Project

It has been a while since I have last posted. Being new at blogging, I decided that I would be more diligent if I set up projects for myself. Consider this project number one.

Normally, once we've used the full quantity of the drug we throw away the bottle and any informational packets glued to the bottle. Over the past several months I have been collecting the papers glued to the bottles. I have a large bag with a mixture of different drug informational packets. Some of you may be familiar with these packets. If you ever get brand only drugs, more often than not, you have also received a little folded up paper that has a whole bunch of tiny writing. Loads and loads of information are located on those papers!

So, with that said, I will be posting once a month projects that follow this skeleton:

Task: Randomly draw one informational packet.
Blog: Research and report about informational packet drawn.
Additional: Try to throw in some related experience with drug and community [Ph]arm.

Stay tuned... =)

-Louise-

[Ph]arm Thoughts...

Becoming a pharmacist allows one to go into several directions within the field. Most commonly known is retail pharmacy, or community pharmacy. I work in a retail [Ph]arm. A retail [Ph]arm sells drugs directly to patients. Additionally, a retail pharmacy can sell gift items, cards, vitamins and several other accessories.


Pharmacists or Pharmacy Technicians at big chains such as Walgreens or Rite-Aid probably do not have to deal with the public as much when it comes to non-health related items e.g. Questions regarding the discount for two packs of soda.
On the [Ph]arm, my team has to deal with all transactions within the store.  Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians are also the retail associates. If a customer has questions about their medicine or if they have questions about the cost of wind chimes hanging in the front window, all members of the [Ph]arm team better have an answer. Unfortunately for some customers, answers given are sometimes not good enough.


I've learned that working on a [Ph]arm does not always involve easy transactions between [Ph]arm members and customers. At times, a customer may be irritable, irrational, angry and frustrated. Customers do not always understand the logistics or flow of a [Ph]arm. Day-to-day contact with these sorts of customers can wear a [Ph]arm members soul.


When days at the [Ph]arm are filled with angry customers, I try my hardest to empathize with the customer and remember my duty is to help. It has been my experience that when you make the customer feel as though you care, their irritableness and frustrations seem to calm. In some cases they do not. At that point, I just work as quickly and efficiently as possible to get them on their way.


Until next time,


-Louise-

Brand vs. Generic

Please note: I am not a licensed pharmacist or doctor.  I am only sharing information that I have learned.  Do not take action regarding use of your medications unless you have first discussed your concerns with your personal care provider and/or pharmacist.


When a new prescription is brought to the [Ph]arm, often the Dr. prescribing has scribbled some brand name drug that he or she wants a patient to take.  If a generic is available for that specific drug guess what?!?! You, the consumer, get two choices:

1. Would you like the brand name? or, 

2. Are you fine with generic?

Sounds like an easy question to answer, but one would be surprised how many people appear to look flustered when they're answering one of these questions.  My goal with this post is to give the reader enough information to feel less uneasy and more knowledgeable when facing a decision between brand and generic medication.

Most of the time, brand name drugs are more expensive than generic.  One would think knowing that alone would deter someone from using brand name medication.  However, many people are still willing to pay for brand name medication.  Of course, people have many reasons for purchasing one or the other and that is fine and I am not saying one is better than the other.  What I am offering is a comparison.

Levoxyl and Synthroid are both popular brand name thyroid hormone replacement drugs.  Levothyroxine Sodium pills are the generic form.

By appearance, each pair of pills appear to be different.  Each has a different shape, styling, and colour. However, are they really different? Observe the chemical structures below:

Levoxyl

Synthroid 

Each pill shown has 88 mcg of the chemical shown in these chemical structure diagrams.  The Federal Drug and Administration (FDA) specifies "that each pill contain between 90% and 110% of the stated chemical content" (Thyroid, p. 2).  Manufacturers of brand and generic thyroid replacement drugs may use different fillers and dyes.  Additionally, absorption rates may differ between drugs meant to target the same ailment depending on manufacturers.

Is there a final verdict on brand versus generic? No, members of the health and medicine community debate on whether brand and generic products are the same.  Drug brands and their generics do have some differences, yet, both are created to help the same ailments by using similar absorption methods within the body.


