Category Archives: Miscellaneous

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Not Forgotten

Two years ago around this time, PharmAspire was still in its 6-month infancy. Writing was, and continues to be a salve that helps to both allay negativity and create positivity wherever it may be found. Two years ago around this time, a tragic event occurred that affected me in an unexpected way.

The loss of Karen Zed, a well-respected community pharmacist in the south-end of Halifax and mentor to countless pharmacy students and international pharmacy graduates, impacted a large section of the local pharmacy community. She had been working less than five days prior, and was telling her staff that she expected to be back helping her patients less than 36-hours before the news arrived. The shock was real, and the aftershock was felt for quite some time: long-standing pharmacy patients asked for her for many months after her passing, her university and college involvement was sorely missed, and colleagues from a four-decade career silently mourned a loss of a reliable friend.

I was fortunate to have been her manager for more than 5 years, and although I knew very little of her personally, I had the utmost respect for her career, and her approach to patient care. When I initially wrote the blog post in Sept 2013, it was a reflection on my experiences with her, and how I had lost contact in the previous year. What I didn’t expect was the response to the post. It was the first time I realized how close-knit our pharmacy community truly is. It is still the most-viewed piece I have ever written. She touched so many lives.

The alumni really wanted to honour her contributions and received support to fund an award in her name. The Karen Zed – Spirit of Community Pharmacy Award was summarized on page 2 of our pharmacy newsletter, the DUCPAD Dispatch. The goal was to recognize students who share Karen’s passion for community pharmacy and contribute to a learning environment while on structured clinical rotations. Within the past year, the fund has steadily grown but at the time of this writing, it has not quite reached a level to be a sustainable award. There is hope that we will reach the threshold and present this award at the end of this school year. If you would like to contribute, I encourage you to click the following link:

Http://alumniapps.dal.ca/giving/giving.php

By selecting ‘Health Professions’ in the drop-down menu below ‘Select a designation by faculty’, the College of Pharmacy will auto-populate in the field below. Among the worthy causes listed in the final drop-down menu, Karen’s award is on the bottom.

I believe in the creation of this award and have made my own donation. Community pharmacy is such an important part of the healthcare system and it’s nice to recognize students who are hungry to learn and enjoy helping patients with their medication needs. This award promotes the values we share and ensures the spirit of a dear colleague lives on.

 

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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Lists

Whenever an overwhelming sensation appears at the back door like an unwelcome family of raccoons clawing through the garbage, I feel the need to decompress. Part of the ‘stepping back’ process is trying to figure out exactly from where the worry stems.

Enter = lists

Sure, lists are archaic. It’s a call back to simpler times before your phone tracked your shopping habits and email inboxes spewed endless reminders about what to do when. Everybody has their own twist to organization, and I thought of myself as the last person who would buy a Dayminder to keep track of things, but it really came down to two simple but related items:

  1. The more things I had to remember, the higher the anxiety and stress.
  2. The energy expended to mentally keep track of everything took away from the energy needed to actually perform the tasks. Procrastination created a vicious cycle of more items leading to less production, leading to more items.

I like to think my memory is half-decent. I can be extremely rough on myself if refill requests are missed, phone calls aren’t returned on time, or communication isn’t clear and the team repeats mistakes as a result. When I managed smaller operations, there seemed to be time to address most tasks immediately. Any backlog items stood out and screamed to be completed. As I worked my way up to larger and more complex operations, those backlogs became a black cloud that hung around. The day-to-day quick hits were manageable but every new info request or investigation pushed the big picture/long-term growth items further down the list. I was reacting to everything, a trap in which we often find ourselves. I also find that the longer you’re in a role, your value to others increases because you have more ready answers than before. If I didn’t have a strategy to cope with the distractions and increased workload, before long I would be riding the hamster wheel to Burnout City.

My response was to purchase an agenda book, arranged by tabbed months and two calendar days on each page. The first step was to unload my mind by writing down every item, be it emails to be sent, phone calls to be made, references to check, or just thoughts about things I didn’t quite understand. Once it was on the page, I no longer had to remember it. Even though my first list was lengthy, I could look at it differently; instead of bouncing from one thing to another as it popped into my head (worried that I’d forget again) and juggling multiple half-completed tasks, I could now pick a few things that fit in to the time available that morning and afternoon. Might I add that physically crossing something off is much more satisfying than dismissing an alert or closing a window.

