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Is there a pharmacist on the Plane?

by Zygote on February 8th, 2010 - Gossip, Little do they know, Pharmacy Phun

House PharmD

Every day after work/internship (yes I’m still a Pharmacy Student) I like to simply plant myself on the couch and indulge myself with some good ol’ fashioned pre-dinner TV enjoyment. Before I start compounding my fabulously well thought out dinner, as a true pharmacist does, I like to surf the channels for some 30 to 60 minutes. I often find myself ending the search for digital-mindless-satisfaction with one of our well know, and very much respected TV-doctors. My personal favourite is House MD, but I don’t mind looking at Dr. Izzie Stevens with her colleagues McSteamy and McDreamy either. If the TV isn’t as good as normal (read: “it’s Sunday”) I often settle for an older version of the hot 21st century doctors, Dr. Ross, whom I understand still roams the mind of most women…

I often think: “What is it that makes the work and life of a doctor so interesting that millions of people want to follow their every day lives, seven seasons long?!?” It just amazes me that people obviously dislike their work so much, they would rather go home and watch other people work on a television. Before the doctor series, there were of course the lawyer series, of which Ally McBeal was by far the most successful. A multi-million dollar show about lawyers; a group of people that we make more fun of than any other profession. Other people’s work we like to watch after our own day of work include: cops, firemen and paramedics, detectives (or rather crime scene investigators), nurses and even housewives…but NEVER the life of a pharmacist!! It’s like the joke people make about dermatologists: “Is there a doctor in the house?” “I’m a doctor slash dermatologist, does he have a rash?” “We need a real doctor here…”. What then do people think a pharmacist does? Why don’t the masses want to follow a pharmacist in his every day life? The only famous pharmacist on an A-rank show I know is the pharmacist in desperate housewives, and of course Mort Goldman.

Obviously it would be a rather dull show if we were to follow a pharmacist to his community pharmacy and let the plot be set by what people think we do. The show would probably just be a half-hour of some person in a white coat, stepping behind his mighty counter and putting pills from a big jar into a little jar, or as we do in Holland, from a drawer into your hand. The steps between the handing in of the prescription and the final dispensing of the drug, those are hardly ever seen, or understood. And let’s be honest here, the amazingly fast lab-work those people do in CSI/House/Grey’s Anatomy, you name it…That is the work a pharmacist does, toxicology! I would really like to see what a show that follows a group of pharmacists and is directed and scripted by the masterminds behind House and ER would bring to life!

In The Netherlands pharmacists are struggling to show the world what we actually do and why we are so essential in the healthcare system. Many tactics have been applied to try and get the word out. We used commercials, tried to get the pharmacist to get back behind the counter, make the pharmacy more transparent, etcetera, etcetera. All in vain. So let’s get together the most “LA-compatible” pharmacists around, and prepare them for a world of Hollywood fabulousness. Show the world a life so exciting, and so engaging, they’ll come running to the pharmacies for real-life pharmacy experiences. Let’s make the moms be disappointed if their daughters tell them they’re marrying a brain surgeon, when they could have had a pharmacist…

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Happy Birthday Diet Coke!

by Elixir on January 27th, 2010 - Anecdotes, Little do they know

070815_coke_vmed_11awidecIt came to my attention earlier today that  in my current country of residence (as well as neighbouring lands, I discovered), Diet Coke turned 25 years old!  What delicious news! Being a big fan myself I celebrated by enjoying two frosty cans throughout the course of the day, and could have very well sucked back another had I not already turned frosty on the inside from our rather inclimate weather.

Rather non sequitur news for a our little POQD forum, but it’s not uncommon knowledge that  Coca Cola was invented by a pharmacist, one John Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia, in the late 1800’s. Until ~1903 the drink contained extracts of cocaine and caffeine-full kola nut – ZING!!! Large scale success of the drink is actually due to yet ANOTHER pharmacist, Asa Candler, who bought the formula from the inventor and, thanks to his marketing savvy, launched the product on the road to the global conquest  it has achieved today.

