Subject: Walmart terminating pharmacists in recovery.
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 08:33:47 -0400
From: Rick@beliveau-fradette.com
To: jpgakis@hotmail.com
Jim, I’m an attorney and a pharmacist and I represent seven fired Wal-Mart pharmacists in recovery. I’m looking for more pharmacists fired from Wal-Mart. Anything you can do to get the word out would be appreciated. Rick
Sincerely,
Rick Fradette, RPh, MPH, JD
Beliveau, Fradette & Gallant, P.A.
91 Bay Street, P.O. Box 3150
Manchester, N.H. 03105-3150
603-623-1234 and Fax 603-623-4817
rick@beliveau-fradette.com
http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=1592
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I just posted this.. this past Monday about the catch-22 we RPH’s are in between the chains… mandating/encouraging us to violate the practice act and the BOP.. and how we run the risk of having the BOP taking action against our license before we file a complaint against the chain…
Let me get this straight. These pharmacists have been fired for either stealing drugs or they are addicts and failed a drug test? I work for Wal-Mart and I don’t see pharmacists being fired without a very good reason. And, JP, Wal-Mart is not the epitome of evil! You are not representing Wal-Mart properly and you are in fact being unfair to them. From what I can gather from posts here and on other sites, I can only conclude that Wal-Mart is one of the better, if not the best, chain. Those of you that have been around a while know that I have done plenty of Wal-Mart bashing. But, when it comes to their pharmacies, they really try to do things right. I have seen quite a few Wal-Mart pharmacists that I would have fired. In fact, I think they are too kind to a lot of pharmacists. A few months ago I had a pharmacist get ugly with one my techs and she was crying and threatening to quit. I went to the DM about the pharmacist. He talked with the pharmacist. That is all, despite all the stores where that pharmacist worked didn’t want him back.
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I can tell you that Wal-Mart does not fire a pharmacist without a very good reason!
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I understand, Peon. Wal-Mart seems to be a damned good place to work for an RPh, depending on the “DM”. Editorial license. These fired pharmacists made a mistake with potentially addictive drugs. They did the state PRN, had their licenses put back in order, and were hired by Wal-Mart after full disclosure. A guy in Washington state reported that he is actually a leader of the WRAPP program. He was fired. Wal-Mart is just sanitizing their RPh work force.
@Peon… the story that I read – somewhere – this RPH .. had a drug problem.. went thru 5 yr license suspension … got license reinstated.. after rehab and all the hoops/hurdles to get there… was hired by Walmart.. for a store in some little berg… worked for 4-5 yrs.. with good job reviews… “shirt” walked in one day.. and told RPH.. that the company policy has changed and they no longer wanted ANY RPH on staff that had any actions against their license – EVER… and terminated him on the spot.
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I am hearing this more and more about RPH’s not being considered for employment if they have any action against their license.. or companies have this as part of their hiring policy and/or policy & procedures… in fact I know one RPH where the action was 20+yrs ago and he has not gotten past the first interview .. in applying for a job… and told that that 20+ yr ago BOP issue was the reason…
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IMO.. we can look toward the building surplus has got to be a contributing factor.. I know 3-4 yrs ago.. I was temping at a big box store in the mid-west and one of the staff RPH’s license was – at that time – on probation for drug diversion.. this RPH’s apparently had a gambling problem and not a substance abuse problem.
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why don’t you check out Walmart’s policy & procedure policy on hiring RPH’s that have at any times a BOP action against their license and if they do.. when it was implemented… if their P&P is like most companies.. the page should have a date revised printed on the page.
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I am concerned that this could be a slippery slope.. It seems to be a more and more common attitude of these large corporations that they do what they wish.. and basically put the employee into the position to get the corp to obey the law .. is to sue them…
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the fact is that RPH’s will go to work for a company that is being sued by previous RPH’s.. but.. will an employer hire an RPH that has sued a previous employer?
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Another situation of a potential “double standard”??
Yea everything relies on the DM above you. For as homogenous as corporation tries to be in the form of a chain drug store, the personality of those working under, around and above you sometimes unreasonably effects your perspective of the company as a whole. I’ve just gotten in the practice of keeping my opinions about an employer to myself, no matter what. Whether things are going good or bad. Because those feelings usually revolve around how much/what quality exposure I’m having with the DM. It’s like the luck of the draw when getting a preceptor as a pharmacy student.