So at the beginning of every shift, I take two minutes and carry forward any items from the previous day and re-write them in priority groups. Throughout the day, if something comes up that isn’t immediately manageable, or if I get another brainwave for a project or opportunity, it’s pen to paper right away to be prioritized the following day. It sure saves on post-it notes scattered around the computer monitor. Over time, I can balance the quick and dirty jobs with one or two of the long-range projects so there’s always a feel of progression. Currently my list is somewhat smaller than when I started, but it still fills half a page. There are some payroll submissions to follow-up, narcotic reconciliation for the month, and narcotic destruction to complete. I have some incidents to report, policy and procedures to review, and obtain a status report on some store renovations. There are tasks to delegate to others, like hiring and onboarding practices, which require time for training. Finally, there are the bigger projects: analysis and revamping of our drug and wound care inventory, engagement initiatives for the staff, and clinical intervention activities for our consultant pharmacists including flu clinics and prescribing within our expanded scope.

If there are visitors scheduled in the upcoming weeks, it’s in the book. Any meetings or conference call commitments are in the book. The key really is that I keep it close by and refer to it often, as you never can tell when a distraction will come along (like a surprise College audit last week) and throw a wrench in your plans.

So whether your list is of the work or home variety, I suggest a purging of the mind, be it on paper or on a fancy tablet/phone/dictation machine. It helps me focus on things that are important to me now and later and keeps the stress level somewhat in check. As opposed to drowning in work, clear the mind and start swimming for the shore.

There. Completed the article. Time to cross it off my list 😉

 

 

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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Dominican Dreams

Well after a winter that still doesn’t seem to want to move on willingly, the balmy climes of the Caribbean were a much-needed detour. Waking up to warm sunshine for a week worked wonders to melt the icicles of some seasonal depression. I got to thinking: wouldn’t it be GREAT to practice pharmacy on a tropical island paradise? So then I stroll into the convenience store on the resort. Among the sarongs, the cigars, and the wood-chip-filled bottles of Mamajuana, I stumble upon this:

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Okay. I give up.

Your eyes do not deceive you. From left to right, we have acetaminophen 750mg, Aleve extra strength, Ibuprofen 800mg, ‘Azitromicina’, and ampicillin 500mg. This selection was found in a gift shop and it didn’t appear the ladies behind the counter were…’ahem’…well-versed in the medications they were selling. I understand that regulations are lax in some countries, but compared to the controls we have in Canada, I would hate to be doing any kind of medication reconciliation when this kind of stuff is considered over-the-counter.

From looking around the pool, and hearing from people in the party I was with, I would posit that some may have some blood pressure problems. I reckon that others may be on blood thinners for atrial fibrillation or stroke prevention. There may be hidden macrolide or penicillin allergies floating up to the wet-bar where a friend would casually say: ‘Oh, that sounds like a UTI. Here, I just picked up a few of these for myself just in case. Try some, they’ll fix you up.’ I’m sure this has never happened before on the resort.

Still, perhaps I’m taking this a bit too seriously. I should take some friendly, sun-baked advice:

IMG_20150426_092954_391

The Friccilicont is a menthol / methyl salicylate rub with a funky name but not too notable other than the pesky allergy risk.  However, a little buspirone would do wonders to chill me out. Yup. Buspirone. We don’t see it too often anymore, but it’s a lovely CYP 3A4 substrate that’s used for anti-anxiety and to enhance the effect of anti-depressants. Anybody picking this up in the airport ‘Pharmacia’ may not be told to lay off the grapefruit juice at the buffet. Once again, more than a few blood pressure meds or antibiotics could be in the carry-on that don’t play well with this one, especially if it was in regular use.

One more thing: All-inclusives are known for a few perks. Adults (and perhaps some late-teens) seem to enjoy the beach umbrellas, the barter-shopping, and BARS IN EVERY LOBBY/BEACH-HOUSE/POOL/ROOM/PARKING LOT/CORNER STORE/RESTAURANT. They even come find you if you’re looking lonely out in the common areas. Reading through the monograph for buspirone, alcohol may not be the best thing to consume. Additive CNS depression notwithstanding, liver and kidney impairment are significant cautions. Any diabetics snacking in the preferred lounge?

