Relief Pharmacist

   Life has a funny way of throwing curve balls at you. It seems like the last two years the things I had planned and thought would happen didn't. I'm reminded of the quote, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." (Allen Saunders)
  That's surely right. If someone would have told me two years ago that'd I'd be working as a relief pharmacist, I would have laughed or maybe cried. At the beginning of my career there was a high demand for pharmacists. There were a few hardy souls who did relief work because they chose to. Mostly though, relief pharmacists were those that could not find jobs anywhere else. I worked with some truly awful ones. One of them was a man from "Brer-mid-gee" whose personal hygiene habits were so bad that customers complained about his body odor.  He also felt he would be a better manager of the pharmacy than I was (I was acting manager covering a maternity leave.) that he actively lobbied with the store manager to replace me. (It didn't work, although I was quite willing to let him have the job.) I had one that had been disciplined by the Board of Pharmacy more than once. (I had to check to make sure his license to practice was still valid.) There was one guy I worked with who was nice, but moved at the speed of frozen molasses. (Not the best choice for a busy pharmacy.) Then there was there was Bob, who sexually harassed female techs for years until he was finally stopped.
  If someone would have told me that one day I would be numbered with this group, I would have cried. No way. I would never sink to this level.
   To me, relief pharmacists were a necessary evil. You had to have them work in your store, so that the pharmacists can take much needed vacations. The trouble is that when the pharmacist returns from vacation there is usually a mess. The other pharmacist is worked to a frazzle trying to keep things going and the techs are all under stress because they have to babysit someone who is completely clueless and keep them from driving our customers away. Most vacations I took were filled with worry about what the relief person was doing in my absence. What messes would await me? Who would need to be placated? I remember going to church on Sundays when a relief person would covering on my day off clutching my cell phone tightly in my hand. (The techs had strict instructions to call me  if anything, anything happened that they could not handle.)
  Once my dream job at the independent went away, my best job opportunity was doing relief work for a small local chain. I had to face the fact that I now had to do something I feared doing.
   It was a mental struggle. I don't deal with change well. I'm much happier when I get to stay in one place and my strength is building relationships. Since I believe that challenges are given to us to help us grow it was clear that Heavenly Father wants me out of my comfort zone.
  The first thing I had to do was change my mindset about relief pharmacists. No all of them are bad, I had worked with some good ones. One of them was Dan, a very brave soul. He was a little person and a relief pharmacist. Not only did he have to go into strange stores, he went in having to constantly adjust his work environment to accommodate his small physical stature. There was another guy who was the most organized man I ever met. He had pages of notes on each store and a vast knowledge of the computer system. He never left a mess or an undone task. I never worried with him in my pharmacy.
   I made up my mind that I was going to be a good relief pharmacist. I wanted to be the kind of relief pharmacist that I wish I'd had in my stores. The kind you don't have to worry about. The kind that doesn't leave a mess and upset the techs and customers. I could do this.
  I was helped by a couple of things. The chain I worked for has about 11 pharmacies. I would work at a store more than once. I was also working for a chain that I worked for briefly about 14 years ago. The computer system had changed and some of the pharmacies were remodeled, but many of them were just as I had remembered.
   Something strange happened once I started. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I actually enjoyed the challenge of going in and working at a new place. Now that I've worked at most of the stores at least once, my fears are minimal. One of the benefits of this job is that I have more control over my schedule. I can block days that I want off, something I could never do as a staff person. I can see how other stores do things and use those practices at other stores. I get to deal with a greater variety of people.
   I still would prefer to work in one store and should a staff opening come up, I will pursue it. (unless the store is too far to drive to) Until then I'm going to enjoy this new adventure.....