Another person that is shadowed was a wellness coach at CVS Pharmacy in Dorchester, Mass. At this place, I met with multiple people as well as the wellness coach just to talk about the things that they do everyday at work. I sat down and talked to the wellness coach as well as looked around the pharmacy to see how it was set up. The wellness coach showed me how they have everything in alphabetical order in the aisles with specific prescriptions and how they have a shelf set up with everyday medications that you have to get behind the counter. I heard a lot of people talking on the phone, letting people know their prescriptions were ready, asking what their prescriptions were to get refilled, or talking on the phone with the doctors office about a patient who needed their permission to get a refill on their prescription.
I asked the wellness coach what kind of training she got and she told me that she got the kind of training that is taught here. She took classes on what is healthy to eat and also classes on how exercise is needed to keep yourself healthy, even if it is only 20 minutes a day. This training helped her to inform patients who come in and are sick or unhealthy how to change these habits. It kind of surprised me how little the wellness coach is really needed inside of a pharmacy like that. Mostly, people come in to get their flu shots, get tested for strep or the fly, and pick up their prescriptions. No one really comes in often to talk to a wellness coach about their healthy eating or exercising habits. This was different than what I expected because in talking to her, I would have thought she would be needed somewhere else, not at a pharmacy. I didn’t like shadowing this location as much as the other one I went to because there was not much for me to observe.
The main thing that was an issue was the flu. Many people do not choose together vaccinated or they just completely forget to get their vaccination and end up getting sick. CVS has advertised that they will do flu shots for people just by walking in. This has helped people who do not have the time to make an appointment to meet their doctor for the shot, so having CVS give them is an easier and quicker option. If I had to do this again, I would want to be able to see more people get a flu shot. Not many people came in to get theirs when I was there, and in talking to the wellness coach as well as the staff, they told me that not a lot of people had come in within the last month or two to get theirs. If I wanted a job like this, I would have to be able to talk to many people and inform them of why getting vaccinated is a healthier option than choosing not to get a vaccine.
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Taking Care of YOU 