In closing, I’m poking some fun at the relative lack of controls and standards in a foreign country, but it’s really meant to contrast the type of clinical decision-making pharmacists in Canada are making every day. We take pride in heading off many of the potential issues outlined above and in the process, reduce the risk for significant adverse effects for drugs individually and in combination for patients in our care.

Aren’t you glad that we don’t have these on our counters:

 

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Make sure to fill up on the M&Ms while you’re at it. I can’t look at this picture without picturing the American ad where the fatherly gentleman is bouncing out his front door and down the sidewalk. This is followed by a fast-talking fellow listing all of the disclaimers and precautions over top of ‘good morning’ imagery.

Sigh – Here’s to Dominican dreams and relaxing vacations.

 

 

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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Freedom 550

Two years.

2 cycles around the sun. 730 days. 8 seasons (though really only 4 in Nova Scotia – 18 months of combined pre-winter, winter, and lying-groundhog-extended-winter, followed by a short fishin’ season).

That’s right, we’ve reached the two year mark for this blog. I’m having a difficult time processing that.

The title represents the average number of words in each post along with the sensation that writing gives me. No matter what trials and tribulations arise in my daily life, writing has and continues to be a release. Organizing my thoughts is a challenge, but stepping back to view the bigger picture is a necessary evil. Every couple of weeks is an opportunity to reset and refocus on why I do what I do as a father, as a person, and finally, as a pharmacist.

On the second anniversary, I appeal to those who are feeling discouraged by referring back to my first entry on Mar 28, 2013 titled ‘Inspiration‘. I truly feel the same way now as I did then: it’s our profession and together, we control which direction to go. I hate to quote myself, but my thinking hasn’t changed one iota:

“I truly believe the answers to every obstacle are already among the group and are waiting to be discovered through engagement and networking.”

So I raise a glass to my close friends and family; you are the reason for this blog in the first place. Your encouragement, your counsel, your perspective continues to inspire me. To Laura, your honesty in breaking down my words and tone has been spot on. None of this would be possible without you convincing me to post that first article. To Sandra, thank you for allaying my doubts and fears about being in a spotlight, and also for referring me to Vicki, who has opened my eyes to a world of journalism and graciously allowed me to contribute to her vision.

I can’t wait for what’s in store for year #3…

dcovey@pharmaspire.ca

 

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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Dispensing Pride

The terms ‘pharmacy’ and ‘dispensing’ go hand-in-hand. Prescribers diagnose disease and approve treatment. We fill the treatment orders and dispense the therapy, along with any important educational points, to patients and their families. This has been our role for generations. We are known as some of the most trusted and most accessible health professionals in the world.

I admit to being a proud dispenser, but my priorities are beginning to shift. Medication has always held a fascination for me: the clever brand names (remember Desyrel? I still have ‘DEpressive SYmptom RELief’ bouncing in my skull somewhere), the odd shapes of certain tablets and the splashy marketing campaigns. Sometimes missing however, was the proper transfer of information to others. My counseling skills took time to develop, and early on I felt robotic and scripted when interacting with patients.

As a student, I recall basic functions such as writing up manual credits to Blue Cross or the now defunct Maritime Medical. We made funky compounds with Anthralin powder that stained everything a heinous shade of yellow ochre that would make Bob Ross proud. We were the gatekeepers of all things pharmaceutical and sometimes a cursory counseling session was all that a patient received. Sure, in classes and labs we were coached on communication styles and higher standards but the reality was a bit disheartening; dispensing was the main focus and any clinical intervention seemed like an exciting ‘Eureka’ moment for the team to share instead of the norm.

Doing pharmacy relief immediately after graduation had it’s advantages and disadvantages. Although leaving work at work when a shift was over was nice, ensuring patient follow-up and continuity of care was extremely inconsistent from one site to the next. Every interaction was a point-in-time and documentation was rather erratic from one pharmacist to the next. We were however excellent at monitoring days supply of benzos and narcs. I may not have had the relevant history or familiarity with the tools to best determine your pain control but I could certainly attest that those sixty OxyContin 40mg were triple-counted by three different people.

