Everyday English: Going to the PHARMACY

Hello, my name is Emma, in today's video, I am going to teach you some great sentences

and expressions and vocabulary we use when we are going to the pharmacy.

So, and I'll also tell you what a pharmacy is, because maybe you've never heard that

word before.

So, let's get started.

So, a pharmacy is a place, and it's a place you go when you need to get medication or

medicine, okay?

So, another word for pharmacy is drugstore.

So, you can say either pharmacy or drugstore.

Pharmacy has a weird spelling, you'll notice it's spelled with "ph", pharmacy, so just

looking at that "ph" might be confusing.

But the way it's pronounced is "farm-a-see".

Pharmacy.

Okay?

So, don't spell it like this, but this is how we pronounce it.

So, you go to the pharmacy after you see the doctor and you go there to get your medication.

So, like I said, why do you go to the pharmacy?

You go there to get your medication, medicine or drugs.

These are all words for the same thing.

Now, you might have heard the word "drug" before and you might think, wait a second,

drugs, isn't that bad?

In English, "drugs", there are two meanings.

We can talk about drugs that are illegal, so these are the ones that are against the

law.

So, for example, heroin or cocaine, these are illegal drugs.

If you go to the pharmacy, you cannot get illegal drugs.

I know I'm calling it a drugstore, but they do not sell those kinds of drugs.

What kind of drugs do they sell?

They sell prescription drugs.

A prescription drug is another way to say a medication.

And it's a medication that your doctor is saying you should take.

So, to get a prescription, you need to go see a doctor and the doctor gives you a note

telling you what medication to take.

We call these prescription drugs.

You can find prescription drugs at the drugstore or the pharmacy.

Something else you can find at the pharmacy is over the counter drugs.

Over the counter drugs are different than prescription drugs.

Prescription drugs, you need a doctor to say, "Take this".

But over the counter drugs, you do not need a prescription.

They are medication or medicine that anyone can buy.

So, for example, if you have a headache, you can buy Tylenol, and that is an over the counter

drug.

You do not need a prescription.

Okay, so we've covered why you might go to a pharmacy and that we also call it a drugstore.

What else can we say about pharmacies?

Well, we can talk about who works at a pharmacy.

What people might you see at a pharmacy?

First of all, you might see a pharmacist.

What is a pharmacist?

A pharmacist is a person who works at the pharmacy.

They are an expert in medication.

They have taken a lot of education to become a pharmacist.

They are usually the people working in the back of the pharmacy.

You might also see a clerk or a pharmacy assistant.

These people help the pharmacist.

They are not the pharmacist, but they can help the pharmacist, and they are the ones

you usually talk to first.

When you go to the pharmacy, you will often bring your prescription and give it to the

clerk or the pharmacy assistant and the pharmacist with put your medication into a bottle and

prepare it for you.

So now, let's look at some other words we need to know for when we go to the pharmacy.

Okay, so you're at the pharmacy or drugstore, and you have your prescription.

You've seen the doctor and there's medicine you need.

So, what do you do?

Well, first step is usually, at a pharmacy, you might see two signs.

You might see the sign that says "Drop off" and you might see a sign that says "Pick up".

So, if you go to where it says "Drop off", that is where you go first.

And that is where you hand your prescription from the doctor to the pharmacy assistant,

the pharmacist, or the clerk.

Whoever is working there.

And then - so that's the first step.

You give them your prescription.

And then usually, you have to wait while the pharmacist prepares your prescription.

And once the prescription is ready, you go the third step, which is the "Pick up".

You go to the sign that says "Pick up", and this is where they give you your medicine.

So, three steps.

Go to "Drop off", wait, and then you go and you pick up your medication.

So, this seems really simple, but I remember when I was a teenager picking up medicine.

I'd get confused and sometimes I'd go here first, and then they'd tell me, "No, no, you've

got to go to drop off".

So, it's simple, but you need to know this is how it works.

So, there's two words we often use when we talk about medication.

And they're very important words if you want to save money.

So, those words are "generic" and "brand".

Usually, medications have - you might have the same medication and in one case, there's

a brand name, okay?

So, it's a famous name that makes that medication.

And brand names are usually very popular and they spend a lot of money on advertising.

And so, their medicine costs a lot more money.

Sometimes, there's a cheaper brand that they call the generic, and that's where - it doesn't

have a name, or the name is not well known.

So, it's the cheaper form of the medicine.

Same medicine, but it just doesn't have all the advertising.

So, we call that the generic.

The thing to remember is the generic is the cheap form of the medicine.

The brand is the expensive form.

So, it's always a good idea when you're at the pharmacy to say, "Is there a generic?"

Meaning, is there a cheaper form of this medication?

And the pharmacist can tell you, "Yes, there is", or "No, there isn't.

There's only the brand name."

But it's a good idea, because you can save a lot of money that way.

So, let's look at some things you might do while you're at the pharmacy.

So, like I said, the first step is going and dropping off your prescription.

This is a great expression we use when we do that.

We say to the pharmacist or the pharmacy assistant, "I'd like to get my prescription filled."

And so, the word we use with prescription, the verb we're using is "filled".

I'd like to get my prescription filled.

We might also ask to speak to a pharmacist.

"Can I speak to a pharmacist, please?"

And we might do this if we have questions about our medication.

