During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
home, Lazy/Unhelpful, Louisiana, Medical Office, New Orleans, Patients, USA | Healthy | May 31, 2018
(I’m in the early stages of dating my partner, and one night he falls asleep while we are watching television. It’s the first time he’s ever fallen asleep with me present and I almost immediately notice that he appears to stop breathing in his sleep for LONG periods at a time between heavy snores and gasps for air. It’s so long that it scares me, and I go to wake him up, but his own snort/gasp wakes himself up before I can.)
Me: “Did you know that you stop breathing in your sleep?”
Partner: “What are you talking about? I just snore really loudly is all.”
Me: “YES. It freaked me out.”
(He dismisses my concerns and we go back to watching television. Shortly after, he falls asleep again and I pull out my camera to record this time. It’s the weirdest and most horrifying thing to watch his back and neck muscles strain while he stops breathing for up to 45 seconds at a time — yes, I timed it. He wakes up again, and I’m prepared.)
Me: “You have to watch this. You need to go to the doctor to get this checked out. Of the three minutes I recorded, you didn’t breathe for 170 seconds!”
Partner: *after watching* “That’s probably not good.”
(Two months later, he has just finished doing the at-home sleep assessment which is required before the official sleep study at the hospital. Note that he has complained significantly about the test. He had to wear a device on his face and a band on his chest to check his breathing. They also put an “annoying pulse monitor” on the finger, so he complained that he had too many wires going to too many parts of his body for him to sleep at all during the test. Regardless, he meets with the doctor two days later to discuss the results.)
Partner: “Guess what they found out. I stop breathing in my sleep. We went through a lot of hassle to prove what we already know.”
Me: “Ha! You stop breathing while you sleep? I never would have guessed. I thought that the 30- to 45-second breaks in breath sounds were just your lungs taking a nap.”
Partner: “My record was 82 seconds. Champion!”
Me: “Woohoo! Winner! Some people can’t hold their breath that long when they are trying to.”
Bizarre, Patients, Pharmacy, USA | | Healthy | May 28, 2018
(It’s my second day working for a pharmacy at a local grocery store. We have a display near the register that has animal-themed thermometers like dolphins, seals, whales, etc. A woman walks up and picks up a dolphin thermometer, looking at it for a good minute or so.)
Health & Body, home, Parents/Guardians, Patients, USA, Washington | | Healthy | May 27, 2018
(When I was in middle school, I dislocated my shoulder for the first time. Since then, I have dislocated it several times in a few different ways. This is the first time I dislocate it while sleeping. I wake up and realize my arm is not in the right location. I manage to get upright and moving out of my room. I make it to the door to my parents room and knock.)
Bad Behavior, Ohio, Patients, Pharmacy, USA | | Healthy | May 26, 2018
(I work in a pharmacy in a large box store. On Sundays, when only one pharmacist is on duty, the pharmacy shuts down for them to take a lunch break. This story is related to me by one of the pharmacists. The gate is down, but can sort of be seen through, and the pharmacist can be glimpsed through the holes.)
Lady: *at the top of her voice* “HEY! HEY, YOU! ARE YOU OPEN?!”
Pharmacist: “Uh, no, ma’am, we reopen in ten minutes. Please come back then.”
Lady: “IT’LL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE! I NEED SOME BUTT CREAM!”
Pharmacist: “Ma’am, we’re closed! Please come back in ten minutes.”
Lady: “BUTT! CREAM! JUST GIVE ME SOME G**D*** BUTT CREAM!”
Pharmacist: “Ma’am, we’re closed! We’ll reopen in ten minutes!”
Lady: “THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I JUST NEED SOME BUTT CREAM!”
Emergency Room, Extra Stupid, Patients, USA | | Healthy | May 24, 2018
(I work at a small emergency department, not far from an amusement park. We get a steady stream of minor injuries from the park most days, but this one is unique. A teenage boy who is definitely old enough to know better is brought in by ambulance after he calls 911.)
Doctor: “So, what made you call 911 today? Must have been pretty serious.”
Boy: “Well, I started getting really dizzy. And I felt like I was going to throw up.”
Doctor: “Hmm, well, that could be any number of things. Did you do anything new or unusual today that might have triggered these symptoms?”
Boy: “I felt fine until I went on the Tilt-a-Whirl…”
Doctor: “I… you… I think you’re going to be okay.”