My, how times have changed…

So, there is less of a focus on pack sizes and pricing (still important, but more of a management focus as opposed to pharmacist); better prescription software has lessened the need to manually update every drug file or pricing strategy. Now it’s more empowering to take a deeper look at interactions and latest research guidelines. The volume of calls to the third-party plan to correct date of birth issues are tasks that now may be delegated. We are becoming more intimately involved with special authorization criteria and therapeutic substitutions. Cognitively, we have more opportunity to apply ourselves; with prescribing rights, we can now identify certain DRPs and be able to solve them for a patient. Things like INR and renal adjustments may now feature a pharmacist’s name on the order as we get other health professionals to recognize our new-found decision-making abilities. In fact, just the other day, I was able to halve a sulfamethoxazole dose for an elderly resident with a compromised creatinine-clearance.

The paradigm shift started long before my degree, but the visionaries who foresaw such radical changes had their work cut out for them. The baby-boomers were heading into retirement, and the aging population needed more medications to combat heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol. In lockstep with that, they were also going to need more clinical care, and more than what general practitioners would be able to handle, especially in rural areas. I look forward to plugging some gaps through medication reconciliation, minor ailment prescribing, and lab requisitions.

To sum up: I am proud of my dispensing hat, I am proud of my expanded clinical duties now, and trust that I will enjoy however the role evolves from here. I guess I’m just proud to be a pharmacist.

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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My Managing Theory – Qualities of a Good Manager

I’m always looking to push myself. In taking my new role, the reflection process has begun and lists are being made to prioritize the skills I need to leverage, and the ones I need to work on.

Management is a different animal, no matter what the setting. Be it a physician’s office or a warehouse, a restaurant or a bank branch, a manager is someone who manages resources to make an operation run. Many have arrived at that level as people who know the business intimately and show an aptitude for producing results. Others are brought in because of certain qualities that have been identified as lacking, even if their practical expertise is weak (i.e. a human resource background running an IT division, etc.)

I’ve been managing people for most of my pharmacy career, and it’s something I quite enjoy. I am far from perfect but have had mentors in the past who have given me tips on creating a positive culture in the pharmacy. Over time, I have distilled three main qualities that I feel make a well-rounded manager. They are in areas of administration, human resources and vision. In the past, I have used this thought process to help set goals for people in management positions. It can help to highlight their individual strengths and weaknesses by asking specific questions:

 

1) Administration – This is the detail-oriented piece. Are you able to be responsive via email or phone? Do you meet deadlines for audit responses and status updates? Are policy/procedure systems in place and followed?

Pharmacy examples: Timely responses for College audit action plans, preparation for quarterly/bi-annual inventory counts.

2) Human Resources – This theme centres around people management. For both paying customers and staff, how well are tense situations defused? How consistent is the communication (do all team members get the same message and training)? How consistent is the service provision (do all customers receive the same level of care)? For teams, are evaluations being done? Have goals been clearly set and carried through? Are individuals given opportunities to expand roles or prepare for possible promotions? Do people feel they’re treated fairly and maintain positive morale?

Pharmacy examples – Setting up regular conference calls or staff meetings to keep everyone informed and addressing issues as they arise, using job descriptions to determine if employees are challenged to their full potential.

3) Vision – This one is the toughest to quantify but is really about long-term planning. How do you see the team in 6 months to a year? What future events impact the operation and how will that impact be mitigated? Do employee goals reflect the expected needs for a given role should it evolve?

Pharmacy examples – Evaluating a site to implement expanded scope for pharmacists. This involves assessing readiness of the clinicians, identifying training opportunities, and determining appetite for new prescribing services among customers.

 

All managers possess a strength that fits well in one of these buckets. Usually when a person is described, phrases like 1) ‘They are always on the ball’, 2) ‘Their staff love her/him’ or 3) ‘He/She always has great ideas to improve things’ are used to generalize. Individuals with two strengths out of the three are harder to find. The qualities an individual possesses help to shape a professional development action plan. I’ve divided the three main combination types of managers into larger buckets that I’ll outline below:

Admin/HR – These folks have the day-to-day management down pat. Staff love them, patients love them. They are timely with communication and know their team and operations extremely well. Training is a priority, so day-to-day functioning is excellent. Employees developed in these environments are high-functioning and autonomic. In this case, suggested change can cause discomfort as it may upset the current dynamic but usually once given a plan of attack, the execution is excellent.

Admin/Vision – Managers with this strength combo are analytic and methodical. They have excellent planning skills and really enjoy the organization piece of their role as manager. Any ideas are well-thought out and articulated. I have found that they tend to be introspective in nature and may need additional support and coaching to train and sell their ideas to staff.

