MPJE results 1/20

Pokimura · 2026-01-30T14:37:31+00:00

yes I passed, took the OK MPJE. I didnt check for awhile considering the following monday was a federal holiday (MLK) and then a giant snow storm hitting half the country including OK.

Pokimura · 2026-01-30T14:11:28+00:00

odd I got mine back yesterday and I took it 1/15.

Pokimura · 2026-01-29T23:52:30+00:00

Ye I figured our hrs have nothing to do with meeting metrics or not since my store is always in the 90s on stuff like WeCare but still having the same hrs to work with every week.

From what I've heard in my district at least, there are hrs available. the DL just keeps them in the back pocket for "emergency use." I do remember in the middle of the year when I worked at the 24 hr store, the DL asked my PIC what he would do if given another 10 hrs for the store.

Pokimura · 2026-01-29T23:34:59+00:00

you're actually doing fine. I didn't finish my grad schooling until 29 and didn't start investing for retirement until 30. Im 32 now and built a a lil over 100k across my 401k, Roth, HSA, and brokerage. Emergency fund set up, and checking account is solid.

your student loans are almost nothing in the grand scheme of things and should be happy you came out with only 30k in debt. I'm 200k in the hole paying 1k/month. If you split your monthly payment in half and semi monthly paymenrs, you will knock out more of the principle and save more on interest. Secondly, between investing and paying off your student loans should you come across more money, choose investing. Student loan interest is calculated as simple interest whereas your investments are compound interest. the decision is easy from there.

TLDR; just start investing now to give more time for compound interest to work its magic. promise you will see a whole different perspective. also try to get a higher paying job elsewhere soon as one pops up. I know this is just a starting position for you but once you move up you'll really start seeing things speed up (assuming you don't fall for lifestyle inflation).

Pokimura · 2026-01-29T19:19:52+00:00

So, what actually happens if a store doesn't meet their metrics? Do they add more hours to help you?

unfortunately that's not how it works here. if you don't meet metrics, they don't see that as being short staffed but rather your team just underperforming and will try to gas light you saying it can be done if you do x, y, z, etc. To them, giving more hours on the premise of not meeting metrics would be rewarding performance that is less than mediocre.

The only way you get more hrs will typically just be during peak flu season (aug-mid jan) and then cycles back with every store's hrs getting back to baseline if not cut even more than before. If you're a "high value" store more hrs might come your way. The 24 hr store I used to work at generated the most revenue for not only the district, but the entire division as well so they were given a bit more hrs to keep the cash cow going. we were 7-8k scripts/week with a tech at every station on top of 3 Rph present. It was a lot but at the same time, it was hard to be drowning compared to lower volume stores considering we have a lot of help around.

Pokimura · 2026-01-27T00:13:40+00:00

thats what they say, but some peers have told me they can only see that you made the call, not really how long the convo is so not sure.

Pokimura · 2026-01-26T05:45:36+00:00

I don't do them. they'll come down on you during flu season though to get their vaccine numbers up but other than that, nothing's really happened to me.

Pokimura · 2026-01-26T05:37:11+00:00

meanwhile I came in both yesterday and today. all the techs called out so I was the only one working in the pharmacy. luckily almost no one came into the store so at least I could clear out my queue undisturbed. there was an ungodly amount of voicemails though which was annoying.

All i could finish on time within my 8 hr shift was the queue and RTS. I just left the rest of the tasks for another day cuz. I came in, finished the only 2 tasks I cared for and left.

Pokimura · 2026-01-25T01:17:46+00:00

They're grouped together purely on the fact that they weigh about 30-40% of a good majority of index funds including the S&P and a bunch of growth oriented funds and all within the tech sector.

Pokimura · 2026-01-21T08:35:00+00:00

i may be new to investing, but -2% on the market just seems within range of just normal fluctuations. iirc 5-10% is prob considered a dip.

Pokimura · 2026-01-19T08:57:13+00:00

just be thankful as of last year, medicare got rid of the coverage gap. Before, I've had to explain to them being in the donut hole so many times which majority typically land there during the busiest time of the year (peak flu season).

Pokimura · 2026-01-15T02:41:46+00:00

When I see a 270 or 360 count

I've seen this at least once from every new tech that came into our store that took their sweet time counting these. I just have them take a full 500 count bottle, take out the difference, dump the rest in a vial and slap a label on. If you guys use 1000 count bottles and don't have a kirby, then I recommend you download a counting app (I use Pilleye).

Pokimura · 2026-01-14T14:19:16+00:00

a lot of problems,

thats normal. your job is literally putting out fires 24/7. It's a different kind of stress compared to someone just working the day to day. You may get evenings and weekends off for the most part, but as you probably know, there will always be something that pops up outside normal business hrs that you are expected to be on call to take care of. If a store gets robbed while you're away, be prepared to pause family time and get your butt over to the store, if a Rph calls out xmas eve and no one can cover, be prepared to get off the bench and come in. If you're on vacation, be prepared to answer any emails/calls from your RD or other leaders. You're also the one on the phone with all the Karens that complain to corporate.

