Daily frustrations

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Drive-Thru, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR, Lazy People, Patient Education, Stupid People, True Story, Work Sucks

The following post was written by a reader of TheAngriestPharmacist. She posted a couple of comments that were right on point and impressed me tremendously. So, I invited her to write a guest post. She is taking some pharmacy-related classes and currently works in a pharmacy. Her pseudonym is ALIGIRL CphT. While I’m not into the whole “waz up guuurl!” fad, I enjoy her perspective and rants.

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After working 4 years in a pharmacy one would think you get used to all the crazy and impatient people we see everyday. I, unfortunately, get slapped in the face with these people everyday, and everyday I see something new. My little rant and rave today has to do with the drive-thru. First of all, whoever invented it for the pharmacy was either a lazy person that didn’t want to walk the twenty steps to the pharmacy inside the building or a person that claims they have five kids and did not want to take them out of the car today.

So, when you drive into the first lane (nearest the window where I am standing) in a drive thru and see that there is already a car in the second lane (furthest from the window), does that not tell you that I am already helping them and you must wait your turn? Or, does it simply tell you they are there, and I am here so somebody better help me too? Perhaps an additional, magic fairy person?

Obviously, you see me standing there at the big 10×10 window already talking to the person in the second lane. You saw them send money or a prescription which means they are still being assisted. So, please explain to me why you feel the goddamn need to still push the ringer. Did you think that I did not see your big Expedition drive directly in front of me blocking my view of the second lane? — the person I am already helping! Do you really think I do not see your face staring at me like I am wasting your time because I am helping someone who was there before you?

Now, I have to turn off the ringer and tell you I will be right with you, which I do very calmly. I continue speaking to the second lane and notice you reach out your hand to push the ringer AGAIN! Okay, are you freaking kidding me — or are you just severely retarded? I just told you I would be right with you. So, now I just turn the damn ringer off and don’t say anything to you because, obviously, you do not understand English.

As I am finally finishing up with the second lane, after all your interruptions, you start beeping your horn. Really? WHAT THE FUCK!! Now I am freaking pissed. The freaking President of the United States could drive into the drive thru, and he would still have to wait his turn — so hold the fuck up. I thank the second lane, send them on their way, and ask you how I can help you. This is when you have the balls to say, “Didn’t you see me here?” Yes, I saw you there. I told you I would be right with you. Then you pushed the ringer again, and I ignored it. Next you decided to start honking your damn horn.

I can only help one person at a time and you, my friend, were after them. Now, you start complaining that in a drive-thru you shouldn’t have to wait at all, and that you should just be able to drive up, grab your shit, and go. Um, excuse me, but last time I checked we had to get all your information as well as enter insurance info and type in the prescription. If you are picking up a prescription, we have to confirm that we have the right patient as well as take your payment. And this also may take a few minutes. It may take a little longer if the patient has any questions or concerns about their medications or if they need to be educated on something.

So, no, a drive-thru is not to just drive up and go, it is a convenience for people like you that do not wish to get off their lazy asses and walk inside. This, my friend (wait, you’re not my friend — I hate you!), is a pharmacy, not Mcdonalds. We take time in what we do, and we try to do things right. We are not making burgers and fries. We are filling medications, checking for potentially dangerous drug interactions,billing insurances, and about a million other things.

If we take an extra few minutes with a customer that actually cares about their health, then yes you must wait an extra few minutes — wouldn’t you expect the same courtesy of the person behind you? That’s how the drive-thru works, ya don’t like it then you can go down the street to the pharmacy that has no drive-thru and walk your fat ass inside.

So, when you approach a drive-thru pharmacy, please wait to be attended to…especially if there is already someone else in the lane next to you being helped. Don’t push the buzzer a hundred times — or even once. And don’t you dare toot your little horn. We do see you there, and we did hear you the first time you unnecessarily rang the buzzer. Just freaking wait a few minutes. You are sitting in a car, directly in front of me, not standing in the cold!

The life and times of a pharmacist

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

I got this emailed to me by “E” — I did not write this.
Source: The Angry Pharmacist

Theres a lot of things that you will experience once you’re a pharmacist:
You’ll be asked questions.
You’ll be praised.
You’ll be thanked.
You’ll see children grow up.
You’ll see grandparents pass away.
You’ll be the person to translate between medical speak and common english.
You’ll give relief to an nervous mother.
You’ll give people hope who have none.
You’ll smile.
You’ll laugh.
You’ll joke with your patients.
You’ll see your patients go to the prom.
You’ll dispense that Plan B Rx to that girl who was in diapers just last week (so you thought).
You’ll be asked questions that involve the word penis and vagina.
You’ll be asked to look at rashes, and pink eye, and wounds.
You’ll be trusted when their doctors cannot be.
You’ll save lives.
You’ll drive a nice car, have a house, and a good living.
You’ll be hounded by family and friends for advice.
You’ll be the first to hear about test results and what they mean.
You’ll be the most trusted person in most people’s lives.

However………………………..