If you end up having hypothyroidism or needing thyroid replacement medication, you probably will be prescribed Levoxyl or Synthroid. Since a generic is available and depending on your insurance coverage, you will have a choice of which you would like your pharmacy to dispense. In some cases, insurance will not cover very much of the cost of brand name drugs while a generic is available. 

At the [Ph]arm, some customers insist on brands while others do not.  Some customers change from one to another, because they've had some sort of reaction--maybe caused by dyes and fillers.  What ever the choice is, our pharmacist recommends that you do not change between different medications too much in order to maintain consistency.


-Louise-

2 RED PENS

My license has officially posted to the California Board of Pharmacy website! Now I get to fill prescriptions. When filling a prescription (Rx) I make sure that the label matches the Rx hardcopy... this means the drug, quantity, measurements and directives written on the label are reflective of the original Rx. Once everything matches I can fill.  Filling a prescription is pretty simple.  Below are the steps I follow after the label is checked for any errors:

1. Grab medication from shelf and match NDC (National Drug Code) to NDC on label.
2. Circle and initial (using a red pen) by NDC code on label.
3. Write medicine expiration date on label (in red pen).
4. Count or measure quantity and fill.
5. Place label on bottle, box, or container, etc.
6. Give to pharmacist to check.

Most Rx's I filled today were in tablet form. So, I did a lot of counting today.  In some cases I could just scan the bottle and weigh tablets until the machine reports how many pills have been poured. Even more convenient is this machine we call the robot. The robot has several medications stored and will count the tablets for you. All you have to do is scan the label and place a bottle underneath the slot containing the medication needed. I'm a little weary of technology sometimes, so I checked by recounting the quantity... the robot was correct.

At the [ph]arm, red pens are hard to come by and are reserved for those who fill prescriptions. Today, being my first day at filling, I was left borrowing a red pen left and right! Finally, our pharmacist supplied me with two red pens! I now have two red pens which means I have been given double the responsibility at the [ph]arm!

My niche has broadened... At the [ph]arm I handle Rx's for deliveries and for mailing, answer the phones, check the front counter for customers, verify and fill Rx's, and retrieve and put away medications.

I am armed with my two red pens and ready for another day at the [ph]arm!

Until next time...

-Louise-

Average [Ph]arm Day

The following video pretty much sums up the last work week. At the [ph]arm we deal with situations like this all the time...

For me it doesn't get old (yet anyway)... I just find myself thinking: wow, people like this really exist!


If you find yourself in a [ph]arm, try to remember the people behind the counter are really trying their best to help you.


Side note:
In the last post I mentioned a creepy man who browsed the store... well, he came back this week attempting to return an item he stole the previous week.  We denied his request.  I can't wait for him to come back again.


Until next time!


Take care,
-Louise-

Drugs of the Season

Before the impatient customers, the angry lady and man, the pharmacist meltdown, the crying pharmacy technicians, and the creepy customer who came and went, the only activity happening in the [ph]arm was lining up shelves with drugs.  More specifically, allergy relief medications.


Floral gardens, green trees and plants are plentiful in California right now.  Consequently, as beautiful as the scenery may be, many are suffering from allergies (hay fever).

Picture retrieved from: http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/Medicine/Immunological/Allergy_General.htm

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the past 12 months, 17.7 million adults have been diagnosed with hay fever.  Here's a list of popular prescriptions I've observed dispensed or purchased in the past week:

• Allegra (Fexofenadine)
• Claritin (Loratadine)
• Zyrtec (Cetirizine)
• Flonase (Fluticasone)
• Benedryl
• Chlor Trimeton (Chlorpheniramine)
• Advair
• All kinds of inhalers (ProAir, Albuterol, etc.)
• Nasal flushing products, sprays and gels
• Eye drops

Allergy symptoms can be relieved with the products mentioned; however, please remember to consult your physician or pharmacist to see which products or steps you must take to obtain relief.  Medicine should be used cautiously and when needed.  And, as always, it should never be abused.


