Best of the Best award star

Best New Pharmacist

Saleh Batroukh, Pharm.D.

Pharmacist

Photo by Will Matsuda, produced by Natalie Gialluca
Drugs icon Rite Aid #05357 Maps icon 514 NE 181st Avenue
Portland, Oregon

Education

Doctor of Pharmacy from Pacific University School of Pharmacy in Hillsboro, Oregon

Resume

  • 1 year as pharmacist at Rite Aid
  • 3 years as an intern at Rite Aid

Years in pharmacy

4

Pharmacist Saleh Batroukh won the award for Best New Pharmacist thanks to his infectious—pun intended!—passion for pharmacy and the unrelenting positivity with which he serves his customers. He has only been a pharmacist for 14 months, but was quickly promoted to be his Rite Aid store’s pharmacy manager in February 2021 because of his enthusiasm for the field. 

Where did your passion for pharmacy come from?

I’ve always been interested in the medical field. I love the body, I love how it works, and I love medicine. As I progressed through high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I actually had thoughts about being a doctor, too, but I chose pharmacy because I would be more accessible to my community. I wanted to be out there for whoever needed me and whatever questions they had.

What are you most proud of so far in your career?

Last year was my first year being an official pharmacist, and in the region where I work I was in the top five for distributing flu shots. I actually was ranked number one, but then I took some time off to go get married. When I came back and finished off the rest of the season, I ended up in third place. 

I want to be more accessible and go out of my way to do what I can for my community and the people around me.

Honestly, I know it’s just flu shots, but I worked really hard at that goal. I was out there helping prevent the flu, hopefully. I want to be more accessible and go out of my way to do what I can for my community and the people around me.

How do you go above and beyond for your customers?

I’m a very transparent and open person. I like to talk, I like to joke around, and I like to be personable with my patients. I feel like when I’m more personable, they don’t see me as a threat or see me as above them—they see me as just one of them. 

Patients will come in for a vaccine and say, “Oh, I’m not going to look” because they hate needles. So I’ll say, “That’s fine, you don’t have to look…but if you don’t look, I won’t look either!” And I think when patients know that I’m having fun with them, it gets rid of that barrier between pharmacist and patient.

Is there a particular heartwarming story or moment you could share where you helped a customer?

One customer transferred from another Rite Aid to my Rite Aid because he just moved closer. He was an elderly man, having a hard time comprehending a lot of things. He came to my store and wanted to talk to somebody about his medications; he gave me a list of meds he was taking, and I went over it with him—explaining what the medication does and even how they work. And I think to him, when I explained how it actually works and what it really does (like why it needs to be taken in the evening versus morning), that made sense to him.

I set him up for refills, I deferred the meds that were early, and anything that didn’t have more refills, I requested refills for him. I set him up for text message notifications to let him know his medications are ready and I told him we had delivery. 

I care about my store, I care about my patients, and I care about my employees.

He was shocked that I went above and beyond to show him that we provided all of these services; he was with Rite Aid for such a long time, and he never even knew any of this stuff existed.

How do you approach your role as pharmacy manager?

I’ve had a lot of jobs growing up, but this is literally the only job that I’ve never dreaded waking up in the morning and going to work for. My alarm goes off early and it’s like, “Oh sweet, I get to go to work again today!”

I try to make the environment at work with my coworkers fun, but we actually appreciate and work together so well, it comes back around to me; in a way, it’s like a cycle where I’m there for them and then they do the same thing for me. I literally feel like the pharmacy is my second home; I spend most of my waking time here. I care about my store, I care about my patients, and I care about my employees.

What does this nomination mean to you?

I never expected it! I know my value and worth, and I do a lot of good for my patients, but it’s not something I expected to be considered for because I’m just being me. I’m the same with my friends and family as I am with my patients. 

I can have the longest day of my life, it’s 9 or 9:30 at night, and I get out of work, get in my car to start driving home, and I don’t even listen to the radio on the way home or speak on the phone with my wife because I just drive home smiling. I feel like an idiot because I’m smiling in my car by myself, but I’m just thinking, “Wow. I made a difference today. I helped people. Hopefully they’re not in pain because of this, or hopefully I continue to bring their blood pressure down.” 

I can think, “I just made someone’s life a little easier today,” and it all goes back to the root of why I wanted to do this job.

Praise from customers

“Saleh’s dedication to the wellness and well-being of his customers is something rare. I know times are tough and he’s working a lot, but I know I’m not the only one who appreciates him going above and beyond to help us every single time.”

“I’ve used multiple different pharmacies as I tend to travel quite a bit and have been to other pharmacies in other states, but none have treated me the way I was treated by Saleh. Since he took over as the pharmacy manager, things have really changed there; it seems to be running smoother than ever and all the staff are very friendly and efficient.” 

“I came to him with a question about my mom’s medications, asking for a recommendation. He didn’t just recommend something for her, he asked questions to try to get to know my mom better and what her situation was. He asked me to bring him a medication list of all her medications and supplements so he could take a look at it and make a more informed recommendation. I came back the next day with my mom’s medications and we sat down together. He went over all of her medications with me: helped me pronounce them correctly, told me what they were for and how they should be used, informed me of some of the side effects and some things to look out for. He even caught some medication duplications as my mom has multiple doctors. He took the liberty to call her doctors for her to get clarification on what she should be taking exactly when she wasn’t even his patient.” 

“Saleh is a very passionate person. He loves what he does and loves helping people, but it’s really his actions that speak the loudest: He shows up to work early to get started on his day and more often than not stays late to finish up what needs to be done and set up for the next day.”