Y’know, it’s interesting that I posed the question about whether pharmacists can or cannot strike (honestly, I don’t know) and suddenly, I’m leading one. As a wise politician once told me “I don’t mind leading a cause, but I want to be damn sure there are a lot of people there with me.”I was speaking to a wonderful editor (who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent) about how the issue of pharmacist representation and wages and quality of work life MIGHT be becoming more important, when some discussion ensued.Suppose pharmacists’ wages get reduced. Well, if they get cut in half, then there could be twice as many pharmacists for the same price to dispense and do professional services as there is now (like that will happen—d’you think the owners might just keep the difference?). Still, there may be added benefits. Get their wages low enough, and when pharmacists are making the same as cashiers, stock boys, and other people in the pharmacy… think of the opportunities.If the pharmacist is working on the cash register, they could provide some counselling on that cough syrup as it goes by, and recommend some lozenges, tissue, and a vaporizer. Up-sell, man, and use that pharmacist credibility to encourage more sales.Or while the pharmacist is mopping up the spill in aisle 9, they can point out to a mother with a crying baby the appropriate amount of rehydration for their child.Or, while they are carrying out a patient’s order, they can remind the person of the importance of using medications regularly and as instructed as they are safest and most effective when used in that way.Heck, use the pharmacist as the delivery driver—counselling in person, no matter where the patient is.Or even get outside the pharmacy. A quick OTC recommendation while you take someone’s dry cleaning. A medication review while you are driving someone in your cab. Maybe you could assess adherence in a person’s home while you try to sell them that new vacuum cleaner. Or how about discussing the seriousness of a patient’s medication allergy while fixing that leak under their kitchen sink (no, forget that one. Just shut up and fix the sink, as there will be way more money in plumbing).Y’know, I did all those things in community practice (even the plumbing, but that was in the pharmacy, and no, not really the vacuum cleaner). I was respected, though, partly because they recognized I had special knowledge and talents that you don’t get just anywhere. And people paid lots of money for my services, but fully expected that most of it was going to me (if you don’t believe me just ask patients who they believe gets the lion’s share of fees and revenues). I will say that my employer was pretty fair with me (yeah, I would have liked to have made more, but who wouldn’t). We had a pretty good understanding—I would work hard and conscientiously, and I would get paid well. Seems fair.But fair does not seem to matter much. Some pharmacists do well–god bless them. But think particularly of the young kids coming into practice, or pharmacists from other countries wanting to give Canada a shot. Should they be taken advantage of since they just got out of school, or because they made the effort to start a new life?Every basic business class talks about commodities—the stuff that flows around perceptions of value and demand. Retail business is full of that stuff. Commodities do not have an inherent value once consumed. On the other hand, the value of what we do, when done right, lasts—sometimes a (longer) lifetime.Tell you what. Keep pharmacist wages in line with those of the owners or executives, and we’re good. Although, so much for the best and brightest following the money (sorry, cheap shot, they aren’t all idiots). I never understood how pharmacists who couldn’t handle the pressures of being a real pharmacist went into management, where the work is way easier and the pay is proportionally higher than the revenue that such management generates (none). But maybe it is just me.I hope some of those pharmacists get mad at me because that last comment appears disrespectful; it would just help me make my point.