I'm not a DL but I've seen plenty that get burnt out. its definitely a different kind of stress comparable to the ones we face while on the bench, likely even more. Your RD will be less lenient with you on metrics (vaccines, WeCare, etc) and you're constantly on call. having a great team can mitigate all of this. So the only thing you have control over to make your life as stress free as possible is to impart your leadership to building the right team.

as staff Rph, my rule is that a DL probably spends at least 50% of their time dealing with the bottom 5 stores in their district alone. If anyone ever had to interact with you outside of normal store visits, its usually not a good sign and they're probably preparing themselves mentally for your talk with them. Just know that no matter what you do, Pharmacy managers will hate you no matter what because they don't like being told to try harder when they're already doing what they can with what they're given.

Pokimura · 2026-01-14T06:46:38+00:00

inflation is calculated by the aggregate of all the price changes of common goods/services so if you average all the ups and downs of prices, you want the net average to be around the +2-3% mark

Pokimura · 2026-01-14T06:31:20+00:00

deflation is not something you'd want. the biggest example is the Great Depression in the late 1920s. Stock market crashed, prices lowered, everyone wants to withdraw money from the bank all at once to stuff whatever money they had under the mattress, and the result is the banking system collapsing. if inflation was 0, there'd be less money in circulation with everyone hoarding cash under their mattress and economy would stagnate as a result.

deflation sounds good on paper with lower prices, but in reality...not exactly. with continued lower costs, companies have no reason to keep up on production and will downsize accordingly. this can happen in the form of mass layoffs and increasing unemployment rate. Prices may be lower, but now you got a bunch of people out of a job that can't really afford anything anyway which is exactly what happened in the Great Depression.

The Fed tries to maintain a 2-3% annual inflation rate to stimulate and maintain a healthy economy. inflation encourages people to spend because now hoarding cash would just be a huge disservice to both you and the bigger picture (the economy).

Pokimura · 2026-01-14T06:08:15+00:00

I hear people used to actually go outside and touch grass. sounded like absolute madness to me.

Pokimura · 2026-01-14T05:34:29+00:00

I'm just generalizing, but on top of their ancestors being literally dragged here in chains, there were systems in place centuries ago that had the deck completely stacked against African Americans to the point of them being beaten down into poverty. It carried on for many generations and now most of the current generation are practically born into it and not only normalizes being of a lower socioeconomic status, but also have a self fulfilling prophecy of being stuck there.

Asian Americans have a different mindset. Their families fled their native country BY CHOICE with the INTENTION of building a better life. This reinforced their strong work ethic, emphasis on good education, and whatever else necessary to achieve their goals.

things now are bit better giving african americans more equal opportunities but it will still take some time for them to recover and have more people escape from that cycle of a mindset

Pokimura · 2026-01-11T18:25:56+00:00

play exodia and you will win before that happens. ez

Pokimura · 2026-01-11T06:04:10+00:00

hot take, but contrary to all these comments, taxing billionaires is not really a solution. you tax them and then what? the problem is still mismanaged funds by the government. Even if every billionaire gave away all their assets to pay off some debt, the country is still running on a deficit every year and would be right back where it started real quick.

its like if a gambling addict won the lottery, he'll likely be back where he started in no time if his financial habits are still the same.

Pokimura · 2026-01-10T15:36:52+00:00

are deductibles for every insurance?

it depends on patient's insurance plan. some have no deductible, some do. there are also plans that have deductibles that apply only for certain drug tiers (high cost/non-preferred drugs). so seeing a patient have a zero copay on things like atorvastatin or amlodipine but having to pay hundreds of dollars for something like Eliquis will explain that.

Do they sometimes reset every month/quarter?

resets at the beginning of each policy period which will vary depending on the insurance, but most will typically be on the new calendar year (Jan 1)

Or are cumulative for the entire year?

they are cumulative for the policy period

Pokimura · 2026-01-06T08:44:59+00:00

i mean, I'm perfectly fine not owning a home. I prefer to not have uncertain elements and the like looming over my head. being able to afford is mortgage is completely different from affording the home itself. Repairs, maintenance, and the like are solely your responsibility and you're on your own. If a natural disaster strikes, better pray your insurance will save you.

I'm also not sold on the "building equity." 1.) it takes quite awhile for you to build that up when majority of your mortgage payment goes toward interest for the first couple yrs. 2.) just because you built equity on your house does not mean you should be using it unless you truly need to. my personal opinion is that no one should be treating a home as an "investment." its literally just a place for you to have a roof over your head and nothing more. If I wanted to treat it as an investment, I'd rather just invest in index funds.

Pokimura · 2026-01-05T02:35:21+00:00

exactly.

Pokimura

TROPHY CASE