pharmacy technician

Yurek Specialties Limited

This review comes from a pharmacist who has been working with YSL since 2020. To provide a brief overview, the day-to-day workflow consists of receiving prescriptions from the southwest LHIN (hospital discharges mainly) to be processed by assistants/technicians, data/clinical verification by pharmacists, and then the compounding of the product in a sterile room by assistants/technicians. The final check will then be completed by a pharmacist.

When I first started as a pharmacist at YSL, it was very different to what the current workplace is now. The workload seemed to be imbalanced, especially towards the assistants and technicians working the data-entry area. With phones ringing, many prescriptions to process, supply orders to create and more it can be extremely difficult. Over my time at YSL this has definitely improved. With more individuals becoming skilled at different steps of the prescription pathway and processes changing to re-direct work to other team members, the workload has improved for everyone.
With regards to work culture, I cannot speak to what occurred prior to my arrival – but at the moment the work environment is healthy. There is minimal drama (from my eyes anyway). Both the pharmacy manager + assistant manager are open to suggestions and will provide/listen to feedback. I may be a little biased but the current pharmacists also act as a great support system for the assistants/technicians, providing them feedback + advice, and listening to their feedback on how the processes can improve. There is also a weekly huddle every Friday to discuss any updates or changes re: processes and opportunity to provide feedback.

PROS:
-good team, individuals who support one another. Work culture at the moment is healthy
- pay is competitive to other pharmacies, twice-yearly bonuses (if KPIs are met), full-time employment 
- benefit package is fair (dental/drug/other health-related services)
- not patient-facing (can be pro and a con), interactions are mainly with allied health professionals (nursing agencies, dieticians, physicians), and patients through the phone

CONS: 
-Can get extremely busy and hectic with phones ringing, lots of RXs to process, etc. Many team members are willing to stay late and help (after all we are a team).
-If you are the person to enjoy in-person patient interaction, this may not be best suited for you as majority of our interactions with patients/HCPs are done mainly through phone.
-Hours can seem random. Staffs rotate between shifts varying from 7-3, 8-4, 9-5, 10-6, 1-9.
-Working on the weekends (This is done through rotation, so expect to work about 1 out of 4 weekends)
-As a pharmacist + assistant/technician  it is easy to lose your knowledge in other areas of practice (i.e. community) as you do not encounter OTC questions, and do not see the typical medications dispensed in community pharmacy.
-Work can be repetitive


Yurek Specialties is the most dysfunctional company I have ever worked for, and probably will ever work for. 
Employees are not valued - they are treated like a means to an end - and red ink on the balance sheet. Compensation is given out begrudgingly and trust me - they count EVERY penny. They will pay the least they can and practically make you beg for a raise - and they will ALWAYS find a reason, however petty, to avoid giving one. 
All new employees get a welcome package which includes coupons for one free ulcer, one stress meltdown, and an antidepressant of your choice. 
The organization is kind of like working for Trump. They hire sycophant managers that either do the owner's bidding or they get fired. They will pretend like they are supporting you, but won't think twice about stabbing you in the back. Speaking of getting fired - terminating employees is a favourite pastime at Yurek. If you do anything wrong, even something small, you will get written up. Enough write-ups and you are history. They'd rather pay to train you and fire you then help you improve. Meanwhile the rest of the team has to pick up the slack. That's ok though because the company will save money. But because the remaining staff are overwhelmed and stressed-out, they too will make mistakes that won't go unnoticed. It's very much a "like it or lump it" company. If you don't like it or can't handle the pressure, they would sooner let you leave or fire you than try to improve upon the myriad of problems that exist there. 
Staff turnover is so high it's almost comical - but instead of asking themselves "why don't people want to stay here?", they say "if you don't want to stay, there's the door". BTW I've ACTUALLY heard that said to an employee before.

And all of these "it's not our fault, it's COVID-19's fault" comments are bull. These problems existed well before COVID and will continue to exist after.

***Also, this is important - this company exists because it won a guaranteed fat government contract. The money they make is all taxpayer's money! So don't feel too bad for management! Every cent they save on staff goes into their pockets. MONEY is their motivation. If they lose this contract they will close and your job will be gone!***

I could go on for hours, but I have a real job where I'm appreciated that I have to get back to. I'm begging you: DON'T APPLY HERE - YOU WILL HATE IT.


Most of the employees (management excluded) struggle to live off of what Yurek Specialties pays. Because of this (and many other reasons), the company is consistently understaffed, which leads to increased work and stress for each employee but without an increase in compensation. During my 1.5 years there, the managers from each department  tried to "sympathize" with ground level employees by launching an Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results were released months later and minimal (or no) changes were made to fix the problem areas that caused the most dissatisfaction.  Many people had quit in the Pharmacy while I was there, and understandably so. It was a very physically and mentally demanding job without a comparable payoff. As a Technician who is very patient care/circle of care oriented, working with Yurek Specialties was an experience that made me feel like a machine on a factory line and my only job was to meet the constantly increasing daily quotas. As truthful and awful as that is, I did learn how to be the most efficient sterile compounder possible and the experience has brought my resume to a higher level. My advice would be to get in, get the experience you need, and move on as quickly as you can.  

