Rotation 3: Community

Posted by Makenzie at Sunday, October 06, 2019

I had my community rotation at a big chain pharmacy, but it felt like a family-owned pharmacy at times.  There was no drive-through, the same pharmacist had been there for ten years, and the staff knew their patients well.  I would estimate about half of the patients greeted the pharmacist and the full-time technician by name.  Patients would call the pharmacy and ask for the pharmacist by name to discuss medication-related issues.  Through this rotation I was able to witness how community pharmacists can make a huge impact on patients and how their work could keep patients out of the hospital, healthier longer, and more confident in their medications.

As far as my responsibilities went, it included typing, filing, verifying, as well as helping patients with OTC medication selection.  I also had one particularly memorable 45 minute telephone conversation with a patient’s insurance company.  Additionally, I administered as many vaccinations as possible.  The patients ranged from first-year university students about to start school as well as elderly people who had been waiting months for their first Shingrix shot.  Managing the Shingrix waitlist and calling patients when they advanced on the list was a special project of mine.  Towards the end of my rotation, we received our first batches of the flu vaccine.  During that time, the pace certainly picked up to address the vaccination need.

Overall, it was a great experience to work in a large chain pharmacy that still maintained a small pharmacy feeling.  The interaction with patients were largely rewarding and positive and prepared me well to transition to ambulatory care for my next block.