Respect Our History

  This is a short post with just some observations I gained while at a C.E. conference this weekend.  It was great, by the way. One of the universities in our state has a twice yearly continueing education seminar that gives us all of our required C.E. for the year. Anyway, as I looked around the room there were approximately 200 people there. They ranged from pharmacists to pharmacy students to technicians and they represented all types of practice areas. I saw people there from their mid-twenties clear up to pharmacists in their nineties and I realised that this was a picture of our profession. We have bright new minds and we have long standing experience. Personally, I have to admire any pharmacist who hasn't practiced in 30 years but still attends continuing education seminars and is still active in the profession in other capacities.
  One thing that bothered me was that, as I sat there waiting for the program to begin, I overheard some young people behind me ridiculing and making fun of an elderly pharmacist who looked to be in her 80's or 90's.  Of course, they weren't doing it to her face, but to me it was pure disrespect. That woman represented at least 60 years of history and experience in our profession. I can't even imagine the hurdles she had to overcome as a woman trying to make it in a  man's world when she was younger. I wish I would have had the time to sit and talk with her; possibly glean some wisdom. I mean can you imagine the changes she has seen in this profession in her lifetime?! I know that in the 23 years that I have practiced there have been enormous changes. Some good, some not so good, but massive none the less.
  I want to say to those young people that time flies when you're in this game. Soon there will be new grads looking at you like you're their grandparents. Respect your elders in this profession because if it weren't for them and their hard work, you wouldn't be making the big bucks right now. Learn what you can from them as long as they are around. If nothing else, grow up!

Loyalty Rant

  Recent events at my pharmacy have had me thinking about loyalty. What it is, what it isn't and how it has changed over the years.
  I can remember my dad talking to me about loyalty to my employer. He said that loyalty is a one way thing. It's something I show toward something or someone else. It's not a two way deal where I'll be loyal but only if you are loyal to me. Or I'll be loyal until you tick me off. That is not loyalty; that is performance based acceptance which is totally different.
  I guess the reason loyalty to employers has declined is that most people these days work for a corporation that has no "face" to it. It's much easier to be loyal to someone you can see, interact with and voice yourself to. Why is it harder to be loyal to corporations? Well, corporations are big and by being big they employ a large number of people who all have to be treated the same. That means we usually aren't treated like individuals or recognized for individual performance. The person who constantly calls off work is treated the same as the person who always shows up, that sort of thing. Corporations have lots of "management" who really are impotent when it comes to addressing your concerns. They may boast an open door policy for voicing concerns but they don't guarantee that any of the concerns will be recognized or taken care of.  But, still, are these good reasons to drop any loyalty toward your employer? What about loyalty to the actual people you work with. No, they don't have any effect on your paycheck but what about loyalty for loyalty's sake.  Why are so many people in the workforce only looking for what the employer can give them rather than just doing their job. I figured out a long time ago that the only thing my employer owes me is  a paycheck at the end of two weeks because I had worked for it. I'm loyal to my employer because I'm grateful to have a job in this economy. I may not always like how individuals in my company do their jobs or I may not agree with decisions that are made, but I remain loyal because I'm not a quitter. I hung my hat here, so to speak, and I'll stay.
  You are probably wondering why I'm going on about this topic. Well, I have recently been stung a few times by lack of loyalty on the part of some of my staff. For example, I needed a Senior tech and I knew of one at another store who was not getting the opportunity that she wanted, so I asked to have her transferred to my store. She did so and I set about augmenting her knowledge of procedures that was lacking in her previous training. I gave her encouragement and opportunity,but how was I repaid? She was stealing me blind on hydrocodone! I felt betrayed. You may say that she had a problem and I agree. She has a bigger problem now because she will never set foot in a pharmacy again. Okay, so we don't count her. Her addiction was overriding her loyalty to me; got it. The next example is a technician who I also gave opportunities to who previously did not have said opportunities. She used our company resources and time to become certified. The company paid for her classes and for her exam. How did she repay that generosity? As soon as she became certified she took a job with an insurance company doing prior authorizations. Oh, she still wanted to work for us but only one day a week. That, my friend, is ingratitude! It made me look bad because I recommended her to the program. So not only did she display a lack of loyalty toward my company but also toward me personally! Don't get me wrong, I can't blame anyone for wanting a) to get out of retail if they can and b) get more money if they can, but decency would tell you to give some time to the company that got you into the position you are in. Without them you wouldn't qualify for the new job in the first place. If it were up to me, I would slap her with a bill for the price of the classes and the exam. If it were a pharmacist who had done this, they sure would be.
  I guess it all comes down to selfishness. It's not all about me. Look around at the people you work with. Even if you don't care for that person they are still your comrade. They are still on the same side of the counter as you are. That big corporation that you may work for is made up of individuals. They are the ones that deserve your loyalty. Be grateful for what you're given. Not just a paycheck but things that are harder to measure like experience, opportunity, and trust. And most of all, don't ever get the attitude that just because you show up your employer owes you anything but a paycheck. Everything else is out of the goodness of their hearts (even if they don't have one).

