Don't Worry Be Happy

Exams? What exams?
oh.....E..X...A..M..S!

I had been studying Pharmacy Practise for the whole day, yet I don't know what had went into my brain. There are so much to stuff in: Psychology, Ethics, Organisations, Medicine In Profile, Probabilities, Statistic, Pharmacoepidemiology and research method, dispensing skills, patients care problm solving,rural pharmacy,compliance issue...Can you believe there are so much in just ONE subject?!

Its amazed how a person's brain can stuff in SO many stuff.

I am not panicking now yet...still in me "lalala don't worry" mood.
This semster had been so weird for me, I dont; know what I;ve learnt and now they said its exam time! Feeling so unprepared.

Jia You everyone! We can make it through, alive. We are getting there and it will be over soon!

EXAMS T^T DIE HARD

Monday 27/10 : Pharmacy Practise ...is gay...
Wednesday 29/10: Pharmaceutical Chemistry ...is a bi*ch...
Friday 31/10: Medicinal Chemistry ...is screwed...
Then.....
Monday 10/11 : Physiology...is UNTOUCHED...

I duno how I am gona survive this semester...T^T how am i gona survive exams le?
so hard...especially those chemistry...i need to get 70%+....now its just a dream =[

One exam is goingo costme AUD 750 again!
Or maybe would say the total AUD 3000 is like action potential...It a "all or none event"
Sorry mammy and daddy =[

As usual, I get sick before exams; kinda annoying but I am used to it...
What annoyed me most is that Panadol is just dodgy =/
So sick of food all of a sudden, dont want to eat...infront of me now is this bowl of green leaves, tomato n kiwi...yet i can't finish it...Food makes me wanna vomit....omg -.-"""

Working from 5pm - 9pm today...maybe I should get neuofen instead...

A visit to my neighbour.

ok, this is the second post of today, but I really want to share this post to all my vcp druggies.

Just now I paid a visit to my neighbour, who is turning 96 years old in January 22nd (2009). His wife told me that he had an heart attack for the first time in his life a few weeks ago when he was away on a trip to his daughter's 70th bithday in Townsville. Now he is back in Melbourne after beign in hostipal for 3 weeks there.

So i decided to take some time and visit him today.

He seems pretty healthy, which is a good sign. And i am glad he is better now. He told me it had been an awful night for him when that happened. He was sent to Townsvlle hostpal and then was transfered to a cardiovascular specialist. He didn't have an operation but a lot of injections, which was terrible, he said. "and i had these insulin injections....for...i think my blood sugar level"

Then he showed me this calender pack for his medication. It comes in one week dose. Monday to Sunday; and is divied into " Morning. Lunch. Dinner. Bedtime" He said this is a brilliant idea coz all he had to do after is meal/before bed time is to get a glass of water, open that particular foil on the package according to the day and time, and take the meicines! { Guys! our adherence lecture :P }

"Well, you see, I am on 14.5 (FOURTEEN and A HALF) tablets each day. I have no idea what I had to take so many, it gets pretty confusing sometimes. I used to take Beta blockers too but now they discharged me with these other 10 medications. *sigh* its just too many tablets!..."

I turned to the back of the pack and realised he's on loop diuretic-frusemide, digoxin, aspirin, simvastatin and some other generic forms of blood pressure and cardiovascular medications. I felt sorry for him. Sometimes its very hard for an eldery having to take so many medications each day, not knowing what they are exactly.

I guess we all have to understand what they're going thro, and let them unerstand that "No matter how many medicines you're taking, even tho you're on a lot of medications, as long as they help you in you life, they make you feel better. Thats teh most important thing" (This is something I heard my pharamcist said one day when I was working)

Counsell them, provide them with the information they missed out on the medications. Be there for them, sometimes all an eldery wants is to have someone to talk to. Let them know that there are people here who cares for them.

They might be cases or things we heard in our pharmacy practise lecture; but when it comes to a real patients with real situations, it feels slightly different ( Thats what I feel anyway ).

Still 3 years to go IF i dont fail my exams this sem.

