You know what makes me laugh? Jokes... but also this... people who argue with the pharmacist about medications that they've just made up.
A lady did that obnoxious shaking of the box in front of our glass cage thing yesterday and asked "Where's the 'profen?". After she quit rattling the box at me I could clearly see that she was indeed holding up a box of generic ibuprofen.
"That is the ibuprofen, its our store brand Advil." I replied, somewhat annoyed... well, in my general tone.
"Yes, I know that, but I want just regular profen, not ibuprofen."
Before I burst out laughing in this poor woman's face another pharmacist went out to help her. Probably a good thing too, that store pushed my sanity to the edge.
Showing posts with label Pharmacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pharmacy. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Tales From the Pharmacy
I've been doing a lot of relief work at different pharmacies lately and have come across quite a variety of people. This latest tale takes place in a very busy community pharmacy where the third year student was busting her ass trying to keep up with the mound of Rx's waiting to be done.
The phone rings, its a jack ass doctor calling in a prescription for one of his jack ass patients. (Actually it turns out she was a sweetheart of a patient, but the doctor, still a jack ass). The student answers the phone and states that she is a student, and assures the doc that she can take the Rx over the phone. When he tells her to just 'renew them all for a year' she asks which ones. He rambles off some list spoken in broken English with a thick accent and probably with his mouth full of Big Mac... cause thats how these doc's roll. We can tell that she's flustered by this crappy method of renewals but hangs up the phone and frantically goes through the profile trying to find out which ones he meant.
The other pharmacists and I hate this kinda shit... and decide that if he wants to renew his Rx's he can sign a piece of paper and fax it to us. We print off the entire profile and ask him to do exactly that... it turns out to be 7 pages long. Within minutes the phone rings again and I answer to a very irate doctor saying that he's exhausted with dealing with people who don't know what they're doing and he's irritated with having to do so much work. He states that our student was not vigilant enough and that she must improve her vigilance if she plans on getting ahead. I reply that his list was quite long and that we prefer to have them state each medication and directions before hanging up, you know, for patient safety's sake. Thats why we faxed it over, so we could be sure thats what he meant.
He said that the patient brought in a list and he just ok'd them, and that he wasn't sure what the list was anymore cause she took the list back. I then asked him to tell me again what meds he wanted her on to which he replied "How the hell am I supposed to know what she should be on?" and hung up. So much for vigilance.
The phone rings, its a jack ass doctor calling in a prescription for one of his jack ass patients. (Actually it turns out she was a sweetheart of a patient, but the doctor, still a jack ass). The student answers the phone and states that she is a student, and assures the doc that she can take the Rx over the phone. When he tells her to just 'renew them all for a year' she asks which ones. He rambles off some list spoken in broken English with a thick accent and probably with his mouth full of Big Mac... cause thats how these doc's roll. We can tell that she's flustered by this crappy method of renewals but hangs up the phone and frantically goes through the profile trying to find out which ones he meant.
The other pharmacists and I hate this kinda shit... and decide that if he wants to renew his Rx's he can sign a piece of paper and fax it to us. We print off the entire profile and ask him to do exactly that... it turns out to be 7 pages long. Within minutes the phone rings again and I answer to a very irate doctor saying that he's exhausted with dealing with people who don't know what they're doing and he's irritated with having to do so much work. He states that our student was not vigilant enough and that she must improve her vigilance if she plans on getting ahead. I reply that his list was quite long and that we prefer to have them state each medication and directions before hanging up, you know, for patient safety's sake. Thats why we faxed it over, so we could be sure thats what he meant.
He said that the patient brought in a list and he just ok'd them, and that he wasn't sure what the list was anymore cause she took the list back. I then asked him to tell me again what meds he wanted her on to which he replied "How the hell am I supposed to know what she should be on?" and hung up. So much for vigilance.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Pharmacy Joke
Three pregnant women are sitting in their gynecologist's office waiting for their appointments. They are each knitting a sweater for their baby. The first woman opens up her purse takes out a tablet and swallows it. The other women ask, "What was that?" to which she replies "Folic acid, its good for the baby."
The second woman opens up her purse and takes out a tablet. Looking at her fellow waiting room friends she says "It's calcium, its good for both the baby and me." The mothers to be return to their knitting.
Some time later the third woman picks up her purse and pops a pill. The other ask her, "What was that, minerals? vitamins? supplements?" To which she replies "No, its Thalidomide... I'm terrible at making sleeves."
The second woman opens up her purse and takes out a tablet. Looking at her fellow waiting room friends she says "It's calcium, its good for both the baby and me." The mothers to be return to their knitting.
Some time later the third woman picks up her purse and pops a pill. The other ask her, "What was that, minerals? vitamins? supplements?" To which she replies "No, its Thalidomide... I'm terrible at making sleeves."
