo City. I guess it will take patients dying of med errors before people start to care. But I'm sure they'll just blame us and hate us more when that happens
This is giving me PTSD. It's so sad that this is a reality these days. We always get the blame. It's the system that's messed up.
I have PTSD from CVS
Having myself just gotten off a shift where the entire day we only had three techs working (one morning one mid one close) with one pharmacist at a time and about 500 scripts with Covid/flu shots every 10 mins and both rapid and pcr testing I started to cry while watching this video. This needs to stop. If we don’t have the people we should not be working at this measure. The testing should go down the time slots should be more spread out. The companies we work for should adjust to what we have in terms of available staff and not the other way around. Not to mention all the added skills we’ve had to acquire and adapt to through out this pandemic with not a dollar difference sent our way. This is just sad and hard to watch. I really loved pharmacy a few years ago I really wanted to be a pharmacist myself but now I just don’t know anymore. I feel at such a loss with all that’s is going on I don’t know who I am or what I’ll be. This all just sucks.
This is a perfect summary of what retail pharmacy is like post covid. Even if you worked for a pharmacy that didn't constantly cut hours, finding the staff to fill those hours under these stressful conditions especially when you could make more money than a tech working at a star bucks with no credentials needed. And because most pharmacist are salary they are left with the brunt of what can't get done by the techs within store hours. It is dangerous and the system In place places no value on patientcare
I don't have it this bad but I do turn away walk-ins even though we have a sign that says walk-ins welcome. I would decline all testing and extra stuff if I were you. My license, my rules.
Dude, I don’t know if anyone will see or pay attention to this, but this I think is the first RUclips video to make me cry, especially at the end with the music in the car. I’m a FT tech at CVS and I can’t take it anymore. I transferred locations thinking that was the problem. It was ok for a while, but when the vaccines picked up and flu and boosters with NOO extra help, in fact less help, that put the dagger in it for me.
I struggled with drinking too much as well. Can’t blame it entirely on the job but it was a big part. I’m in therapy now for that. Retail pharmacy literally makes me sick enough to vomit the food I haven’t eaten in 9 hours because hey, pharmacy staff aren’t human, why would they need to eat?
Anyway thanks for your content, your channel really cheers up me and a few of my ride or die coworkers. I just wish there was more I could do to help. My mission is to find as many sources as I can and contact them. We can’t just pretend it’s ok cuz PIZZAA ISN’T FUCKING WORKING!!! ✊✊✊
This video needs to go viral. Perhaps send it to a major news outlet, 20/20 etc.The public needs to know what’s going on. I could not find one second of this video that I could say “ oh that’s exaggerating a bit much”. I feel my PTSD symptoms coming back as I watch this. Such a powerfully accurate portrayal of a day in the life of a retail pharmacist 😓.
And the thing is it's exactly the same situation in Canada as well.
Not sure sending it to a major news network will work. It doesn’t attract viewers. I sent something to NPR, but it didn’t make the news cycle
@@thomassturm1855 all we can do is try
I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL! We are beyond overwhelmed! It's extremely hard and no one appreciates us. I'm dreading everyday and being yelled at everyday is wearing me down.
I agree with this entirely. I’m a technician and my pharmacy is down two of our weekday techs. It’s just myself on open with the pharmacist and one closer who comes in at 1pm. We are up over 20% in volume (we fill about 300 a day), have tests every 15mins, vaccines every 10 minutes (I’m also a certified immunizer) up until a half hour before closing, phones ringing constantly that we can’t answer.
It’s overwhelming. Looking at my heart rate from my Apple Watch after work it looks like I’ve literally run a marathon for 9 hours. Easily over 100bpm most of the day. Highest it got this week was 150bpm.
I’m so exhausted when I get off of work it takes every bit of will I have left to make myself dinner or tidy up around my apartment. My mental health is on a decline.
I used to love my job and I used to love helping patients, but they have been so nasty. I have been told by a patient that my best wasn’t good enough after a long wait in drive thru, I have been cussed at, screamed at over the phone. I don’t deserve this abuse. None of us do.
I don’t care anymore and I don’t want to help anyone anymore. I hate that I have lost my sense of purpose, my compassion, and my patience with people. Under these conditions it would be impossible not to.
