Priced Out of the Market?

[admin]

Originally Posted by openmind

It's like I joined a profession where having more knowledge actively counts against you, the main thing is to be fast as possible at dispensing. I'm newly qualified and disheartened with this empty profession.

I know exactly how you feel, and it won't get any better unless you change your view of pharmacy, or do something else. I have posted this reply to another of your posts, but in case you don't see it...........

You seem really fed up with pharmacy. I was talking today to a young woman who is a qualified pharmacist, and decided she wanted to be a Dr. She's finished the course now, and even says it was easier then pharmacy. Why don't you go on to study medicine? She's now doing rotations around all the different medical areas, and is working in oncology at the moment. She seems to really enjoy it.

If you like the clinical side of pharmacy, and are still young enough, why not do that?

Keep yer chin up kiddo!

[Zoggite]

Originally Posted by openmind

I worked with a Spanish Pharmacist a few weeks who was asked by the healthcare counter assistant if blood pressure tablets interacted with senokot - She proceded to examine the box of Senokot for an answer!

Did it occur to you that she might be looking for the composition on the box? If you'd asked her whether senna extract clashes with BP meds, she might have been able to answer you straightaway, but learning what's in branded products takes months, if not years, as I have found out myself when I moved to the UK from Belgium. Would you know off the top of your head whether diabetics can take Perdolan tablets? No, because you have no idea what the active ingredients are without examining the box...
I've been working in the UK now since 1998, and I still examine the boxes of all the different varieties of benadryl-sinutab-sudafed plus/Co/Extra/Ultra Max etc... as I find it impossible to remember which one has got paracetamol or ibuprofen in it or not...

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by kemzero

Its up to the society/prospective college to ensure that sub-standard pharmacists do not work in our pharmacies

Any ideas how?

http://tinyurl.com/34x2wj

Test Purchases in the Cleveland Area conducted by Police, and Trading
Standards Officers from Stockton Borough Council
The exercise was conducted on Monday 19th February 2007 on behalf of the Reduce Supply of Drugs to the streets of Stockton Forum and was designed to ascertain awareness of pharmacists and other traders following an awareness campaign.
Two 15 year olds were asked to purchase decongestants, including Sudafed, from a list of pharmacies and general wholesalers in the Cleveland area (the names of the pharmacies and wholesalers involved have not been disclosed). The children requested 6 boxes of the decongestant for each purchase, or took 6 boxes from the shelves. The children were also instructed to ask for iodine and matches, as it was thought this might raise the seller’s level of suspicion.
In each case, the purchases were not challenged. In the pharmacies, the individuals were limited to purchasing 2 boxes of decongestant, although one pharmacy put 2 boxes through the till 3 times, so that the individual left with all 6 boxes. No pharmacy or wholesaler queried why the individual needed so much or why they were carrying so many boxes of decongestant.
In one day, 13 premises were visited and a total of 45 packs of decongestants purchased, 12 containing psuedoephedrine and the remainder containing phenylephrine.
No reports of suspicious purchases were received.


Jeff

[Pharmanaut]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Any ideas how?

http://tinyurl.com/34x2wj

Test Purchases in the Cleveland Area conducted by Police, and Trading
Standards Officers from Stockton Borough Council
The exercise was conducted on Monday 19th February 2007 on behalf of the Reduce Supply of Drugs to the streets of Stockton Forum and was designed to ascertain awareness of pharmacists and other traders following an awareness campaign.
Two 15 year olds were asked to purchase decongestants, including Sudafed, from a list of pharmacies and general wholesalers in the Cleveland area (the names of the pharmacies and wholesalers involved have not been disclosed). The children requested 6 boxes of the decongestant for each purchase, or took 6 boxes from the shelves. The children were also instructed to ask for iodine and matches, as it was thought this might raise the seller’s level of suspicion.
In each case, the purchases were not challenged. In the pharmacies, the individuals were limited to purchasing 2 boxes of decongestant, although one pharmacy put 2 boxes through the till 3 times, so that the individual left with all 6 boxes. No pharmacy or wholesaler queried why the individual needed so much or why they were carrying so many boxes of decongestant.
In one day, 13 premises were visited and a total of 45 packs of decongestants purchased, 12 containing psuedoephedrine and the remainder containing phenylephrine.
No reports of suspicious purchases were received.


