During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
Bizarre, Employees, Ignoring & Inattentive, Pennsylvania, Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, USA | Right | June 26, 2018
(I work in a pharmacy. I have a regular customer who is rather eccentric, and usually wears the same clothing: a raccoon fur cap — complete with tail — and a denim jacket covered in buttons and patches depicting his niche interests. He also usually rides a store-provided mobility scooter. This day, he comes in wearing a pinstripe suit, a faux velvet top hat, and a plastic pendant on a red ribbon of the sort you might find in a child’s Dracula Halloween costume. He is also walking with a cane, not riding the scooter. It’s the end of a long day, and his outfit is so different from usual that I don’t recognize him at first.)
Me: “Hello, sir. May I have your name?”
Regular: *stares at me for a second* “[Regular].”
Me: “Oh! Mr. [Regular]! Sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first. You’re wearing a different hat!”
(I pull up his profile on the computer while exchanging pleasantries.)
Me: “I’m afraid you don’t have any prescriptions ready. Was there one you were expecting?”
Regular: “I just thought I’d stop by and see if any of my automatic refills were ready.”
Me: “Well, let me see…”
(I look at the relevant page of his profile and see that all of his maintenance medications are indeed set to auto-fill, but it’s still a few weeks before they’re due to be filled again.)
Me: “Looks like you should be good for a while. You should get a call when your prescriptions are filled. Do we have your correct phone number on file?” *repeats number*
Regular: “Yep, that’s the one.”
Me: “All right, then you’ll get a call letting you know when your prescriptions are ready. Thanks for stopping by, Mr. [Regular]. It was good to see you!”
(The regular walks away, making quite the picture with his top hat and suit. The next customer in line comes up to my register and stares after the regular for a moment.)
Criminal & Illegal, Pharmacy, South Carolina, Teenagers, USA | Right | June 22, 2018
(I work in a pharmacy. I am filling in as an over-the-counter floor manager while our salaried management is out to meetings. Since I am an hourly supervisor, I am not allowed to do some things, like cash pulls or theft stops, but everything has been smooth throughout the day. It should be noted that at the time of this story, I am several months pregnant, but I am still getting around normally. I am crouching behind the counter for supplies when I hear a customer walk by.)
Me: *popping my head just over the counter* “Good morning!”
Teenage Boy: “Jesus! Uh… hi…”
(The kid looks a bit startled, but I don’t think much of it since I kind of came out of nowhere. I come out from behind the counter to see him flipping through the pegs of condoms. He is acting very sketchy, so I try to stay out of sight but where I can still watch him. Sure enough, he pockets a small pack of condoms. I cut the corner just as he is about to put another pack of condoms in his coat pocket. He drops them on the floor and I exaggeratedly struggle to bend over picking them up.)
Me: *poking my belly out* “Man, let me tell you from experience, I would not recommend this kind.”
(The kid practically ran out of the store, ditching the condoms in his pocket onto a nearby display on the way out.)
Bad Behavior, Massachusetts, Pharmacy, USA | Right | June 20, 2018
(It is a somewhat quiet evening. A customer comes in, and I greet her. My manager is standing nearby, and once the customer is out of earshot, she informs me that the customer is well-known for being rude and to call her if I need help. Sure enough, once the customer finishes shopping, she starts.)
Customer: *slams the first of many items onto the counter* “You need to get the manager up here now, because I need a discount.”
Me: *surprised* “Yeah, sure, let me page her now.”
(I page her and ring out the rest of the customer’s items as quickly as I can. My manager walks up from the back.)
Manager: “Hi, what can I help you with?”
Customer: “I need a discount. I have a coupon on my card, but it doesn’t show up when I try to print it, and you need to do something about it.”
(When this happens, it is almost always customer error; either the wrong email is linked to their store card, or they never set one up at all. We will generally input the coupon as long as the customer can show us the email that contains the coupon. Even if the customer can’t get the email up, we will still put it in under special circumstances — if they are buying a decent amount of stuff, are a regular customer, etc.)
Manager: “Okay, that’s fine. Can you pull up the coupon on your phone? I need to see the coupon to be able to put it in.”
Customer: *raising her voice* “WELL, I can try but I don’t know if it’ll work. You need to give me a discount because I spend a lot of money here, and this is unacceptable!”
