Action | Addressing hours of continuous work by pharmacists |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 1/29/2016 |
The hours in healthcare are not easy by any means and requires a certain type of individual with passion and precision for their field. This seems to be aimed more towards retail pharmacy, which I am glad to see. I do approve of the message being sent by this regulation, however it is flawed. A previous commenter made a solid point in which yes many corporations give or even require pharmacists to have an adequate break. However, those that have actually worked in retail know that customers that are regulars, or impatiently waiting for a medication, in a critical state etc can see the pharmacist during their break and ask for the service. A pharmacist is rarely going to say " I'm currently on my break, can you come back later." I believe that there needs to be a separate/ floater/ oncall pharmacist to cover for the pharmacist on break ( I've worked for places where there is only one for the 12 hr day) or that the pharmacy shuts down for the 30 min break ( less patient friendly option and more prone to robbery/ diversion) and that the pharmacist needs to vacate the premises during break with the white coat OFF. I also believe that if a pharmacist wants to work, or is basically forced to work more than 12 hours due to unforseen causes etc, that the break should be 30 mins every 4 hours and be paid time and a half for those not on salary and some type of equivalent for those on salary.