Starting a blog has got the wheels turning in brain as to what I can talk about to keep you guys interested. I'm really quite worried that I'm not a very interesting person! But over the past few days I've been thinking about the memories that stick out in my mind when it comes to working in health care.
I have a few memories from my pharmacy days including the little boy who came in with his mum as he had a black line spreading up his arm and they were sent straight to hospital with suspected ink poisoning, the man who was writhing around on the floor trying to take the bandage off his severed thumb to show the pharmacist, the guy who thought he had an STD but was too embarrassed to go to the doctor so he'd rather whip it out in front of the pharmacy staff and finally learning that a fit pack had nothing to do with being fit! Lol. (For anyone who hasn't come across a fit pack before they are a set of syringes inside a small sharps container, sold for a few dollars they are used to hopefully prevent the spread of disease in drug users and protect the general public from syringes being left in the street). But one weird and seemingly insignificant memory that stands out in detail for me is the time that an unhappy young lady came in to purchase Nurofen. I took her over to the shelf and showed her the different pack sizes, prices and generic brands etc and she made the comment that it would probably be cheaper to get from Woollies. After thinking for a second she said "oh well I'm here now I'll just grab it" so I took her to the counter and started my usual spiel; "have you used this before? Are you on any other medications?' and all that jazz that people hate getting asked and I finished off by advising her to take the Nurofen with food to avoid stomach upset and ulcers. Well this lady's demeanor just turned right around and she thanked me for the advice and said "I probably wouldn't get that kind of service from Woollies'. Well as a shy fifteen year old who dreaded dealing with grumpy customers that just made my day and I've never forgotten it.
Funny the things that stick with you. Does anyone else have any seemingly mundane memories that for some reason have just stuck with them?
- Just Another Student Nurse
I have a few memories from my pharmacy days including the little boy who came in with his mum as he had a black line spreading up his arm and they were sent straight to hospital with suspected ink poisoning, the man who was writhing around on the floor trying to take the bandage off his severed thumb to show the pharmacist, the guy who thought he had an STD but was too embarrassed to go to the doctor so he'd rather whip it out in front of the pharmacy staff and finally learning that a fit pack had nothing to do with being fit! Lol. (For anyone who hasn't come across a fit pack before they are a set of syringes inside a small sharps container, sold for a few dollars they are used to hopefully prevent the spread of disease in drug users and protect the general public from syringes being left in the street). But one weird and seemingly insignificant memory that stands out in detail for me is the time that an unhappy young lady came in to purchase Nurofen. I took her over to the shelf and showed her the different pack sizes, prices and generic brands etc and she made the comment that it would probably be cheaper to get from Woollies. After thinking for a second she said "oh well I'm here now I'll just grab it" so I took her to the counter and started my usual spiel; "have you used this before? Are you on any other medications?' and all that jazz that people hate getting asked and I finished off by advising her to take the Nurofen with food to avoid stomach upset and ulcers. Well this lady's demeanor just turned right around and she thanked me for the advice and said "I probably wouldn't get that kind of service from Woollies'. Well as a shy fifteen year old who dreaded dealing with grumpy customers that just made my day and I've never forgotten it.
Funny the things that stick with you. Does anyone else have any seemingly mundane memories that for some reason have just stuck with them?
- Just Another Student Nurse