It's Not All Bad

It's not all bad in retail pharmacy. It's mostly bad, but not all bad. Ok, maybe it's like only 98% bad and 2% good. Or maybe it's just Goofmart Pharmacy and the band of Ferengi I work for. Or maybe it's just my particular district. I'm rambling now.

But it's not all bad.

One time I had THREE people, on THREE different occasions, come up to me and PERSONALLY thank me for the medication advice I gave them. I don't even recall the specifics. But they felt I gave them excellent counsel and they came back to tell me they appreciated it.

So yeah, it's not all bad.

Another time I dispensed an SSRI to a teenager. It was new to the patient and I counseled both the teen and the mom about the medication and talked about Serotonin Syndrome. It's a rare but serious possibility with drugs that affect Serotonin. I've only seen one case of actual Serotonin Syndrome in the past but I always mention it.

My counseling paid off. Later that week the mother called me to thank me because she caught the symptoms early with her teen and the hospital confirmed that he was genuinely affected by the condition and were able to treat him immediately. Because I counseled the mother, the issue was caught early and she thanked me over and over again.

So yeah, it's not all bad. Keep your chin up, fellow pharmacists. The company thugs we work for may mock us for not putting profit above patient safety, but you and I both know what's most important.