The Pharmacy America Trusts

So I have worked for Walgreen's for nearly ten months, to date, and I have never really thought about it until recently as I head off to school that I have learned a lot about people there. Working this form of retail has been a nice, extended psychology lesson. Now, I work in the pharmacy so the pressure is up a notch considering what we deal with and more importantly who we deal with.

Firstly, things change. When I first started there, we had about 1o employees that were on staff back there. Today, not including myself, there is one girl from that initial group of people that still work at Walgreen's and she has worked there for 10 years. She trained me and has trained every tech we have hired since I started and I am sure she trained techs before myself. So the lineup has most definitely changed, but with that the mood or the atmosphere really changed. The manager that I started under was an awesome guy. He was so chill and laid back and so understanding, so I made a smooth move in with Walgreen's. After about 2 to 3 months, he found a better job and took it so we hired a very, very annoying lady. I have never once wanted to quit but after working two nights with this woman, I was sure that I was hot on the heels of our first manager to be out of there. But I stuck it out and things worked out eventually. I just became used to how she was and how she worked. Again, changes affect everyone and that was definitely true for a fiery young teenager like myself. Recently, she has moved to another store in the area to work and our other pharmacist has taken duties as manager and I must say it was a happy day when she first spoke the words "pharmacy manager" while speaking to a patient. With the change in staff, I have learned many things from many different people and have also learned to adapt to a changing situation.

Second, I think this may be a bit rash to make this assumption only taking into consideration my working at this small pharmacy in this small metropolis of a city but I am confident it is a legit statement. People, as a whole, are very angry, rude, impatient, and most of all unhappy. Working eight hour shifts with so many different people coming and going throughout the day has shed some light on my thoughts on people in general. I have dealt with some of the most unhappy and angry people over some of the most ridiculous situations. My friend that I work with and I were talking the other day, as he considers moving jobs, about how depressing it really is. How these patients throw a fit over such petty circumstances and how frustrated they get when most often the issue is due in part to them. Many a time have I been yelled and cussed at for a situation that not only was out of my hands but everyone else's in the pharmacy as well. Problems with peoples insurance, or doctors, or sometimes there own faults pitched off onto me. I have seen people that I know from the past that don't recognize me, some that I went to church with, that will lose their minds over very small situations that come up. It is embarrassing for them, I have to think because I know them and they don't realize how foolish they are acting.

But maybe that anger, that impatience, that unhappiness comes form something else. I haven't seen it yet, but I think a lot of what I have been experiencing could be summed up by the NOOMA "Store". The setting of the clip I have seen is in a grocery store and a woman is checking out, having a friendly conversation with the clerk as she scans her items. As the clerk goes to scan a particular item, it appears it doesn't work and she tries again and the lady gives a reassuring look that it is OK and something to the affect of not to worry, as if she will go get another item that will scan. All the while, the shopper in line behind this woman is obviously becoming angry. His face gives him away immediately as he suppresses anger at the situation. Where does this come from? Why are people so unhappy? Why can we not just slow down and breathe and relax?

I work really hard when I go to places, such as the bank or a fast-food restaurant, to think about the people I deal with on a daily basis. I focus on having a positive attitude, and not just that but a thankful one. It is refreshing when I deal with a person who is genuinely kind to you and thankful. They don't just treat you as a robot simply fulfilling a job, but if you make a slightest mistake then immediately you are noticed. I could compare my job to a kicker in football. Very similar situation. Back to my focus though...I understand how easily it is to have that mindset that the bank teller doesn't need my time and I do not need his or hers because I just want to deposit money and go. Yet, there I am finding myself on the other side, looking through the glass knowing that just maybe a happy and thankful customer could give that teller or fast-food worker the strength they need to make it through an already brutal day.

I deal with problems quite regularly, so my perspective is much different. People come in and act like the children with them over issues with their medicine when they fail to realize that I work on these problems for 8 hours a day. I don't say that to put myself on a pedestal but, by putting this whole situation in perspective, it's really not that bad. I get out of a day full of these problems, some still unresolved...waiting for me to come in the next morning and continue to attempt to resolve them but I feel that I am blessed. I pray for these people that are so wrapped up in simple, issues that set them off. I pray for them because, regardless of my going to church with some of them, they still obviously are missing something in their life. It is apparent as they speed off after purchasing a prescription with a different credit card then the first one they tried that they need something more in their life. Something that will give them patience and happiness, regardless of what happened that day at the local pharmacy. God has a way of humbling people and I have come to see my job as just that. God working through the deranged lives of others to show me how blessed I am and to show me that there is so much more than this life, simply through attitudes that I see everyday. Thank God, I say that quite literally, for his peace because, as I have learned, many people are without it and it visibly affects their daily life, even if it is for a mere four minutes at Walgreen's.