Well....I'd give some advice & help to show some techniques to give the student tools to help manage their day rather than have their day manage them.
First...in healthcare...there are always emergencies that happen - can't predict those & you have to be adaptable to realize some things need to be put on the back burner. The person waiting for the rx that she refuses to call in ahead of time sometimes really needs to wait because you are taking a verbal discharge order from a transplant unit. I try to help students find the words to explain that altho we know she does come in every month, right now there is someone with an urgent need which requires your attention. She has the option to wait or she can come back at a more convient time. I also try to help them teach patients to think ahead of time & call in their rxs. But...often these folks find the trip to the pharmacy an outing....so I encourage them to look around a bit until I can direct my full attention to what their need is.
One of the hardest things I've found people in pharmacy have difficulty with is prioritizing. The rx in front of them is the one they need to work on RIGHT NOW. Often...it is the tech who is controlling what gets put in front of the pharmacist or they call for an override because "the patient is waiting". Or....one of my pet peeves - the tech needs an override right now because all his/her screens are full. But...when I go look at the rxs - they are for refills to be filled for delivery for the NEXT day. When I'm busy...I tell them....note the rx number down & take it off the screen - it won't go away. Just don't fill your screens up during busy times. I try to teach students how help techs prioritize in a kind and efficient way. If the students learn how to help the tech prioritize...the work gets done not as it comes in, but as its priority dictates.
One other thing students get caught up in is tasks. Pharmacy is a very task oriented business. We LIKE getting tasks done - all the IV's made, all the rxs processed & filled, all the pyxis fills done, etc...But..sometimes...we all lose sight of the purpose of the task.
For example....have you ever looked at busy pharmacists at a really busy pharmacy? When they are called for an override...they often do it automatically (or worse yet - give the tech the override code), yet they don't really spend much time looking at what they are overriding (or the conflict the tech printed out got lost in all the shuffle...or another pharmacist who actually did the filling didn't realize there was ever an override printed). There have been studies which have looked at this very thing. The most errors occur when we have people nagging us to do something faster than we have the capability of doing, partially because we are oriented to completing the task fast.
We end up doing things so fast without really taking the time to look at what we were doing. Also...some of us can do things much faster than others. Tweeter may be able to recalculate a dose faster than I can, as was described in another thread. But,I may be able to mix that streptokinase faster than he could. Someone else may be able to check pyxis fills day after day accurately faster than me (most everyone probably - my mind wanders during this awful job!). The point is...find your own comfortable & even keel. When someone says...this person has been waiting 20 minutes (in a huffy & short tempered manner)...develop somewhat of a self deprecating approach & when you get to the patient...explain you wanted to be sure each part of their rx was correct.
Eh - they may still be mad - or not. But...you won't live with a mistake due to rushing. Also...be sure you make clear to the techs you're working with that day to check with you on the wait time - especially if you are the only pharmacist. You are the rate limiting step. You don't know when an emergency will come up.
One last bit of advice I always tell students.....every hour...step away from the computer & counter or IV bench. Take a minute just to breathe & move without it being tied to a patient demand. That doesn't mean taking a 20 min coffee break - just take a minute to step away. It will lower your blood pressure. Also...EAT! When your blood sugar is low you can't think straight. Take time to eat!
There are so many other things good preceptors help students with when it comes to managing patients. You can't change the patient - but, you can change how you respond to the patient.
Anyway...I've rambled on long enough - Caverject will be here shortly telling me to bite my tongue!
Do the best you can - thats all anyone can ask & certainly all you can ask of yourself!
