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.
Pharmacy, Retail | San Francisco, CA, USA | Right | November 16, 2016
(A male customer comes in, walks up to the counter, and puts a package of batteries on the counter.)
Customer: “I want to return these.”
Me: “May I have your receipt, please?”
Customer: “I don’t have a receipt.”
Me: “Then I will need a government issued ID.”
Customer: “I have a college ID.”
Me: “I am sorry, sir. It must be a valid government issued ID.”
(He hands me the college ID.)
Me: “I am sorry, sir. This ID isn’t government issued.”
Customer: “Fine, then I won’t return ’em. Stupidest f****** rule ever.”
(The customer proceeds to wander around the store looking around, and then returns to the front counter with his hands empty.)
Customer: “I lost my batteries.”
Me: “Okay, sir, I can have an employee help you look for them.”
(I wave an employee over and assign him to help the customer look for the batteries. They head out to the floor to look. The customer selects a few items as he is looking around. Then all of a sudden, with his hands full, he casually walks right past the cashier and out the front door. I walk up to the doorway and yell.)
Me: “Sir, you need to come back in and pay for those items.”
Customer: “Why? You stole my d*** batteries!”
(I watch him get in his car. I get the license plate number and call the police and give them a general direction the customer headed. The police call me back fifteen minutes later.)
Officer: “We caught the suspect. He was trying to return the items you described as stolen to the [Drugstore] across the street from you.”
Me: “What?! Wow! Okay … uh… hmm.”
Officer: “Yeah, I know. Sometimes I can’t wrap my mind around how some people can be so stupid either.”
(My dad is the pharmacy manager and is bringing me in to job shadow him and his coworkers. My dad is well-known and well liked among most of his customers and has never shown anyone disrespect before, being an easy-going and reasonable man. He’s in the middle of unlocking the pharmacy as it is ten minutes before opening, and already there is someone at the drive-thru.)
Customer: *immediately as the technician turns on the speaker* “Why aren’t you guys answering your d*** phone?!”
Technician: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we only just opened. Can I help you with anything?”
Customer: “You can get me my prescription. How dare you keep me waiting any longer than I already have?!” *note that she only just got here, as have we*
Technician: “All right, ma’am. Just one moment.”
(The technician takes her information before turning around and give me a knowing exaggerated look. I resist giving the customer the finger as she huffs and turns to her daughter in the passenger seat who rolls her eyes as the technician talks to my dad. My dad comes over to speak with her and give her her medicine.)
Dad: “I’m really sorry for the wait, ma’am, but we haven’t opened the pharmacy yet. Here is your prescription.”
Customer: “You WOULD’VE known I was coming if you just answered your d*** phone!”
Dad: *with high level of patience and positivity that I can only ever hope to achieve* “I’m sorry ma’am, but again, we have only just started opening the pharmacy. There was no one here to answer the phone until two minutes ago. I hope you have a good day.”
Customer: “Don’t get snappy with me! You should always answer the phone!” *drives off*
Dad: *shrugs at me* “She’s not a regular. She probably doesn’t know our hours.”
(Everyone got back to work and the rest of the day went on pretty peacefully. It was only later that my dad checked the phone and found thirteen unheard messages, from 2:43 am, 3:11 am, 4:13 am, etc. All of them had no actual messages and were silent. Three guesses who they were all from and the first two don’t count.)
Clerk #1 : *continues ringing up items* “This is on sale. If you’d had your card, you could have had the discount. Ooh, this one would have been a BIG discount if you’d had a card.”
(Our pharmacy automatically substitutes a generic for brand name medication when a generic is available. The exception is if the doctor writes “brand name only,” or the patient specifically requests brand name. Of course, the generic names aren’t as well known, so the customers will sometimes be confused as to what prescription they have until we explain that the medication is a generic and does the exact same thing as the brand, though at a lower cost. The information about the drug is also printed on a pamphlet, including the brand names, in case they don’t believe us.)
Me: “Hello, [Pharmacy]. [My Name] speaking. How can I help?”