And then corporate gets on us for not picking up phones by the 3rd ring, scripts not verified on time, calls not being done to remind patients to pick up scripts.
After 20 years at CVS, I finally quit. I had enough. A man passed out at my counter and all I could say out loud is, I don't have time for this shit. And I knew at that moment I was done. I was sad to leave my coworkers because I knew the extra burden they would be facing but my mental health was more important. It's been almost 3 months at my new job as a department manager at the spark and the stress is not even comparable. I hope there is a change coming ❤️
Made me cry with the scene of you in the car; I’ve been there way tooooooo many times myself. 😞
It’s insane that this is considered normal in retail pharmacy. Workers need unions and better working conditions. Patient safety is the last care of these big box retail stores, and employee well being doesn’t matter to them either.
Sometimes unionization doesn't always work out. Look at Kelloggs deciding to permanently replace all 1200 strikers with new people. There's enough pharmacists & technicians with huge school loans that will just take the job "temporarily" but then only to realize after a few years that it was a bit too long.
I am a tech and we are union When we complain to them they say there is nothing they can do about the hours. It is the company's choice and they can't make them give us more hours.
100% correct. Retail is getting DANGEROUS. The pharmacy is understaffed and they’re cutting hours. We have to be alone for two hours while opening AND closing! A lawsuit is GOING to happen and soon. Patients are getting fed up and so are we
Pharmacy was bad when I left in 2019. I was a tech for years, first at 3 letter and then at an independent, and I was in a pre-pharm program when I realized that it was not a good career path for me. I graduated with a different degree during the beginning of the pandemic and I've just watched my former co-workers get worse and worse in terms of mental health and stress. I'm an English teacher in Spain now, as far from pharmacy as I could get, and I'm so glad I got out when I did. I was extremely involved as a tech, I was on the board of directors for the technician academy of my states association, I made pretty decent pay, my independent was one of the ones still able to stay afloat, and it was still so draining. When I left, I cried because I was so worried that no one would care for my patients the way I did, so I know how hard it is for anyone still in pharmacy to even consider leaving, aside from financial reasons.
These chains literally do not care about you. My lead tech died in 2014 and they didn't give us any time off to mourn her death, and didn't replace her for months; they just had me and the other full time tech step in and work overtime for 3 months until they found someone, because they said I didn't have enough experience to officially take the job, despite having done it for months. They didn't even send flowers for her, corporate and district barely acknowledged she was gone, and she had worked there for 15 years.
Even with 2 certified technicians and 5 trainees our pharmacist quit because it was just getting too mich
I would be so happy if I could get more than 1 tech..
Also, I love how the doctor lectured him when they make a LOT of mistakes themselves! That pharmacy cleans up a LOT! Do we need to go there ? Lol
Doctors do make mistakes. I have had two episodes where the doctor prescribed Levsin Pb drops in ml's instead of drops. 15 ml instead of 15 drops.
WHY do people say "11th of the 2nd"? Why can't they just say February 11? I had never heard people express dates this way until I was in the pharmacy. Why??????
Not applicable to all patients-BUT Europeans and Canadians seem to do this because that is how it is written for them and how they are taught so to them we are the ones that do it backwards 😆
The pharmacy I worked at fired me because they wanted 18 med 4 week blisters done in 20 minutes all while answering phones, managing the pick up counter and filling everything else in the to do list. on-top of the new scripts coming in and it was just too much. That level of multi tasking is just impossible for most people. Because they fired the tech before me as well because she couldn't do it either.
This is about to go viral. Now, we need a video of every other medical profession because this represents what’s happening across the board in health care. I’m glad I retired two months before Covid and thank God everyday that I got out alive
Real !! We did over 600 today and 400 more to fill!!! Phone ringing all 8 lines, drive thru, both registers ringing up both lines of customers …..
I feel it too. I've been a Tech at a Retail Pharmacy for the past year 2021 and things have just gotten progressively worse. Once I thought I got the hang of the job/routine, the vaccine demands started and put it on Retail pharmacies. I did not sign up to work at a Covid Crisis Center with the calls and questions about vaccines. On top of that is the constant demand to fill prescriptions and no patience or understanding why there may be a "wait". It gets more frustrating every shift. Going to work is going into a shitshow.
