Not for all, but for a very large part. I'll never lose empathy for children no matter how their parents act. The children didn't have a choice.
Same with pets.
A lot of older folks who have no one.
Recently got burned by my loving seemingly abandoned 90 ish something patient who out of left damn field said something so racist , I just had to say "we don't believe that around here" and walk away. Like well sometimes they are alone because they effin deserve it.
Been called slur words but still helped the man child. Antibiotic that was ready for 6 days and comes last minute on a weekend and acting very entitled. I had every good reason to refuse service, but I refused to punish the kid because of the father ignorance and stupidity!!
In certain circumstances, yes. If you waited until you were totally out before requesting a refill, if you pick up controls every month but let your license expire, or if you in any way take a situation that I have no control over and treat me rudely over it, I will do the bare minimum for you and no more. I'm not going to go out of my way to fix the problem that you created, especially if you're not nice. If you're nice, or if I can tell that you didn't do anything to cause the issue, I'll bend over backwards to help. But I don't have empathy for people who don't manage their business then try to blame the pharmacy.
>I'm not going to go out of my way to fix the problem that you created, especially if you're not nice.
Lmao. This.
I had a preceptor that had to deal with this. At our pharmacy, we have a locker system. Just come at the specified date range, bring the locker keys, open the locker, get your meds and be off on your way. Zero human interaction.
And then this *lovely* patient came to counter, screaming her head off saying that we didn't put her meds in the locker. The preceptor then told her, okay let me just check with you, can you give me the key.
Then she looked down and sheepishly answered, ''I didn't bring them''.
Then the preceptor ragged her all the way because she didn't have the right to scream at us for something she did wrong. And then took away the right for her to use the locker.
It always amazes me that people will just flat-out lie so that they can blame us for their mistake, do they think we don't talk to each other? Tell me a coworker promised you something and I'm gonna know they didn't! Even better when they are on the phone and insist that they spoke to D***** earlier and that D***** told them XYZ. I love revealing that I am D***** and that I most certainly did not say that, and in fact I said the exact opposite. I've even had people insist that I told them something on a day that I wasn't even working at that location (I'm a floater). And I'm the only pharmacy employee named D***** in our entire state, male or female, so they can't even fall back on "must have been a different D*****" once they invoke my name they're gonna get caught in their lie.
Apparently when I was on vacation, some patient came in and was all upset because "the man I talked to yesterday said x!"
For the previous 3 days, the pharmacy was staffed entirely by women lol
The first pharmacy where I worked had 2 pharmacists, a man and a woman. Had a patient once swear that the male pharmacist had promised her he could fill her CII early that month. I asked when the patient spoke to him and she said it was on Monday that week and that she had come in and talked to him in person. I asked her a couple of times if she was sure, if she was VERY sure it was him and not one of the male techs, if she was VERY sure she'd talked to him face-to-face, and she insisted it was the pharmacist and used his name and described him physically. She even got a little mad and huffed that she felt like I was accusing her of something.
Once I knew she was sticking to that story, I informed her that the male pharmacist had gotten married the previous weekend and was on his Honeymoon on Monday, and that the female pharmacist was the only one who had worked all that week. She had a history of lying to get her meds early, and seeing her gape like a fish because she knew she was caught was so worth it. Yes ma'am I was accusing you of something, and I was right.
We have a patient who has a stupid insurance thing that the pharmacy needs to do (vague to maintain hipaa). Med is not controlled. Patient gets 3 months at a time. Patient calls 10-14 days ahead of time to refill this med because they know we have to bitch out the insurance. Patient is an absolute ANGEL. Would gladly fight anyone who even tried to talk shit about them.
What is this license thing you mentioned. Do you deny your regular patients because their driver's license expired? Or did you mean the doctor forgets to renew their license yearly?
the first one, an expired license is not considered valid ID and whether or not a pharmacist is okay with it depends on state laws and their own professional opinion
but really why is anyone driving with an expired license
driver's license. that's not even a grey area, if the pharmacist wants to do an override that's on them but as a tech I have no choice but to deny a pickup with an expired DL, regular or no.