Manager: *I can tell she is getting agitated* “All right, well, just try to pull that up, because we cannot give discounts without actually seeing the coupon in some form.”
Customer: “Well, I spend a lot of money here!”
(She clicks around on her phone for a minute or two and is able to bring the coupon up, and my manager puts it in and the customer finally pays and leaves.)
Manager: “You know, it’s a good thing she had her coupon, because I wasn’t going to give her the discount if she didn’t. She could have flipped out all she wanted, but I’ll be d***ed if I’m going to reward her s***ty behavior. Oh, and as for spending a lot of money here, she comes in maybe once a month…”
Jersey City, New Jersey, Pharmacy, USA | Unfiltered | June 15, 2018
(More often than not, customers come in through our registers wearing headphones or talking on the phone. As such, communicating with them becomes a hassle, but it’s tolerable. This is not the case this time. This customer is not wearing headphones, nor is he on his phone.)
Me: How can I help you, sir?
Customer: (says nothing, but drops his items for me to scan)
Me: Do you have your rewards card?
Customer: Yes I do. (He immediately swipes his credit card even though I have not yet started scanning his items)
Me: Sorry sir, the register isn’t ready for that yet.
(I scan his items fairly quickly and he swipes his card once more, again the register isn’t ready to accept payment yet, at this point I can see it’s a chip card so swiping won’t do it any good either way)
Me: Would you like to use your rewards card for this purchase first?
Customer: Oh! Yes. (at this point he puts in his phone number, bringing up his rewards membership, discounts, etc.)
Me: Okay sir, there we go! Now if you could just put the chip in the reader down below
(The customer AGAIN swipes his card through, prompting the card reader to display the “PLEASE INSERT CHIP” message for him to see. He’s not paying attention and I am screaming internally)
Me: Sir, please use the chip reader below.
Customer: Oh okay. (He puts the chip in, and the machine takes his payment)
Me: Thank you very much, sir, and have a good night
(He ignores me once again as he walks out with his purchases)
(I stop in the pharmacy to get some medications for my husband, who recently lost his job because of a medical condition. We were already on income support because I am physically disabled and this has been a hard hit to our income. We just found out the income support system is about to revoke our benefits unless we can prove that he does not willfully leave his job by the end of the month. With a toddler and both of us needing the medical coverage, this is terrifying. Our normal doctor is on maternity leave until January of next year and her covers won’t help us because they don’t want to deal with the system. The same story goes with every doctor we see. They all insist they need to have been seeing us for at least three months before they’ll even consider it. Neither of us have any family or support, as we were both runaways from abuse. By this point, I am counting change, trying to figure out if I have enough to get the medication we both desperately need.)
Stranger: *taps me on the shoulder* “Hey, let me get that for you.” *tries to shove a ten dollar bill in my hand*
Me: *close to tears* “Oh, no! I really can’t. Thanks, anyway.” *tries to give it back*
Stranger: “Nah, keep it. Or, hey, tell you what…” *hands me a twenty and takes the ten back* “There. Fair trade.”
(By now I was seriously crying and didn’t notice the older man’s mother coming up beside me. Gently she took me by the elbow and they both lead me away from the pharmacy counter. They started asking me questions and I admitted that we were struggling and how scared I was. They started brainstorming between the two of them and gave me numbers to doctors they trusted. They took my email and gave me their phone numbers just in case. As a last thing, they took the twenty-dollar bill, and the man shoved a bunch of money into my bag, saying he wouldn’t take no for an answer and just to pass it on when I had the chance to help someone else. I realized that yes, I needed that help right then. I stopped fighting, figuring it was at most forty bucks but would help pay my kid’s school fees. When I got home and took the money out, I was shocked to see that instead of just a small amount, he’d put five hundred dollars into my bag. That money did help keep us afloat for the next week as we paid bills. We finally found a doctor willing to help us and our income has since stabilized. I told the stranger, who is now a supporter and friend, that we’d pay him back. He refused and told me to help others, instead. I plan to.)