You’ll be bitched at.
You’ll be taken for granted.
You’ll be the target of angry words, attacks, and threats.
You’ll be lied to.
You’ll be bullshitted.
You’ll be overworked and understaffed.
You’ll have no gratification from the people who owe you their lives and well being.
You’ll be used.
You’ll see the shit at the bottom of the pond of society.
You’ll (somehow) be the person responsible for slavery, poverty, and all that is evil in the world.
You’ll be cried at one min, and yelled at the next when you wont fill Soma early.
You’ll be the target of con scams, stories, and shit.
You’ll become callous and jaded to the world around you.
You’ll see not things as right and wrong, but truth and bullshit.
You’ll be able to tell a crackhead the moment they walk in the front door.
You’ll see addiction, thievery, and diversion.
You wont have one min to yourself without being interrupted by an idiot.
You’ll see stupidity.
You’ll get a gun shoved in your face for money or narcotics.
You’ll be the target of crime and theft.
Your car will be stolen or vandalized or hit in the parking lot by someone with no license, no insurance, and is here illegally (but gets more health benefits than you, on your tax dollar).
You’ll sit there powerless to do anything about an addict because you lack proof.
You’ll see crooked doctors write out gallons of Vicodin and get away with it.
You’ll get audited by insurance companies and the DEA and the state board over stupid shit.
You’ll see doctors who will rather listen to a big boobed drug rep than you.
You’ll be fucked over by the chains and mail order pharmacies who are supposed to be on your side.
You’ll get shafted by insurance companies.
You’ll see that AWP-25% + 1.50 and think its a good deal.
You’ll be left on hold for an hour because the doctors office is too cheap to buy a fax machine.
You’ll deal with ignorant doctor office staff who should be cleaning toilets than calling in prescriptions. You’ll get orders wrong because the fucking nurse cant speak clear english.
You’ll get a glimmer of happiness when you see a cash customer, only to have it be snuffed out when he wants his Rx’s transfered to a mail order pharmacy because its ‘cheaper’ (after you did all the work to fill them).
Your time will be worth nothing to the patients.
You’ll get mad.
You’ll get frustrated.
You’ll consider going on medication.
You’ll go on medication.
And at the end of the day, when you get home and stare down at the bottom of that third glass of gin; you’ll wonder why in the fuck you went to school to deal with this.
Remember, 98% of the world are good people, but it just takes a fraction of the 2% of assholes to really ruin your day.

5 Warning Signs of PITA Patients

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Blogs I like, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR, Lazy People, Patient Education, Stupid People, Update, Work Sucks

If you ask most pharmacists what the hardest part of their job is, the answers you get from person to person will vary slightly, but more than likely one of their top five answers would be pain in the ass patients. More troubling than the toughest of insurance forms, PITA (Pain In The Ass) patients can cause your day to go from decent to downright terrible in the blink of an eye. So how do you spot them coming? Read the following list of warning signs and prepare for the worst.

“I just need to ask you a quick question.”

When a conversation starts like this, you know it’s not going to be quick, and it’s not going to be one question. Chances are this particular person will waste at least five to ten minutes of your time, all the while second-guessing any answer you give to them. In cases such as this, I recommend you have a magic eight ball ready for their shaking pleasure. It will probably do just as much good, and will more than likely prevent you from shaking them.

“I don’t mean to trouble you, but…”

Really? Then don’t. What people mean when they say this is beyond me, but nine times out of ten, they know they are troubling because they either have ridiculous questions, no one else they can talk to, or they flat out refuse to actually visit a doctor. As pharmacists, we have a wealth of knowledge at our disposal, but that is not a replacement for the diagnosis of a qualified health care professional. Try your best to answer their question quickly and never give more than you absolutely need to.

The patient approaches with a full shopping cart.

This generally happens if you work in a pharmacy within a larger store. People assume that because you have a cash register, you are willing to ring up their ding dongs and soda along with the one item they got from the pharmacy. Can you ring it up? Sure, if you really want to, but maybe slipping in some appetite suppressants wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

The patient wants to “show you something.”

Be extra careful with this one, especially if he or she begins to drop trow in the midst of a crowded line. No, I don’t want to look at the rash on your ass. Describe it to me; maybe I can help you get the proper powder or lotion, but I am far from ready to start staring at pimply hairy asses—nobody gets paid enough to do that (except maybe proctologists).

The patient has no idea what’s really wrong.

This probably is not the case, but their use of the English language is limited to the excessive use of the words “like” and “kinda,” which isn’t really even a word, but that’s beside the point. “Well, like, it’s kinda like I have this weird feeling in my stomach, you know, like not pain, but just weird. You know?” No, I don’t know. I have no clue as to what you’re talking about and you’re wasting my time. Give them something innocuous and recommend that they go waste their doctor’s time. Then, it’s on to the next patient. No, I don’t know where the air filters are, sir.

This post was contributed by Kelly, who writes on the subject of pharmacy school at USPharmD.com. She invites your feedback via comments or at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com.

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