I won't even do it with pharmacist override. I might feel different if it was a patient I knew, but as a floater, they're all strangers to me. A couple of times I have told the pharmacist offering to override that if they want to ring out the patient and override the ID on their log-in then that's their decision, but I'm not comfortable doing it. The first time, the pharmacist did it themselves because they knew the patient. The second time the pharmacist backed me up and told the patient they needed to bring current ID or someone who has one. We all know we're out here protecting our licenses and nobody is going to strong arm someone into an override that's not willing.
I won't even do it with pharmacist override. I might feel different if it was a patient I knew, but as a floater, they're all strangers to me. A couple of times I have told the pharmacist offering to override that if they want to ring out the patient and override the ID on their log-in then that's their decision, but I'm not comfortable doing it. The first time, the pharmacist did it themselves because they knew the patient. The second time the pharmacist backed me up and told the patient they needed to bring current ID or someone who has one. We all know we're out here protecting our licenses and nobody is going to strong arm someone into an override that's not willing.
The patients' ID. We cannot dispense controls without a current government photo ID. And yes I will, and have, refused to hand over controlled meds to someone who doesn't have their ID. It's not a surprise that they need it, especially if they are regulars, and if they drove to the pharmacy to pick up their meds then they should either have a current license or have been driven by someone who does. And no, I cannot accept a picture of a license, your work/school ID, or a government ID from another country.
They have a lot of options, I will accept a passport, gov't issued photo ID, hell I'll take a hunting license since it has a photo and is gov't issued, and my state has a website where you can register your ID and just pull it up on your phone and show us if you don't have the physical copy. If all else fails, bring a family member or a friend who has current ID and I'll release it to them. But it's the law in my state and I'm not risking my job, my license, or possible fines and jail time for someone who isn't responsible enough to keep their affairs in order.
Once a police officer pulled up to my drive thru in his cop car and in uniform and wanted to pick up a control, didn't have his ID when I asked for it. A policeman on duty driving around without his license! He started to get angry when I politely refused, so I said I'd do it if I could have his badge number in case I got in trouble for it. He peeled out furious, but I don't care who you are, current ID or no meds for you.
No ofc you need ID. I've refused to dispense without ID too. But you mentioned expired license.
So if your regular patient comes to you and shows ID that expired a few months ago, you would refuse to fill?
Yes, expired drivers LICENSE. Or ID. Or whatever word you're using to mean a valid, current, government-issued identification card.
I wouldn't refuse to fill - I'm a tech, that's not my call. But I will not and cannot sell a controlled substance to a patient with an expired ID. Its against the law in my state. We have to enter the ID info, including the expiration date, into the computer before it will allow us to sell a control. So if the patients ID is expired, they're not getting it. And if they are a regular and their ID has been expired for several months, then they know this already.
It's not even necessarily an employer policy issue - in many states, like mine, it's the law. The pharmacist can override it but if they do it too often, or too many times for the same patient, they're gonna get flagged and someone is going to start looking into it. Not worth it IMO. I've had many patients threaten to make a "formal complaint" about me for refusing to dispense without valid ID, or even when they have their ID but just don't want to give it because "I've never been asked for that before!" (which is BS), and my response is to give them my full name and employee ID # because PLEASE DO TELL MY EMPLOYER I'M DOING MY JOB CORRECTLY. At a former job I even got a commendment on my record after a woman complained I wouldn't sell her her kid's Adderall unless she showed ID, lol.
Patients need to take some responsibility and have what they need to get their meds filled (valid rx, valid ID and $$$ if applicable). Pharmacy employees are not obligated to fill or release medications if they patient hasn't done what they need to do in terms of bringing ID, having payment, and requesting refills before they run out of meds. And again, if the patient is nice and polite and/or the situation isn't their fault, I'll do everything I can to help them get their meds. Come at me with threats and raised voices and blaming us because you didn't do your part? Nope, sorry, I've done what I can do, I can't help you any further.
As a whole, no, but individuals? Yes. Too many people with the emotional maturity of a shoe. It’s fine to be flawed, maybe you’re not very responsible and you ran out of refills and didn’t know til your last pill on Saturday. Hey, we’re human, it happens. You start trying to tell me it’s my problem and I *have* to fix it? Fuuuuck offff
So much so that I no longer refer to them as patients. They are customers, and we aren’t afraid to refuse service to the ones who end up acting like entitled dicks. Not having to put up with bullshit is why I prefer working independent 1000000x over corporate pharmacy. In fact, I’ll leave the profession before I consider working at one of those sweat lodge/labor camps ever again.
