Apathy Rules My Day

Your alarm makes its god awful beeping sound (if there is a Hell, that sound is played 24/7) and you force yourself to not slam the fucking thing into the closest wall.

As you attempt to button your work shirt, half the time I skip a button, you realize that today, for whatever reason, you could give a shit about anything. Maybe you slept a full eight hours, maybe you had a great night the day before, but today you just flat out don't care.

Arriving at work, before you even set foot in the pharmacy a wide eyed customer asks you where the back scratchers are. You aren't even remotely curious as to why someone is looking for a back scratcher this early in the morning as you point them in the proper direction.

Strolling into the pharmacy you notice the mess that was left from the night before. Papers strewn about, dishes over flowing from the sink, vials are empty and, perhaps the only thing registering interest on your radar this morning, there sits a coffee pot in the middle of the pharmacy counter. How quaint.

Normally this would put your nerves on end, as you are the king of a clean pharmacy, but today you walk past it. Today you'll just work around it.

The fax machine starts to vomit much like a college student on spring break in Cancun, yet it takes all your might to wander over to capture some of this illustrious spew. You notice, on your first script, that the doctor okay'd refills on test strips for a patient. You asked for a refill on Lipitor.

Sigh.

By noon you notice the order sits ever so barely within your vision, hearkening to you to come and unpack it, yet you let it sit there. "Maybe someone else will notice it first," you think. The shame you normally feel from pushing work onto someone else is absent today. Already you are counting the minutes until your day is over.

"What do you mean its three dollars, last month it was free!" a voice bellows from the depths of the store.

No clever quips come to mind. No urge to defuse the situation because, in your mind, you had nothing to do with it. This is justified by the fact that this is the only day you'll be in this store for ten days.

Delegation is the key word here.

Finally the end of the day rolls around. Many scripts have been filled, but you don't really care to look. You've done your job for the day and that's all that really matters. Not once were you rude to a customer or your co-workers, but you were in your own little world for the entire day.

As you walk out the door you let out a heavy sigh with the knowledge you won't have to be back for well over a week. It was just another day in the life of a pharmacy drone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Apathy ruled my day today. How was yours?

Oh You Think You're Sneaky...

I really hate when patients try to outsmart us. Do they not realize that you have to have at least some semblance of intelligence in order to become a pharmacist? I would think, at least I would like to think, that the crackhead's, who just stumbled in the door, brain pan is slightly smaller than our pharmacist.

So why try to be sneaky?

My favorite lately is when a customer calls in and asks, "So I need a refill on my Hydrocodone and stuff. Can you tell me when the last time I had it filled was?"

or

"Hey I lost my bottle for my Hydrocodone again, could you refill it for me?"

First off, the 90 year old Alzheimers patient manages to not lose her bottles every month. Do you really expect me to believe a 25 year old man is incapable of holding on to one bottle for a month? I'm not fuckin dumb man.

Why not just say, "Hey, my rent is coming due and I need to sell me some Hydrocodone to make it."

Actually I can infer that's what you really mean when you attempt to skirt the truth. The profile with nine different docs in three months kinda helps to confirm that.

Or there is always, "I was calling to see if my Sertraline is ready... ok... oh before I forget, is my Darvocet there as well?"

It's kind of like when people come into buy syringes. The stores you hear are absolutely spectacular.

"Yeah I need 1,000 cc syringes because, like my cat... my cat yo has polio and uh... I have to give it shots of this stuff which uh... ya know keeps that bitch from dying?"

And I totally understand that statement... because I just shit out a fleet of dragons and named them after members of The Beatles.

The only one I semi-respect is the guy who comes into buy syringes and is sheepish about it. He admits he has a problem that he is trying to get help. Now we cannot, due to laws, refuse to sell them to him, but at least he's honest about it.

And don't even talk to me about editing or forging a prescription. I once saw a Dilaudid prescription altered in colored-fucking-pencil. Seriously, colored pencil.

Or the guy who brought in a script for Morefinie 250mg. Obviously they're not clever enough to use a little tool called Google and get the proper spelling or existing dosage.

Am I an asshole? Probably. Do I think I'm better than some of these people? Not in the least. Everyone has their problems, I'm at least honest about mine. Just don't try being fucking sneak.

You're not Batman. I am.

A Journey to the Pits of Hell

My after work mission tonight was quite simple, head to the store and pick up four little items. It would be a simple task had it not been for my destination; the dreaded Walmart.

Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I should explain that I do not like Walmart myself. In our area, however, there is a virtual monopoly on supermarkets. That company has practices which are just as, if not worse, than Walmarts. My logic states, if I'm gonna shop at some asshole's store, I might as well do so at the one with the lower prices.

The list was as follows

* Toilet Paper
* Garbage Bags
* Milk
* Chocolate (per request of the wife)

Simple enough, would you not agree?

As I come around the corner of the store I notice the parking lot is surprisingly plump. This kind of makes sense as it is around dinner time when most people get off of work. As I meander about looking for an acceptable spot, I see the most lowly of drivers: the lurker.

The lurker seeks to gain a spot closest to the door, what I call 'Rock Star Parking.' Really there's nothing wrong with lurking, it's an acceptable part of the shopping experience. The problem lies when there are open spots seven rows down from the start of the aisle. Yes, that extra fifty feet or so is a monumental walk for these people. Perhaps Walmart should provide workers to carry them to and fro across the lot.

And there were four of these people, all in the 30s or so, waiting patiently at various strategic positions. I can only aspire to be so dedicated in my later years.

I stroll into the store with a clear plan of attack to minimize time spent in the store. **Brief tangent, this Walmart is located directly across the street from a large trailer park. Accident? I think not. ** My first mission is to obtain the garbage bags which proved to be of little difficulty.

Next came the toilet paper where I encountered one of the most perplexed individuals I have ever seen. She stared at the toilet paper as if she were trying to unravel the secret to String Theory or something of that nature. I had no idea so much thought went into this product and I briefly considered whether or not I had been going about my toilet paper purchasing the wrong away.

Alas, I moved towards the type we usually get when I found myself semi-blocked with an eye shifter. See this purpose, for whatever reason, feels some type of innate shame in purchasing toilet paper. I do not get this and merely want her to move out of my way. Lady, I poop, you poop, everyone poops and something's gotta clean up the mess. With ninja-like precision, she grabs a package and quite literally runs off.

Whew, half way done.

Next comes the chocolates. A little Ghirardelli Peanut Butter squares should do the trick. As I reach for the package, it vanishes in thin air. Where ever could it have gone??

I look to my right and there stands a grouchy looking older woman.

"This one's mine," she shrieks.

Ok.... didn't realize we were claiming packages of chocolates which such ferocity, but I will gladly concede that you own that particular one. As I walk away I cautiously glance over my shoulder to ensure she's not going to perform some kind of surprise attack because I stole one of 'her' packages. In my head I'm picturing a headline that says "Young Man Killed at Local Walmart Over Bag of Chocolate." Yikes.

Finally I make my way to the dairy section. Apparently a memo was passed around stating that everyone could park their carts in front of the milk coolers. I didn't get that memo, so obviously I was unaware of it.

As I move a cart out of the way I hear a booming voice yell, "Hey, what are you doing with my cart!"

I reply that I am merely trying to grab a jug of milk and needed to move his cart out of the way. With an evil eye my wife would be proud of, he attempted to stare me down with fear. After dealing with ninja-toilet paper lady and deranged chocolate lady, I stood my ground. The milk was mine.

Success is at hand, I now possess all four of the items I came for. Now for a quick self-check out and I can mosey on home.

