The Phrustrated Pharmacist: Wow

Friday, September 14, 2012

Wow - Life Hit Hard

Wow - for all 4 of my followers who may or may not be wondering where I've been, it all started with inventory for the end of our fiscal year, and has just snowballed from there, ending this past Tuesday with a funeral of a family member, 9 hours away from our little town.

So I have more than enough to blog about, from our Express Scripts contract and the Humana contract, and many other things. I just need about two weeks of sensory depravation to recuperate and rest up from the things life has thrown at me since August 31. I am thoroughly exhausted to the bone.

But I do want to give a shout-out to PharmStat, a pharmacy staffing company. Were it not for them, I would have been unable to attend the funeral at such short notice, especially considering that I live in the middle of nowhere and would have NEVER been able to find a relief pharmacist on my own, with such short notice. They are expensive but entirely worth it.

I'll be back at it soon enough - nice thing about retail pharmacy - there are always things to bitch about!

--T.Ph.RPh.

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Why I Am a Phrustrated Pharmacist

First things first - this blog is my therapy. A place for me to come and get things off of my chest before I stroke out or have a heart attack. Please read and approach things here with that in mind. When reading complaints about how the public at large behaves, know that I have patients that I adore and would do anything for. However, the ratio between crappy public and wonderful patients is shifting, and not to the wonderful side. Pharmacists are one of the most horribly abused "professionals" on the planet. This is NOT an exaggeration.

Unless otherwise attributed, pictures included, all content is my own, and belongs to me. Feel free to use anything here, but please give credit where applicable by directing back to this blog.

I have been working in a pharmacy since I was a sophomore in high school, starting in 1986. I graduated from pharmacy school and became licensed in 1994. I have seen many changes, almost all have NOT been for the better.

Pharmacists have historically had the lowest job satisfaction among "professionals." After being in the field for 26 years, I know why. We are the butt - by the time the patient sees us, they have been through the wringer of prescriber offices, lines for labwork, and then they hit the pharmacy, tired and fed up, and we are conveniently available to take their frustrations out on us. It basically sucks. We are so overtrained for the job that we do.

I think it will be good to share some of the daily crap we have to deal with, and maybe, just maybe, reach some of the patients out there. In doing this blog, maybe I'll be able to relieve some of my frustrations and dissatisfaction, and give colleagues a good laugh while I'm at it.

Most pharmacists I know went into the field to help better people's lives. Yes, the money is good (but not nearly as good as it used to be - especially in the independent retail world, but that'll be a subject for a post soon), and the hours can be good and flexible, but for the most part, we wanted to help people live better, longer, healthier lives. I can't remember the last time I truly made a difference, medically, in someone's life. Other than possibly catching an allergy, which the computer actually does most of that, I don't know that I have made a difference, medically speaking. I know I've helped ease emotional pain by "being there," helped people out of a bind by "staying late" or "delivering after hours," but medically? Not much comes to mind. Those other things are great, and part of why we do this, but I didn't have to go to (and pay for) six long, grueling years of school to accomplish that. I know I certainly didn't go to pharmacy school to get out and count to 30 by fives every day, or put together stupid spreadsheets comparing laser printer toner cost.

We as a profession put up with so much crap, and I have yet to figure out why we do. No breaks for lunch or the toilet? Seriously? Long shifts without a single break, a kinked neck from being on the telephone almost non-stop, yet fast food employees have headsets and we don't, and when we ask for a lousy $25 headset, the powers above scream as if we have just asked for an hour paid lunch?

This is just a part of why I am a Phrustrated Pharmacist. Follow my blog for a while and see if you wouldn't be frustrated too!

-T.Ph.RPh.