I'm learning little-by-little, and some have asked me, "What if I don't get 24-hr relief from Zyrtec, Allegra or Claritin?" According to the pharmacists I work with, any of the before mentioned 24-hr relief meds should not be used in conjunction with one another.  If you feel you need some more relief, Chlor Trimeton can be used but may cause more drowsiness, and if drowsiness persists using both is not recommended.  If allergens cause you to have severe congestion, a daily nasal wash using a neti pot or bottle works well.

Picture retrieved from: http://www.harrietcarter.com/health-beauty_therapeutic-aids/neti-pot/

During this allergy season, pharmacies, like the one I work for, are well stocked with allergy relief medication for you. Everyday we get frustrated customers, and in the past week people have expressed need for their allergy relief.  By making sure we were well armed with allergy relief medications, we had less angry ladies and men.


As for the impatient customers, creepy man who came and went, pharmacist meltdown and techs crying, well, that's another story.  Until next time...


-Louise-

7 April 2011

[Ph]arm life...
9 a.m. doors swing open and phones ring.  The [Ph]arm entourage rushes to login computers and set-up cash registers.  "Pharmacy, this is Louise speaking, how may I help you?"


Everyday the pharmacy begins with a team of dedicated workers to serve any customer that calls on the phone or walks through the door.  From the time the doors open until closing at 6 p.m. we are on our feet.  Seriously, I sometimes use the bathroom once (on my lunch), but sometimes not at all.  Funny thing is I don't seem to mind.  I get wrapped up in the experience of the [Ph]arm.


Our pharmacy delivers and mails prescriptions out to loyal customers everyday.  We specialize in compounding medications as well.  After six months, I have found my niche on the team.  My license has yet to post to the California Board of Pharmacy, so I am limited in what I am allowed to do.  My job consist of logging deliveries and mails, checking orders, pulling meds from the shelf and replacing them after use, filing paperwork, answering phones, and monitoring the front counter for customers.  1 p.m. deliveries complete.  4:45 p.m. mails complete.  My favourite part of the job is working with customers and my team!


Some customers become regulars, and some are new.  Either way, they each bring a different element to the work day.  No work day is ever the same.  I told my co-worker one day that I felt like I'm finally getting the flow of the [Ph]arm and that my next step was to have a customer call and ask for me.  On April 7, 2011, this happened.  A phone call was for me from a customer needing help.

I enjoy helping others and feel honoured... when someone asks for you directly, you can't help but feel as though someone is entrusting you to help them.  When someone comes in and says they are suffering from allergies and their mom sent them in to purchase "lor... lorr..." and you can chime in and say "loratadine?" and you see a smile and hear "that's it!"  May sound silly, but in some way I've helped.


Today, I've graduated to a new level on the [Ph]arm.


-Louise-

[Ph]arm 101

Welcome to life on the [Ph]arm... 

Dictionary.com defines a farm as a tract of land, usually with a house, barn, silo, etc., on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.  My name is Louise, and you can think of me as 'livestock' being 'raised' to serve the community.  This blog is dedicated to journaling my experiences as a student working in a pharmacy.  I hope one day to be a Pharmacist and this is my journey from pre-pharmacy school to Pharm.D. graduate.

Why do I want to be a pharmacist? Contrary to what others may think, it is not for the money.   Pharmacists that I know, actually caution me constantly about how there are more pharmacists than jobs available.  I have to admit that worries me a little, but I want to be a pharmacist to help people feel better.  I know, that's such a cliché right? In my perspective, pharmacists possess so much knowledge on medications and even holistic medications and foods that allow people to feel better.  Aching, nauseousness, chills, anxiousness, pains, cramps, etc…no one likes to feel this way.  At least no one I know and I certainly do not.  I want to be that person who can help people alleviate any ailment they may have using well researched modern and traditional medications available.  I want to be a pharmacist.

Currently, I only have experience working in a privately owned retail pharmacy.  I have been working since September 2010.  From this date forward I will detail my experiences, joys and frustrations, on my journey to becoming a pharmacist.

-Louise-