The Most Hilarious (and not-so-hilarious-moments) in the Past 10+ Years of Pharmacy

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This post has been long time in the making, and also a move toward a coming out of sorts for the Blonde Pharmacist.  It is time to just be me, if you know what I mean, so let's start out with a post about the past.  The most hilarious moments in the past 10 years of being a pharmacist (and not-so-hilarious-moments). 1.  Sometime during 1999, Keith Urban was living in the middle Tennessee area where I was working.  He wasn't a bit name at all, and in fact, in the Country Music City to make it.  (Make it, he did).  I worked in a small retail pharmacy with a fabulous technician named Kim and another pharmacist named Ladona.  Keith came in from time to time with his fabulous Australian accent.  Of course, I cannot divulge what he took medication wise, but I can say that he is indeed short, and was friendly.  It wasn't too much longer he sent in a driver...  he made it big.  This is a hilarious moment only because it was my only brush with celebrity while working.  Fun stuff.

2.  I was a floater for the same retail company and was working in a store one afternoon.  The best part of being a floater is that there isn't a lot of responsibility as far as the operations part of the day.  I would go in, do my job, and leave.  However, this one day, there was a man that came in holding what looked like a five year old needing an early refill on his son's albuterol nebules.  I told him he'd have to pay for them because TennCare wouldn't cover them early.  He was irate and began squeezing his son.  "Daddy!  You're squeezing me.  You're hurting me!"  He replied to his son rather dramatically, "Son, I'm not hurting you, SHE is!!"  As a twenty-something pharmacist, I sort of lost it at that moment.  "What am I doing a jedi mind trick on your son?"  It wasn't long after that, I knew retail wasn't for me.  I couldn't let it roll. I kept going with him, "I'm gonna have your job!"  He said angrily.  "You can have it!"  I replied.

If I can give some advice here it would be... learn to let it roll.  Don't lose your cool.

3.  JB.  The HIV positive homeless man that threatened to have my brains on the parking lot if I didn't fill his alprazolam 2 mg QID two weeks early.  Needless to say I didn't, and he was my last straw.  Good-bye retail forever.  I figured JB didn't really have much to lose.

4.  AG the former crack addict who kicked the habit for many many years only to die after shooting up again.  Some of the conversations we had were priceless in hindsight during a time I needed friends so desperately.

5.  Not a hilarious moment or not - but a moment where this blonde pharmacist worked for THE BLONDE pharmacist.  She was such a positive influence and hired me for home infusion with no experience.  Glad she gave me a chance.

6.  Who could forget the boss I had once who wanted to know what I was thinking once during a meeting.  The guy had more degrees than anyone I've met but yet asked the strangest questions.  My response, "Last time I checked, thoughts were still private property."  LOL  Seriously though, he sort of lost cred with me when a close friend and coworker was in labor and he stalled her for awhile to wrap up some things with her job and then took time later to brag about how he stalled her while she was in labor.  Gag.

7.  Who could forget the manager who threatened a punitive write-up in one sentence and the next began talking about Jesus.  Asked me if I had found a church.  So wrong on so many levels.

8.  Or the job interview where the pharmacy manager dove right in with the first sentence, "We'll begin our interview."  The next sentence, "Do you have kids?"

What are your most hilarious and not-so-hilarious moments in pharmacy?

You Lucky Pharmacist You

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How are you doing out there fellow pharmacists in an economy that is slowing down? Are your jobs secure? Do you have any fear of being laid-off or losing your job? Do you feel content where you are? On the plus side, it's easy to see how pharmacists and other medical personnel will more than likely be in demand. People continue to age and grow sick. People still need us. Perhaps they'll need us more? However, I am reading from fellow classmates that retail pharmacy is taking a bit of a hit as far as hours the stores are open. I hear that even Walgreens is shortening their hours and therefore not offering as much hours to their current staff. I'm not for sure if this is true, but things are slowing and slowing.

How slow will the grow and how much will it affect us? I'm not so sure that we couldn't find something else if we HAD to versus my husband who could not. That in itself is a good reason to sit and consider how lucky we are to be pharmacists right now. People need us. Even in bad times.

Update:  Three Years Later

I have always wanted to do this and spend the time to tell you how the pharmacy market has changed over time.  Yes, we were right.  Now there are so many pharmacy schools and pharmacy students graduating that the jobs have all but dried up.  You can't find a job.

How sad is that?

How to Make the Transition from Retail to ANYTHING Else

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You've finally reached the end of the line in retail.  You've had enough of the rude public, the non-pharmacist managers, and the corporate cuts.  You are ready to have an hour lunch (maybe) and normal bathroom breaks.  You are ready to feel a little more professional.  Sorry, retail pharmacists, you know it's true.  Yes, you probably make more money than me, but at least I'm not worried about my health.  (I was working retail in a terrible part of town.  All of the good areas were full with waiting lists of pharmacists ready to transfer out just like me.  I just chose a quicker path). The first thing that is entering your mind as I'm noticing on a couple of comments here is that you think a special amount of training is required.  Let's first think about hospital pharmacy.  You can transfer from retail to hospital pharmacy fairly easily.  Hospitals can train you.  There is a lot to learn, yes, but I was up-to-speed in two months.  I worked five years in retail, if that helps at all.

