During the two days of the attachment, I learnt quite a lot. Before this, I took it lightly, what our lecturers told us about real life customers. While observing the store pharmacist at work, we witnessed for ourselves, all forms of character each customer had.
These are true observations, people.
One lady came in, headed straight for the pharmacy counter, and said, "I want the cough syrup, for child one. The box yellow colour one, got teddy bear in front one." I forgot what the pharmacist told her, but after some questioning, the lady was recommended another product. Even with an alternative, she kept saying, "But the teddy bear one very good wor. Not sleepy one." And so on.
Some time after this, a guy came shuffling to the counter, looked up, shifty-eyed at the pharmacist, and asked, "Do you sell sleeping pills?" She replied him, "No." He walked away, with a crest-fallen look. My friend said the pharmacist probably didn't want to give it to him because sleeping pills are potential suicidal agents if taken in large amounts. And the guy looked like a sorry soggy piece of pau down with depression, so maybe her guess was correct. I didn't bother checking up what the drug contents are, even though we have had the lecture on hypnotics and sedatives. *super lazy bum* I was thinking if the active ingredient causes addiction as well. *still dunno the answer*
Other than that, I was able to finally differentiate between class A, B and C drugs. I lost count of the number of times this was mentioned in workshops, tutorials and lectures. My slow brain can't fully register the difference, until Ms. Chin (the pharmacist) put it in simple words, as to what is what.
{ Corrected!!! So sorry for the mistake! }
Class B drugs - Pharmacists can only dispense these with a doctor's prescription.
Class C drugs - Pharmacist's items. Only pharmacists can dispense these, and it can be done without a written prescription from a doctor. Sales of these are recorded.
OTC - Sold over the counter. No prescriptions, no pharmacists, no records.
There are a lot more things learnt, but I don't want to bore you senseless with more useless information. :D
Recently, I've begun to take a liking to Roxy. Previously, I deemed it as a snob's utility to show off her I've-got-more-money-than-you-ness. I'm not sure if I'm turning into a snob. I hope I'm not. Am I? *uh-oh* After doing some searchings on eBay, I found out about Betsey Johnson. I fell instantly in love with these :
{ Taken from here }
Snob or not, one thing is for certain - my pockets will never be full again. T-T
Here's an Etsy version of cupcake goodies.
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2 comments:
OMG I LOVE BETSEY JOHNSON!! She freaking rocks!!
Anyways, I actually kinda hate going to pharmacists coz sometimes I feel that they judge people. Like when I ask for postinor sometimes I'd have to flash my goddamn wedding band just to say "HELLO I AM MARRIED."
I once asked a malay lady and she snapped back at me "Takde!" and flashed me that discriminating look. And I could see that postinor on the shelf in plain sight. Mofo.
My Mom send me supplies of postinor from Malaysia (in Japan a pack is RM600). One day a pharmacist actually adviced her like "Oh do you know what this is? It's birth control. Is your daughter married? She might be lying to you about what this is." WADAHEL wei! Keypociii!! Now my mom also malas wanna mintak sebab she's afraid of being lectured and embarrassed.
I usually don't get those 'looks' from younger pharmacists. Only malays and older pharmacists. Anyways, are you supposed to ask questions like that? Isn't that kinda judgemental?
:D
During my attachment, the pharmacist explained quite a bit about oral contraceptives (OC). Postinor is a two-tablet OC, taken for emergency contraception only.
Though you're probably familiar with the way to take postinor, I'd just like to share some information about the recommended dosage :
"1 tab to be taken w/in 72 hr following intercourse & another one 12 hr after taking the 1st tab. If vomiting occurs w/in 2 hr after drug intake, the dose must be repeated. It is advisable to take the 1st tab w/in 48 hr."
Postinor is actually a category X drug in terms of pregnancy safety. This means there are animal studies evidence or human experience (or both) that the drug poses risks for foetal (baby) abnormalities if taken by a pregnant lady.
The pharmacist actually mentioned something about the frequency of taking postinor. I fully regret it now that I didn't jot it down, thinking I'd remember. T-T If I'm not mistaken, it's not more than twice a month, meaning, not more than 4 tablets a month. (check with a qualified pharmacist! :P) If you're taking more than that, you should probably consider switching to 21-day or 28-day OC tablets.
The reason behind this restriction on postinor is probably because it may cause untoward hormonal imbalance in the body if taken more than the recommended dose.
Whatever the reason the customer wants a medication, the pharmacist should never make assumptions. Somemore voicing out unrequested opinions! That is just not right. >.< We can ask questions like who the medicine is for and what are the symptoms the person show, etc. But not make accusations. That's what was taught us. :)
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