Monthly Archives: August 2016

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Hip For a Night

How often do you feel part of something too big to explain in words alone? It’s a sensation; a point in time where everyone casts an eye, bends an ear, and opens a mind to an emotional spectacle only experienced a handful of times a generation.

The Tragically Hip bid farewell to the masses in their home town of Kingston, Ontario and an estimated 11.7M viewers across Canada via an uncut CBC live feed on August 20. I certainly won’t find the right words, but I’ll gladly take a lunge at it.

Lead singer Gord Downie was recently diagnosed with glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer that grows aggressively and offers minimal chance at long-term survival. He decided to do the opposite of what you might expect; instead of becoming reclusive, accepting what remaining quality-of-life measures were available, and letting us mourn in advance of the inevitable, he organized a final tour to share himself with the fans one last time.

 

“Courage…It couldn’t come at a worse time.” – Gord Downie, Courage

However ravaged his body appeared after a craniotomy and six weeks of chemo and radiation, the energy from all pockets of the country seemed to fuel his voice after every introductory riff. Each of the three encore sets reached a fever pitch, and without interruption, we could hang on every solo, every iconic lyric, each instance of a certain signature, tumbling cadence to cap the vocal line.

That night I wasn’t a pharmacist. I was a Canadian…and a damned proud one at that.

The next morning, Laura and I were chatting about the significance of the concert. This exchange captured what many of the articles and pundits had been reporting:

Me: Any way I can tie in the Hip concert into a pharmacy blog post?

Laura: Oh God, I cried through the whole concert last night. Their bravery and COURAGE was unbelievable.

Me: I know. Read an article about Gord burning out onstage for everyone. Pretty amazing stuff.

Laura: They played for three hours.

Me: After the first few songs, I felt he was straining hard, but he kept going.

Laura: Yeah, and a lot of classics later on he sounded amazing. Imagine spending that much time and energy with four other guys for thirty years. They know exactly what they’re all going to do. Remarkable really.

Me: Can’t imagine. They deserve the adulation. If you’re going to hero-worship anything, this feels right.

Laura: Canadian pride and caring less about what others think is a surefire way to a happier life. Tonight the ENTIRE COUNTRY stopped to watch a concert. Would that happen anywhere else in the world? 

The CAPS are unedited, and proper emphasis is where it belonged 🙂

 

“No one’s interested in something you didn’t do.” – Gord Downie, Wheat Kings

I could take a fatalistic approach in saying that many cases of malpractice litigation definitely hinge on things that weren’t done, but I digress…

In all seriousness, wiser words have not been spoken as a mantra to living all phases of life. As pharmacists, how many minor ailments have we failed to offer? How many open-ended questions have we failed to ask? How many turf wars do we concede to other health professions? How many courses have we failed to take? How many trips have we failed to plan? How many opportunities have we failed to grasp? None of these examples are malicious or vindictive, just oftentimes we remain passive because of the emotional investment and unknown consequences.

Laura really drove the point home for me:

“So let’s remember what Gord and the Hip did on Aug 20. They gave everything they had left to their fans in one last hurrah. Every Canadian, healthcare professional or not, can stand to give a little more to others, care a little less what people think and get on with living their best life.”

 

“No dress-rehearsal…this is our life.” – Gord Downie, Ahead By  a Century

Everyone’s watching. Work, play, practice..LIVE on your own terms. 

#InGordWeTrust

 

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.

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Dog Days

My last post was over a month ago. Wow. I could make an excuse about being lazy in the summer, or that I’m spending more time outside, but alas, I am bereft of anything plausible other than that my attention has been elsewhere lately. One such distraction has been biking in my 6th Multiple Sclerosis Bike Tour, which I hope to write a bit about in the near future.

Sunlight can be a blessing for those who work in offices lacking windows. In our case, every time the receiving door opens is an opportunity to check the weather. We all could use a nice little Vitamin D rush in the mid-afternoon, even just to daydream and recharge for the late day push. A number of years ago, a team leader spoke about the importance of natural light in the workplace, and it’s hitting home more now than ever.

This summer is happily flying along and with it, the annual summer vacation crush. Manpower/womanpower is tighter than usual and we try to keep things light by ordering the occasional Friday afternoon pizza and testing the spring & summer demo releases from an in-house Scentsy(TM) consultant (Ed. note: Weathered Leather is not the best aroma for a small office).

So amidst the daily slog, a couple of days ago I found it fitting to be asked where I thought the profession of pharmacy is headed. At a time where I’m covering two roles and am measuring my progress hour by hour to stay on top of clinical responsibilities, this question forced me to think in terms of not just where I saw myself headed in pharmacy, but our path as a collective group. On the spot, my answer was reasonably coherent and built on the theme of professional independence; pharmacists focusing on the assessment of patients instead of treatments alone, becoming more involved in collaborative practice agreements, and building on the confidence gained through prescribing for minor ailments.

Upon reflection, I’m not satisfied with my answer. Being the excessively wordy fellow I happen to be, there wasn’t enough depth in what felt like a superficial soundbite. So I decided to go back and revisit the title of my blog.

PharmAspire was developed because I wanted to write about the pharmacist I aspire to be, in hopes of relating experiences of colleagues. There are many facets to this, and it’s not just one behavior or one skill that I may acquire; it’s more about bringing myself, my personality, my individual style as it were, to the practice of pharmacy. My opportunities will be borne out of my passions (analytics, team-building, communication) and my personal growth as a leader. I’m not sure how it will look but as the tagline reminds me, I would like to practice on my own terms, and describe the journey in my own terms.

Fear not, the blog-holiday is now over. The dog days have taken their bite and it’s time for some new inspiration. September will be here before we know it. New pharmacy students starting a new school year. Flu outbreaks will be the talk early in the fall. So much to dive into…

 

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.