Today I received an e-mail from the people in charge of Mercer on Mission confirming that I have been chosen to go on the mission. The first notification I got was from the woman in charge of my rotations telling us that we were Mercer Atlanta's choices for pharmacy students and that Mercer Macon would pretty much approve their choices as long as nothing went horribly wrong. Well, nothing went horribly wrong, and I am going. The e-mail I got today included a study abroad data form, a deposit payment ticket, and a student travel checklist of things that must be completed before we leave the country. I also went to the post office today to start getting things ready to apply for my passport and will hopefully finish the application process tomorrow.
Q&A Time!
Q: Tell me about your first pharmacy job.
A: My first and current job is pretty much what I hope to do for the rest of my life. I started working for my boss, J, around the time I started college. At that time, he owned 3 independent pharmacies in the Columbus area. I started working at the pharmacy that was right next to the government housing facilities ("the projects" is what they're called just about everywhere). People think that the area is a scary place, but my customers were more crazy-off-their-rockers than scary. I absolutely adored the job because you just never knew what to expect to happen on any given day. My very favorite thing about the job though was that I was able to get to know my patients and help the people who REALLY need it. I love taking care of people that others either look down on or may overlook all together; it's the most rewarding thing in the world. Watching our customers interact with our pharmacist just confirmed that I want to be in independent pharmacy for as long as possible; those people trust our pharmacists more than they trust their doctors. Some of our customers would bring us lunch or snacks or vegetables from their home gardens - they would stop by just to say hello or to update J on their latest hunting excursion. Unfortunately, this pharmacy eventually closed because my boss owned another pharmacy just up the road. I was transferred to working at that pharmacy and love it just as much. We were able to retain all of our customers, and now there's a fun gift shop for me to peruse when I have some downtime. (Don't tell J!! :P)In August/September of 2009, we suffered a HUGE loss - our building that had stood in the same spot for what seems like forever was burnt to the ground. I was away at school at the time, and my heart broke into a thousand pieces for J, my co-workers, and most importantly our patients. They reopened in a temporary location practically next door to the old building within a week, and out of the tragedy we realized just how special our situation is. Our patients were so understanding, and you know you have a good thing going when your patients are just as broken-hearted about your tragedy as you are. I was able to work at the temporary location this summer, and it was... one heck of an experience. The building was TINY, and with 8-10 people working at a time we got to know each other VERY well. A bigger, better, even more beautiful store was in the process of being built in the original stores' location, but it didn't open until the week after I had to leave to go back to school (in late August 2010). I only worked in the temp store for 2 months, but everyone else had a solid year in the tiny building, and they were absolutely thrilled to tell the little thing goodbye. A lot of good came out of the fire in terms of the support we received and the amazing new building we have now, but I know it was a rough time - especially for J. I can't even begin to imagine the emotional impact the entire situation had on him, but he kept an amazingly positive attitude throughout the experience.
I know this is a long post, but I absolutely can't end it without saying how special my boss is to me. He has done and would do anything in the world for me. I tried to work for someone else this summer and just couldn't do it for longer than a month - THAT is how good of a person and boss J is. He knows every patient by name, the name of their children, the name of their pets, what was going on the last time they came into the pharmacy, etc. etc. etc. Equally as important, he goes way, way above and beyond on behalf of these patients, and I think that's one of the most important things a pharmacist can do. If there is a way to help them, J will find it. If there's not a way to help them, chances are he'll make one somehow or another. One of the things I learned to appreciate about him when I had my other job this summer is that he may get grumpy sometimes, he may hurt your feelings, and he may even make you cry every now and then if you're super sensitive, but he will ALWAYS tell you he's sorry with his deepest sincerity and a hug. His employees are part of his family, and I think a boss who makes you feel like that is a boss who is doing his job well.
That's all for now, folks. Sorry again about the absence and the long post. Hopefully once school starts back on Monday I'll be able to update more regularly.
Thanks for reading. It really means the world to me.
<3 <3 <3
Kati
No comments:
Post a Comment