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It's mighty interesting going to work these days. I always thought it was a bit fun because dealing with the public usually brings surprises, but lately there is always something new from district, too. Not only are we getting our payroll hours cut (yes, in the cough/cold/flu/H1N1 season and when our #s are up) but we will also have the honor of working with some of our superiors, as they are now going to spend some time in the stores. The DMs, OVPs, RVPs, MVPs, or whatever the heck they are called (I need a flow chart to figure out who my boss is!) will be working with us occasionally. At first I thought: good, some help in the trenches. But then I began to wonder if this is how they observe us and figure out who will not be passing the interviews/test in the future...even tho POWER is "on hold". Am I being paranoid? Well, I guess I'll just be working the way I always do (which I know is not fast enough for them), but I really do take this filling prescription stuff seriously, and don't want to go home every night wondering if I helped or hurt someone that day. By the way, does the voluntary severance include keeping medical insurance? (Oh, and to caleb508: very eloquent!..you said it far better than I did.)
I am going to blow this up and hang it up next to the walgreens oath plaque....BRAVO!!!! WHERE THE HECK ARE THE STATE BOARDS..WHERE ARE THE PHARMACISTS!!! SHAME ON WALGREENS...SHAME SHAME SHAME...
I have been a pharmacist with wag for over 6 years..love my job, love the challenge, love the phones ringing love it all... Now I find out that there are certain tricks that no one has ever explained to me the significance of f1, f4 and sig codes....and that these figures can affect our future with the company??? Not the customer service, not the calls to a doctor when there is a drug interaction....but the figures are the most important thing in our career??? then by all means walgreens ...have your technicians verify the prescriptions...and we will make sure that every one these united states knows the truth....I didn't go to school to f4 or f1 and i know my sig codes very well...seriously,,,, Are there any lawyers out there???
ksdimarco I'm glad you're happy at the $4 giant but we often follow behind Wags. If Wags makes POWER work we will follow. When we got our new computer system we were told it would better connect us with our patients and allow more time for counseling etc etc. Since that time the the number of scripts each RPh is responsible for has steadily increased, 50% in my stores case. Every time an enhancement to the system is added it improves patient safety and/or compliance with state and federal laws BUT adds a more time to the process of filling the script. Currently we've had 40+ enhancements. Our new pharmacys are not desinged to take advantage of all the computer system can do or mimize distractions to the pharmacist or be efficient in general. Any attempts to point this out to upper management are met with a response similar to HappilyEmployeds post.
At the corporate level retail pharmacy is not about provinding the best patient care/customer service it is about providing the minimally acceptable level of service.
I want to thank all of you for the info you have provided. I heard from this blog hours were being cut. And guess what? The cutting has started in my district. Stores with an increase in avg script counts are having hours cut? I thot it worked the other way round. Now we don't have POWER OR CCR yet so what is the rational behind this? Increased efficiency, transforming pharmacy, reforming heathcare?
We have started getting these surveys asking closed end questions regarding things like understanding the wag co goals, supervision communication skills etc.
I would like to know
1. Are these the questions tht r asked prior to implementing power?
2. As far as it applies to rxm's, r the questions directed to the MGR or RXS? Since the Mgr has more of a direct impact on the day to day and the rxs maybe monthly?
To all those disconcerted employees (mostly pharmacists it seems):
When reading these posts (all of them) I can't help but feel for the customer. Our jobs exist to serve the customer, and unlike many other industries, we have the privilege of serving them in a manner that is necessary to them. So while they can choose any pharmacy, they must choose one. There is no choice, especially in today's economy, to simply down-size and make do without necessary/maintenance medications. It is from that perspective that we must remember why we are here to begin with.
With that in mind, all this griping seems a bit selfish, no? Everyone everywhere has complaints about their employer/boss. While some are more valid than others, nevertheless we are all essentially in the same boat. So why not make that boat ride a little smoother for all? Obviously POWER was created and implemented with everyone in mind. As to the many references to the "bottom line" for Walgreens; is this different from any other company? In any industry? Reducing the bottom line reduces prices for our customers as well. It doesn't reduce your bottom line unless you let it, and, it seems, many of you are. So reducing the bottom line, in this case, does so by streamlining the pharmaceutical process. Those who aren't interested in participating in that streamlining are therefore, expendable, as insubordination indicates an unwillingness to perform one's job efficiently, accurately, and professionally. Some aspects of holding a job/career that I find to be automatic/common sense/assumed. It shames me to see and hear the things I do about POWER. I realize change never comes easily to quit a few people; however to those who are supposed to be educated and experienced enough to understand such a concept, it is truly disappointing to see it so unwelcome. Another common theme, "glorified cashier," although I understand and feel your pain, has the concept of the impact that has on the customer escaped you? I, for one, would think very highly of a pharmacy/pharmacist that bothered to make it a point to have that kind of interaction occur on every one of my pharmacy experiences. Just because a customer does not request counseling does not mean they don't need it. I should think that a very important part of being a pharmacist; serving the patient. You'd prefer to spend your time on the phone with the insurance company or bent over like a monkey double counting pills? I've more experience than I'd care to admit working with pharmacists and micro-managing seems to be so common a trait that I wonder if it isn't a prerequisite. That, in turn, leads to a thought: "Is that why they are so unaccommodating?"
