WALMART PHARMACISTS BRING KNOWLEDGE AND CARE TO THE JOB

Next time you head out to Walmart, don’t forget to visit the pharmacy. Why? Because of pharmacists like Daman reet Kaur

Daman Preet Kaur has been a pharmacist for over twenty years. Simply put, Daman was drawn to the career because she has a mindset of helping other people. “I wanted to serve people in a community setting,” she said. Her career at Walmart has allowed her to do exactly that. Through accreditation, pharmacists bring broad and deep knowledge to their role. But as well as these core skills, supplemental credentials are also possible. For instance, Daman also has additional prescribing authorization (APA) and is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). “One of Walmart’s pharmaceutical services is to offer quarterly diabetes clinics, and most Walmart pharmacies have a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) who is there on an ongoing basis to support patients with knowledge and help manage their care.” While many may have a go-to image of a pharmacist as someone counting pills, the reality is the role involves far more than that. Daman says, “There’s so much more. For one simple prescription, there are many steps that pharmacists will undertake before filling a prescription. We check drug interactions that might impact the customer, ensure there are no allergies or other conditions that might interfere with the medication and sometimes check blood pressure.” Depending on the province, pharmacists can also check kidney function, liver function and even have the authority to adapt a prescription if need be. “Walmart has some really helpful services customers aren’t always aware of,” Daman notes, “like compliance packaging (also known as blister packs) which group prescribed medications together for those who might need that extra reminder.”. Select locations also offer: curbside pick-up and free prescription delivery to customer’s homes, vaccinations of all kinds, pre-travel consultations, COVID vaccinations, rapid antigen tests and PCR testing. Daman talks a lot about her relationships with customers, and the qualities a pharmacist exercises, like empathy, active listening and good communication. “We always offer a private consultation room, where customers can have more privacy to share their concerns or if they are caregivers, information about their loved ones. Just last week a customer came in with swollen legs. She felt her medicine wasn’t working properly. We went into a private consulting room and I was

DAMAN TALKS A LOT ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS, AND THE QUALITIES A PHARMACIST EXERCISES, LIKE EMPATHY, ACTIVE LISTENING AND GOOD COMMUNICATION

able to take a look and she was part of the decision-making process to address the issue. After the consultation, she agreed to a follow up call and a few days later we checked in and all was going well. The role of the pharmacist isn’t just the moment in time where a customer is standing in front of us – it’s about understanding what happened before the customer came in as well as ensuring he or she is okay later.”