Notes Summary!

What surprised me?
The thing that most surprised me during my second observation, was probably how busy the pharmacy got when I was there. There were very long lines, and the technicians had to work very quickly.
What intrigued me?
The most intriguing part of the Walgreen's visit, was definitely the Parata Max machine. I never knew a machine like that existed. It filled a bunch of prescriptions by itself so the Pharmacists didn't have to.
What disturbed me/
Without a doubt the most disturbing thing about my observation, was how rude one of the customers were to the technicians. She was extremely impatient and not very good at hiding it. She complained to no end, and yet the technicians were still very accommodating and polite to her! It was shocking.
What did I find boring?
The only thing that could really be considered boring, would be the fact that the Pharmacy staff had to count inventory a lot. In my opinion, that would get old after a while.
How do these observations compare/contrast with your first observation?
The second observation was very similar to the first. Every thing that was described to me during the interview of my family friend, was executed by the workers at Walgreen's. There were hardly any differences at all. The only thing that could possibly stand out would be that during the interview, my friend never mentioned how rude customers can be sometimes.

Observation 2

Location: Local Walgreen's
For my second observation, I visited Walgreen's pharmacy. I spent a couple hours observing patients dropping off and picking up prescriptions, and the process of the Pharmacy filling them. As mentioned by my interviewee in my last observation, the area was well lit, and appeared very clean. One of the techniciancs, Rita, was very helpful and friendly. She told me a lot about her typical day, her duties, and what goes on in the pharmacy. As explained in my previous observation, much of the day is consumed by filling prescriptions, inventory, and keeping things organized.
Around six o clock, the Pharmacy got really busy. It was interesting to see how the pharmacy Technicians handled the chaos and, in some cases, rudeness of customers. There was one woman in particular, who was extremely impatient. She was about fourth in line and repeatedly complained about how long the line was taking. However, when her turn finally came, the pharmacy techs, including Rita, were still very polite and courteous.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about my visit to Walgreen's, was the Parata Max machine they had. It is a very large machine that was located in the middle of the pharmacy. It is used to fill all of the most common prescriptions so the pharmacists don't have to pull from inventory all the time.
Before this observation, I strongly felt that I could see myself working in an environment like this one. After vising, my feelings were further confirmed. I can't wait to learn and observe more about the fascinating field of Pharmacy!

Observation 1

Interview: Family friend; Pharmacist in Walgreen's

I am very interested in becoming a pharmacist. I would like to be a supervising pharmacist at a local CVS or Walgreen's. I figured that interviewing one would be a very good idea. Our family friend, who chooses to remain anonymous, was kind enough to share some information about her profession.

She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the supervising pharmacist in a Walgreen's.

She works: and average of 40 hours a week

Her yearly Salary: $105,000 a year

Her job interview: The company took her out to dinner. She said when pharmacists apply for jobs, it is more like the pharmacist is interviewing the company to see if they would like to work there.

Her Job Description: Dispensing medication, advise patients about general health questions they may have regarding things such as diet, exercise, stress management, etc., and sometimes counseling patients on the use of prescription and over the counter medication.
She is also responsible for keeping records of patients drug therapies to prevent drug abuse and other harmful drug interactions. She makes sure that all of the prescriptions she fills are accurate.

When asked to describe her work environment, she described it as very clean, well ventilated, and very well lit. She sometimes has to wear gloves or a mask when she is dealing with dangerous products. When the pharmacy is really busy, and they are short staffed, things get pretty hectic.

Overall: She describes her job as very stressful and hectic at times but very rewarding.

After the interview, my desire to enter into this profession grew immensely. I really enjoy the fact that this job would allow me to help people. It offers reasonable hours, and a very respectable yearly salary. I learned that pharmacists spend most of their day on their feet. With all the medications they have to provide and fill, that makes sense. It seems like a very challenging, but exciting profession.