(Yes, he literally called 911 without asking his parents because he got motion sick. No, he didn’t have a developmental disability that would have explained his decision. His older sister showed up shortly after, heard what he’d done, slapped him upside the head, and dragged him out of the department. His parents are not going to be happy with the bill.)
Australia, Language & Words, Medical Office, Patients, Silly | | Healthy | May 23, 2018
(In Australia, certain medical costs are covered by Medicare for everyone and some only for specific populations. A person with a chronic disease can access some funding for allied health visits through a program colloquially called a Care Plan. Word of mouth from friends or family often makes people aware of this.)
Elderly Female Patient: “My friend told me I should ask you about family planning. “
Doctor: *taken aback* ” Did you mean family planning? Because that’s things like contraception.”
Patient: “OH! ” *laughter*
Doctor: “Oh, you meant a Care Plan!” *more laughter from both* “Unless you did want to have a baby?”
Gym, Health & Body, Illinois, Jerk, Strangers, USA | | Healthy | May 22, 2018
(I have pretty mild Tourette’s syndrome, with my only real vocal tics being a wheeze, a cough, or consistent sniffling. Most people understand once it’s explained to them. I’m at the gym, working on the arc trainer, and my Tourette’s is having a bad day, so I’m making all manner of noises. Next to me are two ladies. I have my headphones on, so I’m pretty oblivious to the goings-on around me, when suddenly I’m being tapped on the arm. I take my headphones off and look over to see one of the ladies standing by the machine I’m on.)
Lady: “Excuse me, but you should be wearing a mask if you’re sick.”
Me: “Huh? I’m not sick. I feel fine, but thanks?”
Lady: “You’re coughing and wheezing and sniffling. You must have a cold or the flu. You shouldn’t even be here, but if you’re going to be, you need a mask!”
Me: “Oh! I’m sorry; I actually have Tourette’s. I’m not sick; those are just my tics.”
Lady: “If you’re sick, you should wear a mask.”
Me: “But I’m not sick. I just told you. I have Tourette’s. It’s a neurological thing. I’m not physically ill.”
Lady: “I’m a nurse! I know what Tourette’s is, and you should be wearing a mask!”
(At this point, I’m more annoyed by the fact this lady is interrupting my workout than her insistence she knows more about my health than I do.)
Me: “If you know what Tourette’s is, then you know a mask wouldn’t do any good. I am not sick. I’m sorry if the tics caused some confusion.”
Lady: “You should be wearing a mask if you’re going to be sick here! I’m going to complain to the front desk!”
Me: “But I’m not sick. And really, if you’re worried about germs, is this really the place for you to be?”
Lady: *after a moment of silence* “You should have a mask.”
(She and her friend then moved down to the end of the row of cardio machines and went back to their workout, and I went back to mine. They kept shooting me dirty looks throughout. The worst part is my Tourette’s gets worse when attention is drawn to it, as I get very self-conscious and nervous. So, thanks. Nice job breaking it, lady.)
Bad Behavior, British Columbia, Canada, Optometrist/Optician, Patients, Vancouver | | Healthy | May 21, 2018
(A customer and her husband have walked in and I go over to help them find some glasses. During our conversation, I ask the wife if they’ve seen an optometrist, as we have one on staff that accepts walk-ins.)
Customer: “Yes, we’ve already seen an optometrist. Several, actually. It took us a long time to find one that we like.”
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m glad that you found one that you liked.”
Customer: “Yes, they were all so awful. One was so bad that we had to report him to the Board of Optometrists!”
(I usually avoid getting into the politics and gossip regarding other optometrists, so I try to keep my response vague. The wife seems to be getting more agitated the more she talks about it.)
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that.”
Customer: “Well, I heard he’s dead now, anyway, so that’s good!”
Me: “Wow… That’s actually really horrible.”
Customer: “Oh. I guess I shouldn’t say things like that, should I?”
(The customer shrugged and turned to ask her husband a question, completely unfazed. I’ve worked all kinds of retail over 15 years now, and I’ve never heard something so awful come out of someone’s mouth before. I left them alone to look and never helped the couple again.)
Extra Stupid, Hospital, Patients, USA | | Healthy | May 20, 2018
(I work in healthcare and am talking to a man in his fifties who is having angina for the first time.)
