My Journey as a Pharmacist (약사로서 나의 여정) 1

One of the most meaningful Mondays in my life – this was the first day I started my journey as a ‘pharmacist-to-be’ as well as the date when I was awake to the reality of the situation that I should start getting serious about the career I’d opted for one year ago.

I only began to get worried about the fact that I’m going to work on an attachment yesterday. It’s shown that I was actually not more than ‘decadent’ or ‘self-indulgent’ would be a more appropriate term to describe the life before.

I reached the ‘assigned’ pharmacy promptly at 9.00 a.m. It’s not considered a true community pharmacy if you’re to follow the true definition, that the pharmacist doesn’t really prepare drugs inside (I don’t regard repackaging what’s ready is a part of drug preparation).

The drugstore wasn’t open punctually at the expected time but slightly later. It’s perfectly alright in my mind for I shouldn’t have complained so much or else I could have put myself at a risk of being thrown out.

I was invited into Mr. Ong’s after a polite greeting. I was glad he’s responding to me at that moment. Mr. Ong’s well-known for his having a calm and introverted disposition. I had to express my appreciation with a few bows.

Definitely nobody was in, except him. I was glad that I was the earliest among his employees despite the fact that I was paid experience rather than ringgits.

To my surprise, he’s the first to ask about some of my particulars before I racked my brain for questions to be asked to resolve the tense atmosphere – that’s what I think.

My questions popped out after the end of my answering sentences so as to relax myself a bit more. They were actually praises presented as a matter of fact for I’m always curious that how a pharmacist can have all his drugs’ names and uses as well as their locations clearly inscribed in his minds. I really have doubts sometimes as to whether will my memory be enough for all of these as I know upgrading wouldn’t be possible for me at this age.

Observing patiently is as important as being able to endure hours of standing at a fixed position, either for who’s keen or forced for gaining knowledge. I think I am in the 2nd group. Monday’s indeed a hectic day for everyone in the store as the day before was when the shop’s closed.

There’re lots of interesting visitors today and I was very fortunate to see how a new product was being introduced into the market in a more detailed way. There were actually promoters being sent by the drug company to persuade Mr. Ong to take the new product – Probiotics into consideration so the new product can be displayed like others on the shelf. Personally, I didn’t think Mr. Ong liked their special visit very much. From his expression at that time, he didn’t seem to be convinced though the explanations made were making the product fascinating.

An auntie-like promoter in early thirties had appeared abruptly. She’s acting like this drugstore is a chain store of hers. At first sight, I thought she’s Mr. Ong’s wife as her actions were showing that Mr. Ong’s her helpmate. Luckily, before I had time to regard her Mrs. Ong, another lovely employee of his told me that she’s actually another promoter of Vita-Health who’s coming frequently to this drugstore to the extent that she could identify every medicine in the store as well as on which rack a particular drug is placed.

Though she’s pretty bossy and always spoke in a peremptory tone, she did teach me something about how to dispense a prescription with correct dosage and also a way to know how many tablets or capsules should be taken by customers each day.

I was, and am still totally ignorant about dispensing medicines and therefore I only helped to settle some odds and ends for Mr. Ong; things like dusting the remainder drugs on the racks and tidying the boxes away.

Although I didn’t really work within this six-hour time, I was indeed worn out with satisfaction that I did actually learn a great deal. Observing and listening are really vital for acquiring knowledge and I should get myself into these arts.