Farmersis
Washington, DC
Female, 32
I've worked as a pharmacist in multiple settings, including retail (think Walgreens), a hospital, a nursing home, an outpatient clinic, and a regulatory agency. Over the past decade, I've counted more pills than Pfizer, Merck, and Lindsay Lohan combined. Ask me anything!
Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to catch my mistakes before they actually reach a patient. Mistakes can occur at any point in the dispensing process though. When I was an intern (a long time ago), a patient came to pick up his medications at the pharmacy but was given another patient's bag of medications. He didn't realize it until a few days later when he noticed the pills look different. It turned out he shared the same last name (no relations) and first name initial with another patient. So when they ask you a million and one questions to verify who you are at the pharmacy, there's a reason for that!
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No, the wait to get a prescription filled is not a ploy to get you to shop in the store. Most retail chain store pharmacists could care less whether you buy anything in the store. If you can wait 45 minutes for a souffle, you should want to wait 20 minutes to make sure you don't get a medication that can potentially kill you.
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Contrary to popular belief, pharmacists do not "just count pills." Pharmacists have to understand the disease states, how the medications work, potential side effects of medications, and possible drug interactions. Now think about how many diseases and medications are out there today. Yeah, I'd say an advanced degree is required.
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Great question! Unfortunately, I'm going to refrain from naming actual drug names to remain unbiased. I believe that the lack of drugs available OTC in the US compared to other countries is primarily because we're "sue-happy." When a drug is available OTC, the assumption is that the consumer is able to determine which OTC drug is appropriate for the symptoms or disease they have, how to monitor the treatment, and when to seek help from a healthcare professional. I'll let you be the judge of which drugs should be prescription and which should be OTC!
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Bar Mitzvah DJ
Why are DJ's so unwilling to accommodate song requests?
Hotel Employee
Can you give guests room upgrades at your sole discretion?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
I've heard that a lot of startups are hiring really well-educated college grads and paying them a lot, reasoning that customer service is often a client's most lasting impression of a brand. What do you think, and is it something you see spreading?
If a customer becomes belligerent, I will call the manager, who will probably call the police if the person looks like he or she is out of control.
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As a pharmacist, I can't tell you to take expired pills. As a patient, I will tell you that I do, but I'm not saying that you should do what I do. There are medications that I would not take if they are expired, such as antibiotics, birth control pills, or "narrow therapeutic" drugs. Ask your local pharmacist if the drug you're taking is a "narrow therapeutic drug."
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The ones that get angry at pharmacists for things out of their control, such as your insurance will not cover your very-expensive pills or your very-expensive doctor will not return phone calls.
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