Me: “You haven’t had a heart attack, but this pain is probably coming from your heart.”
Man: “But I’m only 50-something, and there are no heart problems in my family. Why would that be?”
Me: “You smoke 30 cigarettes a day and drink two cartons of beer per week. That’s not good for your heart. You should think about cutting down.”
Man: “I’m sick of you people telling me that bulls***! It’s a scientifically proven fact that smoking makes your arteries smaller, and drinking makes them bigger! If I keep drinking and smoking, I’ll be fine!”
Me: “That’s not at all how it works, but I see I’m not going to change your mind. You’ll be going upstairs soon.”
Australia, Hospital, Jerk | Healthy | May 11, 2018
(I work in a busy maternity ward, and I’m constantly amazed at how many people will show up to visit someone who’s just given birth. Your ex-boyfriend’s best friend’s ex-girlfriend’s third cousin from grade school will show without batting an eyelid. The following exchange is unfortunately very common
Visitor: “Hi, I’m here to see Lisa Jones.”
Me: “I’m sorry, I don’t have anybody named Jones. Is there another name she might be using?”
(Even people who are married often book in under their maiden name, as a way of not getting too many visitors, and elderly people often assume the woman’s name is the same as her partner’s, even if they’re not married, because they can’t imagine letting the hospital know you’re having a baby out of wedlock!)
Visitor: “She must be here; she was only born this morning.”
Me: “Wait, is that the baby’s name? I need the mother’s name. She’s the patient. As the baby’s name isn’t registered yet, all babies are listed as ‘Baby of [Mother].’”
Visitor: “The father is Dick Jones.”
Me: “I’m sorry, I need the mother’s name; otherwise, I can’t help you.”
Visitor: “I think her name might be Ann.”
Me: “I honestly can’t help you if you don’t know her name.”
Visitor: “Couldn’t you just check the fathers’ and the babies’ names?”
Me: “We. Have. No. Record. Of their names. Only the mothers are admitted as patients.”
(At this point, even if there’s only one patient on the ward named Ann, and I KNOW that’s who you’re looking for, there’s no way you’re getting in to see her if YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HER NAME!)
Me: “Well, could you call her? Or the father? I’m sure he can tell you what name she’s using.”
Visitor: *doubtfully* “Well, I don’t really know him.”
(So, you don’t know the mother, as you, “think her name might be Ann,” and you don’t really know the father, usually a vague acquaintance such as, your partner plays football with him, and you maybe know the mother by sight, but you think it’s appropriate to come see her in the, hospital hours after she’s given birth?!)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jerk, Medical Office, Patients, USA | Healthy | May 10, 2018
(It is important to note that every state in the USA has their own laws about eyeglass prescriptions. It is most common in Iowa for optometrists to write prescriptions that only last for one year, though they could write one that would be valid for up to two years. One day, I get this phone call.)
Me: “Thank you for calling [Optometrist]’s Office. My name is [My Name]. How can I help you today?”
Customer: “Yes, hello! I ordered a box of contacts from you guys about a month ago, for my son, and he says these ones aren’t working. He’s got blurry vision. I know the doctor changed his script a couple times and I just want to make sure the most recent one was ordered.”
Me: “Sure. I’ll pull his file and take a look. Please hold.”
(I go to have a look at the file and my heart sinks. It’s April, and this kid had his eye appointment last June. Kids tend to have a lot of changes in their vision thanks, in part, to hormones. Not only that, but he came back three times with the same complaint of his contacts not working. All of that was within thirty days of his appointment, so his script was finalized in July. And Mom waited to order… until March. I steel myself and pick up the phone.)
Me: “Thank you for holding, ma’am. It looks like the most recent prescription was what we ordered for your son. It is accurate.”
Customer: “Well, he can’t see out of them! Can you take this box back?”
Me: “Is the box unopened? We can do a refund for the box if it is, but we can’t take back an opened box for hygiene reasons.”
Customer: “Of course it’s opened! He’s been wearing them! But they are wrong now.”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. The order was placed correctly. We put the same strength that your son told us worked, and so there’s nothing we can do. At this point, he’s almost due for another eye exam, as it is.”
Customer: “So, you’re saying I’m just out, what, $75?”
Me: “I’m sorry, but yes. He saw the doctor last July, and it’s been almost a year. It’s possible his eyes have changed.”