The linger I am in ths couse, the more I feel that I Am studying not because I want to please my relatives or parents; not because of the stable/flexible and highly respected career or the money that I will earn. (Maybe it will become more important when I hv my own family, but not for now). I study because I love it; I love to communicate with people and I want to do the best for them. It is not just my job and responsibility, but something I truly love to do.

The power of media and television...

On 10th October, 2008.Today Tonight broadcasted this clip on this 'amazing' heath care product called "Painaway".What's that? Well~ it is simply a cream or spray that contain 5 mian herbal ingredients for treating Arthritis, the inflammation of joints. Arthritis is a characterised by pain and swelling in the joints and believe it or not, it actually affect 1 in 5 Australian.

The used of 5 herbal ingredients are as followed...for those who are interested:

"Aarnica is for bruising and swelling, rosemary and eucalyptus is for circulation, the emu oil is a carrier that carries the actives deep down onto a bone or vertebrae to attack the inflammation and remove the inflammation in combination - it's unique in that way."

So after this clip was being broadcasted...a funny thing started to appear in my pharmacy this afternoon! A customer came in and asked "Can i have Painaway?"...as usual...i went and check with other staff...and apparently we are out of them coz the manufactorer was 'out of stock'...Then...10 min later another customer am in..and asked the same question, "Do u guys sell Painaway?"...ok this time I knew how to handle it...but then when the 5th customer came in...I started to giggle already... "sorry....i truly am, but you are teh 5th customer in 2 hours that came in and asked for the same thing! yeh i knew it was on Today Tonight..."....there were around 10 customers caming in just this afternoon to ask for that! How AmazING/ CreePy that is...Even thought other medication have ingredients such as Emu oil and aarnica....customers seem to refuse them.

Media has a very very big impact on everyone's life. It is a very strong and powerful tool apparently, especially in manipulating ideas and thoughts. I guess being a health care professional which we (my vcp matezz) later in lives would become, it is very important to understand the impact Media has on an individual psychologically. Give patients the knowledgeable and professional advices, guild them and point them to the right direction which can lead to the optimal outcome for their conditions and treatments. Pharmacists are not just someone wearing white coat, hiding behind the counter and sticking colourful labels on the boxes ( Even tho I DO like to do that ).

I enjoyed my work today, even tho it was a bit long coz another staff needed to go home early and I stayed for 3 hours more. Obviously it wasn't as busy as yesterday which was great. Sota getting the hang of the computer input and knowing where stuff are...

Working with this pharmacist on sunday is fun too...I guess i am not someone who talk a lot when i am working... I used to think he's not someone who smile often...but now I reckon he is kinda funny. He's always very patience and would never panick like I do...He told me today not to worry when there are nasty customers but just do my own stuff and don't panick,,,I would say all pharmacists have this similarities. This guy really taught me a lot even tho I am really stupid and learn every thing SOO slowly. Sometimes i feel really bad to bother him. Unlike some other pharmacists that would just give me the answer to my questions, he actually makes me think logically and tell him what my ideas are first..."yeah...so what do u think? what do they do? Tell me what you know about it?" ...I learn more this way...And his cantonese is really ...cute XD..I hope i didn;t gave him a lot of trouble when I am working...coz it's his responsibilities afterall if I'd mess up sth >.<

So tired today...so hot...Tomorrow i will have to go back for an hour for my training...but I am sure I qill enjoy the peaceful morning...haven't been studying for a few days already!Pro...crastinating again...

P.S: I am in the 3th row counted from the front and the 4th girl counted from the left in my kindergarten photo in my 1st blogs

A bad day at work...

Normally I work every Friday nights and every alternative Satrudays then Sundays...so i guess today is not really "my day" since I was just filling in the 10am-5pm shift for someone.

One staff called up in the morning and said he couldn't make it to work coz he had a sore leg, that seemed to be the first news other staffs told me when I arrive at 10am, we opened at 9am as usual...I've always knew that Saturday is a busy day; but I thought it would still be ok...

Morning seems fine, everything was pretty smooth...Even thought I always miss out the 10 min break in the morning, I am more than happy to work coz I do enjoy it.

