march 5th is also saint piran's day. if you're lame and don't know who saint piran IS (like myself), he is the patron saint of tin-miners, and also cornwall. so all you cornish tin-miners go ahead and take the day off. i wonder if there's a patron saint for irish/norwegian/english pharmacy technicians? hmmm...
yay for wikipedia! however often it may contain inaccurate facts, it is always there for me when i need to find obscure and random things.
there IS a patron saint for pharmacists. i give you SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN! according to wikipedia, here's there sad story:
"During the persecution under Diocletian, Cosmas and Damian were arrested by order of the Prefect of Cilicia, one Lysias who is otherwise unknown, who ordered them under torture to recant. However, according to legend they stayed true to their faith, enduring a series of gruesome tortures that did not harm them, and finally suffered execution by beheading. Anthimus, Leontius and Euprepius, their younger brothers, who were inseparable from them throughout life, shared in their martyrdom.
Their most famous miraculous exploit was the grafting of a leg from a recently deceased Ethiopian to replace a patient's ulcered leg, and was the subject of many paintings and illuminations."
you know, all in all, it's not much different from the daily lives of many pharmacists. "under torture to recant" can be compared to "being yelled at for charging a different copay than last month when really it's the same." the gruesome, but harmless, tortures, sounds very much like staying on hold for a half an hour with an insurance company so some newbie insurance agent can figure out what an ID number is. beheading? oh, there are definitely days when i'm afraid some of those middle-aged women will cut my head off if they don't get there hormone replacement therapy ASAP.
so here's to you cosmas and damian. little known and probably underappreciated in the saint world, but you paved the way for suffering pharmacy staff!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
a couple of records
1. i am currently running on 25 minutes of sleep, which i'm not sure was even really sleep, more like a brief coma. i have been going strong since yesterday morning. no drugs were used in the accomplishing of this event. well, except for some hot chocolate.
2. i read eclipse in less than 8 hours. partly the reason i've had no sleep and am currently walking around in a haze. the other reason being blasted interviews for the prospective student leaders for next year. although i do have to say that it's much easier to be the interviewer than the interviewee.
3. i don't think i've eaten anything other than chocolate today.
2. i read eclipse in less than 8 hours. partly the reason i've had no sleep and am currently walking around in a haze. the other reason being blasted interviews for the prospective student leaders for next year. although i do have to say that it's much easier to be the interviewer than the interviewee.
3. i don't think i've eaten anything other than chocolate today.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
why i love the big bang theory (the tv show)
weather: 25° F
reading: some lame p chem textbook
reason #1: the following quote
penny: whoa, a girl scientist
leslie: yep. come for the boobs, stay for the brains.
i'm voting this become the official ACCESS motto. i can just see it now.
reading: some lame p chem textbook
reason #1: the following quote
penny: whoa, a girl scientist
leslie: yep. come for the boobs, stay for the brains.
i'm voting this become the official ACCESS motto. i can just see it now.
ACCESS
Women in Science and Math
"Come for the boobs, stay for the brains"
oh yeah. that would totally rock.
Friday, January 4, 2008
i take it back
weather: 22° F
reading: the count of monte cristo
i take back everything i said about last saturday. i was an ungrateful little brat.
monday there was one pharmacist, an intern, and a tech on staff. they did over 200 prescriptions in 4 hours. that's how many we usually do on a normal day with an extra tech and a clerk.
i am so sorry.
reading: the count of monte cristo
i take back everything i said about last saturday. i was an ungrateful little brat.
monday there was one pharmacist, an intern, and a tech on staff. they did over 200 prescriptions in 4 hours. that's how many we usually do on a normal day with an extra tech and a clerk.
i am so sorry.
