Most of us basically work alone… only RPH on duty… sure there are some techs working along with you… but they are not a real part of our “pharmacy fraternity”… that 5-6 yrs of college that creates that common bond… just think about it.. there is only some 250,000 – 300,000 in the ENTIRE COUNTRY ! That is a fairly elite group…
We listen to and solve problems all day… we have no speed limit… it is like the Autobaun in Germany… drive just as fast as you want or your vehicle can go.. if we were a NASCAR race car.. we would have to be overhauled after every 400-500 mile race.
My daughter has a Masters in Psychology and is a Family Therapist.. she has been expanding her practice (http://www.shefaariens.com/) by doing talk therapy/counseling via Skype
Did you know that a lot of mental health therapists have their own therapist… because all they do is listen to is other people’s problems and try to get them a solution. They have to talk to someone… to deal with the personal stress of their profession.
The closest thing that we have to a support group.. is local/state/national association… and that is a push…to call it a support group.
I know that most of you are scared of upper management and most have you sign an agreement that you not say anything bad about your company and/or another company.
Let’s use my blog as a quasi support group… you don’t have to post directly to the blog… email (steve@steveariens.com) something that you are afraid to post even under a pseudonym … I’ll “laundry” all the information (IP address & email) of where/who it came from and either post it anonymously or using your pseudonym on this blog… either as comments to something that I have blogged about… or as its own blog posting.
There are a fair number of Senior/Mature Pharmacists that are more than willing to give advice. If you have read a few of my posts you know that I call it like I see it and corporate pharmacy is no friend of mine…. there are others out there like me…
Tell me what you think?…. send a email to your Pharmacists friends/colleagues giving them this post’s address or my email address.
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I’m new to this blogosphere, mainly because I worked at a chain most my years and they don’t give us internet access. But now working independent, I love logging on and reading all these pharmacy blogs. Some make my laugh, gasp, and applaud and it is nice to know that I am not the only one has these opinions. Thanks for all that you do
So much for teamwork…..twice in the last year, I have been “counseled” regarding “complaints” about me from technicians. (Yet the PIC says that I am in charge when she is not there.) Techs are allowed to bring their cell phones and check Facebook, Twitter and text etc. Now I have become so paranoid that I wonder who and what they are texting about me and what “reports” they provide when I am not on duty. Almost everything I say aloud is taken out of context and repeated. They “trash talk” about techs and pharmacists even those who do not work at our store! Although we can control how we react, sometimes we may not have the stamina (after working 7-10 days in a row) to behave like a rational individuals. Is it any wonder we feel abandoned?
Thanks for the insights Steve….until all boards of authority over pharmacists, state and federal, recognize our inherent ability to make professional judgments is articulated explicitly [as it has in about 8 states] we are seen as chimps who can be trained to fill any Rx that comes in front of them. As professionals, we need a solid conscience clause that protects our judgment, all of it, including our morals and ethics. Otherwise, it’s good night Katie and lock the door as you leave
The Redheaded Pharmacist made a comment “We are caught in a sea of conditions we can’t control. But we can control how we react to those conditions”. This is the ‘key’ for us pharmacists. So many of us are trapped in the chains where we have no control over our work environment. But, despite the conditions, we do have control over how we react to those conditions.
I know this may sound a bit far out. Once I read a book by a psychologist. He was a Jew and rounded up by the Nazi’s and thrown in a concentration camp. He talked about being totally stripped of everything he had and completely controlled by the prison guards. He said that he came to realize that no matter how much control they had over him and how much they had stripped from him that he still had his mind and he could control the how he reacted. Yes, he could not control what happened to him, but he could control how he reacted.
The story of that psychologist may seem remote to chain pharmacy. But, I know that a lot of your readers can relate to it because you are trapped in a kind of ‘concentration camp’ where you have so little control over your life in that ‘camp’. The one thing you can do is control how you react to your situation. I think we could even have a blog devoted to this one thing. I suppose it would be a ‘self help’ type blog…a psychology, philosophy type thing. We could provide support to one another. Or, maybe Steve will just have a post ever once in a while to address this issue. 🙂
[…] have posted before YOU ARE NOT ALONE in reading and hearing from RPH’s that many of the techs are being encouraged to being […]
Back in the 1990s, waaaaay before blogs and when e-mail was this *new* thing people were trying to wrap their heads around, I stumbled upon an article that gave me an “AhHa” moment about how isolated we really are.