Customer: “I didn’t get [Brand Sleep Medication]. I got it with something extra! I just want the regular type.”
Me: “I’m sorry, something extra?”
Customer: “Yeah I got [poorly pronounced Generic] instead, and you guys gave me extra.”
Me: “Ma’am, that’s the generic name of [Brand]; there’s nothing extra in it.”
Customer: “I don’t want the extended release, just the [Brand].”
Me: “Ma’am, that IS the regular strength. That’s just the name they use.”
Customer: *finally getting the point* “So, this [Brand]?”
Me: *giving up trying to explain generic* “Yes, ma’am, it is [Brand].”
Customer: “So there’s nothing extra in it?”
Me: “Right. Here, what’s your name, so I can look it up?”
(She gives me her name and DOB so I can verify she does in fact have the generic.)
Me: “Okay, I looked it up, that is the [Brand], regular strength.”
Customer: *finally getting the idea* “Okay, thank you!”
(I get off the phone, and the pharmacist, who has been listening to my call the whole time, is trying not to laugh as he’s talking.)
Pharmacist: “So she DIDN’T have ‘extra stuff’ in her medication?”
Me: “No, she didn’t. It was just [Generic]. Why don’t they just read the information labels?”
Pharmacist: “That would take away half of our job description.”
(We are going to close soon, but we aren’t very busy and she’s getting an important medication, so I can get it ready for her if she needs it tonight.)
Me: “Sure thing. Did you want to get this tonight or come back tomorrow?”
Customer: “Oh, I need it tonight. When will it be done?”
Me: “Well, we close at six, so before then!”
Customer: “Oh, you can’t get it ready any sooner…?”
Me: “Uh… It’s 5:45 right now.”
Customer: *in a snippy tone* “Well, how was I supposed to know?! I’m not wearing a watch!”
(I work in a pharmacy. A youngish woman approaches the counter.)
Customer: “I’m here to pick up my daughter’s prescription.”
Me: “Of course. Can I get her name and DOB?” *She gives it and I look it up* “I’m sorry, but we don’t have it here.”
Customer: “The doctor should’ve called it in two days ago. It’s all right, though, I can use my DEA to call it in.” *a series of numbers and letters used to identify doctors*
(I’m a little surprised. She doesn’t really look old enough to prescribe.)
Me: “Ma’am, are you a doctor?”
Customer: “No, but I have a DEA.”
Me: “Well, that might not be necessary. It might be on hold at drop off.”
Customer: “All right, I’ll check there first.”
(She goes to the other counter, and I lose track of her with my own customers. About 30 or 45 minutes later, she comes back to pick up her daughter’s prescription.)
Me: “Oh, glad she got her [prescription].”
Customer: “Yeah, it wasn’t over there, though. Glad I could take care of her and call it in without having to call the doctor. ”
(It’s late on a Sunday afternoon, when most doctor’s offices are closed.)
Me: “It must be reassuring you can always get her medicine. You could do it too if you had an NPI [other set of identifying numbers, necessary for calling in narcotics].”
Customer: “Oh, I have one of those, too, but I don’t really use it. I work at a women’s health clinic, so I’ve never prescribed those.”
(I work in a pharmacy in an area known for prescription drug abuse, and where narcotics are given out like candy. This was reassuring on her part.)
Me: “Oh. Here’s her prescriptions ”
(We do have a few patients that are doctors, and write their own prescriptions, and occasionally for their family that are also our patients. They’re usually arrogant, however, and argue prescription prices, drug types, etc. She was extremely nice, though. It made my day a little bit better.)
Pharmacy | The Woodlands, TX, USA | Right | October 11, 2016
(A woman, aged around 40, comes to pick up her prescription. I ask for the last name so I can find her in the system. It is a long complex last name, and our system requires full perfect spelling to bring it up. She spells it out slowly and condescendingly. I brush it off and get her prescription from our bin. When I walk back to the counter she throws a coupon at me. I had noticed her prescription was already billed to insurance AND coupon, so I ask her what’s it for.)
