Dear Employer, I Wonder If You've Noticed Something......

With all your charts and graphs, your computerized doo-dads that measure how long it takes us to get a prescription out the door (not that you're putting any pressure on us to work more quickly at the expense of patient safety you say) or how long a caller is left on hold, I wonder if you've picked up on a very simple statistic:

The more you cut our tech hours, the more often we are out of stock on something. Have you noticed that? And if you have, which I doubt, have you ever wondered why? The answer's simple really. When you cut our tech hours there are fewer people around to do the same amount of work. That part I bet you know. Which means there are times during the day when it is impossible to meet both your workload expectations and my professional responsibilities to the people who have entrusted me with their health. Guess who wins when you set up that conflict employer? Hint. Not you. Here's how it works:

All hell is breaking loose at the pharmacy counter. People as far as the eye can see, the fax machine a whirring, the five phone lines for three pharmacy employees ringing off the hook. Your wet dream. I start working the in window. The next customer in line is a mall rat with a prescription for the acne med Duac. 

"I need this as soon as possible" 

"I'm so sorry, I don't seem to have this on the shelf, the best I can do would be to order it for you tomorrow"

You just lost $200 employer. The next man in line just got out of the hospital. He's hobbling around on some sort of wacky-looking crutches. His painkiller will cost around $15 and will be out in about 20 minutes. 

He'll also leave knowing to watch out for drowsiness and to stay away from the over the counter Tylenol while he's taking that painkiller. Things I am obligated to tell him but never would have been able to had I tried to squeeze in the mall rat with the zits.

Do you get it now employer? Cut my tech hours and I start playing triage, and when I start playing triage, you won't like the results, because medical needs of humans trump financial needs of corporations.

You may say you're doing what you have to do to remain financially viable. I say that's not my problem. My suggestion to you would be to grow a pair of testicles and take it up with the insurance companies that put so little value on my professional obligations. 

Oh, and one more thing. It seems that without me saying a word to her, my keystone tech has picked up on what I'm doing. She's developed a habit, when all hell is breaking loose the way you know all hell will break loose when you cut our help, of coming over and asking me if we have something in stock when she takes a new prescription. She's a smart one that keystone tech. 

You cannot cut your way to prosperity employer. That's been an eternal truism that unsuccessful businesses have failed to learn over and over again through the decades, but you cut my tech hours again...... and I'll make damn sure that point gets driven home to you. You hired a professional when you hired me employer, not a salesman. I know you don't want it that way, but the sooner you learn that's the way it has to be, the sooner you can both make money and contribute to the health of our community. 

I'm not hopeful.