April Newsletter

Message from the Board
By: SPA Executive Vice President Steven Webbenhurst

We’ve all heard the phrase, “April showers bring May flowers.” And we all know the answer to, “What do Mayflowers bring?” Of course the answer is Pilgrims!

I think we are all happy that the showers we are having are rain showers and not snow showers. Spring is a time of rejuvenation outdoors. Trees bud, flowers bloom and our attitudes become sunnier as well. We are also familiar with the phrase “spring cleaning” which is sometimes long overdue. Maybe this spring we should all vow to rejuvenate our work routine and clean out our bad habits.

I know I fall into the habit of regurgitating patient consultation information on common drugs as if I were a robot. I have to watch myself to make sure I’m providing the information pertinent to that individual patient with each consultation. I have to ask myself, “What information would I want presented by a pharmacist if it was my family picking up a prescription?”

We can easily update or alter how we talk to patients. Perhaps you’ve read something new about a drug, share that with your staff and your patients if appropriate. Are we remembering to ask patients about new allergies, OTC drugs they might be taking and about issues they may be experiencing with their drug regimen?

I also find that I become complacent with how things are arranged in my pharmacy. I’ve been there for five years now, and just recently relocated some things in my pharmacy to improve workflow and rid our setting of unnecessary clutter. I guess that was my form of spring cleaning!

I think with the freshness of spring, we need to look at our work and see what we do with a fresh perspective. We all have the power to spruce up our work environment, weather it is cleaning dusty areas, rearranging things or as simple as looking at what we are wearing (ink stained white lab jackets, scrubs that are too big or small, tears or rips in our uniforms, dirty nametags, etc).

Let’s make spring a time for our professional renewal this year!