Conversation with another group of more senior pharmacists makes me realise one thing. They all have more or less the same ideas, thoughts, perceptions, denials, etc which is why this profession is at the dismal state as it is now.
I mentioned about the training programme is not training us to be pharmacist but training us to be a worker in that training site. What we do in retail setting is vastly different from what we do in hospital which is also vastly different from what we do in primary care setting. Once the training is over, add in the industry into a mix and it just shows how fragmented and disunited the profession is. I guess this is why stupid terms like "community pharmacist", "hospital pharmacist" (make that into outpatient and inpatient pharmacists), "industrial pharmacists", etc. So are you proud with this kind of differentiation?
Take a look into other professions. Do doctors say "I am a hospital doctor, you are a GP, they are polyclinic doctor"? No. They are proud to say "I am a DOCTOR." Period. Same thing as nurses and dentists and lawyers. They are proud of their professions and they do not attempt to inflate their ego by inputting prefixes to indicate where they work. And mind you, I am not talking about specialisation here. That is a different matter altogether.
During my sharing, I worded it as "It is not easy for us to jump ship". Which is true! We do vastly different things. Those in hospitals are so used with all the IMRs and lab readings and IV and etc while those in retail know better about self-medications and inventory managements etc. To change job, it is like taking a huge leap of faith. For example, if I am from retail, I know nuts (not that I know nothing) about IMRs, labs, IV etc. Similarly, if I am from hospital to jump into retail, I know nuts about the various documentations, the inventory managements, orderings, bla bla bla.. Again compare with other professions. Regardless of the settings, all doctors know how to do physical examinations, make diagnosis, write prescriptions etc. All nurses know how to wound care and patient care etc. That is what a profession should be. We should be equipped with the same sets of skills so we can do what the profession calls us to do, regardless of the setting. What is the point of the self differentiation and classification just to prove that you are doing something different from your fellow professional in other places? Dumb!
Next is public perception. If my memory does not fail me, right from first year in university, I was taught the definition of profession and it includes the part on how public value us. And this is where our delusional, egoistical, self-inflated ego people fail big time. They "think" we are important. Now we no longer sell drugs. Our sale point is counselling. Frankly, ask the public, how many people think they need our counselling? People go to doctor when they are sick (I am talking about the real sick ones, not those who only want to get MC) because they want to get the diagnosis, get treated, and get well. People go to nurses to have their wound patched up etc. People go to dentists to get their mouth cleaned and fixed. The question is: do people come to pharmacist wanting our expertise i.e our counselling? I think for the huge majority, it is a NO. They want the medicines. Some medicines are recommended by doctors or they have been taking it for a long time so they see pharmacists as a barrier. Isn't it common to hear "I have been taking this for the longest time. Can't you please shut up and just give it to me! I know what it is for bla bla bla"? Of course there is a minority who comes for the advise and I am thankful for them. Unfortunately, only a MINORITY.
As usual, when I throw the issue of public perception to the delusional, self-inflated old birds, they will use the same old weapon: so how are you gonna use your medical expertise? I don't know the answer.. And I hope they can tell me how you want to add value to "Take this 1 tablet 3x times a day. It may cause drowsiness"? Isn't it written on the label? I can read that. Do not waste my time. Wait, we know MORE than that. We can say ALL the side effects. Oops, that will make people scared. Hmm how about showing off that we know about the PK or MOA of the drugs! Oh please, who give a damn about it!
So dear old birds, please come out with your "$1 million-worth of counselling style" if there is indeed any. And it is time to accept and face the truth that there is lack of public perception. It is not a matter of how well you can calm a demanding patient or your exceptional customer service or how well you are in stopping people from lodging a complaint. That does not make people respect what you do. Fine if you think that your role is to provide excellent customer service. You know, nothing actually beats our customer service. Supermarkets do not exchange someone's eggs if that person comes on the following day saying that they dropped their eggs. But we must follow someone's demand of a replacement because that person drops his cough mixture or loses their bags of medicines in the bus stop. Well done. Supermarket do not do refund if prices go down or there are sales. Only in pharmacy that you can throw tantrum that you have been overcharged because now things are cheaper with the new subsidies and you demand for a refund since 4 visits prior to the subsidies. Well done. But the big question is: does all this so-called-customer-service stuff make people respect the profession?
I will end my post here.. I am not gonna go into customer service side because I am sure I have ranted about it many many times before..
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