Or.... maybe not.

I dedicate myself to a particular line. Personally I'm not big on line jumping for the same reason I don't switch lanes in traffic. As soon as I move out of that lane, it starts moving. Tonight, this would prove to be a poor decision.

The woman ahead of me had a cart full of goods. I'm not talking about a couple of big things, I'm saying she had at least 25 cans of Chef Boyardee.

Whatever, I'm in no hurry and this trip as already been hellacious. Then she takes her time CAREFULLY scanning each item.

Here's my beef, first if you're gonna use self-checkout, know what you're doing. It's usually not that hard to scan a barcode. That's why they often pay minimum wage to cashiers.

Second, if you're going to the self-checkout line, don't bring a full fucking cart. Self-checkout is designed for people with a small or medium number of items, not for someone with a hundred items in their cart.

Lastly, if you cannot use the self-checkout, and you have a cart full of goods, in no way in holy hell should you use the self-checkout line. If so, I reserve the right to throw my toilet paper at you and ask you if you ate paint chips as a kid. If that's not in the Constitution, it sure as hell should be.

Oh and one last amendment, do not pay with a pack of one dollar bills. No one wants to wait while you attempt to feed 75 dollar bills into the machine. Who the hell has that many dollar bills to begin with? I hope to God you are not a stripper. That alone is enough to make me want to use my garbage bags and toilet paper in unison.

The moral of the story, just because you need a mere four items from the store does not mean your mission shall go peacefully. I didn't need a drink after work initially. I sure as hell do now.

I Need to Know My A1C! Stat!

Can someone please explain to me the benefit of this for the patient?



Is this considered more of a diagnostic test? I really do not see the need for the patient to be able to test for this at home. It provides them with no pertinent information. If anything I would think it would make them believe there is less of a need to visit their doctor because of it.

When I first saw it I thought it was simply a capitalistic endeavor by Bayer, but I'll defer to those who are more knowledgeable on whether or not this serves a legitimate purpose.

Peaceful Way To End the Day

Little different direction from my normal music selections. First saw this guy on Leno about four years ago and I went out the next morning to pick up his CD.

One of those songs that after a long day you lay your head back, close your eyes, and relax. Enjoy.

What To Do... What To Do...

I am effectively done with classes for the semester. I have one little final left, but it is nothing of consequence. Perhaps the most distressing fact is that I should be graduating today.

Damn you pharmacy school with your overly specific pre-req!

The bigger question is what the hell do I do now? It's the first time in almost three years that I haven't had a class to worry about or been studying for some big test. I literally have four weeks to do whatever the hell I want and I have no idea what I should do. Tie on the fact that the stress of needing good grades to get into pharmacy school is now gone and I'm even more lost.

Recently I've become reacquainted with the gym. I've probably put on about 30 pounds or so over the last two years seeing as I've dedicated the majority of my time to my studies. Actually I forgot how much I liked going to the gym, so I at least have something to occupy me for roughly an hour each day.

Where to go from there, though, I have no idea. Maybe it's time to actually go visit friends since I find it awkward that I haven't really seen my main circle of friends in almost six months. Maybe its time to finally upgrade the hard drive on my PS3 like I have been meaning to do for almost a year.

It's very odd, I feel slightly lost. I have nothing to focus a big chunk of my time on. Is this what it's like to be a normal college student?

Math is H-A-R-D

I really feel I need to propose a questions to those who have been teaching math for the last... oh forty years or so.

Are people really this dense when it comes to figure out basic math problems?

2+2 does not equal Jell-o

30 tablets, taken once a day, should last 30 days. Not 30 minutes.

If you're supposed to take 2mg of Amaryl every day, and we give you 2mg tablets, that does not mean you need to cut them in half every time. How in the hell you ever devised that method is very much beyond me.

Now I understand not everyone has access to a good education, but one should be able to count their own goddamn change. If I have one more person throw a bunch of coins on the counter and then stare at it for ten minutes as if they are trying to discover the ultimate meaning of life, I may whack them upside the head with a big ole bottle of Klor-Con.

Do I ask you to solve for a derivative or integral? Maybe ask what your standard deviation or variance is on your therapy compliance?

No I do not. I ask you how many days ago you took your last dose. When you go, today is Thursday, and I took the last dose Monday so.... six days ago, that should not be that hard. I'm positive a blind, drunk monkey with one arm could count to five with little difficulty.

And it's not even math lately, its using numbers in lexicon. I actually had someone say they had their med last filled on November 22th. Yes, you read that right, the twenty-tooth.

When you come into the store from now on, and notice the round spot on the wall devoid of paint, realize this is where I bash my head against the wall. Every freakin' day.

The Unnoticed Part of the Holidays

This time of year is normally fraught with joy, happiness and charity. There exists a side that doesn't receive as much notice and few are actually aware of.

As I have stated many times over, if you work in pharmacy you will invariably become attached to certain patients and, in even more special cases, you will become part of their life. They can be as close to family as a stranger can be as odd as that may sound.

Today I was reminded of what a difficult time the holidays are for some people. Several months ago I wrote about a couple who had become intertwined with the day life of our pharmacy. The sudden death of his wife sparked an understandable change in his demeanor.

It's only been in the last month or so where he will walk in the store and you can get him to crack a smile on his face. You can see life in his eyes for the first time since that day and it was a very welcome sight. As he came into the store tonight though, you could tell something was different.

He was preparing for his first Christmas without his wife.

I cannot begin to imagine what something like that is like. Yet as I became aware of this facet of the holidays I began to notice others with a look of sadness beyond their eyes. Some fronted false smiles, but you can still tell that inside they're hurting.

It's the part of this time of year we're all aware of, but never speak of. The pain of others who are unable to share the joys of the season with their significant other or loved one.

What are we supposed to do though? We're just lowly pharmacy folk, we have no stake in this right?

Wrong. Anyone who has worked retail long enough knows that we can have an impact on someone's life outside of our job description. Whether it's chatting with the little old lady on the phone for an extra minute or attempting to get a laugh out of the otherwise fickle patient. I know at times we can become completely overwhelmed with phone calls, faxes and berating customers, but there's always time to make one patient smile in the day.

If anything, I'm reminded of New Year's last year in that you never know what may happen once they set foot outside that door.

I propose from now until the end of the day, all of us at least once a day take time out of our hectic days and brighten the day of one of your patients. After all, that's what this season is all about is it not?

Pessimism Works

For much of my life I wasn't what you would call an overly optimistic person. In hindsight, I'm not really sure why, but someone I dated during my college years finally drug me out of the pessimistic pit I had been residing in.

The thing is, I like being somewhat pessimistic. I hate the feeling of thinking something is a sure thing, via optimism, and then have it not come to fruition. It's almost like a kick in the nuts. I prefer to remain overly cautious that something will actually occur and enjoy the surprise when it does.

Is that so strange? Overly optimistic people bug the bejesus outta me. Equally so, pessimistic people piss me off. Why? Because these people become obtuse to the true nature of life.

I learned a while back that if you go one way or the other you become too complacent with life. When you become complacent with life, you invariably drive yourself to various problems that you think are ultimately out of your control. It is not always a terrible thing to fail, just as it is not a terrible thing to succeed.

As my best friend and I always say, if you knock me down, I'm just gonna get back up and fight even harder.

People generally give me dirty looks when I say I'm a bit of a pessimist. I understand it is most likely due to the negative connotations of the world, but I am quite happy with my views. Again, I would rather be surprised by something good than crushed by something bad. Call me a realist if you will, but it has worked quite well for me the last few years.