HR/Vision – These are the motivators and idea people. They are able to aim high for their customers and team and have an infectious, boundless energy. The menial administration tasks are often put on the back-burner in lieu of the next exciting project. I’ve found that this type of management style can be a challenge and is often dependent on the strength of the core team: if another pharmacist or assistant possesses the admin savvy they can often complement a relative weakness, although their experience is often gained in a previous role with a different mentor.

 

I’ve simplified these buckets to make them easier to digest. I use them to coach others but also for myself. I would put my relative strength in the HR group, with vision being second. My administrative skills are solid, but not my passion compared to the other two. I am lucky to know mentors and current managers (not just in pharmacy) that are much stronger than I in each of these areas. As much as possible, I try to absorb their strategies to help create structure and accountability for my staff.

Properly executed change doesn’t happen overnight. I need to manage expectations for my superiors and my team, but most importantly, I need to manage my own.

 

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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New Year, New Challenges

As I rang in the New Year with a few close friends, it really started to sink in. Everything had been a blur the previous week and it was finally starting to catch up.

And no, I’m not talking about rum and eggnog.

On December 30, I accepted a new position to manage a dedicated long-term care site. You can never predict when opportunities like this come along, and although hesitant to leave the most stable position I’ve held in a long time, the application was sent. At this stage in my career, my only real fear is stagnation; I’ve felt that sensation before and have no desire to dance with complacency. Thankfully, that stage has not yet arrived but could have appeared on the horizon at any moment. It’s best for me to be thinking ahead.

I have done this kind of work in the past and had always hoped to make it back, but this time it feels different. My first foray was helter-skelter; long hours, rushed chaos, problem-solving emergency calls after closing time, and staff watching me learn as I muddled along. To this day, I thank them for their patience. Amid all of that, it was also my first real exposure to institutional pharmacy. Under the guise of a semi-retail operation, we provided medications solely to nursing homes, with a few supplies and/or convenience items the facilities needed. As primary consultant, I can speak fondly of my interactions with nursing staff, administrators, the medical director and a Nurse Practitioner with whom I have been working to promote polypharmacy.ca.

Nowadays I feel I have grown in a myriad of ways professionally. I’ve worked on some amazing teams and helmed some progressive projects. I have worked with student pharmacists and 30-year veterans. There has been pharmacy-related exposure to academia, government, hospital and most recently, journalism. Although I feel ready for the role ahead, suffice it to say there is still a long way to go. It’s a bigger team in a site with larger growth ambitions but the structure is sound so we can hit the ground running. Everyone is pointed in the right direction and I need to find a way to feed that positive energy.

Oftentimes when I have entered new environments, they have been in need of stability. The desire to be proactive is usurped by the need to be reactive, at least at the beginning. Ensuring policies and procedures are being followed to cut down on incidents, being detail-oriented with communication so everyone knows how to handle situations serve as a good place to start. The key is promoting consistency, which sometimes challenges current habits. The squeaky wheel often gets the grease, but sometimes the reverse is also true: your most patient customers / colleagues / support figures give you more rope when the going gets tough. It’s much appreciated, sure, but must not be taken for granted. It’s a nice change to begin where most of that coaching has already taken place.

I am excited to meet my new team and to see if I can fit in without upsetting the chemistry they’ve developed. My learning curve will be steep, but manageable. Respect is not an entitlement; I must earn it from every person I work with and for. After receiving a debrief from upper management, I can already feel the synapses firing on projects we can undertake and roles we can expand.

So as I bid farewell to my current team over breakfast this weekend, the gratitude will spill over like the Horseshoe Falls. We shall celebrate how far we’ve come and how close we’ve grown, almost as a family. I have friends for life (or as long as they’ll have me) and they deserve the best in the next phase. I’m not an emotional sort, but I couldn’t be more proud of the pharmacy and the grocery store proper. You’ve helped me grow and learn even more about myself. You’ve prepared me for this next challenge and I promise to not let you down. You’re welcome to check in anytime; I will be doing the same.

Onward and upward…

 

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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Pharmacists Abroad

When you live on the east coast in Canada, you come to expect that the weather in November starts to get chilly. Temperatures regularly tease with the freezing mark and the occasional snowfall get folks scampering for their winter tires after traffic reports fill up with snarls.