Bosses & Owners, Canada, Jerk, Language & Words, Montreal, Pharmacy | | Working | May 21, 2018
(My supervisor is known for being quite a nit-pick and strictly following rules that don’t actually exist. Also, I’ve taken a few years of Japanese classes. One day, I get a Japanese customer at my register while my supervisor is filling a display right behind me. The customer and I chat in Japanese while I scan his items, and he asks to pay with his credit card. By company policy, we have to check an ID for every foreign credit card. The customer complies and hands me his Japanese driver license, because he forgot his passport at the hotel. I confirm that the credit card is his, and I am about to hand him his license back.)
Supervisor: “Wait! What are you doing?” *snatches the license from my hand* “You can’t accept this!”
Me: “Why is that? I know that it isn’t a passport, but this is a government-issued ID, and his picture is on it, so I don’t see why I can’t accept it.”
Supervisor: “Well, this ID is not in our alphabet! You can only accept IDs written in our alphabet.”
Me: “First, since when is this a rule? Second, you’ve heard me speak with him for the past two minutes; you know that I speak the language. I can read this, and confirm that the credit card is his.”
Supervisor: “It has to be in our alphabet! You have to be able to read it to accept it.”
Me: “But… [Supervisor], I can read it!”
Supervisor: “Hmph, I’ll let it slide for today, but don’t do that again!”
(I asked the store manager the next day. That rule doesn’t exist.)
California, Funny Names, Language & Words, Pharmacy, Sacramento, USA | | Right | May 19, 2018
(I’m the customer in this story. I’ve just seen my doctor for the first time, and she’s sent down a prescription for me to the pharmacy downstairs. I make it up to the window, and there are a ton of people down there, so it’s a little noisy.)
Clerk: “It looks like your prescription isn’t ready yet, but I’m going to write down your name so we can call you when it’s ready. Can you give me your name?”
Me: *gives name*
Clerk: “And who’s your doctor?”
Me: “Dr. Fu.”
Clerk: “Sorry, it’s a little loud, I didn’t quite hear that. Can you spell your doctor’s name for me?”
Me: “Sure. It’s F-U.” *pause* “Oh, my God, that’s not what I meant!”
Extra Stupid, Patients, Pharmacy, USA | | Healthy | May 12, 2018
Customer: “These things don’t work! They are hard to swallow and I nearly choked to death.”
Me: “Ma’am, they are suppositories. You don’t swallow them; you insert them rectally.”
Customer: “What does that mean?”
Me: “You unwrap them and insert them in your rectum.”
Customer: “What’s my rectum?”
Me: “Ma’am, please forgive me, but your rectum is your butthole.”
Customer: “Well, up yours, too!” *stalks off*
(This is not the first time someone misunderstood when we explained how to use a suppository. It’s the only time we can tell a patient, “Up yours,” and get away with it!)
Extra Stupid, Health & Body, Pharmacy, USA | Right | May 9, 2018
(Sadly, I’m the stupid customer in this one. I have bronchitis and have just made it home from the pharmacy with my cough syrup. When I open the bag, I notice the cup that you use to take the medicine isn’t in there, so I call the pharmacy.)
Pharmacist: “Thank you for calling [Pharmacy]. This is [Pharmacist]. How can I help you?”
Me: “Hi. This is [My Name]. I just picked up my prescription for [cough syrup], and when I got home I saw that it didn’t have the cup thing you use to take it with.”
Pharmacist: “I’m sorry, [My Name]. Do you want to come back and pick one up?”
Me: “Well, I have to take the bus, and I don’t want to get everyone else sick, too.”
Pharmacist: “Okay, well, do you bake?”
Me: *slightly confused* “Yes?”
Pharmacist: “Then you can use the teaspoon measuring spoon from your baking set.”
Me: “But… but… I need medicine teaspoons, not baking teaspoons.”
Criminal & Illegal, Dayton, Ohio, Pharmacy, USA | Right | May 4, 2018
(I work in the pharmacy of a large drug store chain. A few weeks prior to this incident, a man came in and was acting twitchy. He eventually shoved some greeting cards down his pants and put a beer in his pocket before leaving. Shoplifting is hard to prove, but we got it on camera. On a day I am working, he comes back in with some prescriptions. I start putting them in; I have no idea about the previous incident.)
Lead Tech: “Stop! Don’t fill his stuff. [Manager] said since we got him stealing on camera, we can ask him to leave.”
