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Pharmacy can learn from a world-class Finnish education system by bringing more prestige, calibre and preparedness to our managers. We can also creatively find ways to make the job more fun and autonomous. We can also shift to treating our lowest skilled staff to their potential instead of their current status quo.

In the world of medications, we want patients to take their appropriately prescribed medications regularly to obtain the intended benefit. Is this done through compliance or adherence? The intent of the two terms is the same, but the spirit is entirely different. And it’s the spirit that counts in the end when leading patients to take their medications.

Make no mistake, as leaders, it is important to develop the people around us. This is not limited to support staff. It also includes helping to develop our peers and even the people we report to. When we develop people, we increase the overall capacity of the organization, and we instill an increased feeling of ownership with our team members.

In pharmacy, the iceberg principle will apply at each step of promotion along the various dispensary or head office jobs. This will also apply in the change from managerial to ownership roles. We can only see what we understand and the truth hits home when we finally step inside.

The days of ‘Command and Control’ – ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ – are long gone, and thankfully so. You don’t have to be the CEO to influence the culture of your organization or store. Everyone plays a part in the establishment of the work culture; the CEO simply sets the tone and encourages similar behaviours from every team member.

As techs we may not have the education of pharmacists, but we still have the same duty to protect our patients.

If our job is to ensure patients receive their medications in the safest way possible, why are we skipping this step?

We are pharmacists. We are not lawyers. We are not real estate agents. However, that does not mean we are void of negotiating. Whether we are explaining a co-pay to a patient, signing an agreement with an employer, buying a pharmacy or making a staff schedule, there are parts of the pharmacist’s day where we just have to pull up our pants and negotiate.