So some friends and family decided to bypass November and head for sunnier climes in Florida…and were hit with torrential rains and single digit temperatures (or state-side, ‘in the forties’). We brought the kids to a magical place which you may have heard about. I went to go meet some famous princesses, and begrudgingly agreed to bring the kids with me. Three of our group were pharmacists and try as we may, conversation often turned to pharmacy topics much to the chagrin of everyone else.

Pharmacists are a passionate bunch, to be sure. Although vent sessions prove popular on occasion, most of the conversation turned to the differences in pharmacy between countries and the many signs of progress we’ve seen in the past 5-7 years. Who would have thought that giving injections for flu or travel vaccines would be in such high demand? I was completely ignorant to this when I graduated and figured that the awareness and growth of this service would be organic, not the year over year explosion that we’ve seen. It’s the same with prescribing; it’s becoming much more intuitive for me today to explore my options when a patient arrives at the counter with an expired prescription or a hospital discharge ordering a non-formulary medication.

Some folks would never see a doctor if they could get away with it. Nurturing and maintaining that circle of care is still very important for monitoring and education. However, I do see inefficiency rear it’s ugly head in the form of one to three-month supplies with no refills for stable therapy that has gone unchanged for years. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that people expect (and often demand) that we extend or re-new their prescriptions. The good news is that now in many instances, we can do just that. Taking on that prescribing liability is a huge adjustment, but as a group we’re warming up quickly to the idea. Contrast that potential liability with buying Prozac off the shelf in a Mexican airport terminal – no danger there of course.

So maybe pharmacy isn’t as magical as say, frozen castles and fireworks (though the apothecary on Main St. serves some magical-tasting sweets), but our ability to adapt in such a short transition period of 3-5 years is pretty impressive. We’re just getting started too: with integrated databases and future ability to request blood-work, some of that maintenance burden may be lifted from general practitioners. They can focus on diagnostics and problem-solving while allowing pharmacists to help screen and respond to T3 and INR values.

We will continue to be pharmacists in other lands. We will be curious to visit pharmacies in other countries and to see how their healthcare system works. What products are available for self-selection and which ones are prescription? Sometimes we see drugs that have not yet been approved in Canada, or an old standby that goes by an exotic name.

Have fun on vacation. Sometimes the time away from the ‘job’ can help rebuild the love for the ‘profession.’

 

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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Potential Potential

I know you’re thinking, ‘Why the double-word title? It makes no sense and now my day is beginning with confusion. I’m going back to bed.’

It’s actually a combination of potential (verb – having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future) and potential (noun – latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness).

 

Everyone has the potential to become an encourager. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t have to have it all together. All you have to do is care about people and initiate. – John C. Maxwell*

 

How many people do you live with, or work with, or know in passing that have a penchant for under-performing or appear to be unmotivated? Your perception of them may be incorrect as their current behavior may not tell the whole story. We’re all slave to our egos to some degree, and the self-esteem we carry has a direct impact on our work quality and our confidence to produce results. If my boss applauds that our most recent inventory was spot on, everything that day seems a bit easier to get through. When I give a flu shot to someone afraid of needles and they exclaim that it didn’t hurt at all, I can walk out of the counseling room with shoulders back and chest out. On the opposite side, if I make a medication error and a patient expresses doubt as to my competency, my turtle shell will be waiting in the office as a safe haven. So perhaps those who seem lazy and unmotivated are actually terrified and have been doubting their abilities for so long that they refrain from really taking responsibility for anything.

The quote above speaks to encouragement. ‘All you have to do is care about people and initiate.’ It’s so simple in principle, yet difficult for so many people, especially the ‘initiate’ part. A lot of the time it’s because of the first part of the quote, ‘Everyone has the potential to become an encourager.’ It’s one of those circular arguments where you recognize that a potential encourager needs to be encouraged themselves to unlock their potential to encourage others. It’s quite a mouthful to say, but if you don’t have a mentor or colleague that reinforces what you do and pushes you outside of your boundaries, why would you be expected to do that for someone else, or even know where to start for that matter?

