ketchup

so hey- i'm actually at work right now- but i'm in the department of clinical research---i've already completed my main task for the day about 20 minutes ago and now i'm waiting to be told what i am to do next?

things have been pretty good this month so far- its amazing to me that we just had our "midpoint" evaluation (i did well i think)...

i guess since there has been a lack of real communication on here recently- i'll try to fill you in on what i know. As of right now, it LOOKS like i'm going to be working for target come June... I wasn't really "wowed" by Rite Aid's offer, and i really look forward to the prospect of working at an establishment that is somewhat known for its cleanliness, bright lights, and hip/young/classy feel... I think i'm going to be good for target, and target's going to be good for me... they have great benefits- and their main negative i've heard from pharmacists is that they don't honor earned vacation time if you transfer in, so everybody starts at 2 weeks..so the saying goes- "if you're going to work for target start out with them---"

i recently found out that they use the exact same computer program as KMART... and my 4 years there i know have built up a good amount of "muscle memory' about what does what... (its a DOS program- so much less user friendly than say, a windows based one- but can be really fast if you know the keys...-F4, F6, and F8 get used a lot...i WOULD say that all my computer skillz (thats right... with a Z) in general would really not serve any major beneficial function in my daily professional life, except for the fact that community/retail pharmacy has become such a computer-centered job now... you really can't do anything without running it through the computer first... and there's the usual "well thats good AND bad" argument- but its mostly good i think- for safety reasons... though many things that are for safety often are interpreted as being put there soley for their inconvenience by the patient/customer (and i could get into the issue of which of the two names to call the people who's pharmaceutical needs you serve and the implications of either title and the further implications for the function/meaning of the profession of pharmacy from what you call them... i think you probably get where i'm going...)

but yeah- unless i tell you differently- I'm gonna work for Target...(did i mention that out of 60 interviews they did, they sent out 3 nashville-offers?) i'm looking forward to starting the job- and even more than that- i'm looking forward to establishing my first autonomous attempt at life and everything that comes with that... making new friends, finding a place to live... maybe getting a couple things of my own that i can be proud of... you know- i've had the immeasureable blessing of completely supportive parents that have provided for every need or want in my life for the last ohhh... 26 years (yeah i'm 26 now- and that still sounds funny for me to say- but i am!)- and i guess the only possible downside to that support is maybe i didn't really feel that sense of ownership- even with things i've purchased in the last few years with extra student loan money- i have that "did i really EARN this?" feeling... it'l be nice to maybe have some things that i won't question that about... i know in a literal sense, it doesn't matter- but for me its about the principal of the thing...

what about this month?

well i'd say "i've learned a lot"- but at this point, having already had an ambulatory care rotation, i think this has been more about filling in little gaps in what i already knew, and maybe solidifying somethings... there have been several recent big news stories about some cholesterol medications- and we've had some great philosophical discussions (sometimes for 2+ hours) about "what's best for the patient"- and i think more importantly "what is the real OUTCOME data about statins..." in watered down terms- "yes its been prooven that certain drugs reduce LDL cholesterol- but of what practical benefit is that to the patient?" and thats really something to look at- in this day in age there is a lot of RELATIVE data out there... if Vioxx took the number of cardiovascular events in patients taking their drug from 1/100 to 2/100, it can (and IS- all the time) be said that "vioxx doubles your risk of heart attack and stroke...."- (imagine the severty and types of reactions you might expect from either, equally true, statement... i really think its important to know the data BEHIND all the assertions- and i think a big part of my job is to really be able to relate that data to people who we'd like to take certain things.... its not enough to say that "drug X lowers the risk of stroke by 37%"- as a pharmacist i need to know, when possible, the ABSOLUTE difference in these percentages---- and i'll tell ya- about 95% of the statistics you see in the direct-to-public marketing that the pharmaceutical agency does uses what i'll refer to as relative data... i dont think i have to tell you how confusing that can make things-

AAAAANY-who.... I'll be in KNOX-vegas this weekend staying with the g-parents and chillin with Todd and going to the UT-ohio st. game on saturday... really looking forward to that--- if you like UT football but you've never been a big UT basketball fan- THIS is the year to give it a try- we're ranked #6 (yes six) (above duke) and just defeated a very good 1-loss Vandy team (#15) by 20 points last night... this so far has been the best UT basketball season we've ever had- and that's pretty exciting... so get on the ball people... i'm really tired of hearing "yeah i like UT, but i really just pay attention to football...." there's no excuse for that any more! we rock!