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| What will be the impetus for change?: Rants and Musings of a Retail Pharmacist |
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by The Redheaded Pharmacist - August 8, 2011
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Provided by The Redheaded Pharmacist
Frustrations are mounting inside my head. I can feel the overall sentiment of our profession declining with each and every negative change we endure. It is as if someone stuck that needle in our collective balloon and the air is quickly leaking out and deflating a once great profession. And that isn’t a good feeling.
I’m worried that positive changes are needed in the world of pharmacy and specifically in the retail or community setting. And we need some of these changes as soon as possible to prevent further destruction of our way of making a living. But I also worry that there isn’t any impetus for these needed changes.
Community pharmacy seems to be like that out of control train that is about to run right off its tracks. And there doesn’t seem to be a emergency brake that anyone can find to stop us from the seemingly inevitable fate we now face. Doesn’t it feel like pharmacists are just along for the ride now on that runaway train with no real power to direct our path?
I worry for the future. And while I think that change is possible it isn’t likely and the spark that starts that revolution of change seems nowhere to be found. We’ve lost control of our profession and now we are starting to feel the squeeze from those that actually hold the cards in this business: the employers and the insurers.
When pharmacists lost control of the operational decision making process to businesses it was the beginning of the end. And when those big businesses lost control of their own distribution model of pharmacy to the insurance industry there was a disaster brewing for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians everywhere.
The resulting changes that came included the drive-thru window, the $4 list, those transfer coupons, extended pharmacy hours, terrible PBM contracts and whole list of other changes that collectively stripped pharmacists of their healthcare profession status and relegated us to glorified fast food workers minus the actual fatty foods.
And because big companies hold the power and more importantly the jobs, pharmacists feel like they must adhere to the status quo no matter how ridiculous that becomes simply because there are bills to pay and we all need jobs. Should we spark radical change or even protest our working conditions we could easily be replaced at the store level by any one of a number of eager new graduates or out of work pharmacists. The supply and demand equation is heavily in favor of the employers of pharmacists now rather than the pharmacists themselves.
So yes, there is a need for change. Many people talk about somehow getting some real meaningful positive changes to happen in community pharmacy. I’ve talked about this topic myself on several occasions. The problem with that idea is that there doesn’t seem to be any impetus to force that change. We need something to get the ball rolling and get people to become really engaged.
But the problem is there aren’t that many pharmacists that are willing to risk their jobs and livelihood just for change. And no major organization in the pharmacy world seems willing or able to take a stance for pharmacists and attack any of the hot button issues we now face. And with control of the industry being held by people who never went to pharmacy school and don’t understand the demands of the job it doesn’t look like change will happen from within the executive offices where power is highly concentrated.
So we are trapped like a passenger in a taxi ride with an extremely aggressive driver who seems heart set on having an accident and hurting us. But the doors of the car have been locked for decades. And we struggle to even maintain our seat in the car. Forget trying to make the ride better! We are a whole division of the profession reduced to being in survival mode. And I for one am starting to feel more and more like I just want the ride to stop long enough for me to get off and try something else.
Why can’t we find a way to take the wheel of the car for once and drive ourselves where we know we can go? Fear is one answer. We don’t want to take the risks involved in standing up for what we believe in. I can understand that mindset. We’ve worked hard to get where we are as pharmacists and we don’t want to do anything to risk our futures. But that limits us to being yes men and women trapped in a prison of work for hire. We’re simply hired guns that can be replaced at any time should we get out of line.
It isn’t a rosy picture I’m painting. And while I’ve resisted the urge for this blog to simply be my outlet to vent about all of my frustrations with work and my profession sometimes I’m just overwhelmed to the point I feel the need to vent and let things out just to try and maintain a little sanity (what’s left of it anyway). And the frustration is mounting for more and more of my fellow pharmacists. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices. And don’t even start to ask them about their jobs or their futures.
But I think we’ve come to a point that we can’t ignore the problems that face our profession and our jobs. Just like our government reached the debt ceiling and was forced into addressing that problem I think we’ve hit a ceiling of what we can reasonably expect to tolerate as healthcare professionals. And I hope that reaching this new level of frustration and difficulty will push us into action even if that means facing the fears of losing our jobs. Because quite frankly change is desperately needed and it is needed right now before working conditions become dangerous to public health.
Will it happen? I don’t know. I’m not even sure where to start to address all of our problems even if I can honestly say I want to do my part to try. But I do know this: if we continue to do nothing then things will deteriorate much further and our profession will be unrecognizable or worse we will be eliminated completely. It is wake up time and decision time. Will we have what it takes to spark any change? Will we become our own impetus for that much needed change? If not what will be the driving force behind change or will there even be any? Those are the questions I leave you with on this Monday morning!
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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| rph (florida) |
on 10 Aug 2011 at 6:13 pm |
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| be happy that you have a job, because I just lost mine with 4 misfills this year, and I am never eligible to be rehired with walgreens. |
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