I like to be prepared for things in life, if some of you have not gathered that from my posts over the years. Preparation, in my eyes, is the key to success. My slightly pessimistic tendencies help to ensure that I am as prepared as I can be, or at least I believe so.

Thus I ask, is being pessimistic so wrong?

Old School

This is just too damned cool. Snapped it up from the SDN forums the other day, figured I'd continue passing it around.... yikes sounds like it could be syphilis when I word it that way

http://www.archive.org/details/Pharmaci1946

How I Miss The Fun

One of the items people neglect to mention to you when you choose to go into a medical profession is the fact that you have no life. I realize if I do get into pharmacy school that it will only become worse, but at least you have a hundred others in a similar situation.

Friday night I went out with friends for bowling and drinks. I made my first venture to one of the most popular bars in the city even though I have been of age for more than three years now. That show's how often I go out.

And it was a damned good time. Probably the most fun I've had in months. The somewhat depressing part is the realization that that will most likely not happen again for quite some time.

I have become used to seeing my friends be able to do such things on a weekly basis. I have been lucky to enjoy this type of thing once a month. One of the perks of being pre-pharm with a full time job. And the fact I haven't had longer than a 3 week break from school in 2 1/2 years. And those breaks were filled with either PCAT or wedding stuff.

I think I'm gonna celebrate the hell out of my summer break this next year... just because I can.

Smile, You're On Camera!

Recently one of our stores received a shiny new camera system. The kicker is the 'new and improved' color digital cameras produce a massively shittier image than the old black and white ones.

Whatever.

With this new system, we received an extra four cameras. Our initial thoughts were, "Cool! We can finally see that deep dark corner of the store where the trolls live and people steal shit." Ok, not really, but you see what I'm getting at.

So we stroll into the pharmacy the other day, preparing for the hell that is the first of the month and we see they installed the new cameras... all in the pharmacy.

Now you're thinking, "But Phathead, that is to prevent internal theft of narcotics and things of that nature."

Again, this would be the logical assumption... if it were true.

You see all the cameras are placed so they can view us as we work. There are no cameras on the C-II cabinet nor where we keep our cases, yes I said cases, of various hydrocodone strengths. Instead they are placed to watch us work each and every day.

And the feed goes straight to the owner's office AND his home. Isn't technology wonderful?

Now that we are effectively a part of a voyeur program, whatever shall we do?

The answer? Well it involves choreography. You see we figured if we're gonna be watched like this, we're gonna fuck with them. We're planning a bit of a dance routine and I am in the market for a gorilla suit.

Can you imagine what the hell's gonna be going through his head when he looks up and sees us dancing Chorus Line style? It'll be brilliant!

A Little Italian Rock

Too many serious posts with too many argumentative comments means only one thing... we need a music post.

Figured I'd post something a little out of the ordinary, an accoustic version of an Italian rock song. It's a combo that you don't hear terribly often and it does help that it is from my favorite band.

Thus, I figure, what the hell!

Dude Sounds Like A Lady

Now I understand we are one day removed from the only time period during the year when seemingly everyone in the country shits out their brain. I am referring to the masses who get up at 3am to buy a toaster for $5... the oh-so-wonderful Black Friday.

I realize it takes people a few days to recover from this spectacular day. Go ahead, take the weekend to dig your brain out of the toilet, I'm ok with that.

But if you are male, do not call the pharmacy claiming to be Jill Johnson and ask if your hydrocodones are ready.

You see here's the thing, and I know because your brain is still floating in some port-o-potty out there, but men and women generally don't sound alike on the phone. And when you have a Barry White-esq voice, as you did, I find it very hard to believe that you are in fact a female named Jill.

This is especially problematic when I know who this woman is and, unless her testicles distended this week, I am pretty sure she still sounds like a sweet young women... even though I know she's a raging meth head.

So next time, pinch your scrotum a bit and raise your voice... maybe I'll find it a tinsy bit more believable.

Something That Bothers Me

One of the things, among many, that really bothers me about pharmacy is how students become interns. In all the states I have worked in (there are several) the interns are virtually allowed to do everything a pharmacist does under a licensed RPh's discretion.

I have no problem with this at all, it can be rather helpful.

What I do have a problem with is how some states decide who should be classified as an intern. One state's laws stated that a pharmacy student cannot be called an intern, or perform intern duties, until starting their second year of pharmacy school.

This seems perfectly reasonable to me. For the majority of pharmacy schools across the nation, the first year of pharmacy school is essentially review and groundwork knowledge before delving into the fun stuff. After one year of school, you really don't know a whole lot more than you do during your undergrad.

Disclaimer: I know I am not in pharmacy school, but this is what I have gathered from talking to people over the years.

Now what scares me is that some states allow an individual to claim intern status as soon as they are accepted to a program.

Think about it, individuals who haven't even started a program are now considered an intern. Consider the fact that a big chunk of incoming pharmacy students have virtually no pharmacy experience, and you may begin to see where this fear is arising from.

I have watched too many 'interns' struggle to take down new prescriptions or 'check' refills. One in particular would get Lipitor and Lisinopril or Hydroxyzine and Hydralazine mixed around all the time. The latter is at least close in spelling, but anyone with experience can tell one from another just from looking at the directions.

What further scares me is the 'white coat ceremony'. So you've been in school a month, learned how to spell the word pharmacy, and now you deserve a white coat to reward you for your hard work.

Huh?

Again, you don't know shit at this point. Why should you be christened with, what I consider, the honor of being rewarded with a white coat. You're not pharmacists, you haven't even started learning anything about pharmacy, so why should you be able to wear the professional badge of a white coat?

If anything, they should wait until the P2 year or, even better, until you graduate. I am not saying that you cannot wear a coat at work or for labs or whatnot. What I'm saying is don't have a ceremony glorifying an accomplishment you have not yet earned.

Tie those two together and you have the creation of the ultimate clusterfuck.

And I simply do not understand it. You think someone would be at least a little cognoscente of this fact and perhaps find a remedy.

Then again I may be the only one who has a problem with this...

Happy Turkey Day

Perhaps the greatest joy of Thanksgiving is that for many of us the pharmacy is closed today.

That means no druggies yelling at you for the hydrocodone refill even though you stand a fat chance in hell of getting an authorization today. No fifty phone calls asking if you're open. No lame turkey sandwiches.

Enjoy the day.... because its back to pharmacy hell tomorrow!

I'm such a damned optimist I make myself giggle.

I Have Pharmacy Superpowers

Anyone any pharmacy is aware of the thrill of a perfect pour. For the uninitiated, this happens when you pour the precise amount of mediation on the tray that you need to fill a particular prescription. I realize this sounds completely trivial, but honestly its the small things like this which make otherwise hectic days terrible.

In some stores if you have a perfect pour, and it is verifiable, you've earned yourself a ten minute break out of the pharmacy or perhaps the pharmacist on duty will by you a soda or something.

I have one upped the perfect pour.

This actually occurred a couple weeks back and I had forgotten about it until flipping through the photos on my phone last night. I will leave you to guess what medication it was, but you first must marvel in the handiwork.


Have you witnessed anything so beautiful? The contents were evenly stacked like this all the way around. I have never had something stack to efficiently on its own before. It's almost as if I was touched by the hands of the pharmacy gods that day.

And now you know my powers... and I hope you all are insanely jealous.

This is a classy pharmacy...

I write this on a short break I am taking at work today. As I have stated many times, I work for a classy pharmacy.