As a former Pharmacy Tech & Best Buy employee it has been my experience that Corporate doesn’t care bc they will still make their all mighty dollar!! I 💯🙏🍀 for pharmacies and the ppl working there, I continue try to explain to my friends and family to not go off on pharmacy workers bc it’s NOT their fault!! God Bless & Good Luck
Very moving video. As a technician for 14 years, I can relate to this video.
the glock scene was done so well it was disturbing
All 100% true. The instances demonstrated here I've seen happen where I am. Sign on bonuses help a bit with actual staffing but there is FAR from efficient training for people who have no prior experience. It's completely insane. But, here is what also bothers me about this video and with where I am. WHY IS THERE APOLOGIES!? When you apologize you create a negative situation. Say, "thank you so much for your patience" or "thank you for waiting". Apologizing instantly sends a message that, yes...we have a problem. Make it a POSITIVE message.
I am sorry you had to make this video. Supposedly the greatest country in the world and this is how health care professionals treated. As replaceable parts. Of course you will take any job that you can get right out of school because you are staring down a six digit student loan balance. Pharmacy schools graduate how many new Doctors of Pharmacy to throw into this meat grinder every year? Right, their class sizes have doubled in the last twenty years. Churning out more new pharmacists to replace the ones the system breaks. This is what happens when you allow health care to become a business.
Maurice, you are my hero for this work of art video!! #pizzaisnotworking
I quit my job at Walgreens a month ago without notice after do 400-600 scripts a day with vaccines, and sometimes the pharmacy would be closed because company couldn’t find a pharmacist to work. Best decision I made this year even tho I’m left without a job. Although I do have an interview tomorrow for a hospital job.
Omg 11th of the second. Did you ever hear 12/double nickel? I totally forgot about these people. How do you remember all this stuff??
This is my first day off of a 64 hour week. I’m a technician at the 3 letter and I’m not even marked as full time. I’ve had hours like that since April when we had to let one of our techs go. Now it’s just me and another technician. The other 2 techs we have are both 65+ and retired and just help out. One will be gone for most of December. My last day is the 22nd. I feel bad about leaving but I can’t do it anymore. I’m not an immunizer but between vaccines, script count, pickup and drop off, plus making care calls, there’s not enough hours in a shift to get everything done. Something seriously has to change. I started in July 2020 and I never thought it could get this bad. I need to get as far away from retail pharmacy as I can.
Well, I was just sitting in my kitchen after work today (that’s all I have the energy to do) and wondering how I am going to make it through tomorrow and your video popped up. It made me realize how horrendous it is for everyone and the toll it is taking on all of us including our patients and families. It’s sad that we are all stuck on this sinking ship.
This was my life. Every day I wanted to drive my car into a tree. And now I'm fighting for those that feel they can't. And I'm fighting for Ashleigh #shewaited #PizzaIsNotWorking
Thank you for making this video. You exemplified so well what is happening. I am in tears, as this was my life until I left the big chain. I am so sad for our profession, all of the pharmacists and technicians still working in this awful environment because they don’t have any other options. Thank you.
Two things
1. Imagine doing this and NOT making $40+ /hr. Pharmacist should be getting paid more already now imagine a technician getting paid $16 maybe $20 tops!Rent, gas, and food has increased in price but technician pay hasn’t, if we’re on a single income with no help WE CANT PAY OUR BILLS!!! We’ve lost technicians because of pay, and when pharmacist advocate to pay techs more they get laughed at by corporate.
2. Patient accountability could help us so much in retail. The amount of (excuse my French) dumb shit these customers come in with is at an all time high. We need to really start explaining to patients what our work flow is and why it’s important for THEM to stay on top of their medications and health in general.
If I had a dollar for every time a patient ran out of refills and chewed ME out for it, I wouldn’t have to work in pharmacy lol I actually got kind of snotty to a patient who was yelling at me about his new script not being put on auto refill. I explained to him that, at the end of the day, it’s HIS medication, HIS medical condition that he has to manage, and HIS responsibility to take care of himself.