As for the CPO, they certainly aren't what they should be. However the improvement is significant. Considering that, imagine where they'll be in a year or two more? Do you honestly expect a pilot to take off perfectly and remain so? Again, I question intelligence vs. bitterness. They maintain statistical data on each and every employee that tracks not only the efficiency of their job, but each key stroke as well. Due to the shear number of employees, one who may not be "up to par" might take more time than necessary to weed out, but it does happen. The system is in place to retain the experienced and/or intelligent enough employees to eventually achieve the goal in mind. The same one we are all familiar with that many seem to have lost a hold of. Obviously the transition is frustrating, however why make it more so by being overly concerned with issues that are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the whole? Why the resistance? What do you think it says to the customer to hear that you feel you are employed by an incompetent employer? It makes you look the incompetent one in one of two (or both) ways: Are you stupid enough to work for some one whom you think incompetent and then share it with the customer? Or are you too ignorant to perform your job to company standards? Either way, I wouldn't want you advising me on anything much less my medications. Similar to what is in place at the CPO to "weed out" the incompetent, there is a system in place in the stores as well.
So stop complaining, enjoy that you, unlike many, are employed and "go with the flow." Because otherwise you make it harder for everyone else, most importantly the customer. Yes, the customer, those without whom we would not have a job at all. From the selfish perspective, you make it awfully hard on yourself as well. Morale? Lead by example. It has worked in many pharmacies despite downsizing, and can work for you too, should you step up and handle it properly. Recognize that policies are placed and implemented for a reason. Do us all a favor; get on or get off.
Yours Truly,
Experienced on all "levels" with Walgreens
Ah yes, the let the orchestra swell with emotional underflow. When all elsefails play the "think of the poor customer" card. This is clearly written by someone with little clue as to what is actually happening at the pharmacy level. The very fact there is a drive to have the average wait time at 13 minutes or less speaks volumes about speed over safety. And when you are rushing to meet this performance index exactly where is the time to counsel or educate the patient? There isn't any. I do make it for my patients, however, and flatly ignore the wait time issue. THe one time it was brought up to me I rattled off the cases we had lost and how many millions we had paid out over the last several years and the shut up and left me alone. Smart move. As my state board said during a pharmacist meeting: It's your license and you are the one who will be held responsible for what happenes in your pharmacy...not the unlicensed district manager. But once the company began dressing store managers like McDonald's managers (literally, the female outfit are identical!) everything that needed saying was siad in that moment.
To write a response like this in the face of a company that has done a 180 degree turn on their original pharmacy school recruitment spiel "We are better than our competitors because we think it is unsafe to have our pharmacists work long shifts", dodge the lunch issue on 12 hour days, and then call us bitter and selfish is the height of arrogance. My management panicked when I told them I was going to start closing for lunch for 30 mintes on the 12 hour days. The laws allowed it and our competitors already do it for a full hour when working pharmacists that long...but not Walgreen's. During our first meeting I was told (and I quote) "We can't tell you you can't do it, but we would prefer you don't." Apparently the company's famed "Four Way Test" only applies when it benefits the company.
It's mighty interesting going to work these days. I always thought it was a bit fun because dealing with the public usually brings surprises, but lately there is always something new from district, too. Not only are we getting our payroll hours cut (yes, in the cough/cold/flu/H1N1 season and when our #s are up) but we will also have the honor of working with some of our superiors, as they are now going to spend some time in the stores. The DMs, OVPs, RVPs, MVPs, or whatever the heck they are called (I need a flow chart to figure out who my boss is!) will be working with us occasionally. At first I thought: good, some help in the trenches. But then I began to wonder if this is how they observe us and figure out who will not be passing the interviews/test in the future...even tho POWER is "on hold". Am I being paranoid? Well, I guess I'll just be working the way I always do (which I know is not fast enough for them), but I really do take this filling prescription stuff seriously, and don't want to go home every night wondering if I helped or hurt someone that day. By the way, does the voluntary severance include keeping medical insurance? (Oh, and to caleb508: very eloquent!..you said it far better than I did.)
Actually, this is a GREAT idea. The leadership of Walgreen's has clearly lost touch with the base of it's operations and needs some real time experience on the receiving end of their decision making. For the good Pharmacy Managers this will be an added chance to have more face time with the company's decision makers. For the bad pharmacy managers (and there are a number of these, unfortunately), it will expose the need for the company to reevaluate who it is putting in lead positions and how they are being paid for it.
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