Customer: “That’s just ridiculous! This is the worst service I’ve ever gotten. I’m never bringing him back to your office!”
(And she hung up on me. I’m sorry, but who waits eight months to order contacts and THEN complains? Next time, don’t wait so long!)
Charleston, Hospital, Revolting, USA, West Virginia | Healthy | May 9, 2018
(My parents and I are sitting in the ER waiting room, waiting for my mom’s test results to come back. It’s very early in the morning, and the waiting room is quite small, so the few of us in there are all within eyesight of each other, except one woman sitting on the other side of a pillar from us. We’ve been there for a few minutes when a nurse comes in, carrying an armload of cleaning supplies. She walks over to the woman behind the pillar.)
Nurse: “Where was that man sitting?”
Woman: “Oh, three chairs over from me.”
(You can see everyone in the room count three chairs over from this woman… where another woman happens to be sitting. As soon as she realizes this, she tenses up and the guy next to her recoils away. The nurse awkwardly approaches.)
Nurse: “I need to clean this chair. The man who was sitting there had an… um… accident in his pants.”
(She immediately gathered all of her stuff and moved chairs, whispering somewhat-panicked statements to her male companion about whatever it was she was sitting in without realizing. We were called back before her, but the rest of the time we were there, she was sitting on the edge of her new chair, trying to touch as little as possible. You know you’re having a bad day when you’re in the ER at 1:00 am and find out you’re sitting in a stranger’s “accident.”)
Bad Behavior, Dentist, Non-Dialogue, USA, Wisconsin | Healthy | May 8, 2018
When I was eight years old, my older sister’s school had an anti-drug campaign. She came home from school one day and lectured me to never, ever take drugs. I looked up to my sister, so I solemnly promised her I wouldn’t.
About a week later, my dad took me to the dentist to get some baby teeth pulled. I was alone in the room with the dentist while my dad was in the waiting room. The dentist told me he was giving me some analgesia. I asked what that meant, and he explained that it was a drug that would make me not feel any pain.
I told him, “No, no drugs,” and refused to let him near me with the analgesia. For some reason, he did not go out to the waiting room to confer with my dad. Instead, he went ahead and pulled three teeth from an eight-year-old girl without using analgesia or any pain relief.
After a few minutes of him pulling my teeth, the burglar alarm went off in the clinic. There was no break-in, though. Apparently, my screams of pain perfectly mimicked the sound of breaking glass, fooling the alarm system. We never went back to that clinic.
Emergency Room, Ignoring & Inattentive, Jerk, Lazy/Unhelpful, Nurses, Pennsylvania, USA | Healthy | May 7, 2018
(I have the stomach flu, and have spent the night throwing up, with diarrhea. Dehydrated and in pain, I go to the emergency room. I’m trying to do something to distract myself from the pain, so I turn on the TV in the room. The channel buttons don’t work, so it’s stuck on a staged reality show that features a lot of yelling and fighting. The nurse comes in while it’s on commercial.)
Nurse: “Okay, you are so dehydrated the doctor wants you on IV fluids for a while before we run more tests. Oh, what are you watching? Oh, this show is so trashy; I can’t believe it. Who would watch a trashy show like this. Do you like this?”
Me: “It’s what was on.”
Nurse: “Oh, wow. I can’t believe how trashy this is.”
(She stops and turns to watch the TV, ignoring me. It isn’t until the next commercial break that she finally turns and puts the IV in my arm, then leaves without attaching the saline. I start dry-heaving again, and she comes back in to give me a bucket to throw up in.)
Nurse: “Didn’t I attach the saline? I must have been distracted by that trashy TV show you like. What are they doing now?”
(She watches until the end of the episode, while I deal with waves of nausea, then finally comes back with the saline drip.)
Nurse: “Oh, my God, it’s another episode! Are they running a marathon? Who watches this trash?”
(She fiddles with the saline drip for a while, while watching the TV, and then stands and watches until the next commercial break. As soon as she leaves, I turn off the TV. She comes back in a moment later with another nurse.)
Nurse #2 : “Why didn’t you start the anti-nausea medicine?”
Nurse: “I only just got the IV on her.”