Unless you have a contract most employment is hire or fire at will.Wal Mart needs no reason either good or bad to fire you.Conversley you need no good reason to quit.
Pharmacist Steve is correct.This kind of treatment is a function of the current pharmacist glut
Pharmacists think they should be treated as something special just because we are highly educated and licensed. Nothing can be further from the truth
We are simply a business labor expense and are subject to the laws of supply and demand like any other employee. There are plenty of unemployed masters and doctoral
graduates.Unless the economy picks up pharmacists will join them on the unemployment line.
Msdemeanor, unfortunately for our profession, you speak the absolute truth. I encourage anyone who has a good credit history and around $25K of their own capital to go take an ownership course with NCPA and then begin the process of either purchasing an existing Pharmacy or starting your own. You only need to do 85-100 Rx’s a day to break even (roughly $900-1100 a day over AQ costs) to cover your staff, electricity, switching fees etc….I have been a Pharmacy owner since 2010 and it’s the best decision I could have made for my career and my family. Just make sure that your patient base is diverse and not mostly from one particular employer or MEDICAID as over 30 Pharamcies in SW texas have gone out of business b/c medicaid was sold out to PBMS and their BIZ model was based on over 70% medicaid patients….
here are 2 banks who I am familiar with banks who provide capital to Pharmacists:
1) http://www.liveoakbank.com/
2) http://www.1stmedfinancial.com/
Good luck to everyone!
I couldn’t agree more with Broncofan 7. Opening my own pharmacy is the best decision I’ve ever made. Of course, it was stressful at first and there continue to be occasional hiccups (especially around being able to take time off), but the benefits greatly outweight the risks, up here in Canada. I know the business model is a little different in the US, but the average gross profit per Rx is about the same. 100 Rx’s per day would be break-even up here as well. The problem is that so many of us: 1) have been taught/trained to follow, not lead 2) we are pre-selected to be risk-averse 3) have massive student loan debt 4) are financially comfortable (nice car/nice house, nice lifestyle) and are unwilling to sacrifice. Those are the factors that keep feeding us to the “chain” machine.
@broncofan
What you have stated is mostly correct. Having been a indy for 20 yrs – back in the “good ole days” I sold out in 1996. I have been a member of NCPA/NARD for 30 years and still maintain my membership as a “retired RPH”. IMO.. I would not venture out in that arena until the dust is settled with Obamacare.. at least in opening a new store… you state that you need to make sure that base is diverse… today.. the uncertainty of that base remaining diverse is so much at risk… because of Obamacare and the development of ACO’s and -best guess- is that the ACO’s are going to continue to develop regardless of Obamacare’s status.
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Just look around you.. we have got – in at least the larger metro areas – a tsunami of docs selling their practices to a local hospital.. the hospitals are going to be the ACO.. they are going to be at financial risk with the insurer… they are either going to want to have absolute control over drug expenditures – operate their own pharmacies – look as Kaiser as a template – or will align/sign contracts with pharmacies who are willing/capable of sharing the financial risk of capitation.
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We are seeing a small uptick in the remaining regional chains agreeing to sell.. just another sign of what may be coming… and them seeing the writing on the wall.
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There will always be some indys… small towns 50% indy now operate.. medical bldg… and the like..
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I suspect – or fear – that Obamacare and/or ACO’s will be the genesis of the next wave of consolidation and store closures… much greater than Part D.
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If fact, I would not be surprised to see “cash flow/slow payments” be used -like it was – with Part D .. to “thin the herd”.
I just forwarded Rick’s request for fired pharmacists to my state’s PRN director. He has no official duties any more since the legislature passed into law an umbrella (doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, etc) health professional recovery program in 2010 that eliminated individual boards from having their own “PRNs”*, but he knows MANY people dealing with Walmart and other chains.
I believe that WalGREENS will not hire anyone with any evidence of theft in the past. If an RPH stole meds, even if recovered and years later, Walgreens will not hire you. If they were an addict but did not steal from them, who knows?
The chain I work for will hire recovering pharmacists if they are in good standing right now. It all depends on the DM.
* Due to the nursing board’s recovery program being too lax and many nurses falling between the cracks and practicing while impaired, a local legistator got a bill going that made one authority for all recovery professionals. It has been detrimental to our pharmacy recovery network around here, and more chains have decided not to hire probationers. Our state’s PRN director did really well with it, and it’s a shame his 17 years of stewardship are now not as helpful to help someone keep his career.
RalPh