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| “Do you like retail pharmacy?”: Rants and Musings of a Retail Pharmacist |
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by The Redheaded Pharmacist - July 11, 2011
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Provided by The Redheaded Pharmacist
I’ve been asked a lot of things at work over the years as a retail pharmacist. Some questions are so bizarre I’m not even sure I should share them because there is no fathomable way to explain why someone would ask me such a question at work. But other questions are predictable if not frequent. And one of those questions is “do you like retail pharmacy?”
I have to admit that this kind of a question posed to a pharmacist with some experience such as myself almost seems like a loaded question the way many people have asked it. It is almost like they are saying, “please start complaining about everything you hate about your job” when they ask this question. But at the same time it makes you think about your job and how much satisfaction you are getting out of it.
Many times the person asking me the question “do you like retail pharmacy?” is a pharmacy student trying to gauge this career path by asking someone already fully entrenched in the daily grind of pumping out prescriptions to the general public. They understandably want to evaluate all of their options after graduation and wonder if retail pharmacy is the right career choice.
I can understand their concern and if asked I always try to give an honest and balanced answer to this very valid and important question. I try to evaluate my job and my role in the healthcare system based partly on the reasons I set out to do this years ago as well as my experiences over the years behind the counter. If those reasons were valid then shouldn’t they still hold true today years after I first started working?
I’d be lying if I said that retail pharmacy was perfect and I loved every aspect of my job. I’d be remiss if I omitted the negative changes that have swept through our profession over the last several years. But I try not to simply focus all my energy towards answering this question with all negatives. That to me is as wrong as trying to sugar coat the description of this job to anyone asking.
Don’t get me wrong I do hate certain aspects of this line of work. The long days without a break and the unreasonable customers sometimes make me want to just quit and move on with my life. I find frustration in many aspects of what my job entails and how we deliver healthcare products and services. And yes, I’d love to be asked a question a little more intellectually stimulating than “where is the cereal?” or “did I get my reward points?” every once in a while at work to break the monotony of directing people towards the meat department or the sun screen.
But I did go into this line of work partly for the direct patient interaction it provides. And I do actually get to legitimately help someone every once in a while who has a real medical problem a pharmacist can help tackle. And let me tell you that having someone come back to thank me for something I did for them is like the commercial says: Priceless! I think it is critical for retail pharmacists to recognize that we do in fact make a different and contribute more to healthcare than simply counting by fives.
But as the position of retail or community pharmacist has changed over the years I think it has become more demanding and challenging. And we are at a time now where there seems to be the most asked of us while at the same time we are receiving the least amount of support from our employer to get the job done properly and in a timely manner.
So while the prescription volumes have skyrocketed over the years the relative support to fill those prescriptions has gone down putting a strain on those of us that dare to brave this avenue of the profession. We are being pushed to our limits and what is bad about that challenge is that we often feel like we are completely out of control of our working environment and conditions. And that strain seems to be driving some people away from community pharmacy.
So now when I am asked “do you like retail pharmacy?” I give a qualified yes answer. I feel that sugar coating the working conditions and demands of community pharmacy wouldn’t serve pharmacy students well. They need to know the truth or at least as unbiased an assessment as someone from within the profession can give. But I’m also not going to make retail pharmacy sound like the end of the world either. I think that also misrepresents what is really going on.
But recently I have started to seriously wonder what my long term plans are and if I can continue to do this line of work full time. The physical, emotional, and mental strain of being a retail pharmacist can burn people out. Plus I have other priorities in my life now outside the realm of my professional life. What if I want to settle down now and start my own family? Wouldn’t I want a job with more standard hours and less stress? Maybe this line of work is best left to the ambitious and motivated new graduates who are most likely to be able to handle the challenges of the job?
I’ve been asked “do you like retail pharmacy?” many times before in my career by different people and I’m sure it will be asked many more times in the future. And I will try to come up with an answer that best reflects my personal feelings about the job and my personal experiences. But I can’t help but realize that there are a lot more reasons now to answer this question with a no than there has ever been before. And I wonder what that all means for me and for the rest of the profession going forward?
You’d think I’d have a standard answer for such a common question or maybe even possess the ability to write something other than this long rambling post about my thoughts on this age old question. But the waters of our profession are murky and rough right now. And a question as simple as "do you like your job?" can make you realize that things have changes over the years. And yes, not all of those changes are positive. I just hope that the future will bring some positive changes so I can better answer this question with a quick affirmative and move on. How would you answer this question if someone asked you?
The Redheaded Pharmacist
The Redheaded Pharmacist has been working full time in retail pharmacy for more than a decade. He is in his mid 30s, and, yes, he has red hair.
Disclaimer: This blog represents the opinions of the author and the author alone. It does not represent any pharmacy group or organization. I also will leave out or change the names of patients/customers to protect their privacy and comply with government regulations regarding patient privacy rights and personal information.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| Jeff H (Utah) |
on 13 Jul 2011 at 11:53 am |
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| I would have to say "No". I have worked in retail (5 yrs), LTC (2+), and Hospital (1+). Folks, I've seen the light. Retail isn't worth even a rare one day fill-in for the guy down the street. If you can get out you will realize what "quality of life" actually is.. I was very fortunate to have been thrown a life line to pull me out of the whole called "Retail". |
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| paul (nc) |
on 13 Jul 2011 at 7:01 am |
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| Like asking a soldier "Do you like combat?" |
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