Nho Nguyen, Pharm.D., has a wonderful rapport with his customers at Kroger #161 in Houston, Texas. “I won’t get my prescriptions anywhere else,” says one of his regulars, and it’s apparent that many of Dr. Nguyen’s patients feel the same way. The pharmacist is particularly proud that some customers continue to get their prescriptions filled at his pharmacy even after moving miles away.

Dr. Nguyen has built his incredible reputation over a 19-year period, which has seen the community deal with the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether he’s navigating a major disaster or an ordinary workday, Dr. Nguyen manages to remain grounded for his patients. 

“I just do my best to be nice to everyone,” he says. “Being nice goes a long way. People really do appreciate that, and I think it builds a sense of loyalty.”

After almost two decades as a pharmacist, Dr. Nguyen has seen many changes take place in the profession. “I started off just filling prescriptions, and next thing you know, I was giving vaccines, doing healthcare screenings, clinical interventions, and medication therapy management,” he explains. “I never would’ve imagined over the course of my career that the community pharmacist role would’ve evolved as much as it has.” 

Regardless of what comes his way, Dr. Nguyen remains committed to patient care, and his customers note his kind, friendly, and knowledgeable approach. For all these reasons and more, Dr. Nguyen has been named the 2022 Best Pharmacist.

What inspired you to become a pharmacist?

Pharmacy was not on my radar when I was heading into college. I started off as a business major, then I did pre-med. After finishing college, my mind was telling me to go ahead and pursue medical school, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I was at a crossroads in my life, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. 

By chance, I applied for an opening as a pharmacy technician position in our local newspaper; there I met a great pharmacist who was operating a small, independent pharmacy at the time. After starting the job there, I saw how he was able to build relationships with his customers by delivering to nursing homes and retirement communities. He even gave out his personal phone number to a lot of our patients. I saw him opening up the pharmacy after hours to fill emergency prescriptions or he would come in on Sundays when we were closed so a patient could pick up a prescription. He did whatever it took to build those relationships. 

He wasn’t just a pharmacist; he was their pharmacist. Seeing him build those relationships really inspired me to become a pharmacist.

What do you believe are important characteristics as a pharmacist?

To me, it’s all about building relationships and taking the time to get to know people on a personal level, whether it’s getting to know a patient’s kids, their grandkids, or their parents. I got into pharmacy because of those relationships, and thankfully I’ve been able to build my own relationships with patients. People really trust our pharmacy with their healthcare needs.

To me, it’s all about building relationships and taking the time to get to know people on a personal level.

Empathy is everything when you’re in the pharmacy. You have to be empathetic with what your patients are going through, regardless of how they look or if they have money. You need to put yourself in their shoes. 

So, how do you put yourself in your patients’ shoes?

I go out of my way to take an extra few minutes to get to know the patients and maybe we can delve a little bit deeper into what’s ailing them. It could be medication-related, but sometimes people just want to talk or get something off their chest. 

Can you give us an example of going above and beyond for your customers?

The one I remember the most was about five years ago, when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Our pharmacy was located in the worst hit area in the entire city because they released the dams and purposely flooded the neighborhood surrounding our store. The weeks after Harvey, all the roads were impassable. Houses were flooded and there was no electricity. What would normally be a 20-minute drive to get to work turned into a two and a half hour trek. 

Empathy is everything when you’re in the pharmacy. You have to be empathetic with what your patients are going through.

Once I got to work, the store was running on generators. Everything was in the dark, but we were there. We had customers coming in whose houses were flooded. They had no electricity, no air conditioning. Even their cars were flooded. It was miserable to see the sad and exhausted looks on their faces, and knowing that I really couldn’t do much for them other than listen, shed some tears, and hold their hands. Some of them just needed a hug. That was emotionally tough to see. 

At the time, my technician had a larger, oversize SUV vehicle, so we were able to offer a lot of customers extra help. We’d tell them, “We’ll drive you around. We’ll go into your house and help you move your possessions.” We did whatever we could do to help. Their gratitude and appreciation is something I’ll never forget. It was truly a once in a lifetime event. 

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

A couple of weeks ago, I was giving a COVID vaccine to a young lady and her husband. She turned to me and said, “I feel like you’ve been in my life for as long as I can remember.” We started reminiscing, and it turns out I started filling prescriptions for her when she was starting in elementary school, so I’ve seen her go through middle school and high school and college, and now she’s married. She and her husband just moved back into the neighborhood, so they were here to get the vaccine. 

Everything just kind of came full circle. It’s those relationships that you develop over time that make this job so rewarding.

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

I can’t say there’s one moment I’m proud of; it’s a culmination of many moments. It’s that customer who will drive across town once a year to get her flu shot because you’ve been giving her that flu shot for the past 20 years and she trusts you. It’s when people trust you enough that even when they move away, they continue to get their prescriptions filled at our pharmacy. 

I had this one customer who moved to Austin, which is about two and a half hours away, but he would drive to Houston once a month to get his prescriptions filled. That is five hours round trip. The fact that he would even consider doing that makes me so proud that people put so much trust into our pharmacy.