Professional Service Experience

-------------------------------------------------

Professional Service Experience

Desiree R Puerto

March 24, 2016

Group 3

March 24, 2016

Group 3

I started my second Introductory to Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) at Walgreens Store #3374 under Dr. Stanley Kotie. An American pharmaceutical company, Walgreens is the largest drug retailing chain in the United States; it specializes in “serving prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, and photo services.” Alongside Dr. Kotie, more commonly known as Stan, I was also under the supervision of a pharmacy technician. As head pharmacist, it was Dr. Kotie’s role to check the prescriptions before they were transferred to the patients, to answer phone calls from patients and other healthcare professionals, to catch any prescribing and/or transcribing errors, and to ensure patient safety by consulting with the patients about the medications they were taking.

The clientele at the Walgreens was very diverse. There were people of all ages and ethnicities that entered the pharmacy on a daily basis. At the time of my IPPE, there was a high influx of patients in need of flu medication. There was also a high influx of patients who came to pick up birth control prescriptions for the Nuvaring and Minastrin. A lot of the barriers that my coworkers and I encountered resulted from the patients being unaware of insurance changes, which then changed the prices that they had to pay out of pocket, and not having the medications that the patients needed. During my tenure, flu season was in full effect; as a result, the pharmacy ran out of Tamiflu very quickly. Other Walgreens in the area even called to see if our store had any Tamiflu because they too had run out.

In terms of communication, the staff and I communicated very well. They explained what needed to be done, and I executed the necessary tasks. They were also very open and helpful about teaching me the inner workings of a...