Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Missing A Part Of You

It's been over two weeks since I last worked in a pharmacy. That is my longest stretch away from one since I started working when I was 15 years old.

To be honest it's rather strange. I wake up each day and it's not as if I don't know how to occupy my time I just feel.... I dunno, lost. I mean when you take the pharmacy out of the pharmacy nerd, what do you really have left?

I will concede, it's nice to have time off to what I want, when I want. But now I'm ready to go back. I'm not the type of person who can just sit on the couch and be a bum day after day after day. I want to get back to bitching about insurances and dealing with pissed off patients.

In reality it feels like a part of me is missing if that makes any sense. There are three main things that keep me functioning on a daily basis; my wife, my job and my affection for motorsports (in that order of course). You take any one of those away and it just isn't the same.

I'll be honest, the lack of income is rather daunting, especially with a big move coming up. Honestly, I just want to get back to helping patients on a daily basis again. Whether its answering minute questions on a daily basis or helping solve some complicated insurance problem for them.

I swear, I'm a week away from just wondering the aisles of a Walgreens looking to answer a question for a random patient.

Yesterday I decided I need to find some type of short term job to occupy my time. I don't care if it's minimum wage shoveling cow shit, I just need something.

Granted I am excited for school to start in the fall, but I'm even more anxious to set foot behind the counter in a pharmacy again. And the sooner, the better.

Does that make me ill?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about applying at another pharmacy? I worked at a Tech for a LARGE pharmacy chain from 1992-1998. I LOVED the job; the crazies included. Mother's who put liquid Amoxicillin in her daughters ear for an ear infection, customers questioning how to use a suppository (NO JOKE) and probably my favorite was the patient whose bottle accidentally was "sent out" with on of this "do not eat" stabilizers things (usually found in the bottles with 500-1000 pills). He had a five day course of meds and at the end of the five days he came in and asked if he could start eating now. He thought he couldn't eat while taking the medication. If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it! So many laughs so many stories, I do miss it, BS included, sometimes. Good luck and perhaps consider another pharmacy chain where you may be able to do your internship when the time comes. What coast are you on?

Grumpy, M.D. said...

It just means you're good at what you do. And enjoy it. And you're not a bum.

I'd go nuts without a job.

Anonymous said...

Only the part about Walgreen's makes you ill. You don't want to go there...

Anonymous said...

You are not ill. I took a break from working in a retail pharmacy my last summer before my last year in pharmacy school and I went nuts. I volunteered (which was really rewarding) at two nonprofits and also got permission to go hang out at the school-affiliated drug information center, so I was still "close" to the pharmacy world. Learned a lot from all those experiences and they have ended up helping me in my pharmacy career (now in it for 15 years). Granted, there is no monetary income, but the experience was the reward. Good luck!!

Tanya said...

I felt the same way when my job had very short hours. Had to go to night shift stocking to get anything sufficient and stable.

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes you are ill.... For one...you are a student and have NO idea what you are in for in the real world. Once upon a time I loved my career too. Just wait! You will become jaded one day as well.

pharmacy statistics said...

Wow you must have worked a lot since being 15 then. I have had stretches of a several months to years here and there since being 18.

The Redheaded Pharmacist said...

Pharmacy is like this big black hole that when you get sucked into it you can't escape! Seriously the longest stretch I ever endured since starting pharmacy school was when I moved out of state and had to get my license reciprocated to the other state to practice there. It wasn't that long of a break but for me it seemed like torture. A little time off is great to unwind and mentally recharge but after that time off starts to suck! If I won the lottery I would still work. I would get bored within a couple of weeks if I were to try and quit work completely!