Welcome to USA Pharmacists

[admin]

Hello and welcome to our friends across the pond.

We have had a few queries from pharmacists in the USA, so decided to add a section for your own use.

It's an experiment and if it's not wanted or used, we can easily change/remove it. So post away!

[jpgakis]

The marginalized, disposable patient.

I've been practicing pharmacy for 40 years. Started near San Francisco in 1965. 20 years. Another 17 years on an island north of Seattle. Stowe, Vermont for 5 years and now on the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast. I want to talk about the last 6 years. Stowe, Vermont is an international destination resort. Skiing in the winter and quaint, relaxing New England otherwise. People with money come to spend that money quickly at a place where the residents also have money. For the most part, the people in Stowe are well educated. I worked one day a week in a pharmacy in Stowe. A small pharmacy, not the signature American drug store. These people did not need me. They did not, for the most part, want my advice. I now work in a small Texas city where I have to opportunity to serve clients who are living on the margins of American society. Indeed, it seems like many of them are simply considered disposable. They would not be missed if they simply disappeared.
Most of them are ill-educated blacks. There are Hispanics who speak little English. Their dignity can't pull them through without English. I honestly do not have to do much to receive back the kind of gratitude that makes me feel good. These people just do not have a handle on how to navigate the
medical care waters. My greatest satisfaction is acting as a pilot for them.

For provocative interchange on pharmacy matters that [B]matter to American pharmacists[B] Click here.

www.jimplagakis.com

Jim Plagakis

[admin]

I've been practicing pharmacy for 40 years. Started near San Francisco in 1965. 20 years. Another 17 years on an island north of Seattle. Stowe, Vermont for 5 years and now on the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast. I want to talk about the last 6 years. Stowe, Vermont is an international destination resort. Skiing in the winter and quaint, relaxing New England otherwise. People with money come to spend that money quickly at a place where the residents also have money. For the most part, the people in Stowe are well educated. I worked one day a week in a pharmacy in Stowe. A small pharmacy, not the signature American drug store. These people did not need me. They did not, for the most part, want my advice. I now work in a small Texas city where I have to opportunity to serve clients who are living on the margins of American society. Indeed, it seems like many of them are simply considered disposable. They would not be missed if they simply disappeared.
Most of them are ill-educated blacks. There are Hispanics who speak little English. Their dignity can't pull them through without English. I honestly do not have to do much to receive back the kind of gratitude that makes me feel good. These people just do not have a handle on how to navigate the
medical care waters. My greatest satisfaction is acting as a pilot for them.

For provocative interchange on pharmacy matters that [b]matter to American pharmacists[b] Click here.

www.jimplagakis.com

Jim Plagakis

Jim

Sounds like you're doing a good job there. Is racism still a problem in the USA?

[jpgakis]

Racism in the USA

YES! Distinctly less each decade.
I live in the city of Galveston on Galveston Island, directly south of Houston.
It is the most diverse place I have ever lived. 55% caucasian. 27% black. 18% Hispanic. I love it. Our previous home, Vermont, in New England was the whitest state I have ever lived in. Galveston is uniquely a Gulf of Mexico
culture. Relatively slow. We ride old fashioned bicycles with fat tires and coaster brakes on the seawall. People are very friendly. There is a distinct lack of the hectic rhythms that run America in Galveston. They can be found if you look. Most Galvestonians do not even try to pronounce PLAGAKIS. So, I am Mister Jim and my wife is Miss Victoria. I find it charming.
Lately, I have been called for 2 part time jobs in Galveston. An independent and CVS, a chain. I am happy in Texas City on the mainland. My commute is 20 minutes and I always have two technicians working with me.

Come visit, ADMIN.
There is a spot for you to start things off. "Global Pharmacy"

www.jimplagakis.com

Jim