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How many times would you explain things to someone? (not homeschool)


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I work in a chain pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician. We wear dark colored smocks and the pharmacists wear white ones. I have a patient that owns a store that I go into periodically. I have explained to her that I am a tech, not a pharmacist several times. Due to our smocks, we even look different in uniform. I clearly described the differences, ie I learned on the job....new pharmacists have doctorate degrees! BIIIIGGG DIFFERENCE! I don't pretend to have the knowledge of a pharmacist but do know some basic things that I have answered for her like how much Motrin a person can safely take a day. Fact based answers, not opinions.

 

I went into her store yesterday, and once again she was referring to me as a pharmacist. Trying to be polite, I didn't correct her for the 4th or 5th time, but it really bugged me. To me it is like saying an office assistant is a Doctor.

 

I went through this with another friend too. I corrected her several times and then gave up. She would introduce me to people as a pharmacist, and I would correct it with them. They would get it, she never did. :confused:

 

We also have patients that think we are all pharmacists...ugh.

 

 

How many times will you correct someone with information that you feel is important ? Each time, I thought the person understood....but in the end they just revert back to what they previously thought.

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Does the technical difference between the two MATTER to the person? In what capacity do you see her? To her, you are probably the person from the pharmacy. Period. I would not be bothered by it.

I think of, and refer to, the lady who treats me when I am sick at a medical office as "my doctor". Yes, I know she is a nurse practitioner and has different training... OTOH, to me it makes absolutely no difference since she does the same things the actual doctor would do (yes, I know, in more severe cases she would nt be authorized to, but that's not me).

I could see somebody feeling insulted if they were addressed with the title that refers to a LOWER training level. But this? Just smile and nod and pick your battles.

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I guess it would really matter, if the patient was seeking some "higher order" information/advice and thought what the technician said was coming from the pharmacist. However, I suspect technicians know the limits of the advice they can give and know when they must refer a patient to speak to the pharmacist on duty. At the point the problem would be if the patient decided not to wait for the pharmacist and then tried to say the person he consulted told him " XYZ" when really the technician had tried to get a proper consultation for the patient.

 

My boss keeps calling me doctor. I don't have a PhD or MD. I have a JD and have passed the bar, but I am not practicing law. In other countries I would be doctor, but not here. I have corrected him numerous times. I teach sp ed math and science part time (my undergrad is chem). Now, I have parents calling me doctor and it's embarrassing to explain it. Although my problem doesn't have the level of implications of the theoretical situation I described.

 

Some people can't get it.

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Does the technical difference between the two MATTER to the person? In what capacity do you see her? To her, you are probably the person from the pharmacy. Period. I would not be bothered by it.

I think of, and refer to, the lady who treats me when I am sick at a medical office as "my doctor". Yes, I know she is a nurse practitioner and has different training... OTOH, to me it makes absolutely no difference since she does the same things the actual doctor would do (yes, I know, in more severe cases she would nt be authorized to, but that's not me).

I could see somebody feeling insulted if they were addressed with the title that refers to a LOWER training level. But this? Just smile and nod and pick your battles.

 

This is why I try to let it go. I know it doesn't matter, I can and do firmly establish boundaries on what I can and can not answer for people.

 

When I don't clarify, I feel like I am accepting credit for something I didn't accomplish...like a fraud.

 

Like with this person yesterday, she made reference to me being a pharmacist a few times when I first came in, I chose to let it go (we were talking about our kids and career paths). Then further into the conversation she was commenting that she wishes she would have valued education more "like you did" and how I am "set for life", having "a great career". So, you see it is a slippery slope to let it go in some instances vs. others. 5 minutes into a conversation, that I have been letting her call me a pharmacist, politely smiling and nodding, then I am supposed to correct her? That would have been even more awkward! I kept trying to nudge the conversation away from this but she kept coming back to it. I finally just left the store.

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My dr. has a PA that works for him and my pdoc is a MPA. I refer to both of them as my doctors. I technically understand they they are not doctors. Heck, even my doctor is not a doctor but a DO but that makes no practical difference in the function they serve in my life. It is entirely possible that she is just referring to your function instead of your technical position.

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I would sit down alone together and have a talk with her:

 

"I have told you before, but I want to make sure that you understand. I did X hours of training on the job for my job as a Pharmacy TECH. HOWEVER, actual PHARMACISTS went to college for four years THEN went to pharmacy school (don't know how long that is, but if you know, go ahead and tell her!). When you call me a pharmacist you are not saying the truth about my TRUE profession and it gives people the idea that I am a pharmacist when I am NOT. Please don't say it anymore."

 

And, every.single.time I was introduced that way I would correct it, just because, like you, I wouldn't want to appear as if I'm taking credit for a credential I did not earn.

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My dr. has a PA that works for him and my pdoc is a MPA. I refer to both of them as my doctors. I technically understand they they are not doctors. Heck, even my doctor is not a doctor but a DO but that makes no practical difference in the function they serve in my life. It is entirely possible that she is just referring to your function instead of your technical position.

 

If by DO you mean Doctor of Osteopathy, then, yes, he or she IS a real Dr. Osteopathic medical schools graduate real doctors!

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Ah - let it go. There are people who call my dh a Dr. He's not - he's an RN. He will correct them, but if they keep calling him that and he's corrected them a couple of times, he will just laugh and let it slide.

 

If he's at work, he has a name tag which correctly identifies him. If he's at work, he will refer all questions that require a Dr - like a diagnosis - to a Dr. If he's at church or in the neighborhood, he will not give out health advice for liability reasons. He will give aid to someone who needs it but not advice. If they call him the wrong thing, he's not committing fraud or passing himself off as something he's not.