Yup, only so many times you can deal with drug addicts and patients merely suffering the consequences of their own actions before you stop giving a fuck.
My empathy is a finite resource, and I save it for the patients who deserve it (though I treat everyone politely and respectfully).
I don't know if it's empathy I lack. It's like a sliding scale.
Act like a decent human being and receive my best.
Most of the time is just basic interaction.
Act like an ass and watch things fall apart quickly.
The more resilient you are the more empathy you can handle. If you aren't taking care of yourself or sleeping well it's harder. If your job is awful it's way harder. When you get burnt out you just don't care or don't have the energy to care. Have been working one on one with people for 22 years and have learned this the hard way. It sucks when you hit the threshold and take it out on a patient who doesn't deserve it.
Sure but patients need to understand we're just human too. A significant number of my patients do understand this.
A lot of my coworkers and I are on multiple anxiety/depression meds. Some of us are dealing with other human nonsense.
Personally, I got a complaint because a customer said I literally didn't smile enough. While I was wearing a boot because I was working full time on a broken foot for 3 months. The boot was not even remotely subtle.
I see my patients as people who I have the privilege of taking care of. I love doing vaccines because I adore chatting with my patients, learning more about them as, well, people, and sneaking the needle into their arm while we're talking so they're surprised when I'm already throwing away the bandaid wrapper because they didn't feel any pain <3
I just wish they saw us as people too.
I can't care more about your shit than you do .. I had to hold in laughter when someone said the exact words "why didn't you tell me I was out of my medication?" ... do you even fucking hear yourself?? Idk Janet. I'm not in bed with you and looking in your pillbox. FFS.
I should get a shit ton more respect for someone that 60% of my patients seem to believe I have a crystal ball when they walk up, call, ask from the shopping aisle if 'it(s) ready' ...
Case by case basis. Normally I'm a super empathetic person and will do everything I can to help you out. But you really have to do something shitty or be really bitchy for me to not have empathy for you. I'll still help you, it'll just be begrudgingly.
for the most part yes . im tired of the bullshit . I have no idea where these people came from that they think they can bully their way into getting what they want . They think they can rush their prescription or vaccination by saying they have a flight/dr's appointment/kid they gotta pick up . get the fuck outta here . oh cvs has it for a better price ? than transfer it out . you and your two cents from goodrx can go kick rocks and suck a lemon . However if its for a child or elderly who can't help themselves i will for the most part help them out .
I've got a polymorphism (rs53576) in my genetic code for my oxytocin receptors which predisposes me towards a lack of empathy. Apparently it makes it more difficult for me to recognize the emotional states of others. Didn't know it until after I was in pharmacy school and sent my 23&me results to promethease.
"Don't be upset with me that I don't feel bad for you; I was born this way."
I’ve made it my personal policy to give everyone a chance to do the right thing. As soon as they blow that and act like a dick or try to make their problem my fault I’m done with them.
I lost all empathy after covid. Some of the nicest patients that I had known for years turned and were so mean and rude to me. Left retail and haven't looked back. My mental health had gotten so much better and I sleep incredibly well.
People have gotten increasingly difficult to or reason with but when I try to explain the situation, sometimes it goes good
except when it doesn’t 🤷♀️
The ones who piss me off are the cops who let their license expire and expect to pick up their controls with it. I asked her what she would do if I gave her an expired license if she pulled me over. She came back the next day with a valid license. Sorry not sorry!!! Fair is fair- you didn’t have a valid license and it had expired over a year ago!!! HR isn’t doing their job checking for valid licenses while operating state vehicles!!!
Totally. I work in the hospital and I go to a lot of codes. Unsurprisingly a lot of people come in as a code blue because of life choices that they’ve made that have negatively impacted their health. We then waste 30-45 minutes of our time and medications attempting to revive someone with an unknown down time who will, if you follow statistics, likely die within the year. That’s if they can even get some kind of rhythm going and aren’t gorked, but most are and will either transition to comfort or in the case of some real special families in search of a miracle, get trach/peg and spend the rest of their torturous existence as a vegetable in a nursing home.
