It’s instantly clear that T’Rheya Eberhardt, CPhT, loves the community she’s a part of and wants them to be as healthy as they can be. Eberhardt has been a pharmacy technician for 10 years, three of which she’s spent at Walmart #3741 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Eberhardt’s customers appreciate her personalized approach and her dedication to meeting their needs—which often means going the extra mile. “My wife wanted to transfer her prescriptions to Walmart, but there was a breakdown in getting the information from the former pharmacy,” one customer explained. “Ms. Eberhardt worked during her break to get the information she needed.”

In addition to continuously going above and beyond, Eberhardt is committed to informing patients about their medications, which is why she has been named this year’s Best Technician for Education. 

“I fill a lot of prescriptions,” she explains. “I help with insurance. I help with trying to get discounts for the patients or lead them in the right direction. I help the customers throughout the day. If it’s not on the phone, I’m at the register. If I’m not at the register, I’m out helping in the store, giving them directions or finding what they’re looking for.” 

Instead of taking credit for her hard work, Eberhardt is quick to highlight her coworkers, too: “Having a good team behind you makes a great pharmacy technician as well.” 

Here, she discusses her experience in the industry and why her passion lies in customer education.

Why did you decide to become a pharmacy technician?

I wanted to be in health care, and I wanted to help people learn about the different medications out there. My grandma was taking a lot of medicine, and I thought, “I want to know what this is for. I want to do more research.”

Before working at Walmart, I was a store manager at Rite Aid for five years, and then I decided to become a pharmacy technician with Rite Aid. It was something that I was already curious about. It was a good learning process for me and a great time to learn.

What drives you to help your customers?

I try to provide the best customer service because I would want somebody to treat me with that same respect or go the long haul for me as well. You don’t know what people are going through these days. 

Tell us about the community your pharmacy serves.

I grew up in my community, actually, and the pharmacist that I work with grew up here, too. We even went to the same high school. I decided to come back home because the doctors are great here and they take really good care of my daughter. I lived far away, but I was still working for Walmart and was able to transfer my job. It’s very rewarding knowing that I can come back home and give back to my own community and try to help people that I’ve grown up with and their children, their parents, and their grandparents. 

How do you relate to your customers?

My daughter was diagnosed with lupus in 2019. I feel like I was put in this position and this industry for a reason because when she was diagnosed, I already knew the drugs, knew what she needed to take, and what the diagnosis entailed. Going through that myself gave me a lot more patience. It gave me a lot more understanding with insurance and with making sure certain medications stay in stock.

How do you educate customers about their medications?

We catch mistakes at the pharmacy, such as if the doctor doesn’t realize that another doctor has prescribed something else and there are drug interactions between the two medications. In addition to providing medication pamphlets and labels to customers, as techs, we ask the pharmacist for information so we can let patients know about any drug interactions. 

I try to provide the best customer service because I would want somebody to treat me with that same respect.

I also let my customers know how to care for their prescriptions, such as storing them in the right places. For instance, if it’s insulin, I tell them to make sure to keep it in the fridge. If it’s a certain medication that can’t be in moisture or sunlight, I let them know. I either place a little label on their prescription or verbally tell them. 

I also make calls to patients to make sure they don’t miss their medications. We’ll call just to remind patients, “We’ve got a prescription ready for you.”

In addition to education, how do you go above and beyond for your customers?

I’ve had patients that call in at 8:40 p.m. and say, “I need this for my baby.” If the pharmacist has to go, I’ll just wait in front of the pharmacy until the parent gets there. Most of the time, I can get the insurance to pay for it completely or use a discount card. It’s not that much, but I’ve paid for numerous prescriptions over the years for elderly customers, or any customer, if they need it. I don’t mind helping out.

Can you tell us about a time a customer was especially appreciative of you?

There was a husband and a wife. The lady was trying to get her medicine from another pharmacy. It was a small pharmacy, and it was so hard to get in touch with them. I think I worked for about three days on that particular couple’s medication. I finally got in touch with the pharmacy, and that’s when I found out we were out of stock of the medication and had to order more. 

When we finally got the medication in, it came in right before our lunch break. I said, “She’s been waiting for this for a while.” So I worked through lunch, which wasn’t a problem. 

I called them, and said, “Guess what? We finally got it ready for you.” She said, “Oh my goodness, Ms. T’Rheya, you just don’t know how bad I needed this.” She was so happy. She cried at the register and moved all her prescriptions to our store. I’ll never forget that couple. They were just so grateful and humble. 

What does this nomination mean to you?

This is awesome. To think somebody would go the extra mile to nominate me in their off-time, that’s awesome. It really means a lot. It means that I’ve reached some of my patients and that I’m really cared for—so it makes me want to stay in this field. I know there are people out there who care. I’m doing something right.