It's The Time Of The Season

With all of the craziness that's be going on for the past couple of months, I'd like to remind everyone not to get caught up in all of the hate. Don't become a holiday zombie. Christmas is the time of the season for love. Ignore the hate and acknowledge the people in your life who really care about you.

Paraphernalia | A Short Film

IMED infusion pumps have come a long way since I first started working in hospital pharmacy many years ago. Now-a-days, IMEDs are especially useful in pediatrics and can do just about anything.

But, don't just take my word for it. See for yourself.


Paraphernalia from John Williams on Vimeo.

We Will Forget

Fueled by his religious beliefs, Robert Fitzpatrick spent over one hundred thousand dollars of his life savings on subway ads warning that the world would end on May 21st, 2011. A lesson in humanity, the short film We Will Forget, follows Robert in the weeks leading up to the 21st, and ultimately to NY Times Square where he awaits the rapture with fellow believers, onlookers, and naysayers.


We Will Forget from Garret Harkawik on Vimeo.

No Pharmacy Respect

I don't think the public understands what hospital pharmacists go through every day. So, I thought I'd post this older video that might give them a better understanding of the lack of pharmacy respect.

Hombres Armados | Men With Guns

Dr. Fuentes is a medical doctor and professor nearing his retirement, and is concerned about leaving a legacy. He taught a group of seven - something he views as one of his greatest accomplishments - that trains young people to provide health care to impoverished citizens in the outlying hill country, where small agricultural communities struggle to survive.

Dr. Fuentes has recently heard rumors that his former students are lost, and possibly dead, so he musters up the courage and travels into the outlands to investigate, and meets Men with Guns.

According to Roger Ebert, it's not until he begins his journey that he discovers a world much different than the one he had imagined. The doctor's journey is enlarged by John Sayles into an allegory about all countries where men with guns control the daily lives of everyday people.

Some of the men are with the government, some are guerrillas, some are thieves, some are armed to protect themselves, and to the ordinary people it hardly matters: The man with the gun does what he wants, and his reasons are irrelevant--unknown perhaps even to himself.

[Original video link remove by source]

The Best Gifts Come From Within

Give the gift of life this holiday season. Take the initiative and learn how to say "NO".


Source: Secret video is released of ‘drunk’ man asking strangers to help him into his car

Did You Get Your Flu Shot Yet?

Doomsday is almost here, what are you waiting for? Didn't you listen to me the first time? It's already past that time of the year again, and you're running late!

Visit your local pharmacy ASAP and get this year's flu shot before it's too late. You'll not only help protect yourself and prevent the spread of influenza, but you'll also encourage good mental health.


Source: NatGeoTV.com

The Future Of Technology

While pharmacist positions may slowly become like hens' teeth, the sky's the limit in the job market for well-trained workers using cutting-edge technologies. The prospects for work are out of this world!

But don't just take my word for it. Here's just one advertisement for a company preparing the world for the future, when only two classes of people remain on this planet, the super rich - and the rest of us.


Source: Armadyne Corporation and Elysium

A Bionic Future | Exoskeletons

Technological innovation can sometimes raise uncomfortable prospects.

Take, for instance, innovations in robots that allow them to do many jobs that humans have long been doing in fields such as manufacturing and distribution.

But, not all aspects of robotic innovation are created to replace or to harm human beings. In many cases, robotics has improved the human condition. A Bionic Future looks at incredible advances in bionic technology that have enabled paraplegics to walk.


A Bionic Future | Maris Curran from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

The Difficulty Of Early Retirement

The longer you're out of pharmacy, the faster you lose your skills, and the sooner you're a has-been.

I've been out of pharmacy long enough now that I no longer receive the daily emails and phone calls from the temporary services and headhunters trying to exploit me in order to line their own pockets.

Either they've figured out that I'm not going to work for them, or they think I'm too old to keep up with all of the increasing demands placed upon pharmacists. Regardless, there is a point in time in which older pharmacists must accept the fact that they can't perform as well as their younger colleagues.

Although it's nice to be wanted, or to be in demand, I think my time has come to fully retire.


I'm Retired from Peter Atencio on Vimeo.

Free Beer: The Truth About Dishonesty

Bestselling author and professor of psychology and behavioral economics at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University, Dan Ariely discusses how the principles of behavioral economics can help us understand some of our irrational tendencies, specifically the mechanisms at work behind dishonest behavior and cheating.

One of the most interesting lessons at work is understanding our capacity to think of ourselves as honest - even when we act dishonestly. The implications of Dan's research are far reaching and include a better understanding of the most recent financial crisis and some of the many challenges facing healthcare.


Source: The RSA

Hitler's Children

Their family names alone evoke horror: Himmler, Goering, Göeth, Hoess. What's it like for Nazi Party members offspring to have grown up with a surname that immediately raises images of mass murder and genocide? How do they live with the weight of their ancestors' crimes? How do they cope with the fact that they are the children of one of the greatest abominations in history?

Hitler’s Children is a unique documentary film that reveals, for the first time, the ways in which family members of high rank senior Nazi officers from Hitler’s inner circle struggle with the burden of carrying a terror-inducing surname.

During detailed interviews, descendants of Frank, Goering, and Himmler, amongst many others, share the feelings of guilt and responsibility that accompany them in their daily lives. What happens when the children of the perpetrators of this genocide eventually meet with the children of the victims?

Already broadcast on BBC, Hitler’s Children distribution rights in North America have been purchased and it's expected to screen in theaters in the U.S. in 2013. Here's the trailer -



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60 Minutes | Hospitals: The Cost Of Admission

One of the driving forces for my early retirement from the profession was that I'd become disillusioned with the loss of our professional freedom and control of our own destiny. According to the CBS News television program, 60 Minutes, it seems like many other healthcare professionals feel the same way.

For more than a year, 60 Minutes has been looking into the admission and billing practices of Health Management Associates. It's the fourth largest for-profit hospital chain in the country with revenues of $5.8 billion last year, nearly half of that coming from Medicare and Medicaid programs.

60 Minutes talked to more than 100 current and former employees and heard a similar story over and over: that Health Management Associates relentlessly pressured its doctors to admit more and more patients -- regardless of medical need -- in order to increase revenues. Here's their report -


Source: 60 Minutes | Hospitals: The cost of admission

Skhizein | A Short Film

Good mental health care requires periodic patient measurements in quality of life. Small adjustments in medication management can make a big difference. If utilized appropriately, pharmacists provide a great resource for those wanting to keep their patients appropriately centered.

Young Pharmacists Rule

I've been around for a while, so I can understand what young chain-pharmacists go through on a daily basis - constantly getting knocked down by everyone - their customers, their co-workers, and even their supervisors. They get it from all ends. It's tough work, and it's a chore to deal with every day.

So, it's understandable that the only way they can deal with the daily stress is to get together with their colleagues after work, have some fun, throw back a few drinks, focus on the positive aspects of their job, piss the night away, and try to get motivated for the next day.

I don't know how long they'll last doing it, but you've got to admire their consistent youthful tenacity.