I was ringing up a sale at the register when a long time customer asked me Do you like being a pharmacist? It seems like a fun job. After I checked to see if she had alcohol on her breath I took a moment to respond. I didn’t want to lie and tell her I had the coolest job on the planet, but I also didn’t want to make it sound like my job was akin to mucking out port-a-potties either. Since she had asked a sincere question, I decided that a sincere, honest and to-the-point answer was in order: I said “Depends on the day”.
I told her the truth. The business has been good to me financially. I have made a good living in a field that to date, has been largely immune from the trials and tribulations of economic instability. For 20+ years we have weathered pharmacist shortages that has virtually guaranteed that I will not have to stand in the bread line anytime soon. I could walk off my job tomorrow and by the middle of next week I could have my pick of any number of jobs. Granted, they may not be GREAT jobs, but they would put food on the table. For a lot of people, that is a lofty aspiration and one that I do not take for granted. Neither do I consider myself indispensable (forgive the pun). Everybody is replaceable even if it DOES take a while.
I told her that the job however is rarely “fun”. The cost of this good income is long hours, working in a retail setting that is open 363 days a year, and dealing with the public who comes to me largely because they HAVE to and not because they WANT to. My hours are decided by somebody else, not myself. I cannot choose to close early because I am tired or sick. For the priviledge of being a retail pharmacist, I also forfeit uninterrupted lunches and working in a quiet unhurried environment. I cannot choose my workload. The wearer of the white coat lives under a microscope most of the time, micromanaged by the company she works for, and pressured all day by the demands from whomever is the most persistent.
“Line 1, Guess who?” Like I’d have to guess. For the 6th time today Harold has called to see if his Doctor has ok’d his Vicodin. AND, despite my promises that I will call him the very moment its authorized, Harold calls about every hour….and demands to talk to me.
“Line 2, Guess who also?” Harold just hung up so it has to be Dina, who just picked up her prescription. We play 20 questions every time she comes in. No human on the planet has called our store more often than Dina. While I like her, I wish she would go away. “Can I take Aspirin when I am using Patanol?”, “Can my son take Ibuprofen with his Amoxicillin?” “If I have an allergic reaction to Claritin, can I take Benadryl?” “What happens If I have a reaction to Benadryl?” “Can I take Benadryl and Tylenol at the same time?” “Will I overdose if I take Claritin and Patanol?” There will be, in fact, at least 2 followup phone calls for every single rx she picks up, whether it be new or refills. She has even called us while she is on vacation.
When you are a pharmacist, there is no closed door to retreat behind (but the potty) when you’ve had enough. Go ahead, try… somebody will demand your attention before the aforementioned door closes…and you will again be at somebody elses beckon call. Thats what its like to be a retail pharmacist. I should have a mantle full of Oscars for the performances of a lifetime I have played out in the white coat.
This customer then asked me if they took it all away, would I go to pharmacy school again? Tougher question: Its a good thing that I was an uninformed college student when I chose Pharmacy as my major. I worked thru each quarter, one at a time, always amazed that I survived to pass on to the next one. It was harder than I had imagined…and its even harder now with the Pharm D as the entry degree. Ignorance is bliss I think. There are a lot of things that I have done in my life that were harder than I had thought when I started them. I have completed a lot of things that if I had the opportunity to repeat, I probably wouldn’t simply because I would remember the effort involved. “Glad I did it once, don’t want to do it again” might be a good motto for the things in THAT category.
I guess I didn’t have an answer for her. I dont remember exactly what I said, but in retrospect, if I was 20 years old and had my life before me, yes I’d probably do it again. If I was 45 and starting over with a new career, not so sure.
What made me write about this was the following conversation:
A nurse called me the other day on a refill auth to inform us that at the end of the month, the Dr was closing her practice. I casually asked “Having a baby?”. No, the nurse replied, she is giving up medicine to go to Law School. WHOA. Pharmacy school was one thing, that took 6 years. But Medicine? This physician likely had a dozen years or more in school and residency before she hung her shingle…and she is giving it all up. I wish I knew her well enough to ask her why.
I know the nurses name and when I go back to work next week, I am gonna call her and ask her. I’ll let you know.
For now I put the same question to you–Would YOU do it all over again? or better yet, If you were going to start over, what WOULD you do?
Thats an easier question for Pharmacy Chick–I am passionate about animals, I’d be a vet.
Tags: , drivel, general junk, letting you in to my life, pharmacy life, rambling endlessly | |
