The rules of the game as they are designed by CVS and Rite-Aid make the game unwinnable unless you are going to operate as a glorified technician. It must be downright painful for pharmacists with high personal standards and respect for professional ethics. I can understand the bitterness. I can understand the feelings of despair. I can see the anger. Just don’t forget:
It’s the JOB, Stupid. There is nothing wrong with the PROFESSION.
Jim’s post rings home for many pharmacists that live in the retail world. Not the community pharmacy world, which is entirely different, but the retail world.
I’ve tried retail pharmacy a couple of times during my career, and found that it was a terrible work environment that had nothing to do with patient care or pharmacy practice. Because it was so crummy I left and moved on to greener pastures. I’ve never regretted that decision; not for a second.
I think it’s worth noting that I posted about this almost one year ago to the day (What to do, the case of the unhappy pharmacist – October 19, 2010). In that post I stated that “I see retail pharmacists continually complaining about their work environment, their patients/customers, their employers, their hours, their lack of help, the general lack of quality personnel, etc. What I don’t see are those same pharmacists doing anything to change it.†I see that nothing much has changed.
My advice to pharmacists that work in a retail environment where they aren’t respected and are treated like crap, leave. Leave, stop working there, find something else, quit, don’t take it anymore, or whatever you need to tell yourself to find something better. Sometimes it really is that simple.
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.†― Leo Tolstoy. Just sayin’.
Make sure to hop on over to Jim’s site and read the entire post. It’s worth five minutes of your time.
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