A few minutes ago we were presented at our window a Rx for compression stockings for an elderly woman with severe edema. The pharmacist handed them the tape measure and told them to measure her in the car and give us the numbers.

Anyone who has regularly worked with these is screaming at their monitor right now.

Earlier the same pharmacist filled someone's Fentanyl prescription even though we won't receive the actual hard copy until Monday at the earliest (and no, that is not legal in this state under any circumstances).

And to think, we have kids from high school job shadowing here all the time.

Sigh, if only people would listen to me here...

At Least Put Some Effort Into It

This semester, for reasons I still do not fully understand, I decided to TA for my ex-Finance professor. Actually it was mainly because he is a really good guy who is one of the few professors I have never seemed stumped by a question. Seems rather out of place in our otherwise anemic business department.

Now realize I'm a science guy at heart. I have learned over the last three years that I look at and tackle problems in a completely different manner than my classmates. Usually we end up at the same point, so it doesn't matter.

But the shit I'm seeing grading these assignments is unreal.

First Finance is not an overly difficult course. If you could handle stats or pre-calc, you can do a Finance course. Actually I recommend you take one as an undergrad as it is easily one of the most useful courses I have ever taken.

One of the things this prof does is post the answers for the assignment, but provide that you must show your work to get full credit. It kind of makes sense because a lot of these people are terrible with numbers. When I took the class, many of the students were thankful as it helped them learn various concepts for the test. Since a lot of it is done in excel, you can see where the work is done.

Thus, my grading is usually pretty generous in this respect.

Except since I've been doing this I have had several assignments that are mere copies of the answer sheets. I'm talking word for word, letter for letter, formatting for formatting IDENTICAL.

First, if you're going to copy something, don't be that fucking lazy. I mean honestly, change the font to Arial or some shit like that. You'd at least get one point for effort.

Second, this is a junior level course and you're resorting to copying? What. The. Fuck?

I would say I have had a dozen homework assignments, from various students, turned in in this manner. Another two dozen more were probably copied, but changed just enough to where you can't really tell.

If I were to pull that shit in my Biochem class or Genetics, I would instantly be thrown out of the course. That is something that as an upper level class-man you simply do not do.

So far the professor has been light on these students. I've decided tonight that I will not stand for that. Three out of the last four assignments I have graded have been blatant copies.

If these are the people who are our future business leaders of America, just what fucking message are we sending them? It's ok to skirt on by, doing as little of work as possible?

Screw that shit, I won't stand for it. Tomorrow oughta be fun...

What More Do I Have To Do?

Today I found out I was waitlisted from the other school I had an interview with this past month. That makes one deferral and one waitlist for those counting at home.

I know what some of you are thinking. I'm not out of it yet and it's better than being reject, which I wholeheartedly concede.

My question is what more do I have to do though? I know my grades from my first two years sucked. I have been spending every waking moment since then trying to make up for it. And ya know what, I am utterly exhausted. I cringed at the fact that I will now, for certain, have to come back in the spring after I graduated to take a class for another school's pre-req. I was immensely looking forward to a nine month break from studying, but alas that is not the case.

They asked me to bring my grades up to show an upward trend. I'd think a GPA of 3.5 over the last 60 credits would do that.

They asked me to have volunteer work on my application. I'd think volunteering at a hospital pharmacy a couple hours per week for six months would have done that.

They asked me to ace the PCAT. I think a 94 is a pretty damn good score if you ask me.

They asked me to do research. I think a year's worth of research that not only will be published, but has shed a new angle on the field it was in, would be enough.

They were worried I may not be able to handle the stress and amount of work involved in pharmacy school? How about the fact that since September 2007 I have either been in class nearly all year and/or studying for the PCAT? Oh and I got married during that period as well.

On top of all of this I have had at least 16 credits per semester, worked 35 hours a week, tutored a person or two on chemistry, and done every other damn thing they wanted. My experience is probably unlike 99% of the other applicants out there. Seriously, what person redesigns a pharmacy when they're 22 years old? I know where the profession has been, where it is, and where it is going.

And yet here I am, awaiting a decision for another five months. Yes I have started growing bitter about the whole situation. The last several years I have sat idly by as my friends went out for the night or on trips while I had to stay behind to focus either on school or paying for school.

Would you think I've sacrificed enough during that period? My wife is probably the only thing that's kept me sane the past few years.

I know this is not the end of the road, but these two schools were my most likely to get into schools. To say this is a kick in the nuts may be the understatement of the year.

I get kicked down, I get back up and go even harder. Kicked down again, bounce back even higher. Its gotten to the point where there's not much to bounce back too.

So I ask, just what the hell more do I have to do?

Rx America has Enlightened Me

It was the last script of a the day. Instead of the typical stressful hectic day, this one had been exceedingly slow. I swear, running 30 scripts during a day is just as bad, if not worse, than running 400.

In any case I was filling one last script before scampering home for the night. I made a dyslexic mistake and build for the wrong days supply. It was for Ibuprofen 800mg so I was not overly concerned when I saw the reject pop up. I moseyed on over to my rejection screen and saw this:

Drug Overdose... Max Daily Dose = 4.5123144

Really? I mean we dispense 0.5123144 tablets ALL THE FUCKING TIME. It reminds me of when a PA sends us a script for Amoxicillin 713.6mg. I understand they need to be somewhat specific, but this is just ridiculous.

And no, it was not an Rx number or some other piece of information posted near the dose. I had three other people look at it, to make sure I wasn't losing my freakin' mind, and they all came to the same conclusion.

So on this lovely Friday evening, I feel I must thank you Rx America for enlightening me on the proper dosage for Ibuprofen 800mg. I know I will truly never make this mistake again.

Choose Your Friends Wisely...

Otherwise you could end up like poor Piglet :(

They're Watching Me...

A bit of insomnia recently had me diggin' through the visitor stats of this lovely little site. I stumbled upon something that made me giggle like a school girl.

One of the regular readers of this blog works in the admissions office of a school I applied to.

Seriously what are the odds of that? And before this person gets any ideas, there are about 600 or so what I would refer to as 'regular readers' and many of them are from various institutions. Hell a more recent visitor comes from the office of the Dean of one of the more prestigious schools in the nation.

So to all of you reading from the various pharmacy schools across the nation... would you please let me in? Pretty pretty please? With sugar on top?

A Setback

Today I received via snail mail my admissions status from my second interview. I thought it was the better of two interviews, especially with some comments I recieved from the interviewers, so I had thought the entire experience went quite well.

I was wrong though. I have been told that I will have a second review once all other applications have been reviewed in April. No acceptance, no waitlist at this time. From what I have read this effectively corresponds to a Dear John letter.

Really, this shouldn't come as a surprise. One cannot expect to be accepted in all the schools that have been applied to.

I suppose the bigger thing is that I thought this had gone really well. Makes you doubt your first interview ya know?

Only thing to do is keep pluggin' away like I have been for the last couple years and keepin' the fingers crossed. I do think, however, it is time for a beer.

A New Method to Getting What You Want

I shit you not, there is no exaggeration in this story what-so-ever. This was an actual conversation that I was blessed with this past Friday.

Lawyer: Hi my name is Jack Meoff and I'm calling from the law firm of Larry, Moe and Curly about a client of ours

Me: Ok what can I do for you

Lawyer: Well our client is stating that you are illegally preventing him from obtaining the medication that was prescribed for him. As such we are looking into the legal ramifications of your actions

Me: Ok... What's the patient's name?

He gives me the name and I look up his profile and see the problem

Me: I'm assuming he is talking about the Claritin-D correct?

