This blog is not meant to be condescending, but after 18 years in business, we’ve noticed how wearing the right uniform to your pharmacy job makes a huge positive impact.
Why Our Clients Care About Your Uniform:
You might wonder “Why does RPI Consulting Group place such an emphasis on dressing professionally?” In our conversations with our pharmacy clients across Canada, we’ve been told time and time again that a professional outward appearance for public-facing pharmacy staff makes patients trust the pharmacy more. There is an enduring, universal trust of those who wear a white lab coat, which no one can deny. Even if a patient’s interaction with pharmacy staff is very brief, patients will listen to and act on the instructions given to them by a pharmacist in uniform. Of course, you must also back that trust up with your knowledge and attention to detail.
Pharmacy Branding:
Another reason why it’s important to wear a proper lab coat is because it unifies all pharmacy employees under the banner of the pharmacy workplace. It’s important that if you work at a particular retail pharmacy, such as Shoppers Drug Mart, that you either wear a lab coat with their insignia or a neutral lab coat with no other logos. If you were to wear a lab coat with the wrong branding, it would confuse patients and reflect poorly on our client’s pharmacy. This would in turn reflect badly on us.
We recommend getting a plain white lab coat like any of these here: https://www.amazon.ca/slp/lab-coats/8e7yx9uhfv2y74b
Maintaining Your Uniform:
It’s not enough to just wear your lab coat, you need to also maintain it! After wearing your lab coat to many pharmacy shifts, it will likely have sweat and oil on it from your skin, which will stain the fabric if not cleaned regularly. We recommend that you wash the lab coat regularly (perhaps once a week) so that it always looks sharp and professional. When you first purchase the lab coat and also when you wash it, check to make sure that it fits your properly. A baggy, shrunken, wrinkly, or otherwise unsightly lab coat would just have a detrimental effect on how your project your professionalism.
How it Affects Your Mindset:
You’ll find that this uniform will make you more productive and connected to your performance at work. The act of wearing this article of clothing will mean that you take on the mindset of a responsible, knowledgeable mindset. You will feel ownership over your role as a pharmacist. We would also recommend that you wear proper footwear (shoes that are comfortable but also professional– not sneakers!), as this will add to your sense of being a professional.
