Pharmacists.
I understand that you have to go through lots of school to be a Pharmacist. And my limited understanding is that your job then entails counting pills into containers (or supervising said activity), and then reading the pre-printed instructions out loud to people.
"See, it says right here. Take ONE pill THREE times a day..."
*nod*
"... with food. So, for instance, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
*nod nod*
"It also says here that it may cause constipation..."
OKAY LADY... I get it. I can read.
Can anyone help me out here?
I understand that you have to go through lots of school to be a Pharmacist. And my limited understanding is that your job then entails counting pills into containers (or supervising said activity), and then reading the pre-printed instructions out loud to people.
"See, it says right here. Take ONE pill THREE times a day..."
*nod*
"... with food. So, for instance, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
*nod nod*
"It also says here that it may cause constipation..."
OKAY LADY... I get it. I can read.
Can anyone help me out here?
6 comments:
Seinfeld agrees...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI6KdYdqrcA
Pharmacists actually are pretty helpful for physicians.
They know many drug-drug interactions, which is a serious problem with Americans since we're in a society that doesn't feel that the doctor helped unless she gave you a pill.
They also can tell you what dosing is appropriate for a person's age, weight, kidney function and whether adjustment is needed for the other medications.
In pretty much every ICU I've ever been in, a pharmacist rounds with the medical team because ICU patients are usually on multiple medications that require a lot of fine tuning.
The Walgreen's pharmacist can do all of that, and if you wanted to ask more questions about that medication, he/she could answer it for you.
However, the Walgreen's pharmacist also deals with a lot of uninformed people, so they HAVE to assume that you know nothing.
And honestly, most patients can't actually name the medication, the dose they're taking or the right way to take it without looking at the bottle.
I guess my opinion is don't dis the pharmacists. They actually do know important stuff stuff.
Gwen
Thanks Gwen... this is what I needed to know. Good job.
Only one comment back:
"...most patients can't actually name the medication, the dose they're taking or the right way to take it without looking at the bottle."
I don't understand this. How else would we know that information?
I appreciate your comment!
We actually did a commercial for Target Pharmacy. What most people don't know is that pharmacists can help you with questions about all of the items that are in the aisles in front of the counter as well. If you have questions about the different cold medicine options for example.
Jennifer
Cousin Jennifer making a rare appearance! Strong work.
What I mean by patient's being unable to name the medication is that you'll have someone who has been on, say, Zocor 20mg every night for the past 5 years.
You'll see them in the office and ask the patient for a list of what he/she is taking, and the reply is more often than not: "Uh, that little blue on for my cholesterol."
They can't tell you Zocor, and expecting them to pull out "20mg" is even more of a stretch for a lot of patients.
So, the pharmacist at Walgreen's (for example, I don't mean to keep picking on Walgreen's) knows damn well that Mr. X, who is on 5 other medications, probably isn't going to be exactly certain of what is in the bottle being handed over.
Hence the over-emphasis on stuff that seems pretty obvious to you and I.
Gwen
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