I have been fortunate to have family and friends support me through the wonderful highs and a smattering of lows. I dedicate my blog to inspiring members of the pharmacy community, and live my daily life according to the following mantra:

 

When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that’s when passion is born. – Zig Ziglar*

 

Whether it’s baking, singing, playing soccer, or identifying a drug-related problem that significantly impacts a person’s quality of life, finding what excites someone takes time and effort to encourage and cultivate. Once they catch that glimpse of what they like, and what they’re good at, it can open up doors they never thought possible. Maybe they are excellent at providing customer service and serve as a model for new staff. Perhaps they have a knack for technology and enjoy training others on a new computer system. There might be scenarios where someone has enormous value in the human-relations department due to their conflict-management skills.

I assume everyone has potential potential. Pharmacy assistants, pharmacists, regulated techs, department managers, all the way up to the executive levels have unexplored paths to follow. They may have the capacity to do more, see more, discover and develop skills they didn’t know they had. If in some small way, I can help shine a light on one of those interests or skills, having a front-row seat to watch a new passion grow is the most satisfying feeling I have ever experienced.

 

*Quotes courtesy of http://www.brainyquote.com/

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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Engagement of One

There are things in this world about which I hold strong opinions. Most often these are in the realms of personal development and group change. There needs to be an inherent trust between members of a team. It doesn’t matter how big the team is; two people in a partnership, or a global brand spread across continents all require a level of engagement to truly be effective at executing strategy. There has to be an emotional attachment to the mission and a shared satisfaction to reach a goal.

The most successful organizations understand that their greatest strength is their people. Taking that one step further, it’s the development of those people that set them apart. I could use a collection of cliched buzzwords here that have a tendency to say everything and nothing at the same time, but the gist is this: it’s one thing to have quality people in leadership roles to succeed today, but it’s another to have those same people prepared and inspired to take on tomorrow.

I am confident and proud to work for an employer that takes engagement seriously from the top down. They recognize the differences in learning styles between generations, and have an evaluation process that focuses on behaviors that contribute to the business, trusting that desired results will follow. I currently feel that I’m valued, and have mentors looking out for my best interests personally and professionally.

So how does one engage another person or group for a common goal? Job satisfaction means different things to different people, so one approach is to try and understand what motivates and rewards different groups.

A quick Google search brought me to this document discussing staff development from none other than the United Nations.

The link is a fairly easy read, but the content is nevertheless fascinating. The title is: ‘What Matters and How They Learn’ and breaks down the generation gaps in the workplace. I’ll let you have a skim and then we’ll continue the post. I’ll wait for you here…

(Interlude music)

So the groupings themselves: Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y comprise the vast majority of the current workforce. There are some Traditionalists, but their number is declining into retirement. By grouping generations in this way, commonalities emerge around the fault lines. For example, I fall near the tail end of the Gen X timeline, meaning that I may share a similar value set as a 50-year-old colleague with respect to being goal-oriented and self-reliant. At the same time, there are flickers of the Gen Y group that I recognize as well; when it comes to sociability and collective action, I completely embrace that culture in the workplace.

[As an aside, one of the distinctions between Gen X and Y as written in the document of Techno-literal vs. Tech-savvy. One needs step-by-step instructions and the other finds technology intuitive. If I was able to start a blog, but have no idea of any advanced features, does that make me advanced-techno-literal?]

So, we know the workplace is comprised of blended learning styles. Training should therefore contain elements that appeal to most workers. Gen X apparently respond well to graphics/design and brevity of training materials. Gen Y wants to learn when and where is comfortable, and being connected online is very important to them. The key is knowing the audience, and it takes a significant investment of time to learn how to relate to the individuals. Once that emotional attachment is established, you begin getting back more than you put in. You challenge one another and learn together. On a personal note, the occasions that I am wrong tend to be the most rewarding experiences in the end.

One final point I’d like to make is that there are many tools or devices being used for engagement, be it team-building exercises, group dinners or retreats, in-house competitions, monetary rewards, surveys or even one-on-one meetings. What tends to get missed is that engagement starts with people and ends with people; the tools are not the answer by themselves, nor do they have an endpoint. When used by someone who is already engaged, any strategy has a chance to reach others who may in turn, pay it forward by seeking to engage their other colleagues.

If you’re like me and truly engaged, that passion will keep you coming back for more, and you’ll have confidence that someone will always be waiting for you to challenge, learn and grow. Take advantage of that feeling and the opportunities that will present, just be ready to create those same feelings and opportunities for others when the time comes.

 

 

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.