Nicholas Leeper, CPhT, started at H-E-B #085 in San Antonio, Texas, in August 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. As a certified pharmacy technician who’s completed H-E-B’s internal immunizer training, Leeper was able to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, which made a huge difference to the nearby population and helped him build some genuine connections with his customers, too. For Leeper, interacting with customers quickly became the most rewarding part of his job—and confirmed that he was following the right career path. 

“It’s just a matter of putting yourself in their shoes because, nine times out of 10, we’re wearing the same shoes,” he explains. “We all live in the same community. We’re all affected by the same inflation rates, higher costs on consumer goods like milk and eggs, and at the gas pump, of course.”

In fact, the technician often spends extra time helping patients save money on the medications they need. “Customers may have high copays for certain medications through their insurance plan,” he says. “But if they can get a 90-day supply through a discount program at $10, $20, $30 less, by all means, do that. I will educate them, though, that those higher copays on their insurance sometimes are related to a deductible.” 

Leeper receives this year’s Customer Care Award for his commitment to looking after every patient that visits his pharmacy. “I’ve seen him address patients by their first name at a glance because he truly cares to get to know the patient population we serve,” a former coworker said of the technician.

Below, Leeper explains why he went into the field, what a day as a technician looks like, and why he consistently goes above and beyond for his customers.

Why did you decide to go into this field?

I always wanted to work in the medical profession or some sort of patient care field. I had my eyes opened to pharmacy at Angelo State University, where I graduated with a degree in chemistry with a minor in biology. My general chemistry professor suggested that I look into pharmacy. Actually, a lot of the students ended up going in that direction. I needed to get a job and help pay for things, so I got my technician trainee license and got my foot in the door at my first pharmacy. After that, I just fell in love with it. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Actually, I’d love to go to pharmacy school once things settle down at home.

What does your typical day look like as a technician?

I’m at one of the highest volume stores in San Antonio, which is a very large city. We have 50-something San Antonio H-E-B pharmacies. We’re one of the top five for patient volume. We fill almost 5,000 prescriptions a week. Our pharmacists do most of the medication assembly, but I have a lot of interaction with patients on the phone and when they come to pick up their prescriptions. 

We’re staffed very well. H-E-B as a company does take care of their patients by making sure that there are multiple pharmacists on staff, to be able to accommodate the volume. They also give us the technician hours so that we can actually talk to our patients and develop relationships. Patients will come to us because they know they’re going to get a better experience here.

Video by Deep Dive Films

Did anything surprise you about becoming a pharmacy tech?

I was pretty introverted. I kept a pretty small circle. I didn’t go out of my shell to talk to many other people prior to being in the industry. Nowadays, getting to relate to patients and meeting new people and hearing their stories is part of my daily routine. Actually, enjoying that aspect of it—getting to know people’s stories and talking to them—is something that surprised me about the job. 

Getting to relate to patients and meeting new people and hearing their stories is part of my daily routine.

I didn’t know how well I was going to do with patient relations or if I was going to be relatable. But that’s become probably one of my strong points. You put yourself in a situation that you’re a little uncomfortable in, and you grow as a person and as an employee. It’s definitely something I would suggest to others as you might thrive like I have!

How do you go above and beyond for patients?

What I see in all of my patients is parallels in my life. I think, “What would they want done for them if they were a family member? What can I do to go above and beyond for them as if they were my family?” 

If you sit down and hear their stories, there are a lot of things going on in their lives that are similar to what’s going on in mine or what I’ve been through. I’m just another human being like them. 

If I were at the pharmacy or if I were at the hospital and one of my loved ones was going through something, I’d want them to understand the urgency of the situation. Anything we can do to help ease the tension, the stress, to make things a little easier on them, because everything else they’re going through may be pretty stressful. I try to put myself in that situation because these are people that keep coming back to us. In a way, they are family.

How has the pandemic affected your pharmacy and your job? 

When the pandemic happened, pharmacy technicians had to try to pull some of that burden off of our pharmacists. Emergency acts have allowed the role of the technician in the pharmacy to grow, to the point where I’m able to transfer prescriptions and take verbal orders for specific medications. I can provide immunizations to customers, too. It’s been really refreshing to take on those new roles. 

To be able to provide immunizations to the community was really the coolest part of how the dynamic shifted, and we’re still doing that today.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Getting to develop a relationship with the customers and having them come back every so often is very rewarding. Every time people come back, you get to develop that relationship a little bit more by asking a few more questions, taking the time to remember something about them or their family, or what they had going on, and to ask them about that. 

Every time people come back, you get to develop that relationship a little bit more.

It’s also great to hear when people are improving, such as when people no longer need their medications or when they can go down in a dose. Patients want to share that with someone who can relate or understand, so I get to hear about that. It’s always rewarding to hear that from customers.

What does this nomination mean to you?

This is the first big affirmation that what I’m doing is making a difference, that people are really appreciative of what I do daily. It really makes it worth it. There’s a lot of stress related to this industry because you’re working at such a high level of efficiency and accuracy. You have to do it all in this fast-paced environment, with brief windows to make a difference. We’re a volume-type business and look after thousands of patients a week. To make such a difference when I’m seeing patients in such a small window of time to the point where they would recognize me for this award means a lot.