Stupid Student Story
Now before you think I am going to rat out some student of mine, this story is about Ms Chick herself, way back before she had RPh after her name. I was in my final rotations before I sat for the NABPLEX and I happened upon a 6 week rotation in a small clinic style pharmacy. It was a basic Mon-Fri type operation with one pharmacist (literally… he was the only one) and an assistant. I call her an assistant because I don’t think the concept of “Technician” had been developed yet. This was one tiny place. Good thing it wasn’t very busy because 3 customers in the pharmacy made for an intimate experience.
Anyway, I was working there one day and Pharmacist Mike (made up name, as always) was attending to a customer who came in to pick up a special order item that had arrived. He was 50ish balding guy (don’t ask me why I remember this) and Mike was labeling this big box medical device he had ordered. It had some rings and rubber tubing, a motor and it was to be plugged into the wall. Always the inquisitive one–hey I AM the student after all, gotta learn something new every day– I walked up to Mike and blurted out “Hey, is that one of those breathing devices?!”
Mike shusshed me like I had just dropped the F-bomb or something. I made note of the product name: XXXAid. (its still made, so I am leaving out the real name)
Mr 50, now decidedly more sheepish, bought his box and waddled out. Mike shot me a look that burned a hole clean thru. “WHAT?!?” I said.
“Do you know what XXXaid is?” He spat.
“No, why do you think I asked?!” feeling rather smug.
“Why don’t you go and figure it out?” as he motioned to some of the materials left behind. And so I did…
OH MY GAWD–ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HE GOING PUT THIS ON HIS (insert male genitalia here)!? Remember, I am 21 years old….
Yes, everybody, long before the days of Viva Viagra, there was XXXaid, a vacuum device designed to help those men with ED …um…perform a little better. The vacuum would pull the blood into the body part and the rings would keep the blood in place until which time the man would choose to remove them and said body part would return to its original size. No wonder Mr. 50 was dying at the counter.
It didn’t seem like a pleasant procedure, and its side effects (black and blue body part) doesn’t seem like it would be very desirable. I don’t suppose there were too many options back then however.
Mike got over my Faux Pas tho he did relegate me to the back room to make progesterone suppositories all day.
This intern did indeed learn a few new things that day. She learned how to keep her mouth shut. It keeps the foot out better.
Tags: customers, pharmacy life, student days | |