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Ta-Da!
I've finished all the req's to be a pharmacist now. I really should be studying for my licensing exams (the dreaded PEBC/OSCE) but as per usual my hands off approach seems to prevail. Luckily for me Saskatchewan offers a conditional license, so failing won't hinder my job at all. Just kidding, I'm gonna kick ass on this exam.
Actually, for the past few days I was assessing the personal profile portion of the pharmacy entrance exam. To say that the submissions inspired me would be a lie, but lets pretend it did. As I finish up my univeristy degree these little whippersnappers (of which I'm sure 80% are older than me) are just trying to start theirs. I guess one could find inspiration in that, so I'll be that person for today. Maybe its the sunshine, or the LSD, but I'm just kind of in a good mood.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I'm Not a Doctor, But I'm Still Smarter Than You
"Yet another post on how its so tough to be a pharmacist!" you're probably thinking. Well cram it up your stink hole, cause the rant is coming whether you like it or not.
Working at St. Paul's puts me in direct contact with the unwashed, hospitalized masses. Although I generally love what I'm doing - hot, steamy, pharmacist on patient action - because its what I've been trained to do there are a few, nagging details that they don't teach us in pharmacy school.
1. They never taught me how to talk loud enough to cover my patient's roomates poop noises coming out of her less than strategically placed commode.
2. They never taught me how to cover my nose with a necktie to cover the associated smell.
But I digress.
They also don't teach us how to take rejection from the uneducated population. Yes, I know I've spent five years in school learning, in depth, how to medicate you and resolve your drug related problems, but how dare I suggest that your family physician that you see once every six months for perhaps five minutes each visit may have been incorrect about something? Or even that the guidelines for treating diabetes have changed since 1973 (SURPRISE! You don't HAVE to go blind).
Let me fill you in, I know you crave to see how my mind works. I have this patient, lets call her Granny, cause she's a grandma and kind of reminds me of mine (although I never called either of my grandmothers granny). Anyway, she's in for her umpteenth heart attack, her kidney function is lower than a worms belly button and she's got maple syrup running through her veins. Ever the diligent pharmacy student, untempered by experience and naive to the world, I head to my trusty guidelines and develop the best damned care plan in the enitre world for her. New insulins and injections, tapered dosing and increased glucose monitoring. Damned if I'm this woman won't live to be two hundred, the way I've souped her up. After using my many counselling techniques to 'establish a relationship' or 'covenant' if you will, we share a tear about her life and family and I feel that change has been made. I order test after test to establish baseline functions and have every professional consulted to intervene on her behalf.
But, alas, its all for nothing. None of my lab values are requested like I asked, and it appears her doctor exists only in our imagninations. On day four of our time together I consult her with my plan before I leave for my four day weekend. She tells me that she doesn't feel comfortable making changes 'on her own, without her doctor's advice'. I'm dumbstruck! Was it not that very physician's recomendations that put her here in the first place? His lack of initiative to manager her case? And damned if she's doing this 'on her own'. I spent hours researching how to get her fat ass into the next decade alive. In the end I just about pinched a tear as I turned on my heel, past her ever pooping roomate, and returned to my hobbit-hole like office in the pharmacy.
In the end I made those recomendations to the attending, just to spite that old shrew. However, in the efficiency that is Canadian healthcare she was discharged on 'prescription', which of course lets all other healthcare professionals understand the complexity of her conditon. Bah, I'm too young to be this cynical.
This is an artists rendition of me after not having my recomendations even be read.
Working at St. Paul's puts me in direct contact with the unwashed, hospitalized masses. Although I generally love what I'm doing - hot, steamy, pharmacist on patient action - because its what I've been trained to do there are a few, nagging details that they don't teach us in pharmacy school.
1. They never taught me how to talk loud enough to cover my patient's roomates poop noises coming out of her less than strategically placed commode.
2. They never taught me how to cover my nose with a necktie to cover the associated smell.
But I digress.
They also don't teach us how to take rejection from the uneducated population. Yes, I know I've spent five years in school learning, in depth, how to medicate you and resolve your drug related problems, but how dare I suggest that your family physician that you see once every six months for perhaps five minutes each visit may have been incorrect about something? Or even that the guidelines for treating diabetes have changed since 1973 (SURPRISE! You don't HAVE to go blind).
