Destination Hawaii: Longs Drugs
Longs Drugs is located on Pali Highway in Honolulu, Hawaii and is owned by CVS. I learned that they chose to keep the Longs name because Hawaiians stay true to brands and tradition so they would not hate accepted the change in branding.
I chose this rotation because it was an opportunity to go somewhere I have always wanted to visit, I wanted to experience a new culture that would help me become more diverse when working with the public in the future. This rotation is not a vacation, do not sign up for this thinking you will have all the time in the world to soak up sun. This site is a 24 hour store, you work 8 am- 5:30 pm Monday through Thursday so you can get off early on Friday (12:30pm) and have the weekend to explore.
Students here get a lot of patient interaction. You will be responsible for consults, patient care calls, vaccinations, mixing antibiotics, and doing transfers. You will also gain interaction with doctors offices by making the request calls and taking phoned in prescriptions. The one thing I got to do at this location that is probably the most valuable, our preceptor allowed us (under his direct supervision) to practice verifying prescriptions. The staff, front store included, were so welcoming and made suggestions on things we should try and things we should see while there. Jack the preceptor there tried to teach us the language there and had us try local food. Jack also included us in the pride parade in which CVS health was a participant. I am so glad to have met these individuals and to have learned from them, whether it be cultural knowledge or pharmacy knowledge.
Hawaii is beautiful, you will fall in love with the culture, the people, and especially the sights. It is expensive so plan accordingly and if you can find a friend to stay with and split costs, but it's worth every penny!
Hawaii was too beautiful not to explore the other islands. So, Longs is located in Honolulu which is on the island of Oahu. Honolulu is the most densely populated area of Hawaii so there is a lot of city life, China Town, tourist type sites, beautiful beaches, and Pearl Harbor. Kauai is the garden island, and for good reason, it has green everywhere! Kauai has mountains and waterfalls, this is where they filmed the opening to Jurassic World. The Napali Coast is located there and you can only get there by boat or helicopter, but the views are amazing! We saw Dolphins and sea turtles, as well as sea caves that had water that was navy blue. Then there is the Big Island, Hawaii, and this is the least populated. This is where the volcano park is located. There are waterfalls, black sand beaches, beautiful beaches with lava rocks and driftwood. The beach on the big Island allowed me to get up close to a sea turtle and snag some pictures. The Iron Man world championship was going on while we were there, so that was a neat experience!
This rotation was a once in a lifetime opportunity. All of the hard work during the week made the weekends so much sweeter. I would recommend this rotation, because you will gain customer service skills and confidence all while experiencing one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. So if you are fortunate enough to get this rotation, make the most of it and go out and immerse yourself in an aloha way of life.
Mahalo,
Alyssa