Lawyer: That is correct

Me: Well let me fill you in on the story a bit more than you are probably aware of. The patient came into our store at 10am this past Wednesday drunk. Yes, he was drunk at 10am on a Wednesday. (Mad props for this) He brought in this prescription and demanded we fill it under his insurance

Lawyer: Ok...

Me: First off, Claritin-D is an over the counter item. His Medicare Part D coverage does not cover OTC items. He has secondary coverage through the state which covers most OTC items. The problem with this prescription is that he was insisting on getting the name brand Claritin-D rather than the generic

Lawyer: So why didn't you give it to him?

Me: We would dispense to him, but he would have to pay the cash price.

Lawyer: I see... so if we got a court order, could you bill it under his insurance?

*** This is the point where I bash my head on the counter seventeen to eighteen times ***

Me: Well if you wanted to stand up to one of the largest insurers in the country, I won't stop you. I can tell you that it most likely won't get you anywhere.

Lawyer: I see... well I'll talk to my client and get back to you.

*** Click ***

My. Fucking. God.

One can infer that the patient called his lawyer right after leaving our pharmacy... you know, when he was drunk at mid-morning. And yet the lawyer decided to stiff hand us into complying.

I have seen and heard a lot of strange things over the years, but this one is definitely in the top ten now.

Pooping Is Deadly

"But she's gonna die with out themmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do. I can get something close to it, but our hands are tied until Monday."

"It has to be the kind she always gets otherwise she could die!"

"Ma'am, your daughter will not die if I have to give her a different brand of diapers for the weekend"

Yes, that was an actual exchange I had this morning with a customer. This particular customer, who's daughter has cerebral palsy, always comes in on Saturday mornings to order her daughters diapers. No matter how many times I tell her to give us a one day lead time (it's really improbable to keep four and a half cases of diapers on hand at all times) she always comes on the weekend when we have no way of getting anything until Monday.

Today, however, she moved into the realm of a toddler's tantrum. Very easily we could have simply given them a pack of a similar product that would work for at least two days free of charge. Honestly, it's not the young girl's fault her mother can't plan ahead and she should not suffer for it.

Alas, it appears we were trying to kill her daughter this morning. That's what pharmacy is all about, killing patients. And we all know how incredibly deadly pooping your pants can be.

If I'm ever the head of Pampers and, less face it, stranger things have happened in my life, perhaps I shall devise a marketing plan around this idea.

"Pampers... or your baby will die!" - And then cut to a shot of Christopher Walken cackling.

At least I know I have a future in another field if need be.

The Future of Pharmacy

One of the things I have noticed while surfing through the various pharmacy and pre-pharmacy forums is a frustration with the of changing pre-reqs over the last couple years. The majority seem to think that it is unfair to change requirements and that changes lack an overall point.

Thus I decided to dedicate this blog post to explain precisely why this changing to those who may be unfamiliar with the state of the field. This was spured by a lengthy tangent one of my interviewers and I delved into last week about where the field is heading and the changes that are coming. We both agreed that the current pharmacy school curriculum has to change in the coming years, but no one is quite sure where to start.

Before we dive into that, consider this fact. The classes they teach in medical school have remained relatively unchanged for many years. Sure new topics have been added and new methods of teaching used, but, for example, there hasn't been a new system discovered in the body during this period.

Why is this?

Because medical schools have all the essential information they need to train a doctor today, tomorrow and twenty years from now. Yes there will be some slight variations over the years, but I can guarantee that there will not be a massive change in med school curriculum during that time frame.

Now let's look at pharmacy schools. I consider myself fairly well versed in the history and current events of the field, probably more so than others my age. What few people realize, especially those who are new to pharmacy, is that the field is extremely volatile. There may be no other medical field that is evolving as rapidly as pharmacy is.

Think about how much has changed in the past fifteen years. The number of drugs on the market has exploded. Programs such as MTMs were nothing but the imagination of an innovative few. The term preventive health care was in its infancy.

Yet look where we are today. Pharmacists have never had such a vital role in patient care. The kicker is that this role will continue to increase in the coming years. As pharmacy school's accreditation come due for renewal, many are scrambling to meet the new patient care requirements.

Perhaps the biggest change to come will be the new classes of drugs which are currently in development. It has become apparent that the field has tapped out the available simple chemical compounds that have been the foundation of pharmacy since its inception. It is very unlikely that a new collection of blockbuster drugs will be found under these methods. Granted there is always the possibility, but one will not see blockbuster drugs appear with the frequency that they did at the turn of the century.

Where the future lies, however, are in proteins. Already researchers are toying with the idea of creating unique proteins to act in the same manner as drugs in the body. The evolution of insulin over the past several years is what has opened the door for this new area. Some estimates state that we are less than ten years away from the first protein-based drug hitting the market.

Now lets go back to the schools and their curriculum again. They now have to start adding patient care classes, if they haven't already, and at some point in the future they will have to consider those aforementioned protein based drugs.

The problem is, you simply cannot add more time to the pharmacy school curriculum. Three years in a classroom is the most they will have to work with. In order to squeeze in new classes, to fulfill future requirements, more pre-reqs are going to be required.

In reality, this is not a terrible idea. The first year of many programs are just review of courses that most have already taken. Freeing up credits by making biochemistry and stats pre-reqs is simply a good idea.

Yet another area that will be changing, I would expect by the end of the next decade, is the requirement of some sort of residency program. The field is growing to the point where there is almost too many details for one person to retain in their heads. Pharmacy will most likely take a chapter out of the medical school curriculum and pushing for residency training.

And really, would this be such a bad thing? A pharmacist focused in say, pediatric oncology, working with a doctor with a similar focus could accomplish amazing things together. Sure, people will still go to retail, but how nice would it be to have a retail pharmacy who specialized in diabetes or something of that nature?

To often I work with pharmacists who mumble, or yell depending on their mood, "This is not what I went to pharmacy school for!"

Ya know what, they are right. Yet it all comes back to how quickly the field is evolving and how we must all be prepared to adapt to it in the coming years.

I cringe every time I hear of people jumping into pharmacy without truly knowing what it is all about. Last week one of the interviewees stated that he decided to go to pharmacy school just a month ago and hadn't looked much into it. That alone scared the bejesus out of me.

So those of you who are aspiring to become a pharmacy, heed this message. Your role as a pharmacist in twenty years may be something that no one has imagined yet. This is not even including the Armageddon which is coming with both PBMs (well all know the shit will hit the fan sometime in the next few years) and/or public health care.

Just don't be caught off guard by it.

Interview... Round Two

Earlier today... or yesterday... or whatever the hell you wanna call it I had my second interview. This one required quite a bit more traveling than the last, but it's been a rather interesting journey since I have arrived. Upon boarding the plane I considered if it would be rude to remind the pilots to land as we neared our destination, alas I thought that may not be a very wise idea.

The interview itself was quite different from last week's. Instead of having one interviewer for forty minutes, this one was broken up into 4 separate interviewers each for twenty minutes. It was nice to talk to a range of people, but in all honesty twenty minutes is not a whole helluva lot of time.

It didn't really help that one of the interviewers appeared completely disinterested in interviewing me. She hadn't looked over my file and didn't express an ounce of emotion or reaction during the interview itself. I thought that if it was expected to be prepared and to conduct myself in a professional matter that my interviewer would do the same.