Let me fill you in, I know you crave to see how my mind works. I have this patient, lets call her Granny, cause she's a grandma and kind of reminds me of mine (although I never called either of my grandmothers granny). Anyway, she's in for her umpteenth heart attack, her kidney function is lower than a worms belly button and she's got maple syrup running through her veins. Ever the diligent pharmacy student, untempered by experience and naive to the world, I head to my trusty guidelines and develop the best damned care plan in the enitre world for her. New insulins and injections, tapered dosing and increased glucose monitoring. Damned if I'm this woman won't live to be two hundred, the way I've souped her up. After using my many counselling techniques to 'establish a relationship' or 'covenant' if you will, we share a tear about her life and family and I feel that change has been made. I order test after test to establish baseline functions and have every professional consulted to intervene on her behalf.
But, alas, its all for nothing. None of my lab values are requested like I asked, and it appears her doctor exists only in our imagninations. On day four of our time together I consult her with my plan before I leave for my four day weekend. She tells me that she doesn't feel comfortable making changes 'on her own, without her doctor's advice'. I'm dumbstruck! Was it not that very physician's recomendations that put her here in the first place? His lack of initiative to manager her case? And damned if she's doing this 'on her own'. I spent hours researching how to get her fat ass into the next decade alive. In the end I just about pinched a tear as I turned on my heel, past her ever pooping roomate, and returned to my hobbit-hole like office in the pharmacy.
In the end I made those recomendations to the attending, just to spite that old shrew. However, in the efficiency that is Canadian healthcare she was discharged on 'prescription', which of course lets all other healthcare professionals understand the complexity of her conditon. Bah, I'm too young to be this cynical.
This is an artists rendition of me after not having my recomendations even be read.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
A Pharmacist Blog
I've been surfing around on the net a bit today and found this blog about a pharmacist in Texas. Has some good stories and perspectives. A good read.
http://www.jimplagakis.com/
http://www.jimplagakis.com/
"I don't like taking pills"
This might be my all time, most hated quote from patients. Especially when I was working at the cancer centre. These people are being pumped full of poison that is pushing them towards an inch of their lives - naturally you will feel like shit for a few days. When I offer you some way of preventing the nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and heartburn that will surely ensue, don't tell me that you 'dont like taking pills'.
Case #1 - A patient comes in for her third round of chemo and I go in to drop off her steroids to prevent her from becoming a human fountain a few days later. I then ask her how her last round went. She says that she did, in fact, become a human fountain and could hardly get out of bed. I asked her how she took her meds (a pharmacist trick to see if they listened to us time without being condescending). She replied, oh, I didn't take them, I figured I was on enough medication and didn't need to pop pills. She went on about how sick she was. If the cancer wasn't going to kill her, I would have. Anyways, I told her that if she wanted to feel better, she needs to take her meds that I'm giving her. Moron.
Case #2 - A patient came in for another round of chemo and ended up puking all over the floor before the drugs even went into her. This sometimes happens when people associate a certain setting with past nauseating experiences, which is why we gave her gravol, dexamethasone and ondansetron before she came in. She failed to take them of course, because she "didn't like taking pills". Argh.
Case #3 - This one is from community experience, and isn't so much a case as it is a collective observation. If you don't take your blood pressure/antibiotic/antidepressant pills you most likely won't get better. I know you sometimes can't feel the effects of too little blood pressure/antibiotic/antidepressant drugs in your body, but it does affect how you feel. Take your damn pills.
That pretty much sums up my rant for today. I figured since I'm staying home from work due to the flu I should do something pharmacy related... such as bitching. Cheers!
Case #1 - A patient comes in for her third round of chemo and I go in to drop off her steroids to prevent her from becoming a human fountain a few days later. I then ask her how her last round went. She says that she did, in fact, become a human fountain and could hardly get out of bed. I asked her how she took her meds (a pharmacist trick to see if they listened to us time without being condescending). She replied, oh, I didn't take them, I figured I was on enough medication and didn't need to pop pills. She went on about how sick she was. If the cancer wasn't going to kill her, I would have. Anyways, I told her that if she wanted to feel better, she needs to take her meds that I'm giving her. Moron.
Case #2 - A patient came in for another round of chemo and ended up puking all over the floor before the drugs even went into her. This sometimes happens when people associate a certain setting with past nauseating experiences, which is why we gave her gravol, dexamethasone and ondansetron before she came in. She failed to take them of course, because she "didn't like taking pills". Argh.
Case #3 - This one is from community experience, and isn't so much a case as it is a collective observation. If you don't take your blood pressure/antibiotic/antidepressant pills you most likely won't get better. I know you sometimes can't feel the effects of too little blood pressure/antibiotic/antidepressant drugs in your body, but it does affect how you feel. Take your damn pills.
That pretty much sums up my rant for today. I figured since I'm staying home from work due to the flu I should do something pharmacy related... such as bitching. Cheers!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
SPEP
SPEP - Structured Practical Experience Program.
