I am looking to become a pharmacy technician, so I interviewed a current pharmacy tech, Mary, who has been in the field for five years now and Andy the Pharmacist who has been in the field for over 20 years. I observed Pharmacy in Pittsburgh. The pharmacy has been my family's go-to pharmacy for many years. My mom and the pharmacist, Andy, are close friends so I was able to set up an interview with no issues. .
When I walked into the pharmacy I noticed how large the place was. Although, it didn't have a drive thru. It's a huge room that's separated from the OTC drugs and prescription drugs by a short wall where the pharmacy techs and pharmacists stand behind with a counter. The pharmacy is brightly lit with lights all over the ceilings. The pharmacy looked very clean and organized. At this pharmacy there is a ratio of 2 technicians working with 1 pharmacist. The way the pharmacies stock is organized behind the counter is alphabetical order by generic name. Observing the stock location which was along the walls and on three tall bookcases behind the counter, I noticed how big of a thing organization is at this pharmacy. The prescriptions are all placed on the shelves by generic or brand name. And once the prescriptions are all filed they are placed in alphabetical order by patient last name for the customers to come pick up. There's also a refrigerator on the back wall and I also noticed a locked shelf there as well. Two medications that I saw were in the refrigerator were Pegasys and Forteo, which are medications that must be refrigerated both in the pharmacy and once they are dispensed to patients The counter height from my observation of Mary was mid torso height, perfect height if you're standing to have your back straight. I also saw a few counting trays on the counter as well. I observed that the pharmacy techs wear something that identifies them as a pharmacy technician so that they cannot be confused with a pharmacist.