You will have to learn about the hospital's formulary, allergy list, and perhaps coumadin and pharmacokinetic dosing again.  You will certainly have a lot of pharmacists willing to help.  There will be no more jerks in line waiting on you to hand them their papersack with drugs; you will merely have a function to be a part of the team that helps to heal the acutely and chronically ill.  You will revisit sterile technique to mix IVs, chemo, and TPN. (I hope, though it seems the hospitals I worked in didn't observe this at all!)

And most importantly... you will have a life back.  No more driving home from work in retail and a customer follow you home.  No more jerks waiting until 3 minutes before close to get 10 prescriptions filled... all new.

I don't regret leaving retail at all.  I do regret losing the knowledge of some of the new drugs since graduation, but it's worth it for peace of mind and life.

I hope that helps.

What advice I would give students graduating from pharmacy school

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Seems others are doing the same, so I'll put in my 2 cents. 1.  Don't assume that all of pharmacy is retail.  Yes, you will make the most bucks in retail and if you have gone the way of borrowing your way into a huge hole, then it may be your only way to make it out and then find something else.  Perhaps retail is your goal, and you love it, but personally, I found 3 years of retail to be enough pharmacy prostituting that I could do.  The bucks WERE nice, but the abuse to my body from standing 14 hours a day, lack of bathroom breaks, treatment from STORE managers who have barely any sort of education, abuse from patients, and abuse from non-caring technicians, I look back now and say RUN -- no I SCREAM RUN!  There are some great jobs out there that don't involve retail at all.

2.  If you DO choose retail know that the longer you stay IN retail, the less likely you'll ever get out.  It's like getting hooked on a drug.  You keep doing it saying you'll quit, but by the time you are ready to leave, it's almost too late, unless you are lucky and some poor sweet manager in a different realm of pharmacy sees the pain you have experienced and wants to throw you a lifeline.  I had one of those - a female pharmacist that I am forever indebted to.... thanks J!

3.  Make pharmacy a hobby somehow.  Read and read and read.  The only difference between you and the girl (since girls are taking over ;)) standing next to you is that you somehow have made yourself marketable... you are reading publications and keeping up.  You are giving a rats ass about pharmacy and all the crap going on...  You know how to find anything FAST...  you can think on your toes.  Who care what you made in Biochem.  No one cares.  But do you know the difference between using Primaxin/Fortaz vs. Tygacil in different situations?  Can you think critically?

My top advice... DO NOT GO INTO RETAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Packing tic-tacs and hot tamales again

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Can't beat it!  I don't have to worry about drug interactions or drug duplications!  It's easy as pie, and I won't kill anyone say I change Mickey Mouse's red cinnamon tic-tac for a new lemon tic-tac!  There's no implications, no loss of licensure.  I have no sleepless nights tossing about wondering if I filled the prescription correctly for it is a sugary treat with no side effects except maybe a blood sugar increase or stomachache. Boss man walked over to check on me today asking, "How's it going over here?  Do you have the box running over?"

I thought, "Do you see the damn box running over you idiot?"  but said, "Not yet."  The not yet tone was very monotonous though.  No hope in that one at all.

I got paid today.  It's earmarked partly for a new Ann Taylor suit for I have two interviews scheduled for next week:  consulting position and a staff position with their competitor.

Watch out.  Blonde Pharmacist is out applying for another new job.  This time I'm going to get it right.

Today...

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Today consisted of me packing different colored Tic Tacs and hot tamales into packages for Boss.  There are no orders to do, so I am stuck packing candy.  And eating candy.  And cussing under my breath at the injustice of it all!  Seriously though (LOL), I am well on my way to finding another opportunity.  I still want the work from home position and also interested in a possible consulting position.  Both sound good to me.  Wish me luck! In the meantime, I typed up a resignation letter.  "I regret to inform you that my last day will be August 31, 2007.  There are several issues here that hinder my professional growth."  (You are an asshole... oh wait... can't say that).

Today, I heard one of the two technicians tell the boss that he had had a phone call while out of his office.  He interrupted her to ask her, "Did you think to ask them what they wanted?"  Um.  Wait a minute... did she think?  It's not really what he says, it's HOW he says it...  he has this incredible berating tone to his northern accent.  I'd like to bitchslap him.

I chickened out on the resignation thing but I feel deeply I need to keep working for the money.  If he wants to pay me more than 100K per year to pack candy, then so be it.  I just know that better things are coming.

Thanks for the comments!

To the lady that has been out of school for two years and moving across the state and wants out of retail... I remember when I was in your shoes...  I BEGGED.  Literally... and wore a $300.00 suit to the interview...  I presented myself well... and it worked.

I need to go suit shopping again this week.  It's time to stun!