Working in an underserved area can be challenging for any pharmacist. Patients can struggle to pay sometimes steep drug costs. Or they may prioritize spending limited funds on necessities like food and rent versus medications and healthcare items.

Johnny R. Nobles III, a pharmacist at Walmart Neighborhood Market #4672 in Montgomery, Alabama, understands this, which is why he tries to save his patients’ money—even while he spends his own to support them.

Dr. Nobles has helped patients sign up for drug discount cards like SingleCare on their phones, in one case helping a customer save $300 a month on her medications. And one Christmas a few years ago, he took $250 of his own money to give each member of his pharmacy staff a $50 gift card, telling them to choose a deserving customer and mail the card to the person’s home. That’s why he is this year’s Above and Beyond Award winner.

This kind of selflessness not only creates satisfied customers—but also a satisfied staff. In a business where turnover is high, Dr. Nobles prides himself on losing only three technicians over the course of seven years. He’ll take on longer shifts or extra days so they can enjoy a day off or tend to a personal matter. Why? Because, Dr. Nobles says, when you work hard for people, they work hard for you. 

What’s a typical day like in your pharmacy?

Busy. Every day brings its own challenges, but the typical day is just non-stop movement and lots of questions—especially in the last two years with COVID. 

I think anybody in healthcare would tell you every day is different because there’s some new regulation, some new thing that comes down or some new COVID test, vaccine, or treatment that comes out. So right now, there is no typical. There’s always something to do, somebody to talk to, somebody to inform or somebody to inform me. And that’s one of the things I like about pharmacy. I like challenges.

Video by Deep Dive Films

How do you go above and beyond for your customers?

I don’t really consider it going above and beyond. Doing your best and taking care of your customers the way they want to be taken care of—I teach my staff that’s just the bare minimum. 

I value people’s time. I try to get them in and out of the pharmacy as quickly as possible. I’ll take time to answer questions, even on a busy day. And I try to do it all with a little bit of happiness. You know, those are the things I think people would say are above and beyond. But I just think that’s what we’re all supposed to be doing.

Doing your best and taking care of your customers the way they want to be taken care of—I teach my staff that’s just the bare minimum.

A customer who nominated you talked about how you gave out gift cards to patients. Can you tell us a little about that?

One year for Christmas, my pharmacy gave out five gift cards to five different people. There is obviously no way for me to help everybody out, but what I did was I bought five cards: one for me and one for my four technicians. We each picked a patient in need and confirmed their address when they picked up their medications. Then we mailed the gift cards in a Christmas card “from their Walmart family.”  I think all of them really, really appreciated it.

How do you help your patients save money on their prescriptions?

My pharmacy is in an underserved area. Every day we see patients who have to make a decision if they’re going to buy their meds—even if they’re just $5 or $10. To most people, that would not be a big deal, but our patients may have to make a decision between that or paying a light bill, for example. So, we want to help them out any way we can.

For example, I had a customer who was on commercial insurance, and her doctor kept putting her on brand-name drugs, which, of course, are extremely expensive. I think her copays were something like $130. I had a discussion with her about how she can get help from the manufacturer on her copays. After spending 20 minutes with her and walking her through how to sign up for the cards on her phone, she ended up saving $300 a month. That meant she was able to take her medications—otherwise she would not have purchased them. 

She’s been coming to the pharmacy for years and she still brings it up every now and again because it made such an impact. Those kinds of things that really stick with patients are important to me. 

What are the attributes of a top pharmacist?

I would say kindness, patience, and focus. 

When patients are sick or they’re dealing with diabetes, hypertension, or something they’re living with on a day-to-day basis, they really need some kindness and understanding. 

I say patience—because while we’re trained in medicine at the pharmacy—the people we’re dealing with are not, so you need patience to explain things. 

I value people’s time. I try to get them in and out of the pharmacy as quickly as possible.

And I say focus, because we have patients’ lives in our hands—or at the very least—their quality of life. Focus is extremely important when you have phone calls, people yelling your name, and 15 things on your to-do list. I have to be able to focus for 12 straight hours, and that is not an easy task. 

These are attributes that I bring to the pharmacy with me every day, and these attributes have rubbed off on my technicians. My pharmacy is growing faster than any other pharmacy in our area with no signs of slowing. And a large part of that is that once people come, they don’t want to leave. The service we give really does exceed your average pharmacy.

What’s one thing you wish people knew about your job as a pharmacist?

That we’re really quite knowledgeable. The thing I hear the most from patients is, “You know, this is probably a question for my doctor,” and then they’ll go ahead and ask the question. 

I wish people understood that if it has to do with the medicine, there’s a pretty good chance that the pharmacist is going to have the answer for you. Or at least be able to point you in the right direction and give you an even better question to ask your doctor.

What’s surprised you the most about being a pharmacist?

I’m surprised by how much things are evolving. We’re constantly integrating new things into the pharmacy. When I graduated, I didn’t know that I was going to be talking people through a nasal swab test in my drive-thru. I didn’t know that I was going to be doing basic screenings in my counseling room as a retail pharmacist. Pharmacy today is a constantly changing environment.