Woman: *rudely* “If you read it, you’d know.”
Me: “The reason I ask is because there is already a coupon applied.”
Woman: “Oh, well, it must’ve been automatically applied.”
(That isn’t possible; we bill them like insurance and it is somewhat a long process, especially when it’s a coordination of benefits. I say nothing to that and ask her to type in the last four digits of her phone number as one of our verification methods. Rudely again, she snaps.)
Woman: “Why would I do that?”
Me: “If you want your prescription, you must verify your number.”
Woman: “Well, that’s an invasion of my privacy.”
Me: “It’s to ensure the prescription goes to the correct person.”
(She reluctantly agreed and she dramatically covered the PIN pad all while grumbling as it as if it was a debit pin. Her prescription was in my hand and it contained her full name, address, and the full phone number she partially typed. She then began to make small talk as she handed me her cash. I gave her the change, and she stood at the counter staring at the receipt and recounting her change for literally 15 minutes. Since I was fairly new, my coworkers explained that she was notorious for being rude. When she comes through drive-thru, apparently she doesn’t speak a single word. She just throws her credit card into the drawer and expects us to know that she’s picking up.)
Pharmacy | QC, Canada | Friendly | October 4, 2016
(My friend and I browse the natural supplement section of the pharmacy. She hands me bottles of diet pills and I read the ingredients. Note that she cannot take any caffeine or green tea because of health problems.)
Friend: “What’s in this one?”
Me: “Caffeine, laxative, raspberries.”
Friend: “And this one?”
Me: “Caffeine and green tea.”
Friend: “And this one?”
Me: “It’s written GREEN TEA in gigantic green letters on the bottle.”
Health & Body, Jerk, LGBTQ, Pharmacy, UK | Working | November 1, 2017
(I’m picking up a prescription along with a couple of purchases.)
Cashier: “Here you are, sir. Also, would you be interested in our pregnancy tests?”
Me: “Uh, I’m male, so, no.”
Cashier: “Perhaps for your girlfriend?”
Me: “No?”
Cashier: “Come on, now. A strapping young man like yourself? It’s always good to be safe.”
Me: “I’m really not interested. I doubt a pregnancy test would even be effective with me. A condom sounds more reliable.”
Cashier: “Ah, but they can fail!”
Me: “It’s still a no.”
Cashier: *suddenly furious* “WELL, WHY NOT?”
Me: “Because I think it’s doubtful my boyfriend will come up to me and say he might be pregnant.”
Cashier: *pauses* “Oh, well, you didn’t have to be so rude!”
(After I paid and before the receipt printed, the cashier just walked away. The kicker: I go there every year for gay sexual health checkups. He actually knows my boyfriend and me well, and he has always known that I’m gay.)
Drug Store, Pharmacy | Michigan, USA | Healthy | October 31, 2017
(We have a giant inflatable ghost on display for Halloween. It doesn’t quite sit right and tends to lean to the side, so we frequently adjust it.)
Coworker: “[My name]! The ghost is falling again.”
Me: “Okay…”
(We spend about five minutes fiddling with it, until we get it to sit up right.)
Coworker: “Oh, no. His ascot got flipped backwards.”
(We proceed to grab boxes and stick-like things, trying to flip the ascot back around to no avail.)
Me: “OH! I’ve got it!”
(I run away with no explanation and return with a toy extendable lightsaber. I make the “vwing” noise and I flick it and extend the lightsaber. I succeed in straightening the ghost’s tie on the first attempt.)
Coworker: “…You just fixed the ascot of an inflatable ghost with a lightsaber.”
Bizarre, Extra Stupid, Pharmacy, USA | Working | October 28, 2017
(We have just switched to my husband’s insurance. He provides our information to HR, and it’s HR that actually provides it to the insurance company. I have a monthly-renewing prescription for birth control and this is the first time trying to pick it up under the new insurance.)
Me: “Hi, I’m [My Name] here to pick up a prescription.”