Monday, December 31, 2007
my PIC so owes me
weather: 25° F
reading: stop prediabetes now
it's that fatal time of year for all pharmacies. most people look toward the new year with optimism and hope of better days to come. not i. i watch the days on my calendar creep closer and closer to january the 1st and i think "oh crap. not again." here's a brief explanation why, for those of you not in the pharmacy field.
insurance companies are basically the spawn of the devil. they live to make life as miserable as possible for as many people as possible. this includes pharmacies and doctors. after the beginning of a new year, several things happen. many people change insurance companies. most people have to start over on their deductible. and some people lose coverage all together. all this equates to a crap load of work for pharmacists, interns, and techs every where.
the last few days before the new year and spent with people trying to cram every last refill in that they can before they have to start paying full price for them. occasionally, they'll even come in a few days after the new year and ask you to back-bill the claims for them.
there are also those patients who expect you to magically know their new id numbers, insurance policies, etc. and become irate when you tell them that the old insurance you have is no longer in effect.
saturday was the 2nd to last business day before the new year hit. we're closed on the 1st and only open half a day on the 31st. hence, saturday was a nightmare. we were also short staffed, which is usually not a problem for a saturday. but when you do 174 scripts compared to the usual 80-120 with just a tech, pharmacist, and a clerk, it really sucks.
not to mention that our all-time favorite drug addict paid us a visit. last time we saw this man, he swore he would never return to our pharmacy because we had "defaced" his prescription for some ridiculous amount of oxycontin by writing "refill too soon until (certain date)" on it. after all, he told us not to run it through his insurance (yeah, like that's not a give away that you're doing something illegal). anyway, so early in the day i receive a call from a man that goes a little something like this:
me: pharmacy, technician speaking.
man: hi, i was wondering if you could give me some price quotes for some medicine.
me: sure, go ahead and tell me the names of the medications.
man: well, i have about a half dozen or so scripts.
me: okay.... well, just start telling me and i'll give you the quotes as we go.
man: the first one is for Lortab 10-500 #120.
me: (thinking "oh this will be fun...") that's $xx.xx
man: okay, the next one is for oxycodone 30 mg #150
me: (RED FLAG!) that's $xx.xx
....conversation continues in this manner, all price quotes being for controlled substances in extremeley high amounts.
man: well, i think that's it. i have one for oxycontin, but i know that's a lot. besides, i used to fill there all the time.
me: oh really? well, what's your name? (in case we gave him a break or something last time he filled these)
man: it's werner heisenberg ***(not actual name)
me: (why does that sound familiar....???) okay, well, is that all?
man: yeah, thank you.
as i get off the phone i turn to my pharmacist and ask if she remembers werner. her jaw drops and eyes bulge and i see a little bit of her soul die. she reminds me of his previous escapades at our pharmacy and all i can think is why i didn't ask for the name first and start hiking up the prices in hopes that he would find somewhere cheaper.
this was not the last i heard from dear werner, however. he made a point to call me twice more to ask me the price for that oxycontin 80mg #90 script. and i told him the same price both times. as the clock slowly crept closer and closer to closing time, i told the pharmacist that i bet he wouldn't show until a quarter to closing. well, that came and went. then it was 10 to. still nothing. finally, at FIVE MINUTES to closing, he shows up. his "girlfriend" arrives a minute or two later, and they sit together waiting for us to fill his scripts (luckily he only filled 3 out of his gigantic stack). the girlfriend actually has the nerve to say "i bet you guys are trying to go home, huh?" NO FREAKING KIDDING! THEN GET YOUR REAR END OUT OF THE PHARMACY! the pharmacist and i make it a point to count at the speed of light and not respond to anything the say to us. perhaps we'll be so rude that he'll never return. as our clerk is ringing them up, we're sending off orders and running final reports when i hear him say "i don't have enough money. can i just get part of this prescription?" to which the pharmacist almost screams at him "we don't split prescriptions. you can leave it here until you have the money or you don't get it." so he decides to leave one of them behind. AFTER I TOLD HIM HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES WHAT THE PRICE WOULD BE!!! i nearly walked out there and strangled him.
yeah. the owner SO owes us.
reading: stop prediabetes now
it's that fatal time of year for all pharmacies. most people look toward the new year with optimism and hope of better days to come. not i. i watch the days on my calendar creep closer and closer to january the 1st and i think "oh crap. not again." here's a brief explanation why, for those of you not in the pharmacy field.
insurance companies are basically the spawn of the devil. they live to make life as miserable as possible for as many people as possible. this includes pharmacies and doctors. after the beginning of a new year, several things happen. many people change insurance companies. most people have to start over on their deductible. and some people lose coverage all together. all this equates to a crap load of work for pharmacists, interns, and techs every where.
