Why did you become a pharmacy technician?

I had always been interested in doing something in the medical field because I like working with people, and I like to feel like I’m helping—or contributing—to society in some way. I had a job at Walmart as a teenager. I worked in apparel, as a cashier, at the snack bar. I think I’ve done almost every department except for electronics. A position opened up in the pharmacy, so that’s where I went next. Now, I’m the lead pharmacy technician at my store and I have been for about six years.

What does a day at work look like for you?

I get there about 30 minutes before the pharmacy opens to catch up on prescriptions that have come in overnight and to make the pharmacy schedule for the other technicians. 

As technicians, we order drugs. We pull out-of-date drugs. We follow the process for filling prescriptions and take phone calls from insurance companies. We make phone calls to the insurance company to process claims as well. We check with the doctors to make sure the pharmacists have the information they need. A lot of people think that they need to speak to the pharmacist every time. But pharmacy technicians can actually help them with a lot of things, such as refills over the phone or checking the price of a medication. Then, it’s mostly trying to be as efficient and quick as we can while keeping the patient’s safety in mind. 

If you’ve never worked in a pharmacy, you just do not realize how much is involved in filling a prescription and what a long process it actually is. It’s not just putting a medicine in the bottle and shipping it out the door. There’s so much more to it than that.

Friendliness is really important—so is being on time and being trustworthy. I guide the other technicians and train them on things that I know from years of experience that they haven’t had yet. I want to make sure that my staff and my customers have a good experience all the way around.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

I really enjoy working with people. I’m there to help people. Usually when someone comes to the pharmacy, they’re ill. There’s something about making their day a little brighter when they’re not feeling well, it’s rewarding—even if you’re just helping them with the prices of medications.

I had a couple come in and they didn’t have insurance, but they were really, really sick. They needed their medication, and it was so expensive. I worked with them to call the doctor’s office to see if I could change to medications that weren’t as expensive. Then, of course, I helped them find discount cards that would help them get their prices down. They were able to actually get all of their medication filled and they were appreciative. I was really glad that I could help them that way.

I’ve made so many connections through the pharmacy. I have a good relationship with a lot of our customers. We have a small hometown store, so you can actually get to know people. It’s nice to have that. I just like to interact with our patients. That’s my favorite part of it.

What should customers know to save money?

It’s beginning to be more well known that there are resources out there to help people afford their medications. But, I feel like it’s important for pharmacy technicians to get the word out that there are ways to reduce the price of medication, besides insurance. Patients don’t have to make the decision whether to get their medication or not because the price is too high.

What does this award mean to you?

I was actually very surprised. It’s so nice to know that in some small way I have impacted someone’s day, or even more beyond that. Having enough of an effect on some of our customers that they would take the time out to nominate me really means a lot.