Well, there you go, this site is now about a year old. Yes, I’m not going to look up exactly when it went ‘live’ but knowing the month is good enough. In celebration Bayer have decorated their building as per the picture. Nah, not really…
I skimmed an interesting, somewhat long, article about the status of lab coats in the profession. It is titled ‘What Should Pharmacists Wear?’ and can be found here. PJ Careers is a UK based pharmacy job advertisement service that appears to be quite widely distributed in that region. In Australia, the pharmacist’s coat (lab coat, white coat or whatever you want to call it) seems to have been out of favor for a good period of time before a slight resurgence in the past couple of years.
Ah...professionalism!
The weird video gaming antiquities that turn up never cease to amaze me. This one is an early 90s PC point and click style adventure game. ‘Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist’ is a game where you play as the title character who owns a pharmacy in the old west and keeps his past life a secret…yes, it’s as strange as it sounds. I read that this came about when one of the game’s creators tried to say frontier and rancher quickly and somehow spat out a word that sounded like pharmacist, so that’s the direction it went.
Instead of trying to come up with my own descriptions of drug recovery/rehab programs, I thought I’d borrow some I’ve come across, this is not original work, and you can google a phrase if you need the reference, but it’s food for thought, however, keep i in mind to speak to your General Practitioner, local health professional, or local health clinic for more information and to discuss your individual needs.
Description 1: (more…)
While supermarket pharmacies owned by large companies is the norm in the US, Australia’s pharmacy powers that be have done an admirable job holding onto the right for the profession to be owned and run by pharmacists, and only pharmacists. (more…)
For those fellow Aussies who are unaware in certain states in the US you can pick up a carton of your favourite smokes (that’s what you say right? Sorry, I don’t know smokers slang…if that exists) right next to nicotine replacement patches, so you can decide which you might pursue when you get home.
This is old news to the Americans, but take a look at this article which talks about Boston changing their mind and enforcing their pharmacies to remove all tobacco products. (more…)
A question we often have from people in our pharmacy is “do I need this?”. Often the answer you will receive is “It depends…”
Certain supplements may be required by your doctor based on a health condition you may have or a blood test which has shown a low amount of a particular chemical in your body. As you’d expect, if you’re doctor has asked you to have a certain supplement, we encourage you to follow your doctor’s advice. If you find you are not feeling well or have some type of adverse effect since initiating that supplement, you should let your doctor know. (more…)
People are often put off by the very title quit smoking, as it does have the implication as you need to stop, straight away. This is not always the case. There are a variety of approaches to reducing smoking, and down the road quitting. Of course there is always the option to stop straight away, with or without a product, however if you do not feel comfortable with the cold turkey approaches, there are other paths to take to the goal of no longer needing to light up.
Most people are familiar with patches and gum. There are also inhalers and lozenges for those not comfortable with chewing gum, for example it may not be appropriate in their work place. For others there is a preference to patches which discreetly give the body a suitable dose of nicotine that can avoid cravings. These are available to wear from morning until bedtime, as well as 24 hours patches that can give around the clock control of cravings. Which one should you use? The first points to consider is any health conditions you may have as well as medications. In those instances it is appropriate to seek your GPs opinion, however, you can check with your pharmacist whether those conditions/medications have any impact upon the decision. If they do, the pharmacist would then advise you to see your doctor before starting to administer any nicotine products. Medical reasoning aside, it is personal preference what type of nicotine replacement you use. The important part is to consider how much you currently smoke to then allow you to chose a strength of whatever form you choose. (more…)
Your local pharmacist can be your first port of call for any healthcare matters or questions you may have. Often they are issues which aren’t considered urgent enough to see a doctor directly for, or issues which a person seeks an opinion whether a doctor should be seen or if it can be simply treated.
Secondly, there is a large range of health supplements and items out in pharmacies and other stores, and a pharmacist can provide you wish a professional opinion on a product or condition. More often that not, a pharmacist makes for a bad retailer as often they will not recommend a sale if the item is not in your best interest. (more…)