(He goes to alert the pharmacist of the situation.)
Pharmacist: “[Shoplifter]! I am sorry, but I can’t fill this prescription for you.”
Shoplifter: “Why not? I need my medicine.”
Pharmacist: “Sir, last time you were in, we caught you stealing on camera, and we are choosing not to serve you. Please take your prescriptions elsewhere.” *hands him back his papers*
Shoplifter: *takes them* “It was only a beer!”
(He did end up taking his prescriptions and leaving, and the pharmacist filled me in on the previous incident. We were all so shocked that he admitted to stealing, and then also tried to act like it was okay!)
New York, Pharmacy, Rude & Risque, USA | Healthy | April 19, 2018
(I have just started my first job at a local pharmacy and convenience store, and it is my third day of training. I am standing behind the counter with an older coworker of mine. We hear the door open, and look over.)
Customer: *quickly walks through the doors and to the other end of the floor, where the pharmacy is*
Me: *looking at my coworker* “Was she…”
Coworker: *taking a sip of an energy drink* “…not wearing any pants? Welcome to the job, kid.”
Extra Stupid, New York, Pharmacy, USA | Right | April 16, 2018
(I am the dumb customer in this instance. The store that I work at has a pharmacy in it, where I get all of my medications. The store has a policy in the pharmacy where the first three letters of the customers names are printed on the bags you pick up your prescriptions in. The first time I go to pick up a prescription there, I have never seen this before. Upon picking up my prescription, I see the first three letters of my last name.)
Bosses & Owners, Indiana, New Hires, Pharmacy, USA | Working | April 9, 2018
(I get hired for [Popular Pharmacy Chain] and go through their training. It’s all through their computer system, with videos and quizzes. There’s a thirty-minute session on “branded greetings,” which explains how I have to say the same things during every transaction so customers always have a uniform experience at every store in the chain. I feel like a robot doing this, but I’m good at the spiel after about a week. Then, my manager pulls me aside.)
Manager: “Why are you using branded greetings?”
Me: *thinking this is a test* “Um… so that every customer gets the same treatment at every store and we deliver a uniform experience.”
Manager: “We haven’t used those in years. People said we sounded like robots, and corporate made us stop.”
Me: “Well, it’s still in the training.”
Manager: “Oh, well, you don’t have to do that anymore. I apparently have to update the training software.” *runs off*
Dublin, Employees, Ireland, Jerk, Pharmacy | Working | April 3, 2018
(I am in a well-known UK-based pharmacy and drugstore, looking for a hand cream. I am wearing ripped jeans, combat boots, and a leather jacket, and have very short hair. I smile at the staff as I walk in and set off in search of the right aisle, minding my own business. As I open a tube to smell the cream, the worker beside the door rushes up and snatches the bottle out of my hand.)
Worker: “Can you not open the products? What are you looking for?”
Me: “Oh, sorry, I was just smelling it. I’m fine, thanks.”
(I think that’s the end of it, as she stalks off. I pick up my items and turn the corner, checking out the makeup. As I swatch a lipstick tester, the same worker storms up and glares at me.)
Worker: “I said don’t open the products! You’ll have to pay for it now!”
Me: “Excuse me? This is a tester, and I haven’t even touched it yet!”
Worker: “Fine. Sit down. I’ll match a colour to you. You clearly need it; whoever matched your current foundation must be colour-blind.”
Me: *taken aback by the sheer rudeness of this woman* “Er. No, thanks.”
(I walked away, irritated, but still with some time to kill before my bus home, so I browsed some other items. I could see the worker following me closely and glaring if I so much as reached out towards a product. Eventually, I had enough. I went to the till, with her following. The girl at the checkout scanned my items and my loyalty card and told me my total. As I handed her my money, the rude worker stormed over and grabbed the iodine pen, scribbling all over my note, a smug grin on her face. I waited as nothing happened to my money, and silently fumed as I was handed my receipt. I felt her glare boring into my back as I left the shop, seriously having to bite down on my tongue to stop myself from yelling at her. I get that workers are supposed to upsell and offer assistance, but judging me outright by my appearance, being incredibly rude about my makeup, and being convinced I’m a thief with no reason is taking it a bit far.)