After wards I felt pretty good about the process. I'm a people person, thus why I love retail, and I have no qualms about talking with random people about something I love. I suppose it's a good sign that one of my interviewers said that I appeared "overqualified given my background" (whatever the hell that means) and my last interviewer said he expected to see me in his class next year. Good signs I hope.

The funny thing is I thought this was the school I was most certain that I wanted to go to. After my first interview, and the events of today, I'm not really sure that's the case. I do not really care for how the curriculum is setup, although I'm told it will be changed for next year, and the vibe the school gives off is completely different. Last week every one I met, from students to professors to support staff were overly friendly and supportive. Today, people were friendly, but those outside of the interviewing process flat out ignored us in the halls.

It doesn't help that this school is quite focused on the clinical side of things which is most likely where I will not end up.

But after the last few years what right do I have to be picky? I'll find out my status by Friday, possibly as soon as Tuesday, and I really don't know what I'll do then. The whole situation is very surreal after everything that's happened over the years.

Could it be that, in the near future, I may have to change the name of this blog to "I will be a pharmacist...?"

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Science Nerds Unite!

I love science humor. A couple weeks ago I presented some research at a microbiology conference and it was hoot listening to various science related jokes. You know, the jokes that no one else but a true science nerd would understand.

Since then I have been looking for some t-shirts with just such jokes on them. I then stumbled upon a site that has just loads of goodies. Here are some of my favorites.





Anywho if you're a fellow nerd like me, check out the site - http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/chemistry It'll at least give you some laughs

Schools I Have Applied To

The last few weeks I have had several people ask me where I have applied. This namely applies to those with similar stats as me.

The thing is I have tried over the last 2+ years to remain anonymous here. This is for several reasons which we will not delve into at the moment. However, this also applies to the schools at which I am applying.

My reasoning is that I see a lot of pharm schools logging onto this site. There are a couple thousand visitors per week to this blog as it is. Some of which have come directly from the admissions office of those schools. I understand that they say they look at applications only for their requirements for admissions, but I would not be comfortable if a member on that committee knew I wrote this blog. It may sway them in either direction which isn't fair to me and it isn't fair to others. I know I posted what I may wear to the interviews, but that does not mean I will wear that exact outfit. I just prefer to write in secret for the moment.

Maybe my thoughts on this will change if I am accepted to one of the schools I am applying to. I would very much love to help those of you who have asked these past few weeks. And even then, I'm not sure my classmates would appreciate some of my thoughts either on the industry or on the school I may go to.

Needless to say it is a slippery slope, but I am doing my damnedest to determine a way to help others out there. Seems to be the least I can do.

Interview Review

Yesterday actually went pretty well. It's the first time in the five years I have been attempting to accomplish this that I feel really good about my chances. My interviewer almost forgot his structured questions because of the various interesting tangents we were discussing. I would think that would be a good sign.

To be honest I have never had an actual interview before. I've only interviewed for one job in my life and it was very informal. I decided not to practice though because I tend to get flustered when I try to remember what I prepared to say and I am generally very personable to begin with. One of the skills you gain working with the public for so long.

Of course it helped that everyone at the school was massively friendly. For as much as I have disliked working with interns over the year, the students there were extremely kind and thoughtful. I may have to revise that thought in the coming years.

In any case, one down, one to go!

Why Isn't There A Merit Badge for Swine Flu?

We all hear it every single day. It is now as consistent as insurance rejects, early fills on hydrocodone and the inability to find time to pee on a daily basis. I am, of course, talking about a proud patient proclaiming they have swine flu.

What in the hell is with people? They wear this fact almost as if it is some sort of proud accomplishment. I bet you we're within one month of someone selling "I've had swine flu" t-shirts to all the survivors.

Yes, that's right I called them survivors. You know why? Because I have had no less than a dozen people in the past two weeks refer to themselves as survivors of swine flu.

Whoopdy fuckin' do.

The weirdest thing is they'll tell anyone within ear shot. "Did you know my doctor confirmed that I have swine flu yesterday?" As if people aren't panicky enough as it is. I just simply do not understand it.

Where are the people going, "Did you know my doctor confirmed I contracted genital herpes yesterday?" or "Did you know my doctor confirmed I have Stage III lymphoma?"

You know why people don't share this kind of information? Because it's not a fucking good thing you have this disease/disorder/infection/etc. You shouldn't be proud of it. If you are, you are a fucking imbecile.

Next time someone walks up to me smiling saying that they just found out they have swine flu, I'm liable to punch them in the face. Maybe a case of epistaxis (ya know, since it sounds cooler) will supersede the excitement from swine flu.

At least they won't make shirts about that one.

And the Choice Is....

Well I decided to listen to the masses and go with the green shirt/blue tie. I also went out and picked up a similar colored shirt, but with a non-button down collar.

Now T-minus 15 hours and counting until interview time... gulp

Is it Zaditor? Or is it Claritin? Or maybe Zyrtec?

The pharmaceutical industry has to be a marketing companies wet dream. Seriously, what other industry exists where the vast majority of lay people actually understand the product they're buying?

People can pick out a good car from a bad car. Who makes a quality LCD TV and who doesn't. What business creates long lasting furniture versus one that does not.

But can the vast majority of consumers know what the difference is between Aleve and Tylenol? You bet your ass they can't. That's why all the Aleve ads today advocate the fact you need to take less Aleve tablets during the day compared to Tylenol. As if taking less tablets per day equates to something that is safer and/or stronger.

The other day one of our store managers unknowingly put these three products in a row on the shelf.
We've all seen the Claritin Eye Drops commercial on TV lately. Same goes for the Zyrtec Itchy Eye Drops as well. I'm sure those of you with pharmacy knowledge had the exact same thought I did.

How the hell are they using loratadine/cetirizine for an eye drop?

That is until I started doing some digging and discovered the active ingredient. Low and behold it was simply ketotifen, better known the former prescription eye drop Zaditor.

You see some marketing 'whiz' got a hardon a few months back when he thought up this idea. "These brand names sell well," Mr. Shit-for-brains thought. "So why not slap their names on some kind of anti-itch drop for the eye even if its a completely different drug!" I'm sure shortly there after he/she received some sort of bonus for their 'creativity'.

Here's the problem I see with this, these drops do not contain the drugs they are advertising. Everyone knows Claritin is loratadine and that Zyrtec is cetirizine, yet neither one of these products contains their respective known drugs. That is a little misleading is it not?

Sure we have Tylenol Cold, but that actually contains Tylenol. What if something came out that was called Tylenol Long Term Relief but was really just naproxen? Wouldn't that confuse the hell out of patients? Note: Shit I probably just gave some retard an idea for a product...

Already I have people asking for the eye drops with Claritin in it. I don't even bother, at least right now, to explain to them that there is no such product.

Chalk another point up for the anal raping of the American people by the pharmaceutical companies and their marketers. My ass is starting to chafe, how about yours?

Pharmacy School Admissions Interview Attire

I figure everyone who has read this blog (all 41,104 visitors as of the writing of this post) has been with me on my journey towards becoming a pharmacist. Due to this fact, I feel as if I should share at least part of the experience with you guys.

I know right now you're thinking either, A) Holy shit is he fucking crazy! or B) Holy shit what the fuck is he talking about?!?

And in either case it is perfectly understandable, but let me digress. Yesterday I went out and picked me up a spiffy suit for the interviews. I have since begun the process of attempting to pick out what precisely to wear with the suit.

Now herein lies the dilemma I have tons of dress shirts and ties as I generally wear those to work. Many of them, however, are not in consideration for the interview. Together they all sob and drink Jack Daniels in my closet. Why is this you ask? Because, from everything I have read, most pharmacy schools prefer that you dress conservatively for your interview.