the last few days before the new year and spent with people trying to cram every last refill in that they can before they have to start paying full price for them. occasionally, they'll even come in a few days after the new year and ask you to back-bill the claims for them.
there are also those patients who expect you to magically know their new id numbers, insurance policies, etc. and become irate when you tell them that the old insurance you have is no longer in effect.
saturday was the 2nd to last business day before the new year hit. we're closed on the 1st and only open half a day on the 31st. hence, saturday was a nightmare. we were also short staffed, which is usually not a problem for a saturday. but when you do 174 scripts compared to the usual 80-120 with just a tech, pharmacist, and a clerk, it really sucks.
not to mention that our all-time favorite drug addict paid us a visit. last time we saw this man, he swore he would never return to our pharmacy because we had "defaced" his prescription for some ridiculous amount of oxycontin by writing "refill too soon until (certain date)" on it. after all, he told us not to run it through his insurance (yeah, like that's not a give away that you're doing something illegal). anyway, so early in the day i receive a call from a man that goes a little something like this:
me: pharmacy, technician speaking.
man: hi, i was wondering if you could give me some price quotes for some medicine.
me: sure, go ahead and tell me the names of the medications.
man: well, i have about a half dozen or so scripts.
me: okay.... well, just start telling me and i'll give you the quotes as we go.
man: the first one is for Lortab 10-500 #120.
me: (thinking "oh this will be fun...") that's $xx.xx
man: okay, the next one is for oxycodone 30 mg #150
me: (RED FLAG!) that's $xx.xx
....conversation continues in this manner, all price quotes being for controlled substances in extremeley high amounts.
man: well, i think that's it. i have one for oxycontin, but i know that's a lot. besides, i used to fill there all the time.
me: oh really? well, what's your name? (in case we gave him a break or something last time he filled these)
man: it's werner heisenberg ***(not actual name)
me: (why does that sound familiar....???) okay, well, is that all?
man: yeah, thank you.
as i get off the phone i turn to my pharmacist and ask if she remembers werner. her jaw drops and eyes bulge and i see a little bit of her soul die. she reminds me of his previous escapades at our pharmacy and all i can think is why i didn't ask for the name first and start hiking up the prices in hopes that he would find somewhere cheaper.
this was not the last i heard from dear werner, however. he made a point to call me twice more to ask me the price for that oxycontin 80mg #90 script. and i told him the same price both times. as the clock slowly crept closer and closer to closing time, i told the pharmacist that i bet he wouldn't show until a quarter to closing. well, that came and went. then it was 10 to. still nothing. finally, at FIVE MINUTES to closing, he shows up. his "girlfriend" arrives a minute or two later, and they sit together waiting for us to fill his scripts (luckily he only filled 3 out of his gigantic stack). the girlfriend actually has the nerve to say "i bet you guys are trying to go home, huh?" NO FREAKING KIDDING! THEN GET YOUR REAR END OUT OF THE PHARMACY! the pharmacist and i make it a point to count at the speed of light and not respond to anything the say to us. perhaps we'll be so rude that he'll never return. as our clerk is ringing them up, we're sending off orders and running final reports when i hear him say "i don't have enough money. can i just get part of this prescription?" to which the pharmacist almost screams at him "we don't split prescriptions. you can leave it here until you have the money or you don't get it." so he decides to leave one of them behind. AFTER I TOLD HIM HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES WHAT THE PRICE WOULD BE!!! i nearly walked out there and strangled him.
yeah. the owner SO owes us.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
uunnnghhh...freshmen
weather: 28°F
reading: essential cell biology
freshmen+alcohol+finals week=angry me
especially when they stand in the middle of the hall screaming "F*** YOU MAN! I'M DONE WITH THIS! F*** YOU!" especially when it occurs at 1:30 AM.
but only 3 more days and i have a 4 week vacation away from the little hooligans. HALLELUJAH! however, if my final grades are suboptimal, there will be blood shed come january.
reading: essential cell biology
freshmen+alcohol+finals week=angry me
especially when they stand in the middle of the hall screaming "F*** YOU MAN! I'M DONE WITH THIS! F*** YOU!" especially when it occurs at 1:30 AM.
but only 3 more days and i have a 4 week vacation away from the little hooligans. HALLELUJAH! however, if my final grades are suboptimal, there will be blood shed come january.
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