Celebrate National Pharmacy Technician Day

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Tasha Stevenson discusses why she loves being a pharmacy technician for National Pharmacy Technician Day.

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Q: Can you start by introducing yourself?

Tasha Stevenson: My name is Tasha Stevenson. I am a pharmacy technician at Giant. I've been here since 1994.

Q: How did you get into pharmacy?

Tasha Stevenson: When I started at Giant as a clerk, I was actually working on at McDonald's during the day and Giant it at night. My pharmacist at the time was like, ‘Oh, you need to do something more, you’re not going to stay at McDonald’s. You have more potential and talent than just to be in a job.” She's like I'm going to get you [to be] a technician. One day when I first started, back then, you wasn't in the Union right away. They were having a union meeting, and I didn't go to the Union meetings because I wasn't the Union. So that, meant that everyone in the Union went to the meeting, so I was there with the pharmacist, and she told me, “we're gonna start today.” And she threw me in there, and I was under her wing ever since. She taught me to the ins and the outs, and I’ve been there ever since.

Q: How have you seen the profession change over your career?

Tasha Stevenson: The biggest thing that I've seen is the pharmacies becoming more like a clinic. We offer a lot more services to our customers. As far as flu shots, all the vaccinations, like, it's more than just come get your medicine, we offer a lot more to our customers, and I really liked that. Especially to the older customers, they feel comfortable coming into your pharmacy, and even asking questions, not just about medicine, but anything. And, it really feels like a home. You get to know your customers, and I just love how it's evolving and growing, to take better care of our customers and a clinical profession.

Q: What is the most rewarding part of pharmacy for you?

Tasha Stevenson: The rewarding part, I love the older people, taking care of them. I love knowing my customers, knowing them by name, they love that. Every time they come in, and I just know their name, they'll get their stuff ready for them, when they walk in or see them coming, that puts a smile on their face, which puts a smile on my face. Just taking care of the customers and making sure that they get their medicine, even when we don't have it in a timely fashion, calling them when we don't have something in stock. They really love that. Basically the customers. The customer makes it and also the family within the pharmacy, like my coworkers. We're like a family because it's a tight unit and we communicate to take care of our customers the best that we can. And that makes the day go by fast and it makes the day go by when you take care of your customers.

Q: What is the value of the pharmacy technician to you personally, and to the overall health care system?

Tasha Stevenson: To me personally, to know that my job is meaningful, been the backbone to your pharmacist is a lot to them because they have a lot to do. As a technician, we help them out, we personally help them out and make sure that, it takes a lot of stress off of them. Then just making sure everything is together for them and to make everything run smoothly. As far as the health care profession, providing for the customer, providing the medications, providing information, and just providing to make people feel better when they're feeling sick. That's a that's another thing that puts a smile on my face and just talking to customers. Our customers are our number one team.

Q: How are you celebrating this National Pharmacy Technician Day?

Tasha Stevenson: Hopefully I'll be getting lunch or getting acknowledged or, just feeling good about what I do for my customer and on the job and feeling appreciated, and just feeling good about [it] because I love what I do. I'm a people-person and so just getting feedback from the customers. getting feedback from my coworkers, pharmacists, and management. Like I say it hopefully some lunch.

Q: Is there anything you'd like to add?

Tasha Stevenson: I love what I do. I love pleasing the customers. I love being here for my pharmacist and assisting them, and helping out, and helping out the company, but the most main thing is the customer, like just being there for the customers, doing what we need to do to make sure that the customers get their medication and get everything on a timely fashion.