One Of My Favorite Things

   I think one of my favorite things about my job is working with young people who are either in pharmacy school or considering pharmacy as a career.  The pharmacy students usually still have that warm fuzzy feeling about "helping people" which is refreshing (although sickening at times). They are young and bright and they keep me on my toes. I love theses people and I love being part of their education and shaping. In our area we have three pharmacy schools so I see alot of students. I'm also not stupid enough to think that I can't learn something from them.
   I also like finding young people to work in my pharmacy who are considering pharmacy as a career. I purposely look for this when interviewing for a technician spot. The one thing that has helped me the most in my career is that I worked in a pharmacy in some capacity since I was 13 years old. I knew what I was getting into when I headed off to university. Once there, my experience in a compounding pharmacy helped with my compounding lab and my calculations classes. I met many, many students who didn't have a clue what pharmacy was all about. They just knew that pharmacists made good money. Or I met the ones who didn't really like to work with people and they thought that pharmacy was a good choice. All they knew was that they could study lots of chemistry. I'm not sure what they were thinking they would be doing when they graduated. There are only so many research jobs available, you know. Anyway, working in a pharmacy is a great way to see if this job is for you. I like to think I'm a good influence on their choice because over 20 years later I'm still enthusiastic about this profession.
   However, I have had a disturbing trend lately. Every one of my "candidates" have decided that they don't want to do what I do every day. I think that's good in a way because it's better to find out now than after 6 years of study and thousands in student loans. Of course, each one has had different reasons for not wanting to pursue the career. I've had ones that just didn't want to make that much of an effort to study. That's great because they would make pharmacists who don't want to work. I get that. I've had ones that decided they would rather be medical doctors. That's great too, although I always point out to them that medical isn't better than pharmacy, it's just different. They still can learn alot by working in a pharmacy; like understanding what pharmacists can contribute to patient care.
    The ones that really bother me are the ones that choose not to go into pharmacy because they hate working retail. That's the one I don't understand. Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand not liking retail, but that's only one aspect of pharmacy. Not to mention that your role as the pharmacist is vastly different than your role as a cashier or technician. I also see a huge difference in my job and my profession. I can use my profession to influence my job and the atmosphere in which I work. That's up to me. So, I guess I just can't figure out where I'm failing these young people or where I may be misrepresenting my profession. Maybe I'm just in a slump right now, I don't know. I just really want to get the message out that pharmacy is a great and noble profession. It is worth the time, money and effort to become one of us. Retail is not the worst thing in the world and it's not the only choice you have. It was my choice, but then I'm a people person and I've grown a pretty thick skin over the years.
   So, please, if you're considering pharmacy, just step back and take an unbiased look at the profession. Try to get a look at other aspects like hospital or consulting. I was fortunate. I worked hospital, retail and nursing home consult before and during pharmacy school. Try to get a well rounded, full aspect view of this wonderful profession before making your decision. If you're already in pharmacy school and you really, really don't like what you see in this profession, then leave now. Don't rack-up those student loans just to work in a job that makes you miserable. Believe me you will take it out on your patients even if you don't mean to.  If you're already in school and you like what you see I welcome you to this profession with open arms. My best advise is to be flexible and open to change. Because this profession changes more rapidly than we realise and being open to change makes you a valuable asset to any company and makes your life a whole lot easier.
   If you're a pharmacist out there that has students or would-be students pass through your stores, do your best to put a good face on what we do. It's easy to get negative in this business. We often feel abused and taken advantage of. When this happens your attitude is what will be the lasting impression for these young people. The patient that yelled at you can be gone for hours, but if you keep ranting about it it makes the experience last a whole lot longer than it needed to. Shake it off and teach your students that this kind of thing can be survived and that how you handle it can influence the rest of your day either for the better of for the worse. We are the face of pharmacy and we can make a difference.

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.