Marcie Quinn, Pharm.D., won the Best Pharmacy Mentor award because her love of taking care of people extends beyond her customers to her students, community, and nearly everyone else she comes into contact with. In 2020, Marcie transitioned into a teaching position at Wayne Community College training pharmacy technicians, but still maintains a part-time position with Walgreens, filling in as often as she can and helping to run vaccination clinics.

What’s one thing you wish people knew about pharmacists?

I think people need to know how rigorous it is, in both education and in the job itself, and how much we worry. We worry and stress way more than they realize. I wish people knew how much we care about them and their medication, and I want them to know that pharmacists are really here to take care of you: To most of us, it’s not just a job. 

Tell us about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.

There was a patient who needed a very expensive medication, one that’s thousands and thousands of dollars. The patient had just gotten out of the hospital, it was a Friday night, and their insurance wouldn’t cover the medication. I could either give them a couple of pills and have the pharmacy lose money, or potentially have this patient go right back to the hospital again because he was in a really bad state. 

I made an executive decision to call the hospital and talk to the doctor. I let him know that the medication he prescribed was not covered, and that I was planning on giving him enough for the weekend, but I asked the doctor what his plan was long-term. 

Pharmacists are really here to take care of you. To most of us, it’s not just a job. 

The doctor was on it: He told me he would get a prior authorization but asked me to give the patient enough medication for three days. Sure enough, on Monday morning the doctor got it approved, and the patient came back to get the rest of the medication. 

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your job?

It was scary when COVID started: I was the pharmacy manager with a team of 11 people, and it mentally took a toll. I worried about my patients and my staff, I worried about taking it home to my family. I wasn’t worried about myself because that’s not the kind of person I am, but it was hard running a store because my staff was so scared. 

I kept telling them, “Y’all, it’s going to be alright. We’re going to make it.” I tried really hard to be supportive; I always bought them food and tried to support them, mentally, emotionally, and physically. We did the best we could. But it was hard when everybody else was at home and we were still providing care—we never closed.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone considering a career in pharmacy?

You have to love people and you have to love your job because if you’re just looking at the dollar amount, you won’t last. People like me, who’ve been in pharmacy since they were 18, tend to do better than people just starting out, because the pharmacy schools are not always preparing their students for retail jobs. 

That’s one thing I think the schools could do better and in this new program role for Wayne Community College, working with technicians, I tell my students, “If you don’t like people, do not go into a retail pharmacy setting.” Or I tell them that if they’re like me, if they need interaction because they’re a people person, don’t go into a setting where you’re just by yourself dealing with hospital medication orders.

What does this nomination mean to you?

Somebody has acknowledged that I’ve truly been doing what I’m supposed to be: that I made an impact and I helped people. That is my goal.