Hey there,
First off, love the blog (though maybe it helps that I find human interaction funny anyway and that I happen to mostly agree with your politics). Keep it up.
My question is about the career of pharmacy in general. To feed my addiction for this shit, I've been reading through your blog's archives and came across this post: http://drugmonkey.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-dream-of-escaping-profession-but-lets.html
Although this is mostly sarcasm, is there any truth to it? Do you ever wake up and truly dread going to work? Do you ever have doubts or regrets about choosing pharmacy as a career?(Name withheld to shield the letter writer from any of the potential stalker-like behaviors I have come to accept as normal)
Dear Name Withheld,
Do I ever wake up and truly dread going to work? Only on days when I have to go to work.
Do I ever have doubts or regrets about choosing pharmacy as a career? Only when I think about what other things I could have done with my life.
Do you know what I did today Name Withheld? The same thing I do every other Saturday when I have the weekend off. I locked the door, double checked to make sure the door was locked and avoided all of humanity. My only goal today was to not see another person. That's not normal Name Withheld. The retail pharmacy career I entered into so long ago as a doe-eyed intern cost me my marriage, a good chunk of my self esteem for a few years, and too many nights that have been washed away in a river of scotch.
It has though, given me the gift of suicidal ideation from time to time.
You don't explicitly say so Name Withheld, but I assume you're at the point in your life when you're picking a career. I remember the specific point in my life when I decided pharmacy was for me. And I would love nothing better than to invent a time machine, go back to that moment, and kick my 18-year old ass the second after he made that decision. Don't risk getting your ass kicked by a 40-year old version of yourself here in a few days Name Withheld. Don't pick pharmacy. Don't. And I know how you kids are with chasing money and not listening to your elders, which means you probably will. So I'll give out a second piece of advice that you really need to listen to.
When you do choose pharmacy. Stay. Away. From. Retail. They'll lure you with tuition assistance and signing bonuses Name Withheld. There's a reason they have to do that. Because they have no respect for the profession and the only way they can meet their staffing needs is to buy off enough of those that do. If I check up on you in a few years Name Withheld, and you've got a pharmacy degree, you better be in a clinical hospital setting, teaching, or doing research or the ass-kicking you receive may be from me.
Thing is, you'll probably thank me for that ass kicking. It's too late for me Name Withheld. But for God's sake save yourself.
Feel free to chime in readers.