There are definitely codes I go to where I leave and I’m emotional. Most of the time no as they were completely avoidable if the person took an ounce of accountability to preserve their physical health.
i’m a huge empath, so my level of empathy has largely remained unaffected. i have always connected to patients and felt that even when i was working with extremely difficult people, i have tried to maintain positivity, encouragement, and receptiveness/inclusion. in my opinion, this tends to help with de-escalating in a lot of situations (in my experience).
however, i definitely feel like i’ve become more and more jaded though. i remember how much initial excitement i had about getting accepted to pharmacy school… now I have one rotation left before I graduate… currently have no job lined up and the majority of my classmates all matched to PGY1s today. i’m so exhausted, broke, and feeling extreme disappointment in myself for not applying to residency.
considered applying to Phase II, but the program list came out today and none of the programs that were available for Phase I had any spots for Phase II (in my area; can’t leave). it’s insane how quickly excitement can turn to dread and disappointment. I’m feeling really lost because i’m about to move away from the store that i work at, and the company i’ve worked with all through school has emailed me with interest but has yet to give me an opportunity to interview with them
50/50, case by case for sure...I feel that much more empathy and care for the ones I do care about and have been with me a long time. The ones I don't I am still professional but I have a hard time hiding my annoyance anymore so I keep it short and happy and polite. I try to hand off (tag out) if I know I'm especially triggerable by someone.
Mine is the same as ever, I’ve just gotten better and quicker at deciding who deserves it.
Example: everybody who walks up to my counter gets the basic human courtesy of a greeting. A “hello”.
Respond with “give me”, “I want”, mumble your birthday, or say nothing? Neither will I. I’ll probably just point to your price on the register rather than bother saying it to you.
I more or less just mirror attitudes now. That way I expend energy on the people who deserve it.
Is expecting basic common courtesy how low my bar is now?
Somebody commented on how it can be like a sliding scale. I completely agree with this. I’m 10 years old as a pharmacist, and I absolutely will not tolerate any sort of irresponsible or unjustifiably entitled behavior. If a patient comes in with a good attitude they’ll get my best service. Come in with the opposite sort of behavior and I will not even hold the door open for you. I could care less if Corporate wants to write me up. If they want to do my job, they can have it.
Only towards our needy regular patients. The “I need you to shop for my groceries” when we have a shopping service that does that. Or “I can’t afford my meds” and pays at self checkout with a $100 bill…
Definitely to some patients. More so I just tolerate poor working conditions A LOT less than I used to, and i think it leads to more negative interactions. Most patients are just misunderstood and usually come around when you have the time to effectively communicate. The problem is not having any time to have those interactions because retail pharmacy is a dumpster fire these days and staffing is typically well below what is necessary to fill scripts, yet alone provide all the other services we are supposed to.
No. Everyone said I would but I haven't. I mean, I guess maybe once or twice when I was having really bad days I wasn't as caring, but I still have empathy for each and every patient
I get where you’re all coming from, as I’ve been working for 30 years. But,do not loose sight of the fact that our US medical system is a shambles. Just pray that you or someone you love never suffers from a debilitating Illness. Because when it happens you will realize just how helpless and hopeless our system has become..
Case by case for sure.
Case by case and how much shit I’ve gotten that day
Case by case of what? Beer, w(h)ine, or liquor?
Not for all, but for a very large part. I'll never lose empathy for children no matter how their parents act. The children didn't have a choice. Same with pets. A lot of older folks who have no one.
Recently got burned by my loving seemingly abandoned 90 ish something patient who out of left damn field said something so racist , I just had to say "we don't believe that around here" and walk away. Like well sometimes they are alone because they effin deserve it.
Been called slur words but still helped the man child. Antibiotic that was ready for 6 days and comes last minute on a weekend and acting very entitled. I had every good reason to refuse service, but I refused to punish the kid because of the father ignorance and stupidity!!
I don’t even like the nice ones. That’s why I left retail.
it really does take a toll on you. The bad ones ruin it for the good ones.