Ather 3pm there were only 2 pharmacists and 2 staffs left, that's including me. Then this other Pharmore store called up and the line was being passed onto me. I hate...really hate...picking up phone calls seriously, I would have an heart attack when the phone starts to ring andI would do basically everything to avoid it...at least petend I am busy...that didnt; work this time, coz I was right next to the bloody phone! She asked if we had some N-something-wash-cloth...I had no idea wt she was talkin about so I went to ask the other staff..the only staff that is avaliable. She said we didn't have it in store, so I picked up teh phone again "Sorry we don't have it in store"..."Oh You SURE? coz thecomputer said you have 3 in store"....So i turned and ask the other staff again...she told me to ask whats that for..so i did...n i got this weird answer that i didnt; really get....so i didnt; what to do...that other staff was busy too so she ignored me while i was standing here holding the bloody phone...All i did was pick up the phone "Sorry, can u please repeat what are those for?"...."Look, its ok, i would just ring up on weekday and talk to SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT I AM TALKIN ABOUT!" and she slam her phone. There were so many customers/patients waiting for scripts in/out at the other end so i just had to run back to prescription area...Let's hope I don't get into trouble...aiks.

I was tired and I am still tired. And there were just so many little things today tht went wrong on me. This patient got a OTC medication plus 3 other prescriptions, i was down the register at n he came up to pay. I put everything thro in the register....then he went n open his bags of medication.."Look i didn;t ask for the Efexor-XR..i only asked for two scripts..i dont want this!"....ok...apparently I can;t do any refund...so i asked another and only staff to do it and i had to check with the pharmacist. Then somehow the blame was on me...coz "She's already put it thro"... Look, I didn't take that script in, I wasn;t workin up the dispensary today and I didn't prepare that; most importantly, he was the one who check it ONLY AFTER the transaction was done...and now for some reason the blame was on me...

so....I apologised, customers come first mah, yah i no...fine. After working for a while in retail, you know how to smile and do wht the customers ask for. Then after they're gone, feel free to say fuck off. That seems to be an interesting thing that happens everywhere I work.

I am really feeling stupid. I dont; know anything in the pharmacy. All I know is to listen to the patient/customer and then say,"yup yup...hold on, i will check it in the computer"...I would hv no clue when they come in and name me this bloody long name of the drug or the brand. I swear freaken Medicinal Chemistry is nto helpin me A BIT in my work, at least i dont think it is...and as for Pharmaceutical Chemistry...all it helped was when soemone came up and ask me what is the difference b/w the Cream n Ointment of the same medication. I am feelin so...useless. I can't believe I am a pharmacy student.

Mum and dad used to tell me I have to learn to lower my head sometime when I come out to work and to the society. Not a little princess anymore. "Just do what others tell you to".Sometimes even you don't like someone, hide it inside you but smile and be nice to them. Sometimes it is better off if you just apologise and get on with it. I always nod my head and say "yah la, mum, dad...don't worry la...i know how to do la"...but then when you have to do it in some situations, you will realised it is not that easy.

Stay in a country that doesn't really belongs to you; being far away from home...sometimes all you want to do is not to let mum n dad worry. Being strong, or at least pretend to be; tellin them i am coping with my life well even I am struggling; try not to let them know I am sick or worn out when I really am...maybe they know my well, and it seems they can always tell when i am ill or tired...but now I do understand what they mean by the real world. Not everything will go in the direction u want it to be. Sometimes you will just have to give in for the sake of everyone and urself.

It seems there are yet a lot of things I have to learn...not just in Pharmacy course, but in life...

Let's hope tomorrow's work up the dispensary will be better...I wish:
1) Everyone just bring in their repeats from my pharmacy so i can just scan easily.
2) No doctors' handwritten-scripts for me to read
3) ....bla....my neck pain and headache would be gone...
4) patience patients
....ok i am too greedy... too many wishes...



okie, the one and only thing that made me laugh today...here is a photo I found in a magazine when i was in my break today:

Awww-.-" i duno if i should say its creative or gross..but its none of my business i suppose...I will never need to come across that...