That is a problem for my dress clothes because they are not conservative. I like bold colors which is why my shirts are colored Fuchsia and Copper and True Blue and Hunter Green and Blood Red and Chocolate Brown and etc etc with ties to go with. I do not like wearing pastel like colors and I will not wear a white shirt.

Therein lies the problem. I am left with two options in my closet and I went to the store today and picked up a 'conservative' shirt and tie. I know ask for honest and constructive criticism as to which to wear.

Now let's start with the 'conservative' shirt and tie. Of course all pictures are click-able to scale to a large size... if for some god awful reason you want to do that.


I will admit this does not look near as bad as I thought with the suit. The tie seems very Harry Potter-esq, but its decent. Now I could go with a pink tie, which I have and the wife loves to torture me about, but I figured that my scare the admissions people. Because, as well all know, pink is EXTREMELY threatening.

Let's carry on to my personal favorite.


This is probably my favorite shirt/tie combo I have at the moment. It helps that the shirt is like wearing the skin of a baby sheep against your body... ya know without all the blood and such. I have the fear that it is too fancy for the admissions folk. Not sure if that is the best way to phrase that, but I am genuinely not sure if this would be the correct way to go. The flash made the tie look quite a bit more shiny and silver than it actually is.

And last, but certainly not least;


This is actually the very first shirt/tie combo I ever bought (although this is a 2nd gen shirt) and I always thought I looked pretty snazzy in it. My problem is I think I look a bit like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but without the ice cream. And really, I don't need the admissions people salivating while they look at me. Well, salivating from hunger at least.

So there are your choices oh loyal blog readers. For those of you who are of the quiet type, I have placed a poll on the top right side for your clicking pleasure.

Now... lay it on me!

Daily Musings

As we were getting ready for bed last night I was explaining how frustrating my classes can be. I have to take a Chem 100 course in order to graduate as it is a requirement for all students. Naturally it's a freakin' breeze.

But this is how my day progressed. In the morning I was learning about genetic engineering. Using virus to alter genes in DNA in order to produce various effects. I ended day by listening to a classmate in this stupid Chem class educate everyone how on plants take in oxygen and give off water and that's how they help global warming.

Oy.

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I'm also really getting tired of getting bitched at for other people's mistakes. It was not me who did not mail out your prescription. It was not me who didn't fill your refills when you called them in. It was not me who put the wrong bottle in the back.

Stop fucking bitching at me and be grateful I fix your problems with a smile on my face. It could be a lot fucking worse.

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No we don't have the shots that give you the swine flu. First, ask a correct question. Second, stop calling.

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If you come in for Plan B, don't try and justify it. I don't need to hear about how you've already had four kids or how you're just not ready for children. You were drunk, someone played hide the pickle with you and you lost. It happens, life goes on.

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Wellpoint, why do you keep rejecting a Hydroxyzine script by saying; "Mental Health/Substance Abuse drugs not covered." It's an antihistamine for a rash on a guy's foot. It falls under neither mental health nor substance abuse. Am I missing something here?

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Finally I've spent about $1,200 getting ready for these interviews already. That's a lot of freakin' money. At least I got a suit out of it, but geez I'm gonna go broke by the end of this. Maybe I should wear some kind of hobo getup to squeeze a little sympathy out of them.

That being said, I'm interviewing on Halloween Eve. Would it be inappropriate to wear a costume? Precisely, I want to be a bottle of Viagra this year. I would think that would show my passion for the profession would it not??

I mean c'mon, it's not like I'd be a bottle of Valtrex.

One Step Closer...

Today started off as a normal Monday. I literally had to drag my ass out of bed in time for Genetics. I was rather apathetic as I doodled aimlessly while being taught regulation factors in gene expression. For some reason the term Operon caused me to imagine some sort of monster destroying the city I live in. It was... perplexing.

Next I sat through my Race and Ethnicity class where I learn every day that you can be a racist even when you're not a racist. Or some crazy shit like that. This time I imagined the monster eating my professor. Such a lovely thought this was.

As I left this class to head home for lunch my phone rang; it was my manager. Already knowing what she was going to say, I answered it. She pleaded with me to go fill in for a sick co-worker on my day off at a store that is 30 minutes away from where I live. Being that I'm an overly nice son of a bitch, I agreed.

In essence, it was another dreary Monday.

Until I checked my emails.... and I found out the following:

On Friday, October 23rd, I have an interview at a pharmacy school.

Dear God, did I read that right? Am I losing my mind? After busting my ass to the point of exhaustion for the past three years could it possibly be true?

Those of you who have read this blog over the last two years, ya know all four of you, may understand how utterly monumental this is. Three years ago I thought I had no chance in hell of even being eligible to apply, yet alone be admissions worthy.

Yet here I am, booking plane tickets, searching for hotels and plotting to buy a suit on Wednesday.

The whole thing is very surreal. I read the e-mail about five times just to make sure I was reading it correctly. Hell I might frame the freakin' thing and hang it up in my living room.

Previously I said my PCAT scores were the achievement I was most proud of in my life. Today, it was supplanted with this e-mail.

So for all of you who read this blog, all of you who think you have made too many mistakes along the way and have no chance of reaching your dream, I am proof that you can climb out of that wretched hole. That no matter how bad it gets, no matter how much you may want to quit, retribution is possible.

Next Thursday I leave to take the next step in this epic journey. Next Thursday I leave to take the next step towards my future.

And damn is it sweet.

Who Wants to do a Line With Me?

A line of MagOx that is. A treasure trove of dust came pouring out of the bottle as I went to fill this prescription. It was the last thing I would fill for the evening. Naturally the first thing I thought of was to make a lovely line of it on the tray.

Is that wrong?

Pre-Pharmacy: Condensed

I have put the more important pre-pharmacy posts in its own little box on the right side of the page here. More and more questions have appeared about what it's like getting to this point, so I thought it best to put everything in order for ease of searching.

Enjoy

Why I am King of the Pharmacy Nerds

I am the self proclaimed King of the Pharmacy Nerds. Instead of having Newsweek or Sports Illustrated in the bathroom, you'll usually find Drug Topics or Pharmacy Times. My book case has a shelf dedicated to various pharmacy books and materials.

If I do get into pharmacy school, I will promptly go and get my first tattoo. It is a Bowl of Hygeia I have been designing the last couple years. Obviously I will not get something like that unless I am sure I will be in pharmacy for the long haul.

My prized possession is the one which my wife does not like. In fact, it currently resides in the closet of our study. To be honest, I understand that. It's more of a single guy's pad type of thing, but I still think it's cool. Besides, who else honestly has something like this in their home? Probably the best thing I ever found while cleaning out the basement of my work many years ago.

How Often Does This Happen Elsewhere?

I've explained several times how shitty of an outfit I work for. I'd like to think there are not many other pharmacies that are as unethical and obtuse to patient care as we are.

Here are two examples from this past week alone.

First, I discovered a patient had been given a 90 day supply of Simvastatin 80mg instead of her usual 30 day supply of Simvastatin 20mg. The pharmacist on duty simply put the wrong bottle in the wrong bag. The patient is about 93 years old and really didn't put two and two together. I figured it out when she called in that particular refill number on the incorrect bottle. She also mentioned she started having random muscle pain in the last month. Oh joy.

Second, a patient came in asking if we could verify the dose on her husband's Vitamin D prescription. I looked it up and it was indeed filled wrong. The prescription was written for 1,000 IU per day. Someone had filled it for 50,000 IU per day. The patient had been taking those dose for six months. Lovely.