(I was finally medicated, and as it kicked in, I drifted off into sleep. I was woken up by the TV being turned back on, and the nurse standing there watching it. She caught me watching and shook her head, muttering about the trashy show
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jerk, Medical Office, Patients, USA | Healthy | May 10, 2018
(It is important to note that every state in the USA has their own laws about eyeglass prescriptions. It is most common in Iowa for optometrists to write prescriptions that only last for one year, though they could write one that would be valid for up to two years. One day, I get this phone call.)
Me: “Thank you for calling [Optometrist]’s Office. My name is [My Name]. How can I help you today?”
Customer: “Yes, hello! I ordered a box of contacts from you guys about a month ago, for my son, and he says these ones aren’t working. He’s got blurry vision. I know the doctor changed his script a couple times and I just want to make sure the most recent one was ordered.”
Me: “Sure. I’ll pull his file and take a look. Please hold.”
(I go to have a look at the file and my heart sinks. It’s April, and this kid had his eye appointment last June. Kids tend to have a lot of changes in their vision thanks, in part, to hormones. Not only that, but he came back three times with the same complaint of his contacts not working. All of that was within thirty days of his appointment, so his script was finalized in July. And Mom waited to order… until March. I steel myself and pick up the phone.)
Me: “Thank you for holding, ma’am. It looks like the most recent prescription was what we ordered for your son. It is accurate.”
Customer: “Well, he can’t see out of them! Can you take this box back?”
Me: “Is the box unopened? We can do a refund for the box if it is, but we can’t take back an opened box for hygiene reasons.”
Customer: “Of course it’s opened! He’s been wearing them! But they are wrong now.”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. The order was placed correctly. We put the same strength that your son told us worked, and so there’s nothing we can do. At this point, he’s almost due for another eye exam, as it is.”
Customer: “So, you’re saying I’m just out, what, $75?”
Me: “I’m sorry, but yes. He saw the doctor last July, and it’s been almost a year. It’s possible his eyes have changed.”
Customer: “That’s just ridiculous! This is the worst service I’ve ever gotten. I’m never bringing him back to your office!”
(And she hung up on me. I’m sorry, but who waits eight months to order contacts and THEN complains? Next time, don’t wait so long!)
Charleston, Hospital, Revolting, USA, West Virginia | Healthy | May 9, 2018
(My parents and I are sitting in the ER waiting room, waiting for my mom’s test results to come back. It’s very early in the morning, and the waiting room is quite small, so the few of us in there are all within eyesight of each other, except one woman sitting on the other side of a pillar from us. We’ve been there for a few minutes when a nurse comes in, carrying an armload of cleaning supplies. She walks over to the woman behind the pillar.)
Nurse: “Where was that man sitting?”
Woman: “Oh, three chairs over from me.”
(You can see everyone in the room count three chairs over from this woman… where another woman happens to be sitting. As soon as she realizes this, she tenses up and the guy next to her recoils away. The nurse awkwardly approaches.)
Nurse: “I need to clean this chair. The man who was sitting there had an… um… accident in his pants.”
(She immediately gathered all of her stuff and moved chairs, whispering somewhat-panicked statements to her male companion about whatever it was she was sitting in without realizing. We were called back before her, but the rest of the time we were there, she was sitting on the edge of her new chair, trying to touch as little as possible. You know you’re having a bad day when you’re in the ER at 1:00 am and find out you’re sitting in a stranger’s “accident.”)
Bad Behavior, Dentist, Non-Dialogue, USA, Wisconsin | Healthy | May 8, 2018
When I was eight years old, my older sister’s school had an anti-drug campaign. She came home from school one day and lectured me to never, ever take drugs. I looked up to my sister, so I solemnly promised her I wouldn’t.
About a week later, my dad took me to the dentist to get some baby teeth pulled. I was alone in the room with the dentist while my dad was in the waiting room. The dentist told me he was giving me some analgesia. I asked what that meant, and he explained that it was a drug that would make me not feel any pain.
I told him, “No, no drugs,” and refused to let him near me with the analgesia. For some reason, he did not go out to the waiting room to confer with my dad. Instead, he went ahead and pulled three teeth from an eight-year-old girl without using analgesia or any pain relief.
After a few minutes of him pulling my teeth, the burglar alarm went off in the clinic. There was no break-in, though. Apparently, my screams of pain perfectly mimicked the sound of breaking glass, fooling the alarm system. We never went back to that clinic.
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