New Year’s Pharmacy Resolutions 2018 Edition

Another year of my pharmacy career has passed and another one is about to begin. In preparation of the new year, I’ve created a list of pharmacy resolutions I’d like to practice, as well as see others adopt.

Limit distractions

Working as a pharmacist within a hospital can be intense enough without the added distractions. Many of the distractions, such as telephones ringing and nurses knocking on the pharmacy window, are more-or-less out of our control. We can limit both by being proactive throughout the day, but it’s part of the norm. Some examples of distractions we can prevent or reduce include:

• Limiting personal cell phone use (i.e. Internet)
• Lowering music or not playing any at all
• Keeping personal conversations to a minimum during peak times
• Not “freaking out” when a problem or issue develops
• Keeping your work area organized

Manage stress better

Anyone who has worked within a pharmacy knows how stressful it can be throughout the day. I’ve clocked out at the end of shifts feeling as if I just got off a carousel that was spinning at ludicrous speed.

Fortunately, my experience over the years has taught me how to handle the stress and pressure. Staying calm, being proactive with my responsibilities, and communicating with others has greatly improved my stress at work and reduced the amount of stress that I bring home with me.

Communicate better inside and outside of the pharmacy

Speaking of communication, it’s equally important inside and outside of the pharmacy. Be sure to inform your fellow pharmacy staff members of low or new inventory, backorder updates or developments, medication order issues, and any outstanding issues you’ve dealt with, especially to the incoming staff. Communicate with departments outside of the pharmacy, such as the status of medication orders with nurses, prescribing issues with doctors, and any other departments involved with patient care. All of us are involved in the care of patients so it’s important that we’re all on the same page.

Rotate and outdate the pharmacy inventory

This is a pet peeve of mine. I find few things throughout my work day to be more irritating than finding inventory on the shelf disorganized and outdated. Expired inventory is just as useless to patient care as no inventory. Make your day and everybody else’s day easier by rotating the inventory and outdating as necessary.

Keep the shelves organized

This is self-explanatory. Organizing the inventory on the shelves is exponentially more efficient than the chaos of half-opened boxes scattered everywhere. For example, how is it more efficient to keep a torn open box of Ofirmev on the floor underneath the bottom shelf instead of out of the box on the shelf?

Exercise and eat healthy

As healthcare professionals, we care for others and often feel it’s at the expense of our own health. Exercising, eating healthy, and keeping ourselves hydrated is important to maintain our health and reduce stress. In order to care for others properly we need to first care for ourselves.

Last, but not least, keep a positive attitude

As I said earlier, working within a pharmacy can be intense and stressful. Therefore, it’s important to keep a positive attitude in order to help you get through the day. Complaining about others and encouraging a negative work environment does not improve anything. The healthcare system is far from perfect, but it’s important to remember that at the end of the day we’re all responsible for safe and effective patient care

Best wishes for a healthy & happy new year!

Citations:

“Happy New Year 2018” Image: https://www.happynewyear2018x.com/happy-new-year-2018-wallpapers-android/

“Spaceballs” Image: https://www.stellarstudios.com/ludicrous-speed/

“Exercise” Image: http://www.thewalkingencyclopedia.com/exercise/