Holidays, Ignoring & Inattentive, Louisiana, Metaire, Pharmacy, USA | Right | April 1, 2018
(It’s Easter Sunday. My parents, my grandmother, and I are coming back from an early dinner out at an uptown restaurant and we stop to pick up some prescriptions for my grandmother at an old pharmacy where the restroom is in the back room. This exchange occurs just as I exit the back room after using the restroom.)
Customer: “Excuse me. I’m looking for [Specific Allergy Brand], but I can’t find it, and this is the allergy aisle. Would it be anywhere else?”
Me: “I have no idea, sorry. Um, good luck.”
(The customer muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t hear as I was walking away. During this exchange I was wearing a cocktail dress and heels, and she looked right at me as she was asking her question.)
Australia, Ignoring & Inattentive, Melbourne, Non-Dialogue, Pharmacy, Victoria | Healthy | March 12, 2018
I have an eight-and-a-bit-month-old child, and I’ve been having some pain during sex, so I book in to see my OB-GYN.
The appointment is really straightforward and I’m told to go get a cream. I also have a birth control rod inserted whilst I’m there. I wander over to the pharmacy and hand over my script. I’m not asked for my Medicare card, but I’m asked if I have concession.
I reply no, with no more thought into the answer. I wait and collect my script and note that I’ve been charged a concession price. Not thinking too much into it, and thinking that I must have one linked to my Medicare card, I pay the $12.80 instead of $50 to $80 for my items and head back across the road.
I get the rod implanted and continue about my day, a bit perplexed how I got charged concession. It’s not until later that night when I’m reading the script again that I realise they’ve put it under the wrong name. I’m a Mrs. [My Name], and they put it under a Mr. [Same Name].
I burst out laughing that they have given a man vaginal cream and contraception, at an OB-GYN.
Bad Behavior, Bizarre, Kentucky, Louisville, Pharmacy, USA | Right | March 8, 2018
(I go into the store to pick up some photo prints I ordered online. Unfortunately, before I can get to the counter another customer beats me to the unmanned counter. As she approaches she immediately begins yelling.)
Customer: “CAN SOMEONE COME OVER HERE AND HELP ME?!”
(An employee approaches the counter.)
Customer: “I ordered these prints online; I need them.”
Employee: “Okay, what name are they under?”
Customer: “I don’t know; I don’t know if they made it.”
Employee: “You don’t know?”
Customer: “I used this app and it won’t send. You need to just do it.”
Employee: “I’m sorry. We aren’t allowed to—”
Customer: *sighs dramatically* “Well, what am I supposed to do?”
Employee: “You need to click on—”
Customer: “I already did that.”
Employee: “Well, try it again.”
Customer: “There, see? Now what?!”
Employee: “So, now, you need to—”
Customer: “This is stupid! I’m just going to go back to the main menu. So, what do I do from here?”
(The employee attempts several times to guide the customer through the process, and she continues to cut her off and ignore her suggestions. The customer appears to be in a huge hurry, and is obviously aggravated. Finally, after a few minutes.)
Customer: *about the app* “This is a joke. This is a total joke. Fine. Whatever. We’ll do this on Facebook.” *she takes a few minutes to find the picture she wants, all the while muttering* “I left those kids at the park. I left those d*** kids at the park… There, this picture. Can I just crop everyone out except this one person?”
Employee: “Well, what that will do is it will still be the same size and—”
Customer: “Is there any other way we can do this?!”
Employee: “You can hook your phone up to the photo kiosk, but it will download all of your photos.”
Customer: “This is ridiculous! I can’t get this Internet to work. My man is going to kill me; I left those d*** kids at the park.”
Employee: “We don’t get a good connection in the store.”
Customer: “I HAVE WI-FI.”
Employee: “We don’t have Wi-Fi here.”
Customer: “YOU MEAN I’M GOING TO HAVE TO GO OUT TO MY CAR TO GET ON THE INTERNET?!”
Employee: “You probably would have better luck in the back of the parking lot, yes.”
Customer: *stomps out while muttering* “I left those kids at the park.”
(I still can’t understand what could possibly be so important about this picture that she had to leave her children at the park to go get it!)
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