Some questions for a class

[interestedinpharmacy]

For an English assignment I’ve been tasked with asking Pharmacists a few questions about practical writing in their field. If anyone could help me answer a few questions, I would really appreciate it. Short answers are all that is needed.


· How much writing do you typically do for your job? What kind of writing does the job entail?

· How much of the writing is done alone or in collaboration with others? If you collaborate, with whom do you collaborate, why, and how often?

· Have you ever had to write a grant or something for a professional publication? If so, what was the grant for and what was the publication about?

· What kind of advice do you have for a student writer?

· What are recent developments or controversial issues in your field?



Please include your title. Thank you for your time.

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[wagrxm2000]

No or none to everything???

 

[HelpfulPharmer1]

If anyone could help me answer a few questions, I would really appreciate it. Short answers are all that is needed.......Thank you for your time.

· How much writing do you typically do for your job? What kind of writing does the job entail?
Hi there, future pharmacist. I am your friendly neighborhood community pharmacist here. I write very little for my job. Short sentences to doctor office concerning:

Hi Prescriber, the drug you prescribed is not covered by insurance, please change to different covered drug.

Hi Prescriber, the drug you prescribed it not covered by insurance but patient wants it. Please spend time with insurance to insist for patient by giving Prior Authorization to insurance at this contact number: 1-800-Spend-At-Least-1-Hour.

· How much of the writing is done alone or in collaboration with others? If you collaborate, with whom do you collaborate, why, and how often?
I have no collaboration in writing at my high-speed community pharmacy job.

· Have you ever had to write a grant or something for a professional publication? If so, what was the grant for and what was the publication about?
I have no writing about grant or professional publication.

· What kind of advice do you have for a student writer?
You already have good start. Continue the good work as student writer. If you are interested in working in pharmacy at Pharmacy Technician, study at home to be pharmacy technician and take the test at www.ptcb.org. (I just saved you around 15 thousands dollars and 9 months at career college.) After you pass, you can work as Pharmacy Technician at most pharmacies in United States of America.

· What are recent developments or controversial issues in your field?
Controversial issues: (Note: others may or may not agree, I rest the debate here. No further comment about controversial issue from my part.)

Community pharmacists are under increasingly high pressure to finish many many prescriptions per hour with little help. On top of that, more standards are being watched such as: How many flu shots have you done today (even after corporate cut hours of your helpers),
How many Comprehensive Review of Medications have you done this week (this could take easily 1 hour and still expected to be done with less hours of helpers),
How come your Inventory is too high (so the patient don't have to come back next day, hello),
How come patients don't come to pickup medication you hung on the shelves for over 7 days (easy answer: because corporate cut hours and I have no one in my store to call patient personally and no one from Corporate calling patient to pickup. The computer calls too but when phone number for patient is wrong or disconnected and computer does not tell me so I can fix it, the computer just simply calls and then drop the call if number is wrong.)
...............

Another issue: Pharmacist students often must borrow huge amount of student loan to be pharmacist, around 150 thousands of loan at high interest rate which net cost may be around 250 thousands by the time the loan is fully paid off. Pharmacists often have to pay 2000 a month just for student loan. That's often the money my dad used to take home to feed the whole family a month.

(Even with all that, I still like my job as pharmacist as I have been though many jobs with lower pay and way more physical demands. Pharmacist job is still enjoyable after working as a janitor, farmer, factory worker, swap meet seller, door to door flyer poster......)