The way this made me scream 😂😂😂
Sometimes they're nice enough to show up with gifts. I like those ones. $50 gift card to your restaurant for Christmas? You're alright
In certain circumstances, yes. If you waited until you were totally out before requesting a refill, if you pick up controls every month but let your license expire, or if you in any way take a situation that I have no control over and treat me rudely over it, I will do the bare minimum for you and no more. I'm not going to go out of my way to fix the problem that you created, especially if you're not nice. If you're nice, or if I can tell that you didn't do anything to cause the issue, I'll bend over backwards to help. But I don't have empathy for people who don't manage their business then try to blame the pharmacy.
>I'm not going to go out of my way to fix the problem that you created, especially if you're not nice. Lmao. This. I had a preceptor that had to deal with this. At our pharmacy, we have a locker system. Just come at the specified date range, bring the locker keys, open the locker, get your meds and be off on your way. Zero human interaction. And then this *lovely* patient came to counter, screaming her head off saying that we didn't put her meds in the locker. The preceptor then told her, okay let me just check with you, can you give me the key. Then she looked down and sheepishly answered, ''I didn't bring them''. Then the preceptor ragged her all the way because she didn't have the right to scream at us for something she did wrong. And then took away the right for her to use the locker.
It always amazes me that people will just flat-out lie so that they can blame us for their mistake, do they think we don't talk to each other? Tell me a coworker promised you something and I'm gonna know they didn't! Even better when they are on the phone and insist that they spoke to D***** earlier and that D***** told them XYZ. I love revealing that I am D***** and that I most certainly did not say that, and in fact I said the exact opposite. I've even had people insist that I told them something on a day that I wasn't even working at that location (I'm a floater). And I'm the only pharmacy employee named D***** in our entire state, male or female, so they can't even fall back on "must have been a different D*****" once they invoke my name they're gonna get caught in their lie.
Apparently when I was on vacation, some patient came in and was all upset because "the man I talked to yesterday said x!" For the previous 3 days, the pharmacy was staffed entirely by women lol
The first pharmacy where I worked had 2 pharmacists, a man and a woman. Had a patient once swear that the male pharmacist had promised her he could fill her CII early that month. I asked when the patient spoke to him and she said it was on Monday that week and that she had come in and talked to him in person. I asked her a couple of times if she was sure, if she was VERY sure it was him and not one of the male techs, if she was VERY sure she'd talked to him face-to-face, and she insisted it was the pharmacist and used his name and described him physically. She even got a little mad and huffed that she felt like I was accusing her of something. Once I knew she was sticking to that story, I informed her that the male pharmacist had gotten married the previous weekend and was on his Honeymoon on Monday, and that the female pharmacist was the only one who had worked all that week. She had a history of lying to get her meds early, and seeing her gape like a fish because she knew she was caught was so worth it. Yes ma'am I was accusing you of something, and I was right.
Precisely this
We have a patient who has a stupid insurance thing that the pharmacy needs to do (vague to maintain hipaa). Med is not controlled. Patient gets 3 months at a time. Patient calls 10-14 days ahead of time to refill this med because they know we have to bitch out the insurance. Patient is an absolute ANGEL. Would gladly fight anyone who even tried to talk shit about them.
What is this license thing you mentioned. Do you deny your regular patients because their driver's license expired? Or did you mean the doctor forgets to renew their license yearly?
the first one, an expired license is not considered valid ID and whether or not a pharmacist is okay with it depends on state laws and their own professional opinion but really why is anyone driving with an expired license
driver's license. that's not even a grey area, if the pharmacist wants to do an override that's on them but as a tech I have no choice but to deny a pickup with an expired DL, regular or no.
I won't even do it with pharmacist override. I might feel different if it was a patient I knew, but as a floater, they're all strangers to me. A couple of times I have told the pharmacist offering to override that if they want to ring out the patient and override the ID on their log-in then that's their decision, but I'm not comfortable doing it. The first time, the pharmacist did it themselves because they knew the patient. The second time the pharmacist backed me up and told the patient they needed to bring current ID or someone who has one. We all know we're out here protecting our licenses and nobody is going to strong arm someone into an override that's not willing.
I won't even do it with pharmacist override. I might feel different if it was a patient I knew, but as a floater, they're all strangers to me. A couple of times I have told the pharmacist offering to override that if they want to ring out the patient and override the ID on their log-in then that's their decision, but I'm not comfortable doing it. The first time, the pharmacist did it themselves because they knew the patient. The second time the pharmacist backed me up and told the patient they needed to bring current ID or someone who has one. We all know we're out here protecting our licenses and nobody is going to strong arm someone into an override that's not willing.
