Layered Pharmacy Leadership
Blogs
- 6/4/2024
The unpopular but necessary decisions of pharmacy managers
There are countless decisions in pharmacy that we need to make even though they may be less than ideal or feel less than comfortable. As the profession continues to adapt to the complexity of healthcare, pharmacy will continue to change and that will mean having to make unpopular yet necessary decisions. - 5/28/2024
Learn this new pharmacy catchphrase: ‘Hold your water’
A patient acted surprised when I refused to fill a virtual care order for high dose pregabalin after getting an electronic message that he already filled it somewhere else that day. Given that he received seven different pregabalin prescriptions in the past six months from seven different virtual care clinics located in various cities across Canada, my radar was on high alert. - 5/21/2024
The difficult yet necessary conversations pharmacy coaches must have
Hockey has been a big part of my life since the ages of VHS tapes and dial-up internet. While I no longer play competitively (or rewind my movies), I take pride in coaching my kids’ teams. It is here that I have come to realize a similar role hockey coaches and pharmacy managers play in enabling the difficult conversations. - 5/14/2024
Pharmacists, it’s time to plan your indispensable rest
To be able to show up purposefully during the work, we need to get purposeful rest. In a profession with countless shortages of personnel and growing responsibility it is extremely difficult to get the rest. The trouble is, if we do not, we will never adapt and be stuck rushing our workouts with little gains. - 5/7/2024
Hiring in pharmacy–attitude wins over skill every time
The entry point of an employee into an organization is an important time. Putting in work and patience in the time leading up to this is something a pharmacy leader needs to be meticulous and calculated about. Rush this process and mistakes can surface that are nearly impossible to fix. - 4/30/2024
3 tips to help pharmacy leaders clear the slate
Clearing the slate means that I come to work each day with the discipline of delegating as many items from my to-do list to others as I can. I explain ahead of time that I am passionate about what we do and I think about it a lot. The thinking generates many action items that I alone could never accomplish. - 4/23/2024
Pharmacists, you are movie stars!
Whether pharmacists like it or not, we are the celebrities of the pharmacy. We have important staff around us that keep us afloat but to many of our patients, especially our most regular ones, we are their main event. - 4/16/2024
What’s your pharmacy leader strategy? Are you ‘in charge’ yet ‘out of control’?
Great pharmacy leaders find themselves organically in charge of the operation yet out of the control of the minutia. How? They create an environment where people contribute to the development of their plans. They mobilize the right answers by giving autonomy. - 4/9/2024
When do you suck it up and ask your pharmacy staff for answers?
The best pharmacy leaders do not have all the answers, but they do know how to mobilize teams that find those answers. Before making big decisions, ask pharmacy staff what they think. - 4/2/2024
Are medication review quotas the new traffic tickets?
Companies need to stop setting service goals and instead strive to solve their operator pain points. In fixing operator problems that unlock services, they will also unlock other aspects of what makes a pharmacy strong, like driving prescription and over-the-counter growth. - 3/26/2024
Every pharmacy has a Sherlock Holmes on the team. Who’s yours?
The best gift you can give someone is an idea. Ideas spark hope, motivation and a new beginning. The more ideas we can generate, the greater the opportunity for positive outcomes to occur. The more connections we make between different ideas, the better the potential for greatness. - 3/19/2024
What’s the best compliment you can give someone in your pharmacy?
In one of our pharmacies, we hired someone without pharmacy experience for the front shop. She worked part-time being a secondary student and was quick to learn. She was quiet, listened attentively and absorbed information like a sponge. She quickly grew in proficiency and responsibility.