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I work in a chain pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician. We wear dark colored smocks and the pharmacists wear white ones. I have a patient that owns a store that I go into periodically. I have explained to her that I am a tech, not a pharmacist several times. Due to our smocks, we even look different in uniform. I clearly described the differences, ie I learned on the job....new pharmacists have doctorate degrees! BIIIIGGG DIFFERENCE! I don't pretend to have the knowledge of a pharmacist but do know some basic things that I have answered for her like how much Motrin a person can safely take a day. Fact based answers, not opinions.

 

I went into her store yesterday, and once again she was referring to me as a pharmacist. Trying to be polite, I didn't correct her for the 4th or 5th time, but it really bugged me. To me it is like saying an office assistant is a Doctor.

 

I went through this with another friend too. I corrected her several times and then gave up. She would introduce me to people as a pharmacist, and I would correct it with them. They would get it, she never did. :confused:

 

We also have patients that think we are all pharmacists...ugh.

 

 

How many times will you correct someone with information that you feel is important ? Each time, I thought the person understood....but in the end they just revert back to what they previously thought.

 

I was just witness to an interaction over this very same thing in the pharmacy yesterday! This lady came up to the counter and started asking the Pharm Tech about the differences between 2 cold medications. The tech told her the basics, but the lady was reeeaaalllyy dense. So the tech finally says, I think you should talk to the pharmacist. Lady gets in the consult line, decides that's going to take too long, and jumps back in the check out line. Then she starts asking the same questions again. This time, the tech says, "I am not going to answer any more of your questions. You really need to talk to the pharmacist." Lady jumps back to her place in the consult line, talks to the pharmacist, seemingly makes a decision, then goes back to the tech and starts the whole thing over again. I love that tech, she has the patience of a saint. All the while, there is this HUGE line and the lady wants to talk about all of the details of her evening (do we all seriously need to know that you are going to a cocktail party at 7?).

 

Anyhow, I feel for you! Clearly a lot of people are just dense.

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I would likely react within the context of the moment. If she is introducing you to someone else and refers to you as a pharmacist, say 'Oh my, I work IN a pharmacy as a tech, I sure WISH I as a real pharmacist!'

 

If she is continually asking for medical advice, tell her you are happy to introduce her to a pharmacist but for legal sake, you cannot even try to give such medical advice.

 

Repeat ad nauseum. She might never understand but I would sure hate to be introduced to someone else under such circumstances. They might understand more than she does.

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A great tech makes such a difference to the way the pharmacy operates. One of the things I see as my responsibility (tech and time willing) is to train and explain the answers to those questions that get fed through to me (a pharmacist) when possible. If I am working with a tech who knows his or her stuff then I can focus on the things that the pharmacist needs to do that a tech can't. I think a lot of e political trouble in pharmacy comes from the overlap of job functions. If someone needs an explanation of how to take paracetamol, a tech can often do this. If tbe person has other disease states, medications, pregnant, breast feeding, I want it referred to me. Maybe these distinctions is what she is not seeing because she has questions/conditions that don't need referral to a pharmacist?

 

Fwiw, it doesn't bother me if someone confuses the roles at work. It only bothers me if it's not referred to me when it should be. It only bugs me if someone thinks I'm the assistant.

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I'd just remark - "oh no, I am just in training" or "Oh no, I am just an assistant" since explaining you are a tech seems to be confusing to her.

 

 

 

I work in a chain pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician. We wear dark colored smocks and the pharmacists wear white ones. I have a patient that owns a store that I go into periodically. I have explained to her that I am a tech, not a pharmacist several times. Due to our smocks, we even look different in uniform. I clearly described the differences, ie I learned on the job....new pharmacists have doctorate degrees! BIIIIGGG DIFFERENCE! I don't pretend to have the knowledge of a pharmacist but do know some basic things that I have answered for her like how much Motrin a person can safely take a day. Fact based answers, not opinions.

 

I went into her store yesterday, and once again she was referring to me as a pharmacist. Trying to be polite, I didn't correct her for the 4th or 5th time, but it really bugged me. To me it is like saying an office assistant is a Doctor.

 

I went through this with another friend too. I corrected her several times and then gave up. She would introduce me to people as a pharmacist, and I would correct it with them. They would get it, she never did. :confused:

 

We also have patients that think we are all pharmacists...ugh.

 

 

How many times will you correct someone with information that you feel is important ? Each time, I thought the person understood....but in the end they just revert back to what they previously thought.

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I would likely react within the context of the moment. If she is introducing you to someone else and refers to you as a pharmacist, say 'Oh my, I work IN a pharmacy as a tech, I sure WISH I as a real pharmacist!'

 

If she is continually asking for medical advice, tell her you are happy to introduce her to a pharmacist but for legal sake, you cannot even try to give such medical advice.

 

Repeat ad nauseum. She might never understand but I would sure hate to be introduced to someone else under such circumstances. They might understand more than she does.

 

:iagree: Maybe it's false humility but I don't want to take credit for a job I don't have. (I worked for a vet for 5 years, I'd have people stop me in the grocery store to ask questions about their pets.)

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If by DO you mean Doctor of Osteopathy, then, yes, he or she IS a real Dr. Osteopathic medical schools graduate real doctors!

 

 

Well, I don't actually know what the technical differences are but I have heard other doctor say that they aren't real doctors. I am not sure why.

Edited by KidsHappen
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