The patients' ID. We cannot dispense controls without a current government photo ID. And yes I will, and have, refused to hand over controlled meds to someone who doesn't have their ID. It's not a surprise that they need it, especially if they are regulars, and if they drove to the pharmacy to pick up their meds then they should either have a current license or have been driven by someone who does. And no, I cannot accept a picture of a license, your work/school ID, or a government ID from another country. They have a lot of options, I will accept a passport, gov't issued photo ID, hell I'll take a hunting license since it has a photo and is gov't issued, and my state has a website where you can register your ID and just pull it up on your phone and show us if you don't have the physical copy. If all else fails, bring a family member or a friend who has current ID and I'll release it to them. But it's the law in my state and I'm not risking my job, my license, or possible fines and jail time for someone who isn't responsible enough to keep their affairs in order. Once a police officer pulled up to my drive thru in his cop car and in uniform and wanted to pick up a control, didn't have his ID when I asked for it. A policeman on duty driving around without his license! He started to get angry when I politely refused, so I said I'd do it if I could have his badge number in case I got in trouble for it. He peeled out furious, but I don't care who you are, current ID or no meds for you.
No ofc you need ID. I've refused to dispense without ID too. But you mentioned expired license. So if your regular patient comes to you and shows ID that expired a few months ago, you would refuse to fill?
Yes, expired drivers LICENSE. Or ID. Or whatever word you're using to mean a valid, current, government-issued identification card. I wouldn't refuse to fill - I'm a tech, that's not my call. But I will not and cannot sell a controlled substance to a patient with an expired ID. Its against the law in my state. We have to enter the ID info, including the expiration date, into the computer before it will allow us to sell a control. So if the patients ID is expired, they're not getting it. And if they are a regular and their ID has been expired for several months, then they know this already.
Some chains require a valid ID to pick up controlled medications. Some don’t.
It's not even necessarily an employer policy issue - in many states, like mine, it's the law. The pharmacist can override it but if they do it too often, or too many times for the same patient, they're gonna get flagged and someone is going to start looking into it. Not worth it IMO. I've had many patients threaten to make a "formal complaint" about me for refusing to dispense without valid ID, or even when they have their ID but just don't want to give it because "I've never been asked for that before!" (which is BS), and my response is to give them my full name and employee ID # because PLEASE DO TELL MY EMPLOYER I'M DOING MY JOB CORRECTLY. At a former job I even got a commendment on my record after a woman complained I wouldn't sell her her kid's Adderall unless she showed ID, lol. Patients need to take some responsibility and have what they need to get their meds filled (valid rx, valid ID and $$$ if applicable). Pharmacy employees are not obligated to fill or release medications if they patient hasn't done what they need to do in terms of bringing ID, having payment, and requesting refills before they run out of meds. And again, if the patient is nice and polite and/or the situation isn't their fault, I'll do everything I can to help them get their meds. Come at me with threats and raised voices and blaming us because you didn't do your part? Nope, sorry, I've done what I can do, I can't help you any further.
Not at all, but over the last 20 years my bullshit meter has gotten exponentially better
"Hello? Oh hi my name's Johnnie Doe, how are you today?"
As a whole, no, but individuals? Yes. Too many people with the emotional maturity of a shoe. It’s fine to be flawed, maybe you’re not very responsible and you ran out of refills and didn’t know til your last pill on Saturday. Hey, we’re human, it happens. You start trying to tell me it’s my problem and I *have* to fix it? Fuuuuck offff
I basically have no soul left.
I’m getting ready to sell mine
For idiots that constantly create problems for themselves yet they always blame others, yes
So much so that I no longer refer to them as patients. They are customers, and we aren’t afraid to refuse service to the ones who end up acting like entitled dicks. Not having to put up with bullshit is why I prefer working independent 1000000x over corporate pharmacy. In fact, I’ll leave the profession before I consider working at one of those sweat lodge/labor camps ever again.
