An open letter

Sir. I told you that we were having a hard time stocking Percocet 10/325. I called four other stores around us. I can't call every pharmacy in the county looking at it.
Ma'am. I explained the details of prior authorization to your husband.  Yes, I see your insurance information on file. And the coupon card. No, the doctor won't do the paperwork on a Saturday. She has a life. No, your son won't die of eczema over the weekend.
Chickadee. You're chatting away about your awesome date for the night. No one wants to rush over to ring up your prescription. And don't roll your eyes and say "Look, I gotta go" to your friend when I have some questions for you. If you have a seizure or something, you won't be able to go on that totally awesome date.
Dude. You're 24. I don't mind that you're on your parents' insurance (heck, so am I). But you need to loosen the apron strings a little. Have a basic idea of what you need refilled. Make a copy of their insurance cards. Pay for it yourself, or at least offer. Show us that you love your poor saint of a mother.
Pharmacist. I love you, you are my favorite pharmacist at the store, you are a good friend. Customers love you, but please spend less time helping them when we are super busy. I know this sounds SO mean, but people are all waiting for you to sign off on the stuff we fill and we're getting busier!
Intern. You have come so far in a year and a half, and I really do enjoy working with you now. Never thought I'd say this, but you make me proud. You win the gold star today.

We were pretty busy for a Friday- I think our final tally was close to 500. We were also short staffed. This time last year was a crazy snow storm and we filled no prescriptions, which messed up our staff budget for this year. Luckily we didn't have any big incidents. I've learned to set the bar pretty low and then every night looks good when all is said and done. But I really do love my job!

What's in a name: A rant.

My name is Indira. That's I-N-D-I-R-A. Not Anndira. Not Indoora. Not Andrea. Not Indiana. No, I didn't pick it (hello, did you pick your name?!). Yes, I've heard the "endearing/Indiring" pun before. My parents and sister call me I (just the letter). My extended family calls me Ra (as a result of name difficulty among my cousins when we were small). My friends call me Indira. Even the ones who have known me since we were four years old...well, she sometimes calls me Indy500. Fair enough.
Yes, I know who Indira Gandhi is. No, she's not the one with the hunger fast. No, she also wasn't his daughter either. Nope, no relation. Just like how Jack Black isn't Rebecca's dad. YES I AM SURE. Don't you think after 21 years on God's green Earth, hearing these comparisons all the flipping time, I'd have figured that out?
My name is what it is. I guess it suits me fine. Certainly not my first choice, and while I'd like to give my kids somewhat unique names (actually, I'll probably stick with names from family members), I don't think I'll saddle them with anything quite like this. Oy vey.

Exempt!

Because I transferred as a junior, my core curriculum was a mess. What counted at one school NEVER counted at the other, and for a while I was sure I'd never graduate on time. Luckily, I scraped through and realized that I had just one class to take after I graduated, introductory history. Unfortunately, I'd have to take it at the school because I'd maxed out the number of credits to be transferred in, and it wasn't offered as an online option. Today, my advisor, the department chair, and the assistant chair sent me a joint email telling me how we were going to get me to graduate on time with nothing left to take. Basically, I'll need to drop my senior seminar, write an extra paper for my pharmacology class (yay!) to replace it, pick up the history and a one credit "miscellany" class (ballroom dancing, etc). Unfortunately, that puts me at 21 credits and the overarching college is dragging their feet about approving it...but it will be done. I have the entire biology department on my side. AND this means I'll save over $2k on tuition and about $150 in commuting costs, plus be able to work when I would have been taking this class. So now I'll be in the black for the summer before starting at grad/professional school and losing it all again. Means to an end, right?

Grade Change

I had to get one of my professors to change my grade from her class. When I first contacted her (with a detailed spreadsheet of my grades), she told me I was wrong, that my grade was substantially lower, and she stretched the curve for me. Three weeks later, my grade is corrected. Sans curve, I will point out- I wanted to ask if it should have been even higher since she admitted there was a curve, but I didn't want to press my luck. Has this ever happened to you?

PCAT

Is done! They give you a preliminary score right away, so I already know how I did. Better than expected on the composite and bio. Did quite well on math and verbal. My chem score wasn't great but probably won't be prohibitive. Bizarrely, my worst score was reading comp, but since I have great grades in my English classes, I don't think that will be a major problem. Anyway, it's good enough not to retake for now, and that's all I wanted!

Vacation

I'm on vacation in Hawaii this week and it's as fabulous as it sounds (although everyone back home is saying that the weather there is great too). Unfortunately, I'm taking the PCAT here Tuesday, so I've stayed behind in our hotel today and will again tomorrow for last-minute prep. Bummer! But that means Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning will be that much better. Cross your fingers and say a  little prayer for me!

Regulation

I've been referring people to this article from the Times quite regularly over the past few days.  This is something that's been a major headache for pharmacists nationwide for several months. It is particularly frustrating because we've become unable to differentiate between desperate patients/parents and junkie seekers on the phone (in person, it's obviously much easier!). The role of the FDA/DEA is heavily debated in the comments section on the Well Blog post related to the article. While each entity is important in its own right, perhaps they have gone too far? It should be interesting to see how this pans out in the new year.

Happy New Year!

Ah, 1 January. The most agonizing day of the year. "What do you mean, deductible?" "No, my plan hasn't changed." "You people are jacking up the prices." Not to mention the regular holiday complaints. "But he increased my dose and now I'm out." "My doctor isn't in until Wednesday." "Why can't you do the prior authorization right now while I'm here?"
Truthfully, today could have been much worse, even though I had to catch a train home from the big city at 7:30 in order to make it to work by 9. Tough life, I know!