It was a piece about suicide rates among pharmacists that I think went mostly unnoticed. Unfortunately I don’t remember what publication this was in. But if I recall correctly, the authors had surveyed a sample of death certificates in a single midwestern state. They searched for the word “suicide” listed as the official cause of death and apparently found it was almost as prevalent among pharmacists as it was among dentists.
Among the speculations about were RPhs’ lack of control (as opposed to MD’s -remember, this was the 1990’s), access to lethal substances, stressful environment, etc. But they also pointed out that pharmacists were isolated unlike, say, nurses who tend to work around other nurses get more social support.
Years later, I found Twitter, then AngryPharmacist, then DrugMonkey (bless his unemployed soul!). My, how times have changed! Thanks Steve for providing us with another way out of what sometimes feels like a solitary confinement cell!
Does anybody know if the Indiana Board Of Pharmacy is currently looking into a legal ratio of Rxs filled to Rph. hour? Like how many rxs can one RPh fill in one shift legally? I have contacted the BOP on this twice now and have not received an answer. Is such a thing being looked at where a company would have to legally provide more RPh help in their retail stores? Just curious…
Mike: NC and others have instituted such reasonable limits to protect pharmacists from making life changing errors.
I think one of the things that first drew me to pharmacy blogs was the realization that I wasn’t alone. It’s easy to feel like you are all alone as part of this profession sometimes. That was what compelled me to attempt to write a blog myself- to find my voice and create a forum for myself and others.
As a group of professionals, pharmacists tend not to organize and fight for self interests very effectively. We are caught in a sea of conditions we can’t control. But we can control how we react to those conditions. Will we sit back and give up or will we stand strong and fight for our best interests? That is the main question that faces the profession now. Will we have what it takes to reach critical mass?
Steve, I want to compliment you on this blog. The idea of pharmacists sharing ideas and concerns among each other is a great idea…a kind of social network. Since we have no real pharmacy organization, each pharmacist feels very much alone. Independents often looked at each other as competition and so there was no effort to bring everyone together. We do have the state associations but from what I can see they are mostly ‘fluff’. Yes, what we need is a social network and your blog is just as good a place to start as any. And, I am always glad to see remarks by Joe Zorek..thank you Joe!
Steve you are right. As a profession, pharmacists could use a spinal transplant. There is strength in numbers and the more vocal we are as a group, the stronger we become.
We do that by communicating and supporting each other. Otherwise we are no better off than sheep in a slaughter house with everyone trying to be the last one slaughtered by the chains
Thank you Steve. You have been my rock in this crazy pharmacy world as of late. How do we get the word out to the pharmacists who are feeling beaten down and stressed practicing their chosen profession?
Do you remember the old shampoo commercial ( I think) “.. she told two friends and they told two friends,, and ,,, and ,,, and ,,” this has to be a grass roots thing.. no association would dare touch it.. they are too dependent/addicted on money coming from various parts of our industry and can’t take the chance of pissing one or more of them off. I have locked this post to remain at the top of the blog.. I think the title is rather catchy – pat self on the back 🙂
I went to pharmacy school to help people… never thought that I would end up trying to help fellow Pharmacists…but,.. is still helping people
Thank You Steve for all that you do!! It is not that todays RPH’s enjoy the “New Direction” of Pharmacy, they are afraid of the repercussions that follow voicing concerns ex.”Drug Monkey”. You might say that only a fool would take on a corporate giant….I say not so. If you feel you can’t talk or share thoughts… confess the sins of the corporate giants to Father Steve.
Until we unite as a profession we will continue to row the ship”Pharmacy Practice” to the sting of the corporate whip. In sharing our thoughts and concerns we can become one voice….Only then will Patient Care and Pharmacy Practice be returned to the professional standard it once held.
Special thanks to those who offered their time and support. We can and will make a difference together.