a light at the end of the tunnel!

Agh, just finished a 6 day shift consisting of 4 12.5 hour weekdays and 9 + 8 hour weekend. So relieved that it's over! I was practically willing the clock to move faster today so I can have one day off tomorrow... and then back to work on Thursday! But at least I have a day off, dammit.

I think a lot of people don't realize how tiring it can be to be a pharmacist (especially a retail one). For my company at least, most pharmacies only have 1 pharmacist a day so that means 12.5 hour days on the weekday, not counting my 1 hour drive each way. You're standing most of the day, running between computers, the register and the drug shelves. You chase the doctor down for a refill or a prior auth, only to get yelled at that it's not ready (which isn't your fault!). Or you call worker's comp to review claims and it takes days for the adjustor to get back on, which is usually for controlled pain medication (and that's a touchy topic in of itself...). Then there's the annoying stuff like keeping inventory down, dealing with all the temporary NDC substitutions and bleh.... There's so much more. UGH! Just the daily life of a retail pharmacist.

Whine whine whine! Anyway it's not all bad. Most days I really feel good about my career choice =D There are always some great customers who appreciate the work that goes "behind the scenes", in between dropping off a prescription and getting a nice neat bag at the register. The techs I work with are really great! Plus I really can't complain about the pay, considering I work 50+ hours a week... and I get paid for drive time. KACHING!!

Even so, I'M SO HAPPY TO HAVE A DAY OFF!




And I did all this 6 day shift just so I could go meet up with my Cornell buddies next weekend~! It'll be worth it though!