08/03/2024
In the 43 years that I’ve been a pharmacist, I’ve seen so many changes.
Computers were just arriving on the scene and it took years of refinements to optimize their ability to assist the pharmacy team.
Insurance companies were originally nothing more than payers of claims compared to the intrusively unwieldy organizations they are now.
Government policies like DESI drugs, OBRA’90, HIPAA, USP800, DIR, DSCSA, etc. continue to define & improve and, at the same time, complicate & frustrate pharmacies and their patients.
Yet after all is said and done, pharmacy has been an amazing profession to be involved with. The relationships I’ve been able to have with the doctors & nurses have been mutually beneficial and very rewarding. Many of them have respected and appreciated my advice and professionalism as an advocate on behalf of their patients.
But, my MOST IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT relationships have been, and will always be, with THE PATIENTS who walk through the front door of the pharmacy.
Within the 100,000 plus hours I’ve worked, I’ve been there to help literally tens of thousands of patients with their various health issues. And much more!
I’ve provided personal advice, shared life stories and vacation details, swapped jokes & funny stories, had chats about the cosmos & spiritually uplifting moments, shot the breeze about the latest sports stories & movies/plays, among other things. And I’ve even found time to save a few patient’s lives from hospitalizations and early graves.
I’ve laughed when my patients have laughed, cried when they cried, felt their extreme emotions upon the death of a loved one and commiserated with them in profound sympathy. Along the way, I’ve even made many lifelong friends whom I’ll always cherish.
But now the time has come for me to say goodbye to full-time work in this profession that I’ve loved so much. Personal health struggles are partly to blame - and for that I’m truly frustrated. Mentally, I feel like I could keep going for another 43 years. Realistically, I know that’s impossible.
I’m sure I will still be involved in some manner within the pharmacy industry. Just in a much, much smaller role.
It also doesn’t mean that I’ll give up on continually improving my pharmacist self through education. I’ve always believed that there’s no such thing as too much education - that our experiences that we have here will be one of the most important things that will go with us when we eventually leave this earth.
In the millions of prescriptions I’ve been a personal part of, with all the challenges presented and all the patients those prescriptions represent, I can truly say, like Paul in the New Testament, that “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course and I have kept the faith.” I can leave full-time employment with my head held high in the knowledge that I have given my all to all my patients. I can also say proudly that my patients were very much worth all that effort!
Adieu my friends, until we meet again.
- Joe (T.J.) Williams
