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When you consider the systems and processes we all work in, doing something outside the norm may seem a little uncomfortable, or even not allowed. This is the way we have always done it, and this is how we will always do it. Personally, I find this way of thinking very frustrating, and also very limiting.

It is the boss’s job to filter the conversations of the workplace and make informed decisions. The hardest part of being the pharmacy decision-maker comes in the times we are wrong. When that happens, do you have the guts to change your mind?

As pharmacists, we see firsthand the effects of obesity in our patients, from chronic illness to cancer, to low self-esteem, and even mobility issues. Unfortunately, the problem continues to escalate. Right now “in Canada, almost two in three adults and one in three children and youth are overweight or living with obesity with even higher rates in marginalized and equity-seeking populations.”

Is your immediate thought about meditation, “I don’t have time?” We always somehow find the time for the things we value. Is it time to put more value on your own well-being?

A friend of mine, who shall not remain anonymous (Tracey Phillips), mentioned something to me that really resonated the last time I saw her. She said so many of our leaders talk about advocacy from any number of daises, but the way it is presented by them makes the concept intimidating, perhaps overwhelming, to the average pharmacist.

You know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Remember the porridge that was just the right temperature and the bed that was just the right softness? The same goes for the work you give your pharmacy staff: they need to be challenged, without drowning or coasting.

In the daily duties of practising pharmacy, we need to say no. As much as we have a distaste for confrontation and want to help everyone in our sight, we are organically the gatekeeper for many requests that come through the pharmacy.

In the pharmacy, we often find ourselves locked into rigorous workflows designed to reduce, if not eliminate, the possibility of errors being made. In other words, we have agency. But...having agency is not permission to be reckless. Rather, agency is the ability to do things in such a way as to make an improvement.