It has been said that 94% of the world’s population can recognize the Coca Cola brand; over 10 000 Cokes are said to be consumed around the world EACH second of EACH day. That’s a wholllllllle lotta coke. Not to mention the basic invention of the North American image of Santa Clause and  countless catchy jingles determined to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.

Such global expansion is not without controversy, however, with many developing countries (more so those often plagued by drought) continuously protesting the mining of ground water for Coca Cola manufacturing rather than public consumption and agriculture.

Like it, hate it, addicted to it or indifferent, the world can’t dispute the global mega-brand that is Cocal Cola. And, all thanks to a pharmacist. At a time of mass manufacturing and billion dollar Rx&D, could a pharmacist of today ever hope to leave such a legacy? Food (and drink) for thought.

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Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist

by Elixir on January 24th, 2010 - Anecdotes, Little do they know

FP-boxcoverI sort of wish I had made this title up, but, sadly, I haven’t.  Which may come as a huge surprise to many, as it did for me, is that Freddie Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist is actually a video game, and judging from the mind-boggling graphics and all-encompassing theme of the game I’d put its creation and release circa early-90’s, otherwise known as the Dawn of Gaming Enlightenment.  The game itself seems to be some sort of weird twist on a Western, with Freddie charged with concocting pharmaceutical “potions”. I’ve read the gaming cartridge even came with the Modern Day Book of Health and Hygiene, certainly essential for surviving the days of the gold rush and otherwise questionable sanitation.

It’s hard not to be drawn in by Freddie’s trusty, galloping steed and loyal sidekick Srini Lalkaka Bagdnish, fresh off the boat from India (perhaps already doing reconnaissance work for the emerging generics market in the Homeland) . The image results even brought in over 4500 hits…I mean where has Freddie BEEN all my professional life? Perhaps sipping the sarsparilla with Whittlin’  Willy or fightin’  the evil-doings of the Lever Bros (which I find a very clever if unintended shot at Unilever).

I’m not sure if I think this is funny or just absolutely stupid. Would also be curious to know what  Pharmaciens Sans Frontieres (Pharmacists Without Borders) thinks…somehow I’d guess their work encompasses more than referencing the Modern Day Book of Health and Hygiene.

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What do we want?

by Elixir on January 21st, 2010 - Little do they know

what-do-you-want-to-do-bw-2-125x8

I had some interesting meetings at work today, almost exclusively with people who are not pharmacists yet are charged with figuring out what pharmacists want and how we can give it to them. Tricky. Guess that’s why I’m on board…to lend my “once a real pharmacist” opinion that I’m not really sure is taken seriously, as most times I feel like the perpetual and overly-enthusiastic newbie, the one who everyone humours with nods and inquisitive glances yet mutually snickers at once absent. I guess Bridget Jones said it best:  I feel like an idiot MOST of the time.

But I digress. Today what left me more baffled than the usual self-doubt is that, I honestly don’t KNOW what pharmacists want. And I’m not really sure the myriad of pharmacists around the world know either.

There are countless committees, organisations, licensing bodies,  government programmes etc etc ETC that are certainly quick to tell us what we should want: a better image, more respect within healthcare circles, payment for thinking not counting, prescribing rights and countless other opportunities/responsibilities that create the illusion that once achieved, professional happiness is guaranteed. All together these are like the Snickers of professionalism – always satisfying.

Truth be told, I don’t think the majority of pharmacists do want all of these aspects of a growing profession. And if they do, the majority of those want it for others, not themselves. A perfect case in point is the example of  increased reimbursement of pharmacists’ cognitive services in the UK, a programme run a couple years ago, supported by both the government and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB). Although I can’t seem to find the study  at the moment, I clearly remember that only a fraction of pharmacists eligible actually billed for cognitive services, logic dictating that they did not provide any of significance enough to bill for.

Disappointing, at the least.

So, what DO pharmacists want? What do YOU want?

What I want and hope for all of my colleagues is that each  finds happiness and satisfaction in where they take their career in pharmacy, as that is the true an advantage of the times – no one can complain that the opportunities are not there for the taking.

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