Pharmacist: *looks at computer* “Okay. Can I get you to verify the address for me?”
Me: “It’s [address].”
Pharmacist: “Um… I’ll go ahead and give it to you today, since I see you all the time, but you need to contact your insurance, ASAP. They listed your date of birth as [correct month and day], 2016.”
(I have no idea how his HR managed to list me as his spouse at less than one year old.)
California, Pharmacy, Stockton, USA | Healthy | October 26, 2017
(I work in a pharmacy as an intern, and on the weekends, we only have one pharmacist on duty. It is company policy that employees have to take their unpaid lunch by the fifth hour on the clock. This happens when our pharmacist is out to lunch.)
Tech: “Hello there. Are you picking up or dropping off?”
Patient: “Picking up.”
Tech: “I’m sorry, but our pharmacist is on lunch. We can’t sell any prescriptions without a pharmacist here.”
Patient: “Why the h*** not?!”
Tech: “I’m sorry, but it is against the law for us to do that.”
Patient: “Just give it to me! I drove all the way here!”
Tech: “I can’t; it’s against the law, and we have to have a pharmacist here.”
Patient: “There should always be a pharmacist here; it’s a pharmacy! Why the h*** aren’t they here?!”
Tech: “She’s on her lunch right now. She’ll be back at 1:30, but I can’t do anything until then.”
Patient: “I want to talk to a manager!”
Tech: *calls manager*
Manager: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t do anything until the pharmacist comes back from lunch. She has to take her lunch, too.”
Patient: “I’m complaining to corporate. What is their number? This is ridiculous!”
Manager: “It’s [number].”
(The patient storms off as the manager just shrugs.)
Manager: “Call all you want. What are they gonna do? Fire me for following the law?”
Pennsylvania, Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, USA | Healthy | October 25, 2017
(I am a pharmacy technician, not qualified to recommend drugs or dispense advice. Any questions about actual medicine, I am required to pass off to a pharmacist, even if I think I know the answer.)
Me: “Hello, how may I help you?”
Customer: *mumbling* “Um, I think I—” *mumbles* “—contact with bleach…”
Me: “I’m sorry, what? Could you repeat that?”
Customer: “I think I might have swallowed some bleach and was wondering if the pharmacist could recommend anything.”
Me: *trying not to look alarmed* “Well, if I were you, I would call the Poison Control Center, but I’ll check with the pharmacist.”
(I go back to the counter where the pharmacist is working.)
Me: “This guy says he might have ingested bleach and wants to know if you can recommend anything. I told him he should call the Poison Control Center.”
Pharmacist: “Yeah, that’s about it.”
(I go up to the front counter and repeat this advice to the customer.)
Customer: “Well, I drank some fluids and I’m feeling better now. I had some [soda], and some water, and some lemonade. My chest was hurting before but now it’s better. Do you know if bleach can make your chest hurt?”
Me: “Um… probably. If you swallowed bleach, it could hurt on the way down. You should probably call the Poison Control Center.”
Customer: “Eh, maybe I’ll call them tomorrow. If I’m not feeling better then, I can go to the emergency room, too.”
Me: “I would call them tonight if I were you, just to be safe. Do you want their number?”
(I write it down on the nearest piece of paper and hand it to him.)
Customer: “Yeah, thanks. I might call them tomorrow.”
(He wanders away, but comes back later. My coworker is an intern, studying to become a pharmacist, and gets to the counter first. I overhear their conversation.)
Customer: “I was wondering about water pills. What do they do?”
Coworker: “Um, they make you urinate.”
Customer: “Can I get some of those?”
Coworker: *realizing why he’s asking* “They don’t flush out your system; they’re used to lower blood pressure. And you would need a prescription.”
Customer: “Can I get one of those?”
Coworker: *bewildered* “We don’t give prescriptions here; we just fill them. You would need to go to a doctor.”
(The customer wanders away, apparently still confused about a lot of things.)
Me: “I hope he’s going to be okay.”