For example, you might want to ask, "What are the side effects?"

Side effects is - it's an important vocabulary word or words that we use a lot when we talk

about medication.

The side effect is the - what the medication can do to you that might not be a good thing.

So, usually, medications can help you, but sometimes, they have bad things that they

can do to you, too.

So, maybe they help your cold, but maybe they make you very tired.

Or maybe they make your eyes have trouble in sunlight.

So, it's a good idea to ask the pharmacist, "What are the side effects?"

Now, let's look at a couple of more actions you can do at a pharmacy, so you will be ready

to go the next time you need to get medication.

Okay, so you've had your prescription filled, you've dropped off your prescription, you've

had it filled, you've waited, and now it's time to pick up your prescription.

So, we're at the pick up part of the counter.

This is where you pay, and you often get asked certain questions.

You might be asked about your insurance.

So, they might ask you, "Do you have coverage?"

So, this means, do you have insurance?

And if you have insurance, then you can say, "Yes, I have coverage" and you give them your

insurance information.

But if you don't have coverage, what you can say is, "I will pay out of pocket".

When you pay out of pocket, that means you're not using insurance, you're paying for your

medication.

I need to pay out of pocket.

So, these are two great expressions you will likely hear if you're at the pharmacy.

Okay, so they will also tell you how to take your medication.

When we're talking about how much medication to take and how often, what we're talking

about is dosage.

So, if you ask a pharmacist, you can say, "What is the dosage?"

That means, how much medication do I take, and how often do I take it?

So, the pharmacist might tell you, you might have to take a pill, a tablet, a pill and

a tablet mean the same thing, okay?

There might be a slightly different meaning, but in general when we're talking about pills

and tablets, they're synonyms, they mean the same thing.

So, you might have to take a pill and if you take a pill or a tablet, they might tell you

something like, "You need to take two tablets or two pills", so this answers, "How much?"

"at bedtime for two weeks."

"For two weeks" is "How often?".

So, this is an example of what they might say for your dosage, okay?

So, this example is your dosage.

You might also have to take medication in a fluid or liquid form.

It might not be a pill.

So, they might tell you, you need to take a liquid dose.

A dose means - it's another way to say amount.

And so, for this, you might see words like, "tsp", which means "teaspoon", which is a

measuring amount, or you might see - there are different ways to measure.

You might see tablespoon or just a couple of drops.

So, it's good to figure out what these words mean, okay?

And if you don't know, you can always ask the pharmacist.

I don't know what tsp means; can you tell me how much?

And they will be happy to help you with that.

Alright, so now, just a couple more things about medication and then we'll be finished

for today.

Okay, so the last thing I wanted to talk about is how pharmacists might give you directions

on how to take your medication.

This is really important to listen to.

So, they will often give you directions.

And sometimes, these directions are also written on the label of the medicine.

Here are some examples of directions that you might see.

You might see something that says, "Do not exceed".

Do not exceed five pills, do not exceed ten tablets in a day.

What does it mean when we say "Do not exceed?"

Well, what it means is don't take more than.

So, sometimes, for example, with Tylenol, you can take a certain number of pills in

a day.

And on the bottle, it will say, "Do not exceed" this number, meaning don't take more than

this.

If you take more than this, you might have very bad side effects.

We often see the word "empty stomach".

For some medications, they work better if you do not eat before or when taking them.

We call this an "empty stomach".

So, the pharmacist might say, "Take your medication on an empty stomach", which means don't eat

when you take this medication.

Sometimes, pharmacists might tell you the opposite.

When you take this medication, make sure you eat.

Take this with food.

Or, they might talk to you about drinks, you know.

Do not take this medication with milk.

For a lot of medications, you're not supposed to take with milk, so this might be a direction

you get.

You might also be told, "This medication needs to stay cold".

Keep it in the refrigerator.

Refrigerate this medication, meaning keep it in the refrigerator.

So, pay attention to what the pharmacist tells you and when you're learning another language,

there can be a lot of information coming at you, especially when you're at the pharmacy.

The pharmacist can sometimes talk a little fast.

There's a lot of different instructions.

Even if English is your first language, you can get very confused at the pharmacy.

So, it's very important if you don't understand something, ask.

Or, if you missed what the pharmacist said, ask them, "Can you repeat that?

Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Really good to ask.

The other thing that's really important to do is confirm what you hear.

So, the pharmacist says, you know, make sure you take this on an empty stomach and do not

exceed more than five pills in a day.

And you're like wow, okay.

Let me get this straight, just to confirm, you said, "Do not exceed this many pills in

a day and take this on an empty stomach."

By confirming, the pharmacist will then tell you, "Yes, that's what I said", or "No, what

I said is this".

Because medication can be dangerous and can have side effects, it's really a good idea

to confirm what you hear with the pharmacist just to make sure you understand everything

correctly.

So, we have covered a lot of different expressions, a lot of different words today.

I hope you feel more confident for when you go to the pharmacist.

Again, learning the words and understanding what will happen at a pharmacist will help

you be better prepared so you can understand more of what you hear.

I want to thank you for watching this video, and I also want to encourage you to check

out www.engvid.com . There, you can actually do a quiz to make sure you understand all

of these words and to practice them so you're even more ready for when you go to the pharmacy.

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So, thank you so much for watching, and until next time, take care.