In pharmacy school, we learned to counsel patients on everything from side effects and interactions to nutritional and dietary restrictions. Included in this latter area of concern were items to avoid that contraindicated health conditions. A good example of this would be counseling a diabetic patient on purchasing a Snickers bar when picking up an Insulin prescription. However, once you’ve been told – “It’s none of your damn business whether I get this bar or not. You don’t know what it’s like to be me, okay.” You NEVER counsel another patient on anything again. Just kidding, but you get the idea. It’s ugly, but true. Regardless, the cornerstone of the pharmacy profession remains counseling.
Kind of ironic that this is one of the only real things I remember from school. Yeah, the technical stuff is up there in the vast abyss that is my intellect. The reality of retail is not that. It’s the patient buying the Snickers. In this age of instant information and formidable testimonials (sarcastic tone), the patient IS educated. Almost too much. But then to what extent? Furthermore, things have changed SO much in the some thirty years since I sat my sorry ass down in Room 101 Pharmacy Building at the University of Iowa. If I were to do it all again today, I doubt I would even make it into school now, let alone graduate. Nor would I have want to for that matter.
So, what’s the reason for this rambling?
3pm – unsettling, random thought about the state of health care attitudes.
Actually that thought really isn’t random at all. It’s constant. And, I’ve witnessed its evolution. Furthermore, I AM convinced no one does get better or really cares. Patients just continue along complaining about ailments without doing anything to remedy their current health condition. Then, just because medication DOES fix everything – immediately – another prescription is written to satisfy this ‘illusion’ that has become the hypocrisy that is health care.
Who’s to blame? Everyone BUT the patient. And, the damn Snickers bar, of course.
Don’t worry – the rant stops here. I paused, took a deep breath, and sang a few scales. So, I’m better. As for the state of health care attitudes, I’m not as optimistic. That’s why I choose Random Nonsense. Making fun of douche bags with butterfly tattoos is so much more … satisfying.
