I have five years of practice now. I was among the last lot that were not posted so I have worked in quite a number of institutions. One thing I have come to learn is that it doesn’t matter the institution, pharmacy remains pharmacy.
I read a study that found that pharmacy was the most trusted department in the hospital and I laughed. Well, you see am only human and by nature we tend to focus on the negative side. The reason I laughed is because most of my mean patients have got to be the devil themselves.
I categorised the meanness into groups but they all go after one thing, your weak spot. The older generation naturally will go for your age and maybe your appearance if you are liberal in your dressings, to try and discredit your knowledge. The young generation has to be grouped into gender. Male will go after your gender if you are female and go to an extent of refusing to be handled by a girl. Female will go after your appearance, that is, your clothes, your hairstyle and how much these costs. Then there’s the lost group that will go after your tribe and if you are in the middle class your race. Yes, some lost sheep will mention that they prefer Indians 🙄.
But, this made me think critically past the negative side. Patients will come to the Pharmacy for directions despite having a customer care desk and a huge sign and smartly dressed guys behind the desk. Most patients will also open up about their allergies in the pharmacy. Most importantly, the final piece in their puzzle is found in the pharmacy. By this I mean a patient will give their full history in the pharmacy.
Besides the patients, most staff in the hospital especially the superiors always trust the pharmacy with their valuable commodity. The other day I was having a disagreement with my medical superintendent because he wants the Pharmacy to distribute PPEs and disinfectants despite the pharmacy being severely understaffed. Of course he won and I have a new headache but this shows the level of trust in the hospital.
Life has taught me that we hurt those we love and trust more. Maybe that’s why they hurt us more. All in all, I love being a pharmacist and I will recommend it to my youngself if I ever time travel.
By Dr. Artesunate.