Jeff

Hope the pharmacies concerned get a visit from the inspector _soon_.

[Pharmanaut]

Originally Posted by Zoggite

Did it occur to you that she might be looking for the composition on the box? If you'd asked her whether senna extract clashes with BP meds, she might have been able to answer you straightaway, but learning what's in branded products takes months, if not years, as I have found out myself when I moved to the UK from Belgium. Would you know off the top of your head whether diabetics can take Perdolan tablets? No, because you have no idea what the active ingredients are without examining the box...
I've been working in the UK now since 1998, and I still examine the boxes of all the different varieties of benadryl-sinutab-sudafed plus/Co/Extra/Ultra Max etc... as I find it impossible to remember which one has got paracetamol or ibuprofen in it or not...

Agree with you there.
The manufacturers tendency to extend a brand name beyond the original ingredients does cause problems. Surely they should not be permitted to do this? Always best to check the container for the latest formulation first. Examples of this are Pripsen, (piperazine/sennosides, and now mebendazole) and all the others.

[N.T]

Originally Posted by openmind

I worked with a Spanish Pharmacist a few weeks who was asked by the healthcare counter assistant if blood pressure tablets interacted with senokot - She proceded to examine the box of Senokot for an answer! (I saved her the brain meltdown and shouted NO!)

A Spanish pharmacist I once worked with (when i was a student):
1. Signed an unsigned prescription. And was under the impression that it was OK to do that. I, as the student she was supposed to be mentoring, explained that this was in fact illegal. Very.

2. Dispensed Tegretol Retard when the prescription called for Tegretol. Naturally, the patient became very ill.

3. Had no diplomacy skills whatsoever, and just shouted at patients when they started getting arsey.

[ramroum]

I think EU pharmacists (doctors, dentists..) should undertake an English exam such as IELTS academic section and get a good mark, and have an intensive course (one or a couple of months) which teaches them Law and Ethics in this country, and examin their clinical knowledge at the same time. Where is the British standard we keep hearing about???

The rules for non EU Pharmacists: they must get at least 7 in each band of the IELTS exam which is very hard to get, have an interview with the RPSGB committee which examin their pharmaceutical knowledge, then 1 year OSPAP course at uni, then Pre-reg training which prepares them for working at a good standard.

[iza]

Yeah... But what do you think is happening now? Do you really think, that EU pharmacist are starting to work in pharmacy direct from the street without any exams, nothing? I went through 6-monthl conversion, where I met many explanations, that were really embarassing. Some of my English colleagues were explaing to me, how morphine works and that antibiotics in powder need reconstitiution, only because in my country we leave this to be done by the customers. And all of them knew that I've had worked as a pharmacist for five years...
I understand your concerns and our (foreign pharmacist's) difficulties in providing the best possible care to our customers, but don't we really need to think, that we're on the same side, after all? Maybe instead of judging just give us a little help trying to understand that we simply HAVE to read all boxes of medicines, that we don't know by heart?

The same situation with Tegretol happened to my English colleague, but I prefer to think, that she had a bad day, instead of judging her professional capabilities.

[Zoggite]

If I was a pharmacy owner looking to employ a pharmacist, I would sooner go for an experienced one whose English may not be A-grade than for a well-spoken, native English-speaker fresh out of University any time!
Incidentally, does anyone know whether Canada has language requirements for their pharmacists? Would you be able to work in Quebec if you didn't speak fluent French?

[openmind]

Originally Posted by Zoggite

Did it occur to you that she might be looking for the composition on the box? If you'd asked her whether senna extract clashes with BP meds, she might have been able to answer you straightaway, but learning what's in branded products takes months, if not years, as I have found out myself when I moved to the UK from Belgium. Would you know off the top of your head whether diabetics can take Perdolan tablets? No, because you have no idea what the active ingredients are without examining the box...
I've been working in the UK now since 1998, and I still examine the boxes of all the different varieties of benadryl-sinutab-sudafed plus/Co/Extra/Ultra Max etc... as I find it impossible to remember which one has got paracetamol or ibuprofen in it or not...

You are missing the point, Senokot is a well-known heavily advertised frontline product, not an obscure one. The Pharmacist that I mentioned has been here for years, she should know by now. Her Clinical knowledge is woeful.