Pharmacist: “If he had really swallowed bleach, his throat would be burned. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but there’s nothing else we can do.”
Extra Stupid, Jerk, Money, Pennsylvania, Pharmacy, USA | Right | October 17, 2017
(Our chain has implemented a “roundup” feature; customers are asked if they want to round their total up to the nearest dollar, with the extra cents being donated to a children’s charity. The outcome means that it is impossible for the donation to ever be more than 99 cents.)
Customer: “What’s this prompt asking me?”
Me: “It’s asking if you want to round the total of your purchase up to the next dollar, and donate the extra to charity.”
(The customer hits yes before proceeding with her question.)
Customer: “Oh, now I remember. I think I donated two or three dollars with it the last time I was here. How much is it this time?”
Me: “Less than a dollar, ma’am.”
(The transaction proceeds normally, until we finally reach the end.)
Me: “All right, your total is $28.00.”
Customer: “It’s how much? Oh, no. That can’t be right!”
(She begins rummaging around in her wallet, still thinking aloud.)
Customer: “I’m sure I added everything up correctly, but I didn’t bring enough for that with me… Wait, I know! It was that donation! How much did you say it was?”
Me: “Less than a dollar?”
Customer: “Well, take it off. I’m sorry; I didn’t realize it was going to be so much.”
(I go ahead and cancel it, displaying her new total without the rounding.)
Me: “All right, your total is… $27.95, ma’am.”
(The customer promptly pulled out $28 in cash, and I handed her the nickel in change.)
New York, Pharmacy, Retail, USA | Unfiltered | October 11, 2017
(Certain Allergy medicines have to be purchased back in the pharmacy due to New York State law. You can get a script for them, but most people just buy it over the counter. At this time, Allegra-D 24 hr is completely unavailable.)
Customer: “I need to get Allegra-D 24-hour for my daughter.”
Cashier: “I’m sorry, but it’s currently unavailable right now. All we have is the 12 hour.”
Customer: “Really? You don’t have any?”
Cashier: “Yes. I’m sorry.”
Customer: “What is my daughter going to do? She needs it!”
(The Cashier shrugs sympathetically. The customer starts to walk away, but turns around.)
Customer: “If I call her doctor and get a script for it, will you have the Allegra-D ready for her then?”
New York, Pharmacy, Retail, USA | Unfiltered | October 11, 2017
(Certain Allergy medicines have to be purchased back in the pharmacy due to New York State law. You can get a script for them, but most people just buy it over the counter. At this time, Allegra-D 24 hr is completely unavailable.)
Customer: “I need to get Allegra-D 24-hour for my daughter.”
Cashier: “I’m sorry, but it’s currently unavailable right now. All we have is the 12 hour.”
Customer: “Really? You don’t have any?”
Cashier: “Yes. I’m sorry.”
Customer: “What is my daughter going to do? She needs it!”
(The Cashier shrugs sympathetically. The customer starts to walk away, but turns around.)
Customer: “If I call her doctor and get a script for it, will you have the Allegra-D ready for her then?”
California, Extra Stupid, Ignoring & Inattentive, Money, Pharmacy, USA | Right | September 25, 2017
(I work at a pharmacy where patients are asked to give their signature for insurance purposes, indicating that they have picked up their prescriptions, before they make their payment. Here is the basic conversation, all day, every day, at the pick-up counter.)
Cashier: “Before you swipe your card, can you please press ‘next’ on the screen and sign that you are picking up your medications?”
Customer: “Okay!” *swipes card anyway, then presses ‘next’ and signs*
Cashier: *annoyed* “Okay, you can slide your card now.”
Customer: *angry* “I already slid my card!”
Cashier: *rolls eyes* “Yes, but as I was saying, you need to press ‘next’ and sign first, and then slide your card. If you slide before signing, the terminal will not read your card.”
Customer: “Oh, okay! Well, I hope I don’t get charged twice!”
Cashier: *even more annoyed* “You won’t; trust me.”
(Customer slides card.)
Cashier: “Okay, now I need your signature for the purchase.”
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