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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Desturbing Trend

I wanted to comment on a disturbing trend I've noticed lately. I get alot of "floater" pharmacists through my store due to vacation coverage and whatnot. Many of these are young, newly licensed pharmacists. The trend I'm seeing is young, mostly male pharmacists who are treating their job as if it is just a spring-board to something bigger and better. I see them spending a majority of their time at work on the phone "workin' a deal" of some kind. I've even seen them bring their lap-top to work so they can work their on-line business in their "spare" time. It just amazes me! I spent six years in school to become  a pharmacist. That's what I wanted to be when I was done. Most of these guys are talking about owning or working a business from their computers so that they can do what? Sit around all day on the computer? Uh, we do that anyway (minus the sitting part). They say they want to spend a few years in pharmacy and make enough money to quit and do something else. I don't know what kind of money they think we are making. I mean I know it sounds like alot to a starving college kid, but when you factor in taxes and life in general, we do o.k. but not much past that. I guess it just disturbs me that their focus is not on pharmacy as a profession but as a tool for something else. Where is the pride in that? Obviously these guys had someone else pay for their education, because if they have student loans then that is just one more factor in when they can "quit and do something else". Some could argue that it's no different than the women that only work a few years then quit to have babies, but somehow I see a difference there. It's a sacrifice rather than a selfishness, maybe.
I don't know. I just really had to comment on this trend. For someone who loves being a pharmacist regardless of all the negativity out there, it's just disturbing. I almost feel like I have an enemy in the camp. We spend so much of our time defending what we do as a profession then we have these young people coming right into our midst and under-mining our work. I wouldn't consider someone a professional if, while filling my prescription, they were working a deal on the phone to sell their brand of energy bars (true case). Not only is this a conflict of interest by selling product similar to that of you employer's but it is stealing. Yes, I said stealing. When you are paid to do a job and you spend your paid time doing something else, that is stealing. If you paid a babysitter to watch you kids and she spent the entire time in bed with her boyfriend, would you feel like paying her? It's called Self Interest and it takes the care out of health care.
Maybe this is just a trend in my area, I don't know.

7 comments:

Frantic Pharmacist said...

I really hate that, like being a pharmacist is such a trivial job to them -- not to mention the lack of attentiveness to the work. A friend of mine screens applications for a school of pharmacy and they really try to weed out applicants who don't seem to have any real interest in pharmacy --- it's just a way to making some money and funding their other enterprises. Kind of an insult to those of us who worked hard to achieve it.

The Redheaded Pharmacist said...

I agree with Frantic and I'll add the comment that I am surpised people put themselves through pharmacy school that have that kind of attitude. There are lots of easier ways to make money if that is your only goal. Why go through all of the difficulties of pharmacy school and join a service profession if you are simply using it as a springboard for other interests? If it were me I'd find a way to do those other interests directly and leave pharmacy to people who really care about the profession.

Anonymous said...

Wish I could "float" for you! I have been a Pharm.D. for 27 years. I take great pride in my work and have my co-worker's back- fellow pharmacists, technicians, clerks, cashiers. I am not above taking in Rxs, typing, pulling, filling, putting meds back on the shelf, helping to put away the order, answering phones, calling/faxing for refills. If it needs to be done, I'll do it. I've noticed a younger generation of pharmacists who regard anything other than checking tech-filled prescriptions to be "not in their job description". That would include my pharmacy manager- a young woman who doesn't work "in the trenches" with us but spends her time asking everyone to do her job for her. I miss the days of a team esprit de corps: when we all worked together as a team and helped each other. No job too big or too small as long as our patients are given great service and are helped.

Anonymous said...

Can anyone genuinely say they wouldnt drop this career in a second if something better came along. I enjoy the job and worked hard to do it, but the idea of being stuck doing the same job for the next 45 years of my life makes me sad.

bvandyke said...

If you want to know about the guy who started all of this internet business stuff. Look up Tim Ferriss and his book the 4 Hour Workweek.

The goal that these guys are trying to achieve is to build a business that runs through the use of outsourced service companies (fulfillment houses).

Once the business is automated, the owner can then delegate the minutia of daily operations and focus on the "leadership/big idea" side and do what ever it is that they really want to do. Like achieving "location independence".

I hope that this can shed some light on where these folks (possibily) got their inspiration.

Sorry for the rushed grammar.

lovinmyjob said...

Brett,
I understand what these guys are trying to acheive. The issue I have is that they are trying to acheive it while collecting a paycheck from someone else. We are healthcare professionals, if our attention is divided we can kill someone. It's not fair to the company who is paying them and it's definitely not fair to the patient who has entrusted them with their life. If they want to work a four hour work week, they need to make it four hours of their own time. When I work with these individuals I end up picking up their slack so it's not fair to me either.
Don't worry about the rushed grammer. Beleive me I am no English major. (As you can tell by the spelling and punctuation errors in most of my posts) Thanks for the input.

Tin said...

Again the enrollment season is coming , so there will be a bunch of them . And surely many of them would like to become a pharmacist .