Toeing The Line | Redux

I guess it's the nature of the business - everyone has to learn through their own experiences.

I recently received this video email from a newer PIC pharmacist and his staff who are just beginning to realize the futility of their chosen profession, are having difficulty dealing with their female district pharmacy supervisor, and are now voicing their discontent about being abused.



I understand why they're upset. But why call me, email me, or think that I should be shocked?

Just like their male counterparts, it seems to me that a lot of female pharmacists have figured out that the only way that they're going to survive in a retail pharmacy environment is if they escape the front lines and move into management themselves.

In my own experiences, I've found females to be more cut-throat than their male counterparts, and will enjoyably laugh behind your back as they screw you. They've realized that in order to survive in this business, either you become abused, or you become the abuser. It's dog-eat-dog world and some have chosen to place their own individual needs above those of their colleagues or the profession.

So, why should I be surprised that these pharmacists have chosen to embrace the dark side of pharmacy and to toe the corporate line no matter how serious the consequences to anyone else?

You can be upset all you want about how you're being treated, and look for another job. But if you want my opinion, there is no better job somewhere else. The grass isn't greener anywhere else.

If you really want my advice - don't fall victim to the lure of self-importance and keeping up with the Joneses. Live below your means, pay off all or your debt as quickly as you can, save as much of your paycheck as you can, invest it wisely, and place yourself in a position to be able to choose what you want to do with your life instead of having to submit to the dark side.