PHRASES TO OBEY

BY BROOKE ROE, Pharm.D., BCPS, Meijer, manager of pharmacy quality and accreditation

This year marks my 15th straight year in community pharmacy. While many of my colleagues in pharmacy have significantly more (or a few less) years of service, I’m hopeful we all have the same perspective on pharmacy’s future: excitement. Pharmacies have taken center stage as we come out of our cornerstone role during the pandemic. We are under a lot of stress to perform. Some would call this pressure, others would call it opportunity. Call it what you want – it’s created a lot of commotion to evaluate workloads. While I will not suggest that I can solve the entire workload debate, there are several measures we can take individually to improve our outlook.

As a recovering over-committer, I’ve found it necessary to implement practices to promote self-care. My Facebook memories like to remind me of my love for quotes and it seems applicable to share a few that help summarize my practices. Here’s some of the phrases I obey:

1. You cannot pour from an empty cup. Our primary job in pharmacy is to take care of others. However, if you’re not taking care of yourself, it’s very hard to take care of anyone else at the top of your ability. It’s crucial to identify what brings you joy (fills your cup) and seek that out regularly. When we take better care of ourselves, we care better for others.

2. Three fingers pointing back at you. The first time I heard this was in elementary school tattle-telling on my brother, but the message remains the same after all these years. Before blaming others, it’s important to first look at your role in a situation. With accountability, we can achieve more together. After all, when you point at someone else, you have three fingers pointing back at you.

3. Bloom where you are planted. Occasionally, we can find ourselves in less-than-ideal circumstances. Rather than dwelling on everything that isn’t right, I’ve found it helpful to look for the good in all circumstances. By changing your perspective, your situation almost automatically improves. One of the ways I fill my cup, hold myself accountable and bloom is by being involved. I’m excited about the work the Michigan Society of Community Pharmacists (MSCP) is doing to enhance patient care in the community setting.

Particularly, we’ve identified two priorities for the upcoming year. First, we would like to expand pharmacists’ clinical role. Our primary focus will be on allowing pharmacists to prescribe oral contraceptives. Second, we would like to enhance pharmacy practice efficiencies to improve patient access. This means looking at making minor modifications via Board of Pharmacy rules, legislation, state-wide standing orders and collaborative practice agreements. The initial focus for improved efficiency will be pharmacy-based immunizations.

Even though I could not have predicted the events that have unfolded (especially those in 2020) over the years, one thing has not changed. Fifteen years ago, as a new pharmacy technician, I made the decision to become a pharmacist. If given the chance for a redo, I’d still make the same choice.