In the past seven years, Alice “KD” Prince, CPhT, has learned that being a pharmacy technician is so much more than ringing up prescriptions: It’s also becoming a part of many of her patients’ lives. “I think the attachment really surprised me because I didn’t think I would be that attached to the people who I have helped, but I really am,” she says.

Prince has celebrated patients’ birthdays, witnessed their weddings, and mourned their passings. She even attended the adoption ceremony of one of her youngest patients, a 9-year-old girl whose step-grandmother had filed for adoption. “I just love her,” Prince says. “She came and saw me yesterday. We trade little toys.” 

Prince enjoys the relationships she’s developed with her patients so much that she commutes 40 minutes from her home in Georgia to work at Walmart #3619 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, despite the fact that she passes several pharmacies along the way. 

“I’m very connected and I love the relationships,” she says. “I do it because of my customers—because I love them, they love me, and they usually come to me first.” 

In 2021, she earned her state license to work as a pharmacy technician in Georgia so that she could occasionally help other stores—and community members—closer to her home as well.

Prince’s journey into pharmacy began when she was working a job that offered tuition reimbursement for employees. “I was young and I had a son, and I knew I wanted better for him,” she says. “I knew I should take advantage of the schooling, and I remembered my dad always saying how he would love for me to be a pharmacist. It was this little voice in the back of my head, saying, ‘This is what you should do.’”

Her career as a certified pharmacy technician has taught Prince that she can make a difference in the lives of her patients and also have a little fun while forming meaningful connections along the way. We speak with the 2023 Best of the Best Pharmacy Award winner about her drive to go above and beyond every day.

How have your personal experiences helped make you a better pharmacy technician?

Two years after I began my career as a pharmacy technician, my father was diagnosed with cancer. My training became an asset when helping him manage his medications. Going through that experience deepened my understanding of the challenges patients face and made me very empathetic. One of my patients actually helped me because she had the same cancer as my dad, so she was going through the same thing.

What helps make you successful in your position?

My coworkers. We rely on each other. We’re a smaller pharmacy—a Walmart Neighborhood Market—and we’re like a little family. Without their help, I couldn’t do what I do or be who I am. They know I’m a talker, especially with patients, so sometimes they joke, “It’s not tea time, KD. Stop talking.”

What have been some of the most intense challenges you have faced in your work?

My store was a pilot store for the antiviral medication, Paxlovid. I went in one day, and we were overwhelmed because we were one of the only stores in a 50-mile radius that had it. I live in Georgia, but I work in Tennessee, and I had people driving from where I live to my store to get it. 

I remember around that same time, one of my favorite patients was at the drive-thru in the passenger seat and her husband was in the driver’s seat. She could tell I was so overwhelmed. She said to her husband, “Ask her if she wants us to sit here for a second so she can get through with whatever it is.” And they did. 

In times like that, you’re running back and forth, filling people’s prescriptions, and helping customers. It can be a lot.

Despite these challenges, is there time for fun in pharmacy?

Fun is a definite must in the pharmacy. I try to make people’s days with my jokes or just a smile and a kind word. During COVID, we learned a lot. It was a very depressing time and not many people were going places unless they absolutely had to—but the pharmacy was one of those places. We had a Disney Day, where we all wore Mickey ears, and the customers loved it. It was just the levity that some people needed. We also have team days during football season. (Go Dawgs!)

How do you help patients save money on their prescriptions?

Personally, I use discount cards all the time because my insurance isn’t affordable for my son’s medicine. It’s around $600. When I add SingleCare or other discount options, the cost comes down to $100. That is so much more manageable. 

A lot of people think they can’t use a discount card because they have insurance. But I try to help them understand their savings options: You can use either your insurance or the discount and choose the better price. 

I’ve had people who know they need the medicine, but they say they can’t afford it because it’s either that or food. I had a patient the other day whose medicine through her insurance was around $400. I told her I could change it to $57 using a discount card. She said, “I can afford that. I can’t afford $400.” 

Adding a simple discount card can be the difference in someone getting their meds, so I try my best to always find the patient the best price. 

What drives you to go above and beyond for your customers?

I like to make people happy. There’s one patient who had insurance, but he was paying a lot for Xarelto because he didn’t have the brand savings card. He said, “Nobody’s ever told me about it.” I couldn’t sign him up, but I told him to go to the manufacturer’s website, sign himself up, and bring it back. He brought the savings card back an hour later, and his total went from more than $100 to $10 a month. 

I love when people are happy and they don’t have to spend money. I like to save money, so I feel good when I help somebody save something—even if it’s $10.

What’s one of your favorite memories so far in your career?

One of my all-time favorite stories is when an older lady called the pharmacy one day during COVID very upset. She wasn’t our patient, but she had purchased reading glasses at our store. She couldn’t really see and had already returned a pair. Another associate had helped her find a second pair and promised her it was the glasses she was looking for. 

Unfortunately, when she got home, she realized they were still not the right ones, which is why she was calling. She didn’t drive and had to schedule transportation, so she could only come to our store on certain days, but she needed the glasses before her next visit.

I took it upon myself to deliver the glasses she needed to her. She was so over the moon that someone would take time out of their day to do that for her. She was such a sweet older lady who didn’t have a lot of help. I learned a lot from that situation—that everyone needs a little help once in a while.