Day 1

The weather was truly horrendous as I drove to work for my first day as a US pharmacist. I just didn't want it to be my last day on Earth as Californians have no idea how to drive in the rain, and as it happens I saw one car skid completely out of control which really put the fear into me, but I made it to work alive and early.
Before clocking in I phoned the computer help desk and got my finger print bumped up to pharmacist class (we use biometrics for every stage of dispensing, so you can't get away with anything!).
Clocked in and started to feel the nerves mount. It wasn't that I didn't know how to be a pharmacist, it was that the QA station in the dispensary was a completely unknown area, and I had no idea what the QA window on the computer even looked like. Thankfully I was "Department 3" today, which means I was a spare pare of hands and there was another seasoned pharmacist there to help me along.
I would say it took about 2 hours to get used to the new screen, and to get an eye for what errors to look out for; and by the end of an altogether enjoyable day I have to say my wonderful techs had given me an opportunity to correct almost every conceivable error :-)
They had put the wrong Dr, the wrong patient, the wrong quantity, the wrong number of refills, the wrong dose, the right Dr but at the wrong address, they had forgotten to deduct some loaned tablets, they had filled too soon on controlled drugs, and they had somehow filled a rx that had no fills. And that was just the errors I can remember now - there were plenty more. The other pharmacist said some of the errors she had never even seen done wrong before, so I have to count myself especially fortunate to have come across them on day 1 of my professional career!!
The strange thing was, finding these errors was very enjoyable - even exciting. There were other issues which were more complicated, like whether or not to give a steroid cream to a 2 year old child when the book said it should not be used in under 18 year olds. And there was a prescription for someone on two SNRI's which didn't make sense. And how to decide what to do with a Rx for a strength of drug which didn't exist. And so many other interesting and stimulating scenarios. It was really great pharmacy.
i don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had 18 years of experience under my belt already - I can imagine that for a kid out of college it could be a very difference emotion come the end of the day. But for me, for whatever reason, I loved it. Really.
And on top of all that you have to manage the techs and clerks, answer the phones, fill prescriptions, send faxes and chit chat with customers as you get called to consult or answer questions - I'd have a 100-page entry if I tried to list all the interesting questions I answered today on top of QA'ing.
And instead of my 1 hour lunch break I now only get 30 minutes!

Well, tomorrow is my first 12 hour shift. That's a 12 and a half hour day with a 30 minute unpaid lunch and possibly, if customers permit it, another 30 minute paid break late in the day. That should send me to bed exhausted tomorrow night for sure.

But I'm looking forward to it. I've really missed being a proper pharmacist far more than I had realized until today. I enjoyed being a free and easy, care-free, Monday to Friday 8-hour day intern - but being a "proper" pharmacist is much more rewarding, and it feels damned good to be back.

Steven C.