Now does this happen elsewhere? Seems as if this kind of thing happens on a semi-regular basis around here, moreso in the last few months, and the pharmacists are rather apathetic about it.

Or am I just being overly cautious because it seems to me that there is something massively wrong with both our pharmacists and the way we fill things here. I can't wait to get the hell outta here.

Why the PTCB is A Joke

In July 2005 I became a certified technician. I'll never forget test day, having to leave at 4:30 AM in order to make the test site in time for the 7AM start. Seeing hoards of middle aged women with literally 20 pencils and five calculators.

The test was supposed to take around two hours or so if I remember correctly. I remember breezing through it in about a half hour seeing as I had already had four years of experience at that point. What I do remember is the test being challenging in certain areas, especially the questions regarding drugs. I remember a good deal was based on hospital protocol and there were only a few math based questions.

When I passed, it was one of the largest achievements I had made at that point in my life.

Today, though, it seems like any dimwit can earn certification from the PTCB. About a year ago a new employee, whom had never worked in a pharmacy before and even admitted to not know what hydrocodone was the day before the test, decided to take the PTCE after working for us for a week.

I laughed it off thinking, there's no way in hell he'll pass that.

But he did.

And I started reading more about what the test had become in the years since I took mine. I found out that it was now computer based and stopped once you correctly answered enough questions. And you could take it locally now which woulda been a helluva lot nicer than getting up at 4 in the morning.

Yet I keep reading again and again about how people are becoming certified when they know nothing about pharmacy. Most read through one of the review books in a week and go take the test and then pass.

First I should mention I do not support the 'tech schools' out there that train people for this job. I think its a waste of money personally because you're essentially paying to learn on the job training, but whatever that's an argument for another post.

However I do not think it's right that someone can earn this designation and not know a damn thing about pharmacy. From what I have gathered the test has become more math based and the questions regarding drugs are insanely easy. Which makes sense when I read about some of the yahoos that are now certified.

What happened to the honor it was to carry the title C.PhT after your name? It used to be that when we hired someone and they were certified, you knew that they knew their shit. Now it doesn't mean a damn thing as they can be as big of an imbecile as any other green tech.

It just seems like there should be some sort of reform here ya know? Maybe actually challenge people a bit? Am I the only one who's noticed this?

New Blog Addy

Seeing as the viewership of this blog has more than tripled in the last three months I decided to go with an actual URL for the blog. A redirect is in place, and should remain in place, but I would recommend changing bookmarks to the new addy:

http://www.iwanttobeapharmacist.com/

Thanks,

Phathead

I Care (Repost)

Normally I refrain from reposting other people's blog posts. Just seems cheesy to me for some reason. Today I make an exception.

I was getting caught up on Old MD Girl's blog when I decided to go through her blog roll. The very first post I read contained one of the most emotional pieces I have found yet on the various medical blogs.

Those of you who just read these, and not write them, may not understand the difficulty in expressing the circumstances of your day. It seems easy, at first, but as time goes on it becomes increasingly difficult.

Now one of the things I have tried to do here is emphasize the passion for pharmacy and the medical fields in general. Judging from how this blog has been reviewed in various places, it seems I have succeeded to a certain degree. Yet it is always difficult to write an eloquent post that can relay feelings accurately.

Today I present to you a post like that. A post which explains why I am choosing a career in the medical fields. A post which explains what a lot of his feel on a regular basis. A post which should remind those who have become disillusioned what we are here for.

I present I Care from the blog 6YearMed

Pull Your Head Out of your Ass

The last few days I've been reading up on the various pre-pharmacy/pharmacy support forums out there. I first stumbled upon them when looking for advice on the PCAT last fall and have been following them ever since. Rarely do I post at any of them as I just like to sift through them from time to time.

I decided to take a few days off from pumping out applications to get caught up on a few of the larger forums out there. After a while I realized I was rather disgusted with most of them. A lot of the individuals there are extremely conceited and full of themselves.

And I see a lot of you guys come to this blog, so I'll give you a little word of advice.

Pull your fucking head out of your damned ass.

You are not the greatest person in the world because you got a 98 on your PCAT. Just because you chose pharmacy as a career does not justify the fact you think you are better than everyone else. You're really no different than anyone else in the medical fields.

And don't talk down to someone with a lower GPA than yourself. Sure, you got a 4.0, but that doesn't mean you're smarter than the kid who got a 3.0. There are extenuating circumstances that prevents some from reaching their full potential in college. Many don't have mommy and daddy's money to fall back on when times are rough.

The cockiness needs to go as well. So you have your 98 PCAT score, your 4.0 GPA and you worked at Wal-Mart for a year as a tech or clerk. Whoopdy fuckin' do. I'll give you a little word of advice, you don't learn shit at a place like Wal-Mart. Anyone that has ever transferred to our stores from Wal-Mart could count and that was really about it.

Granted the Tier 2 techs are slightly better, but you still don't know shit. You may be certified, but that test is a fucking joke today anyways (future post coming on that) and it really doesn't mean anything now. A drunk monkey with one eye could pass the exam.

For some reason these people seem to be mainly located in the California region of the country. Damn good thing I'm not applying to any school in that state.

Am I being cruel? No, I'm not. Leave your egos at the door. Stop talking as if you're Superman. Act human for Christ's sake. Is that too much to ask?

Pharmacy App Essays are a Joke

I have grown quite weary of writing the last few weeks. I swear the pharmacy schools across the nation are trying to overwhelm applicants with various redundant application questions.

Some want an essay in 1000 words. Some in 1000 characters. Some in 1000 characters with spaces. Some in three pages (whatever the fuck that means as there is no formatting requirements). Rain Man couldn't even keep track of all this shit.

And the questions are so abstract at times its unreal. Or they'll ask you a question that requires a detailed answer, but they want you to keep it under 300 words.

The best part is the same questions appear on the various apps, but they're all just different enough that you have to write a new one.

I was writing a slew of them at about 2am the other night when I realized that I that first I had combined two questions in one answer and then in another I had typed 1700 words when they wanted 1700 characters.

Oops.

Thank God I'm almost done with these... they're really starting to tap out what's left of my sanity.

What's with the Hydrocodone Love Lately?

All of the robots in this company are stocked full of the three most common hydrocodone/APAP strengths, 5/500, 7.5/500, and 10/500. Occasionally you'll see a script for Vicodin ES, but it is mainly those three strengths.

Until recently that is.

Six months ago we started having to add the 10/325mg strength to the robots. It wasn't that uncommon to see someone switch from #240 of 10/500mg to #360 of 10/325mg. On some days, the 10/325mg flavor was the most used.

Weird.

Now we've had a rush of scrips for the 5/325mg flavor in the past month. Some docs have exclusively switched from 5/500mg to 5/325mg. We were debating on Thursday whether or not we need to start adding this to the robots as well.

Yesterday someone handed me the first script for 7.5/325mg that I have seen in five years.

What in the hell is going on? What is with the massive change in the past year? I mean I see why they could be going that route as they were previously limited to eight tablets a day so their liver didn't explode. Now they can enjoy upwards of 120mg of hydrocodone daily.

Where is the logic in this? The people who are bringing these in are those who are on narc contracts or are known abusers. Isn't this just catering to their problem?

Is this happening anywhere else or is isolated to the small area here? Is there some therapeutic benefit that we're not aware of or have I figured out the method to this madness? I hope to God I'm wrong because, if so, I'll have even less faith in prescribers than I do already.