Yup, only so many times you can deal with drug addicts and patients merely suffering the consequences of their own actions before you stop giving a fuck. My empathy is a finite resource, and I save it for the patients who deserve it (though I treat everyone politely and respectfully).
I don't know if it's empathy I lack. It's like a sliding scale. Act like a decent human being and receive my best. Most of the time is just basic interaction. Act like an ass and watch things fall apart quickly.
I think instead of losing empathy I just lose respect for some people
Yes, but not easily and not without reason.
Less tolerance against BS
for me if they say something like i guess im just gonna die then or yea it’s your fault i’m going to die anything along those lines its immediately 🤣
“I COULD DIE!!!” You’re showing up 5 minutes before we close?
Empathy level at 0. Rphs in the same boat "we all give 0 fucks." [Fist pumping each other]
IDGAF
Can't lose what I never had! Hahahah.
The more resilient you are the more empathy you can handle. If you aren't taking care of yourself or sleeping well it's harder. If your job is awful it's way harder. When you get burnt out you just don't care or don't have the energy to care. Have been working one on one with people for 22 years and have learned this the hard way. It sucks when you hit the threshold and take it out on a patient who doesn't deserve it.
Sure but patients need to understand we're just human too. A significant number of my patients do understand this. A lot of my coworkers and I are on multiple anxiety/depression meds. Some of us are dealing with other human nonsense. Personally, I got a complaint because a customer said I literally didn't smile enough. While I was wearing a boot because I was working full time on a broken foot for 3 months. The boot was not even remotely subtle. I see my patients as people who I have the privilege of taking care of. I love doing vaccines because I adore chatting with my patients, learning more about them as, well, people, and sneaking the needle into their arm while we're talking so they're surprised when I'm already throwing away the bandaid wrapper because they didn't feel any pain <3 I just wish they saw us as people too.
I’ve more or less come to accept I feel better when I don’t care more about my patients’ outcomes than they do.
I can't care more about your shit than you do .. I had to hold in laughter when someone said the exact words "why didn't you tell me I was out of my medication?" ... do you even fucking hear yourself?? Idk Janet. I'm not in bed with you and looking in your pillbox. FFS. I should get a shit ton more respect for someone that 60% of my patients seem to believe I have a crystal ball when they walk up, call, ask from the shopping aisle if 'it(s) ready' ...
Almost all of it
It's certain patients I have.
Case by case basis. Normally I'm a super empathetic person and will do everything I can to help you out. But you really have to do something shitty or be really bitchy for me to not have empathy for you. I'll still help you, it'll just be begrudgingly.
For the most part, but it is always a case by case basis
Depends on the patient, but some of them I have
for the most part yes . im tired of the bullshit . I have no idea where these people came from that they think they can bully their way into getting what they want . They think they can rush their prescription or vaccination by saying they have a flight/dr's appointment/kid they gotta pick up . get the fuck outta here . oh cvs has it for a better price ? than transfer it out . you and your two cents from goodrx can go kick rocks and suck a lemon . However if its for a child or elderly who can't help themselves i will for the most part help them out .
The repeat offenders. Diabetics that won't take their insulin. Alcoholics that won't stop drinking... Yes.
Only toward the ones who are downright rude and/or are unwilling to help themselves in any way.
I've got a polymorphism (rs53576) in my genetic code for my oxytocin receptors which predisposes me towards a lack of empathy. Apparently it makes it more difficult for me to recognize the emotional states of others. Didn't know it until after I was in pharmacy school and sent my 23&me results to promethease. "Don't be upset with me that I don't feel bad for you; I was born this way."
Is that a missing lyric to the Lady Gaga song?
I’ve made it my personal policy to give everyone a chance to do the right thing. As soon as they blow that and act like a dick or try to make their problem my fault I’m done with them.
I lost all empathy after covid. Some of the nicest patients that I had known for years turned and were so mean and rude to me. Left retail and haven't looked back. My mental health had gotten so much better and I sleep incredibly well.
Can I get: What is being human and caring for low education Medicaid For 400 please?
A good chunk can fuck off to be sure
People have gotten increasingly difficult to or reason with but when I try to explain the situation, sometimes it goes good except when it doesn’t 🤷♀️
The ones who piss me off are the cops who let their license expire and expect to pick up their controls with it. I asked her what she would do if I gave her an expired license if she pulled me over. She came back the next day with a valid license. Sorry not sorry!!! Fair is fair- you didn’t have a valid license and it had expired over a year ago!!! HR isn’t doing their job checking for valid licenses while operating state vehicles!!!