If you are an empathetic person who cares about patients and providing an excellent healthcare experience for clients, then you will quickly burn out and never be acknowledged for your hard work and dedication. As soon as you go above and beyond, even once, it will be a new expectation for you. Others have figured this out and do the bare minimum while others pick up their slack in the interest of teamwork and patients receiving care. Teamwork is nonexistent with departments constantly blaming each other for their own mistakes. A lot of turnover because everyone  is horrible. The managers that do actually care even know when to escape the toxic clutches of this place. The only people who really stick around are the lazy, overpaid and unproductive gits who make working here unbarable. Lots of people try their best but it is only acknowledged by fellow employees, and most people who do work hard are chastised on a regular basis. Moral is low because of management. No department has strong leadership- they all quit! Come and join a group of hardworking fellow employees trying to make it through the day but be warned that management is terrible, noone will stick up for you, and tread lightly around the lazy half of the staff because they are backstabbers and will throw their own grandmothers under the bus. 

Work was constantly understaffed and busy. You get two 15 Minute breaks and a half hour lunch but you will rarely ever get to take your second 15 min break.

Came here with the expectation that I would be able to use my Sterile Compounding skills from school and get real IV Compounding experience. Instead you’re thrown into prescription processing, billing and phone calls much like you’d experience at any other community pharmacy. I was told of others that were on the IV training waiting list that would keep getting pushed back again and again. Was taken aback when they hired a new employee that they immediately threw into IV training despite at least 2 other employees being promised that training but never getting it. Constantly felt like management was disconnected from the everyday operations at an employee level and didn’t understand the workflow or the wants/needs of the assistants/technicians. 

Pay was okay, definitely on the lower end. As a technician you will get paid slightly more here than you will at a Shoppers/Rexall but not by much. 

Overall, very inconsistent management and certain senior employees clearly got preferential treatment.

Yureks is a professional employer, contributing greatly to solving and providing solutions in many areas of Healthcare in the community. I felt a great sense of pride working for a company that has served the local community for 55 plus years. 
I was a member of the mobility division. On boarding and support from colleagues is top notch. The strength of this company is in fact its people as it is filled with caring and dedicated staff members. A reorginization of management occurred during my time of employment at Yureks which is designed to create even more efficient work groups and it was starting to payoff even in the short period of time I was able to witness.
If not for an opportunity that better suited my personal needs of a highly flexible / unorthodox work schedule I would still be employed there. 

Transitioning from no structure or really good management to a lot more structure and good management. There are a few people left that still like to cause drama and are negative but they're all slowly leaving. Those that have stopped fighting the change and are embracing it are enjoying their work again and are much happier. 
Has the small family business mentality even as the company grows. Some systems and methods can't keep up with the growth which isn't always favorable but they seem to be trying to figure out a solution.
Pay is decent. They will normally pay you a decent start wage, it's not always the best, but after your first year or even before that if you show you're really good, they'll fight for you and bump you up quite a bit. They also do merit increases every year which is decent and bonuses normally twice a year.
Overall work culture is alright. Definitely still lots to do but COVID doesn't help anyone. It's all slow moving but you can see progress after even just 1 year of having new managers.

A typical work day: unorganized, chaotic, no one working together. 

What I learned: I should have left the company sooner. 

Management: They have a pharmacy assistant managing pharmacy technicians. What a joke! 

Workplace culture: Unpaid, stressed employees. They always talk about having a good compensation package. Well maybe listen to your staff. The benefits for working in healthcare are horrible. And the pay for what they deal with on a daily basic, especially those that go above and beyond. Fills my body with disgust. 

Hardest part about working here : feelin like no matter how much you give and put in, no one cares. 

Most enjoyable part: being able to help families. The friends you make. 

Yureks finds good people lures them in with fake incentives, makes them question there sanity and then tosses you away. 





A Typical day ...constant silly, useless changes that slow and stress everyone out.  You will be picking and packing supplies, scanning and getting them ready for sending out with couriers. Management will be spending the day parading in and out of your area watching you.  HR was good until they hired someone else then they started implementing birthday parties for everyone.  You will drive to St Thomas and sit with people you don't know or else..you will be written up!   Everyone here is mostly grouchy, especially in the pharmacy.   They hire slow, not so bright people and keep them WAAY to long and expect the job to still get done....so get out your running shoes, you will be picking up their slack.  Home time was best part of the day.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working for Yurek Pharmacy was meeting our clients and meeting their needs. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful was dealing with lazy drivers. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I was treated very well because I did what was asked of me and I went the extra mile for the client. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day  consisted of checking your order that was prepared for you and then safely make your delivery;  then return for the next order.

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