The Government Shut Down Affects Drake Students

I fly to Washington DC this week as my next rotation is in DC with the FDA. I am VERY excited but extremely nervous. I have been worrying about packing, about transportation and about finances while I am there. Now there is something new for me to worry about.

If the government ceased its operations next month because Congress failed to pass a spending bill to keep it running past March 4, hundreds of thousands of government contractors, including the FDA, who provide a host of essential services would share the burden.

The likely scenario is a hard shutdown, during which federal and contract workers are furloughed. In this scenario, security guards would block employees from entering their buildings. Workers would be prohibited from volunteering their services and would be advised not to continue working under the false assumption that the financial terms could be worked out later.

My preceptor at the FDA already emailed me: "If congress doesn't fund the government and we shut down your rotation will not start on March 7th but will start when the government re-opens. If it does shut down we will mostly likely only be delayed by a couple of days or a week at most"

I may get a few extra days to explore DC?

Better just keep my ears/eyes on the news.
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=15&sid=2288303

Public Opinion of Pharmacists

"A study found the social skills of pharmacists to be more important to patients than was any technical expertise.

Positive interactions occurred when pharmacists provided information, recommended better treatment alternatives, and demonstrated product uses. Negative incidents tended to be those where patients had long waits for help."


"Some consumers are not sure what pharmacists actually do."

This is suprising but not surprising at the same time. Most people think pharmacists are just pill pushers and counters at your corner chain drug store.
NOT TRUE!

*Pharmacists are medication experts. They are under utilized for their medication knowledge.

*Pharmacists also check medication dosing. Everyone needs a second check, especially when it comes to dosing medications.

*Pharmacists are patient advocates with regards to the physician, to the insurance company and for health care changes. Pharmacists are NOT employed by the insurance companies so to them it does not matter when or how much medication you can have, those limits are set by the insurance company.

*Average interaction of a patient with their pharmacists: 90 seconds. Would you ever spend just 90 seconds with your doctor? You are paying for their professional help, and most times you can ask questions for free...so take advantage of it!

*Pharmacists check for interactions. This is most efficient if your keep all your drug records or if you visit one pharmacy for all your meds.

*Pharmacists give immunizations

*Pharmacists compound medications. Certain medicines that are not made by companies can be made by pharmacists.


GOOD NEWS:
"For the ninth consecutive year, America's pharmacists top Gallup's list of 26 occupations rated for their "honesty and ethical standards." Pharmacists are cited by 69% of Americans -- an all time high for any profession measured by Gallup -- for having "high" or "very high" standards."

Funny Public Signs

Ever see some street, highway or building sign that just does not make sense or makes you laugh. My current favorite are the new "Speed Hump" signs. Who thought substituting 'hump' for 'bump' was a good idea?

What Would You Do?

Have you ever seen ABCs "What Would You Do?" show? It is a hidden camera show that puts ordinary people in an ethical dilemma to make an ethical decision on the spot. I really like the show because it is real, the situations are real and the peoples' responses are real. Many people say they would always do the ethical thing but when a situation actually comes up, people do not always follow through. The situations brought up on the show really make you think about your own ethics and how you might handle the dilemmas.

Some of the topics they have covered and some of my ideas for topics to cover:

Teen/kid bullying

Kid/teens bullying the elderly

Underage kids asking strangers to buy them alcohol

Customer's stealing a tip

Waiter/waitress providing diet suggestions to overweight patrons

Witnessing AIDS discrimination

Sexual discrimination

Racial discrimination

Age discrimination

Grandmother stealing in store

See someone dine and dash

Another customer breaking something in a store

see a date slipping something into partner's drink

Breastfeeding in public

Help a stranger get medications

A stranger being verbal/physical abused

A store clerk gave incorrect change to a blind customer

What would you do?

Typical Day at the Pharmacy

DISCLAIMER: This video does NOT visually portray what happens daily at a pharmacy but it does portray verbally what MAY go on daily at a pharmacy. It is not an always or everywhere situation but it happens. There is some rude language at times. Neither I nor Drake endorse the verbal exchange.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some fun trivia and stories about Valentine's Day:

• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men


• 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day


• Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.


• Approximately one billion Valentines are sent out worldwide each year according to estimates by the U.S. Greeting Card Association. That's second only to Christmas.


• Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all Valentines.
  

Q: Who sends a thousand valentines cards signed', guess who' ?
A: A divorce lawyer.

Read All About It:

Every Valentine’s Day our campus newspaper has a section for student messages. Last year my roommate surprised his girlfriend with roses and dinner at a fancy restaurant. When they returned from their date, she leafed through the paper to see if he had written a note to her.

Near the bottom of one page she found: “Bonnie — What are you looking here for? Aren’t dinner and flowers enough? Love, Scott.”

What the Sluggish Economy Means for Recent College Graduates

- More time at home with the "rents" (CLEAN YOUR ROOM!!)

- Less employers returning phone calls/e-mails about job inquiries (maybe they lost your number or never got the email...)

- The increasing probability of landing a job where you do not need a higher education, a job that requires a different major or a job no one else wants instead of using your $60,000+ college education (that at one time seemed like a magic "get a job" card)

- If you're single... the dating scene is really not as fun (but actually more awkward) when you're 24+ and still live with your parents

- If you're already dating someone... it's hard for the lack of money and unclear life path to NOT affect the relationship

- A lot of working for free hoping somebody will appreciate the work you do and decide to pay you (after a while of working for free, the idea of this leading to a 'payday' seems more and more like finding water in the Sahara desert)

- You're actually told that you are "overqualified" to perform a job or they won't hire you because they thought you would get bored too easily

- Remaining overly cautious as you do not have the healthy coverage or money to visit the ER, doctor or dentist

- Searching for a job now is your job

Funny But True

Doctor Speech
A doctor is giving a speech at a local awards ceremony, but when he looks down at the notes he'd jotted down, he can't understand what they say. Frantic, the doctor calls out, "Is there a pharmacist in the house?"

Miracle Drug
A miracle drug is one that is now the same price as it was last year.

Light Bulbs
How many pharmacists does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one, but he has to do it three times a day for 10 days.

SHORT HISTORY OF MEDICINE: "Medicine for an ear ache"
2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."
1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."
1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."
1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."
1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."
2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!"

SNOW DAY!!

It was officially a snow day for everyone in my house and for almost the entire city of Chicago!

It took my sister and me 2 hours and 40 minutes to drive home after work yesterday due to the winds, blowing snow and traffic (a drive that is usually about 45 minutes).

One main road in Chicago was shut down after hundreds of cars got stranded on the road. Firefighters used snowmobiles to get the people off that road (some had been sitting in their cars for over 8 hours).

Around my house we got about 20 inches of snow but some snow drifts got as high as 5 feet tall. I have never seen this much snow all at once

Of course the snowblower was working last night but today when we tried it, it was broken. So it took four adults three hours to clear our entire driveway and another hour to clear the sidewalk.

The city called to tell people to stay home, they closed most buildings, closed most transportation (including both major airports), and closed most hospitals.

The sun came out today...as always the sunshine after the storm. But over the next few days Chicago is to get some of the coldest weather in over 20 years. Fiji isle here I come!