Why the Local Pharmacist Drinks

Today was an awful day. Aside from the normal crapiness from being short staffed, one of my interns was sick today. Which means for 5 hours it was just me and one other person working a 24 hour pharamacy.....All I could do was try to answer the phone that rings 24/7 (not kidding or exaggerating, there is always a phone ringing in that pharmacy. All the time, everyday.) type all the prescriptions, fill all the prescriptions, check all the prescriptions and try to help my tech ring a couple of the 5 registers. Not only is that crazy amount of multi-tasking very stressful, but on top of that I get yelled at for our wait time being more than 10 minutes (Usually there are 5+ people back here and you are surprised it is taking longer) and I get people that make me need tequila. For example:


(Phone is ringing for 10+ minutes because I have been at Drive-thru)
Doctor who doesn't have spelling of patients last name, or date of birth. Wants to call in a script for atropine for a patient. Doesn't know how to dose it. After me searching everywhere for his off-label use dosing, he hangs up.


12th person in line waiting for script. Its for Percocet. She didn't get it filled here last month. If she did get it filled according to timing from Feb. she is 8 days early.
I call her back to pharmacy.
Me: Where did you get this filled last month?
Her: CVS
Me: What is there phone number? I have to check on your timing because of the type of medication this is, I can only fill it 2 days early.
Her: Well it says fill on 4/2
Me: I see that, but I can only fill 2 days early on this type of medication so I need to call them to verify the timing. Your doctor may not be aware of the dates
Her: He is aware, Thats why it says that!
Me: I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, I have to call them. Do you have their phone number?
Her: I HAD THIS PROBLEM LAST MONTH! THAT'S WHY I WENT THERE! (No shit, I bet you were early last month too) GIVE ME MY FUCKING SCRIPT BACK!
Me: No problem.
(She yanks it out of my hand and deliberately grabs it so my hand gets clawed by her nails. Now my finger hurts.)


Lady drops off script from urgent care for her daughter. Her insurance isn't covering her generic antibiotic... I call the insurance to see why for the patient. After speaking to a retard who cannot tell me what the issue is, I explain to the parent I am calling again. I call again. I get a different person. Their insurance doesn't cover the medication because they don't pay for the patient to go to an urgent care. Seriously. We page the doctor. Get the medication switched under the other doctors name and it is covered (Thank goodness). Takes 50 minutes.

Old man comes into pharmacy for medication called in for his wife the day before. The nurse from the nursing home pharmacy did not leave a strength (as always....) and we left a message yesterday for them to call us. They didn't. He demands I call them. I say:
"Sir, they close at 4pm on weekdays, they are not going to be open. It is 8:45pm on a Saturday. We already left a message."
Him: Can't you give them another jingle! SHE NEEDS IT! (Its an inhaler she has never been on before, and not the rescue kind you see in the movies for attacks. This is the kind you do to prevent attacks)
Me: ........sure.
I call them. They are closed. I leave another message.
Me: I left them another message, but they are closed today.
Him: Well can't you call security?
Me: What?
Him: Can't you call the security, they can go in there.
Me: I have to talk to a nurse or a doctor, it cannot just be a security guard trying to read a chart.
Him: They can go get the nurse and take her there! It's their fault!
Me:........................... Would you like to call the security?
I hand him the phone and walk away, as I know this is going no where. The security can do nothing, unless they really do drive to the nurses house, convince her to go back and read the chart to us at 9pm on a Saturday, just to get the old man to shut up. It's called humoring a patient.


Guy: Can you tell me where the shampoo is?
Me: I can't see from this angle, which aisle says "hair"
Guy: 3
Me: It is in aisle 3 then.








I can totally deal with laziness and stupidity. It is the mean people that cause me to need margaritas, and pray that the next day will be better. I know it is no ones fault that we were short, and they were upset they had to wait for more than 10 minutes because FUCKING RITE-AID advertises they will give you money if you have to wait for more than 15 minutes for a prescription. It just sucks that people do not see us as a profession (do you get pissed if your doctor makes you wait? No. Do you scream and swear in their waiting room? Do they get a lunch?) and expect that their script will be done in the time it takes for a big mac and fries to be done. (Nope, I am not checking for drug interactions, drug dosing, calling your doctor because they left out strength, quantity, directions, etc, calling your insurance to override whatever bullshit rejection they give us, then not to mention filling and checking the 10-20 in front of your script)

I am getting burnt out. People are too nasty to me. I do too much to make sure they don't die to be treated like this. I think we should get vending machines to dispense drugs so everyone with these shitty docs and insurances and people that go to multiple pharmacies all get seriously hurt from their medications and then, maybe then I might get some respect, Right?