I've seen a few different variations of this joke (for other professions too) and find them hilarious--partly because there is a tiny bit of truth to most of them.
So I will go ahead and answer some of the questions I know someone is thinking...
1. Yes, I did chose to work in retail pharmacy and yes I do really enjoy it (most days haha)
2. No, I do not count pills all day
3. Yes, I have an unbelievable ability to read bad handwriting
4. Yes, people can be very very dumb! (you can't fix stupid)
Which leads me into the point of this post---story time! I was racking my brain (and Justin's) for my favorite stories--because believe me, there are tons!
I try my best not to judge, to be understanding, and realize that we all are very different and that is a great thing! But I have to say, the first encounter with "shim" sort of threw me! From a distance, it looked like a girl, it dressed like a girl....but it did NOT talk like a girl! I tried to maintain composure as I answered his (her?) questions but deep down was mortified! For those of you that know me, I don't hide my facial expressions well...so when "she" started to speak I wanted to run! Turns out, he...she...it, is very sweet (also very confused) but very sweet...and very married to his wife. I'm not sure if that means she's gay or just very understanding...for better and for worse I guess!
More than once a day I am faced with the predicament of a medication that cannot be taken while pregnant. For the 35 year old, married, mother of two, this question is not awkward, embarrassing, or difficult...but other times....such as...
-when a woman is 50---hey it could happen
-when a parent is picking up their child's medication--hey it could happen too
-when the child is 15...picking up her own prescription...with her DAD (yeah...bright red...all of us)
Some times girls aren't quite sure how to answer this question; take today for example.
Me: "Are you pregnant?"
Girl "No, well...maybe....umm...I mean maybe"
Me: "So you are pregnant?"
Girl: "I don't think so" (I'm sorry...this is not a feeling...Yes or no?...very simple)
Me: "Were you ever pregnant?"
Girl: "I was, but I had a miscarriage"
Me: "So you are not pregnant"
Girl: "Yeah, I guess not, huh?"
Wow.
Finally, there is my favorite retail pharmacy moment to date. A patient calls the pharmacy and tells me that she accidentally purchased laxative suppositories instead of laxative tablets. In my head I start thinking of the questions that may follow this statement--"Do they work the same as the tablet?", "Could you sell me some through the drive-thru so I don't have to come inside?", "I've never used one...help". But no, no...what she said is something I will never forget. She tells me that....she swallowed it! Yes, put it in her mouth, threw back some water, and swallowed it. She was actually calling to find out what she should do next...since clearly they are not made to be taken orally. It got me thinking about all the things that should have made her think--"is this normal?"
-are tablets normally in a foil wrapping?
-are tablets normally shaped this way?
-do tablets normally feel like this?
-do tablets normally smell like this?
Totally caught off guard, I answered the best I could...and gave her the number to poison control.
So that probably still did not answer the question of what it is that I really do all day...but I will never say my job lacks interesting and humorous moments. Give me a few months...I'm sure stories for Part 2 are coming soon!
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