Or, my favorite, when a prescription wasn’t picked up on time and put back (happens so much more now because we don’t have time to call and remind people), and the patient comes to pick it up. “Oh, I’m sorry, we must have put it back.” “Well. I need it.” “Okay, what mediation was it so we can fill it for you?” “I don’t know, but I need it. Can’t you look up which one it was?” And I just tell them no, go home and figure it out. Then call us. If it was soooo important, they’d have picked it up on time 🙄🙄🙄
That was the most important message I've ever seen and one that has to be shared. It was hard to watch, but damn I live it every working day! I remember being told by the store manager that the solution to my problem was simply to quit. Does my quitting fix anything but my own suffering? Does it stop the awful working conditions? No it just makes someone else who hasn't burned out yet have to face the same thing....until they burn out.
100% accurate description of what is going on now in retail pharmacy. So recently I thought I would be a good guy and help out some small town community pharmacies that had no pharmacist......I hadn't done retail for a while...what a nightmare!! Not going back. The corporations know better...the work environment isn't safe and they know it. It's an unsafe work environment and I'm not putting my license on the line for their greater glory. Someone has already died recently from a med error in my state. I keep an imaginary bottle of "Jack Daniels" under the counter...I will go no faster than I can fill accurately. Corporate exploitation.
Called life365 after my own attempt at suicide... what a joke. Got a final written warning cause I wasn't there to open the pharmacy after 8 years of 4's and even two strait 5's on annual reviews. Word to the wise: don't take the sign on bonus, don't take the employer sponsored education loans, don't take a 401k loan they are all designed to force you to stay.
I would have closed the drive thru and did instore only and would unplug phones .
This is not your typical type of thing but I commend you for taking a moment away from the humor to highlight a serious issue. Things need to change and I hope people will start to see that. Thank you!
Thank you
Oh my god my man. Fellow retail pharmacist here.
Love to you and your family.
This is me. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Yes. I am 47 now. I feel like im 60.
I keep going for my kids.
My wife.
And for the few patients that appreciate me.
This is so true. I just got mt virtual board inspection and they were complaining that we didn't change the product expiration date on the labels we use on our compounding record form to 30 days from the day the medication was picked up. They never try to improve any of the real problems we face in pharmacy.
I retired from Walgreens over ten years ago. I couldn't wait to retire. I still wake up with nightmares about working there. I honestly think I suffer from PTSD.
It's a sad situation with retail pharmacies. The understaffing overwhelms you and there is so much going on. And yes, it is dangerous that this is allowed because the higher ups only care about profit and not only do the pharmacists and technicians suffer, but so do the patients. It sucks. I truly hope that you find something that rekindles your joy and improves your quality of life. I hope this channel you have created has brought you abundance. It is absolutely GENIUS! Sincerely, a stranger from the same profession.
Should pay for a nurse to do all the shots...not pharmacy
Agreed why do we need to be giving shots?
This is every day of my life 😭
This video perfectly describes my current working conditions ;-; (I'm a pharmacy tech tho who typically works w 1 pharmacist n 0-2 techs in an extremely busy pharmacy during a typical shift)
Dude in the pink shirt was believable
No one cares about the pharmacies and no one cares that lives are at stake in our profession!!! If doctors can have a secretary and a billing office and professional staff and so can we
We apologize TOO much !!!
It’s not only retail! Every type of pharmacy is dangerously understaffed! We all feel like this.
The fact that this video is still relevant today 🤦🏽♀️🥹🥲❤
Yes and our knees have to be replaced and our hands get arthritis and we have headaches when we get home !!!
Our jobs are a shit show
how many people encouraging kids to pursue medicine these days?
Man.... I am SO glad I was able to retire before all of this stuff really hit hard.
Thank you for making this. So relatable.
I’ve been in retail for 31 years. Big changes are coming! Trust me!
Idk how the board of pharmacy doesn't see this. Idk how new regulations aren't put into place. This is so accurate.
i didnt know technician hours are controlled by corporate. thats insane and ridiculous and greedy. wow pharmacy is a complex industry and deep.
Rx comedy or rx reality?
And we had the same call…. What’s going on over there ….
I became a pharmacy tech when the pandemic hit and I stayed there for a year and half. I just couldn’t do it anymore. My mom and boyfriend would even tell me. Your so different. I love it at 1st. I loved the patients and crew. But with the pandemic hitting and the lack of staffing. It became unbearable. I can relate with how he felt. I’m just lucky I was able to do something different. I’m so Grateful.