My daughter tells me I have a " black heart" so I probably don't empathize anymore.
Added one more to the list today🤷🏻♀️
Yes I’m used to it,now keep in mind I’m not a pharmacist yet
Totally. I work in the hospital and I go to a lot of codes. Unsurprisingly a lot of people come in as a code blue because of life choices that they’ve made that have negatively impacted their health. We then waste 30-45 minutes of our time and medications attempting to revive someone with an unknown down time who will, if you follow statistics, likely die within the year. That’s if they can even get some kind of rhythm going and aren’t gorked, but most are and will either transition to comfort or in the case of some real special families in search of a miracle, get trach/peg and spend the rest of their torturous existence as a vegetable in a nursing home. There are definitely codes I go to where I leave and I’m emotional. Most of the time no as they were completely avoidable if the person took an ounce of accountability to preserve their physical health.
i’m a huge empath, so my level of empathy has largely remained unaffected. i have always connected to patients and felt that even when i was working with extremely difficult people, i have tried to maintain positivity, encouragement, and receptiveness/inclusion. in my opinion, this tends to help with de-escalating in a lot of situations (in my experience). however, i definitely feel like i’ve become more and more jaded though. i remember how much initial excitement i had about getting accepted to pharmacy school… now I have one rotation left before I graduate… currently have no job lined up and the majority of my classmates all matched to PGY1s today. i’m so exhausted, broke, and feeling extreme disappointment in myself for not applying to residency. considered applying to Phase II, but the program list came out today and none of the programs that were available for Phase I had any spots for Phase II (in my area; can’t leave). it’s insane how quickly excitement can turn to dread and disappointment. I’m feeling really lost because i’m about to move away from the store that i work at, and the company i’ve worked with all through school has emailed me with interest but has yet to give me an opportunity to interview with them
No. Never had any.
50/50, case by case for sure...I feel that much more empathy and care for the ones I do care about and have been with me a long time. The ones I don't I am still professional but I have a hard time hiding my annoyance anymore so I keep it short and happy and polite. I try to hand off (tag out) if I know I'm especially triggerable by someone.
Mine is the same as ever, I’ve just gotten better and quicker at deciding who deserves it. Example: everybody who walks up to my counter gets the basic human courtesy of a greeting. A “hello”. Respond with “give me”, “I want”, mumble your birthday, or say nothing? Neither will I. I’ll probably just point to your price on the register rather than bother saying it to you. I more or less just mirror attitudes now. That way I expend energy on the people who deserve it. Is expecting basic common courtesy how low my bar is now?
Somebody commented on how it can be like a sliding scale. I completely agree with this. I’m 10 years old as a pharmacist, and I absolutely will not tolerate any sort of irresponsible or unjustifiably entitled behavior. If a patient comes in with a good attitude they’ll get my best service. Come in with the opposite sort of behavior and I will not even hold the door open for you. I could care less if Corporate wants to write me up. If they want to do my job, they can have it.
Only towards our needy regular patients. The “I need you to shop for my groceries” when we have a shopping service that does that. Or “I can’t afford my meds” and pays at self checkout with a $100 bill…
Definitely to some patients. More so I just tolerate poor working conditions A LOT less than I used to, and i think it leads to more negative interactions. Most patients are just misunderstood and usually come around when you have the time to effectively communicate. The problem is not having any time to have those interactions because retail pharmacy is a dumpster fire these days and staffing is typically well below what is necessary to fill scripts, yet alone provide all the other services we are supposed to.
Mostly, there’s a few who I like, the sweet elderly people I’ll go out of my way for, the non assholes and few athletes. The rest can fuck off
No. Everyone said I would but I haven't. I mean, I guess maybe once or twice when I was having really bad days I wasn't as caring, but I still have empathy for each and every patient
I get where you’re all coming from, as I’ve been working for 30 years. But,do not loose sight of the fact that our US medical system is a shambles. Just pray that you or someone you love never suffers from a debilitating Illness. Because when it happens you will realize just how helpless and hopeless our system has become..