Tru-Valu Drugs of Sanford
Dustin Williams, PharmD
The student had this to say about Dr. Nieves:
“The staff at Tru Valu Drugs were so inviting, patient, and willing to help in any capacity. They were always willing to explain something no matter how many questions I had. My preceptor, Dustin Williams, was great. He took the time to explain every aspect of the independent community pharmacy. I learned about the everyday operations, manager duties, and more. He helped me gain confidence in myself by pushing me and allowing me to experience everything from giving vaccines, doing transfers, taking new prescriptions, contacting providers for refills or PA’s, data entry, ordering medications, accepting orders, helping prepare meds for delivery, counseling patients, assisting with OTC recommendations, doing POC blood glucose, blood pressure readings, POC A1C, assisting with care plans, explaining audits, etc. I learned more than I thought I would and enjoyed every minute of it.”
Brief bio or Site description
I am the Pharmacy Manager of Tru-Valu Drugs. We are an independent pharmacy that incorporates clinical services into our practice. Here at Tru-Valu, we strive to provide patient-centered care by offering a range of pharmacy services, including, but not limited to, medication synchronization, free delivery, immunizations, point of care testing/treatment, and personalized medication packaging. We stock a wide variety of over the counter products and durable medical equipment. We partner with a psychiatric facility and provide specialized medications services to the facility and their patients, inpatient and outpatient.
What is your or your sites philosophy on educating students and/or providing pharmacy services?
I am a recent graduate (class of ’21) and even when I was in school, the College pushed clinical pharmacy with a focus on hospital/ambulatory care. It is portrayed that in those areas, you are able to practice at the top of your license and be able to impact patients more than in the retail setting. We were never provided any information on independent retail pharmacy. We make sure that the students know that you can provide clinical services in the retail setting and work at the top of your license. We show them that independent pharmacies are a great way you can fill a void in community healthcare needs. In regards to specific teaching strategies, I make sure the students understand the “why.” If they know why we do something a certain way, they can adapt their knowledge/skills to similar, but different situations.
What is a fun fact about you or the site?
Tru-Valu Drugs opened in 1979 We have staff that has worked here for over 20 years and many patients who’s families have been coming here since it first opened.