I think I needed to watch this. Had such a bad day at work due to a couple of mistakes I made and I was seriously considering quitting. I’ve only been a tech for 4 months, so there are things I’m still learning. Always nice to remember I’m not alone in this 🙏
You are not alone
7:34 It haunts us because we actually CARE!
My advice to anyone still there: GET OUT BEFORE THEY KILL YOU!
I left 6 years ago and wouldn't go back for $1M/year. It almost killed me.
The accuracy is unreal lmao. These past two days were absolute hell for me. 31+ pages today and I left it at 27. Drive thru closed for a month now Bc we’re so far behind so everyone flocks in store to the register. Thursdays are usually really bad for me in the sense that it’s just me and one of her tech plus the pharmacist, so we get nothing done. Fortunately it wasn’t terrible in the sense they sent a bunch of floaters over to help, but it didn’t really do much. Payroll at my store is irrelevant at this point but it’s the fact no one wants to come up and help out or work at our store 🤷🏻♀️🥲
seems as if you cut down the pauses between scenes, looks much better!!
Yes agreed
Can I include this video as part of a TikTok? I'm trying to spread awareness of our conditions
This is so true. Surprised the skit didn't include verbal self confirmation of who is going to stop living and point towards the pharmacist themselves explaining stress is going to be their undoing. #pizzaisnotworking
Only solution is
pharmacist salary $ 200 / hour
technician salary $ 50 / hour
Assistant salary $ 30 / hour
Otherwise nobody will stay in hell
I know it's corporate but why couldn't they just hire two pharmacists for each location
2 years ago but still true
Yes shots on top of everything!!!!
This is great. Maybe a training video for CEOs to have to watch.
This video needs to be viral literally. We ALL feel like this. It’s insane.
100% accurate @ Walgreens. We pay our pharmacy technicians lower then cashiers at Walmart or target. It’s such a large turn over rate, we cannot keep staff. We hired a new girl who quit after 2 hours. We’re running a pharmacy with one pharmacist and one technician to cover a 7 day work week because every one else quit and the pay is so awful nobody new will take the job
Bro, I felt that on so many levels. I have experienced the worst of it from constantly being whipped around, to a ton of unempathetic patients to coworkers yelling at you for not knowing what to do. It has out me in some really bad head spaces, basically felt like everyone would be happier if I dissapeared, oh and the alcohol too went through that as well. But luckily I have a couple of cowerkers that have supported me through the worst of it and lowkey I kinda owed them my life.
I found your channel prior to an interview for a pharmacy dispensing job (I was just a lackey, not qualified in pharmacy but I was at uni at the time). I got the job, worked one day and quit immediately. I actually loved working there for that single day, but the pharmacy manager tasked me with many things that a new worker shouldn't be tasked with - like selling drugs to people without knowing the proper interactions. I hated having to consistently bother the extremely busy pharmacist for advice because I was worried about the patients safety. I voiced my concerns to the manager and she gave me a book containing thousands of drug interactions and told me to learn them. This job was barely scraping minimum wage, they expect too much of everyone in the pharmacy and it's dangerous and unfair.
I got nervous just watching this.
I have kept working past my shift and then been told by the pharmacist to go home because of hours. Felt so bad leaving. Just crazy.
That guy in the pink shirt deserves an Oscar.
Yes
I understand this too well.
This video is hilarious but so true.
I remember this so clearly. I wish I could bring you all to the inpatient side with me.
Tell me about it
One of the best videos you’ve ever done!!
Why don’t you try hospital pharmacy
We understaffed too lol, but not nearly as bad
Thanks Dr Shaw for being the voice for all of us !!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍🏼🌸🌸🥰🥰🥰 this is so real !!
I'd share this on my Facebook but the gun/suicide thing worries me
The gun/suicide scene may trigger some people but the strong message is clear. I have known several pharmacists who have contemplated suicide from the atrocious working conditions. One almost successfully did so (although not with a handgun) until family intervened.
All valid.
Forreal like my pharmacy is mad understaffed it’s not even funny like it be four of us one pharmacist running around in a chicken coop with our heads chopped off 😂😂🤣😅
Lord 😢
My Life......
I just started as night pharmacist for Wags. It’s ok until 7am. Everybody wakes up then. I don’t get help until 7:30 am.
This is so depressing to see, I go to pharmacies here in New Zealand and quite often there's 1 pharmacist and a 2-3 techs for even small local pharmacies.