The inspiration for today’s post is from an unlikely source, and I’m struck by my inability to get the song out of my head over the past week.

My father recently lent me Mick Fleetwood’s autobiography, he being the seminal figure in the evolution of Fleetwood Mac. I had heard records when I was little. The album Rumours was released in 1977 and the band was quite the rage during my infancy. His writing style is free and easy, and genuinely feels like you’re sitting in a room having an extended chat. The man has lived a wild life, and is unabashed by the drama and destruction that has followed him around. It’s interesting to pass through all of the many distinct chapters of his life and that of the band that shares his namesake. Most folks will identify with the commercial success of the current lineup, but there have been a total of 16 members since 1967. That’s a lot of change in 50 years, and he’s welcomed all of it, much of which he created.

So naturally I’ve found myself rediscovering their music and all of the songs I may have heard and not realized the artist. One of those songs is ‘Don’t Stop’. It stands as one of their most famous and used as a theme for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. The chorus serves as an earworm:

Don’t stop, thinking about tomorrow.

Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here.

It’ll be here, better than before.

Yesterday’s gone. Yesterday’s gone.

This is how I like to think about pharmacy practice. Through difficult times, we want to look ahead and use lessons of the past to make something better. Recently, I spent three days in a room full of my peers discussing patient-focused care and re-discovering what it was that drove me to pharmacy in the first place: the professional-patient relationship and the ability to help people. They come to us because of our expertise in drug therapy, but our capacity to help can go so much deeper. We see the person instead of the drug list. We offer assistance starting with their goals instead of academic theory.

It’s invigorating to have so many positive experiences on which to build. Maybe someone presents feeling tired and irritable. After an assessment, it’s suspected that thyroid supplementation may help, along with that nagging itchy dry skin and a pesky feeling of cold most of the time. Connecting the dots, and discussing benefits of therapy modifications can be so rewarding.

Don’t stop….thinking about tomorrow.

I have so many tomorrows to think about right now. How do I want to re-energize the pharmacy teams with what I’ve learned? We can discuss shuffling workstations, moving equipment, organizing appointments on overlap shifts, or simply having regular short, daily meetings to bring everyone together.

Don’t stop…it’ll soon be here.

Why wait? Every tomorrow is a new opportunity to introduce and refine behaviour. Being excited for all of the ‘what if’ possibilities is the way to go. Many provincial jurisdictions have robust prescribing opportunities for chronic conditions, and allow for pharmacist-driven lab requisitions. That future will arrive soon for everyone practicing in Canada.

It’ll be here, better than before.

Keep an open mind. Even systems and processes that seemingly work well today can be tweaked and enhanced when we get new information or new ideas to drive them.

Yesterday’s gone. Yesterday’s gone.

…but by no way forgotten. Disappointing patient interaction? It happened. We learn from those experiences and move to the next. It won’t be the last, and we haven’t found a cure for the human condition. Awesome interactions are also in the past, but the passion we carry from those experiences will touch tomorrow’s colleagues and patients and heighten their engagement.

I’m closing on 19 years in the industry. There have been plenty of stops and starts, and periods of stagnation, but we’ve always risen to the occasion for the needs of our patients, who over time become more like friends and family. Whether you’re a new graduate, or experienced clinician, a community or hospital pharmacist, together we are the profession. We guide it by refusing to stop, and constantly thinking about what we can do tomorrow.

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.