Yep, I'm almost done 2 of 3 of my fourth year SPEPs. This week I will be wrapping up my fifth week at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre and I can't say that I'm not going to be a little disappointed. I really enjoy working at the Cancer Centre.
Over the past few weeks I've done everything from counsel patients on how not to get sick from their chemotherapy to feeling a patient's lymphoma tumor to see if it had grown (under medical supervision, of course). I participated in breast cancer surgery (actually scrubbed in and got my hands in there) and watched a stem cell harvest and transplant.
As my weeks ticked by I learned so much more than I ever thought was possible. Cancer is a huge array of diseases and there is so much we need to learn yet. There are many fascinating approaches to treating various cancers. Stem cell transplant was probably the most complex and involves boosting a patient's stem cells with drugs, sucking them out, destroying their bone marrow and then giving them their stem cells back. Its a lengthy and painful process and always leads to relapse... but we do it all the time.
My last week has culminated in the finsihing and delivering of my presentation on Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Induced Rash. I talked about a brand new side effect never before seen in anydrug therapy.
Although I have a contract in Regina for the next two years I think I'll keep my mind on this career path, there is so much potential.
Thanks for listening to me nerd out here.
Yep, I'm almost done 2 of 3 of my fourth year SPEPs. This week I will be wrapping up my fifth week at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre and I can't say that I'm not going to be a little disappointed. I really enjoy working at the Cancer Centre.
Over the past few weeks I've done everything from counsel patients on how not to get sick from their chemotherapy to feeling a patient's lymphoma tumor to see if it had grown (under medical supervision, of course). I participated in breast cancer surgery (actually scrubbed in and got my hands in there) and watched a stem cell harvest and transplant.
As my weeks ticked by I learned so much more than I ever thought was possible. Cancer is a huge array of diseases and there is so much we need to learn yet. There are many fascinating approaches to treating various cancers. Stem cell transplant was probably the most complex and involves boosting a patient's stem cells with drugs, sucking them out, destroying their bone marrow and then giving them their stem cells back. Its a lengthy and painful process and always leads to relapse... but we do it all the time.
My last week has culminated in the finsihing and delivering of my presentation on Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Induced Rash. I talked about a brand new side effect never before seen in anydrug therapy.
Although I have a contract in Regina for the next two years I think I'll keep my mind on this career path, there is so much potential.
Thanks for listening to me nerd out here.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Hilarious Video
I received this video from an elderly friend of mine. I thought it was hilarious and broadcasts a healthy message to all of us. Thats right, Asians are weird. Just kidding. We all need to exercise.
Anyways, watch the video, ok? Just do it for the children. Someone has to think about the children.
Anyways, watch the video, ok? Just do it for the children. Someone has to think about the children.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Hilarious Videos
I decided to post a few hilarious pharmacy related videos. Yes, I know, some of you may wonder whats so funny about a profession that heroically saves lives day in and day out through pharmaceutical care and in depth medication management. I wonder sometimes too. But, here we go, two delicious videos for your viewing pleasure.
The first one was emailed to me by my friend Erika, from Stinkler, MB. Good find Erika.
http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/Licensed%20To%20Pill.swf
It chronicles our societies over use of prescription medication. Hilarious.
The next one is set to the music of JT's "Sexy Back". For all of you non-pharm folk, Paxil is an antidepressant medication commonly referred to by its generic name, paroxetine hydrochloride. A happy little pink pill.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1713176
Enjoy!
The first one was emailed to me by my friend Erika, from Stinkler, MB. Good find Erika.
http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/Licensed%20To%20Pill.swf
It chronicles our societies over use of prescription medication. Hilarious.
The next one is set to the music of JT's "Sexy Back". For all of you non-pharm folk, Paxil is an antidepressant medication commonly referred to by its generic name, paroxetine hydrochloride. A happy little pink pill.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1713176
Enjoy!
Friday, February 2, 2007
Pharmacy Blunder
It occurred to me the other day, much to my chagrin, that Hyzaar and Cozaar are the same medication, except that Hyzaar includes hydrochlorothiazide in it. I know the names are similar, but generally hctz combo products have the term '-zide' or '-etic' or 'plus', never a change the start of the word.
Upon discovering this tidbit of pharmaceutical knowledge I exclaimed it aloud to my coworkers in the dispensary. I'll never hear the end of it...
Yes, I'm aware that this is the nerdiest story ever, but even if one person understands where I'm coming from, and I'm looking at you, Brendawg... then my job is done.
Upon discovering this tidbit of pharmaceutical knowledge I exclaimed it aloud to my coworkers in the dispensary. I'll never hear the end of it...
Yes, I'm aware that this is the nerdiest story ever, but even if one person understands where I'm coming from, and I'm looking at you, Brendawg... then my job is done.
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