My Music ParadiseLet the music spice up our lives

So as the title says it all.. today was my final day of having someone else there, if i needed any help! Next week I will be on my own.. well good news is, I will be back to my own store on Monday! Yay.. missed the staff there.. After working in several other stores now, I realised how lucky I was to be a pre-reg student in my previous store.. I miss the cakes and biscuits, tea, occasional sitting down and chatting.. and of course the wonderful people there..

I really didnt like today at all. I wont tell you which store I was in.. but it was a health and beauty store.. I went in to the dispensary in the morning, no greetings or acknowledgement from the dispensary staff .. im not saying all.. at least the counter staff was nice enough to bring me to the locker room, but i still had to wait for 10 mins.. it was such an awkward moment.. you just didnt feel welcomed at all.. I really feel like saying this, their faces looked so black as if they just ’sei jor lo mou’.. now I understand why my tutor didnt want me to do my MDS (monitered dosage system) training in this store.. she knew they wouldnt be very nice..

Well.. forget about that.. my day went by pretty quickly.. especially in the morning.. as I was downstairs checking MDS (blister packs) for nursing homes all morning.. It was my 1st time checking MDS.. against MAR sheets etc.. Good thing I identified several errors, else I would think Im not doing it right.. There are bound to be errors, so if you dont spot anything, you must be overlooking, or you probably dont know what you are doingl! Lol..

Then my remaining morning, I was just checking and checking in the dispensary.. and today is the day I had most queries on bites and stings .. all skin related problems..

If one thing I want to learn today.. it would be HORSE FLY.. someone got bitten by a horse fly, but I have no idea what a horse fly is! But that customer, almost freaked me out when he said he got bitten by a COBRA! Lol.. silly man.. Heh..

How was ur day??

My day started off well.. I arrived early and no one was in the store yet! Surprise suprise! Me being earliest? If my tutor sees this, she would say do you see pigs flying in the sky, mei? lol.. Anyway I was standing and waiting in front of the store, and here comes a lady, asking for advice at 8.45am outside the pharmacy! Lol.. well I managed to answer her query..pheww..

The day went well overall, it was a  busy but a very satisfying day today. The store is near to the surgery, that is why it was busy.. It wasn’t manic, but there were phone queries, counter queries, many waiters to be checked.. and many CD’s to be entered into CD register all at the same time. so its all about juggling and prioritizing! But I kept an eye on the CD, that is my top top priority! Oh sorry for the language, CD=control drugs.. hehe.. 

I also managed to answer to most of the queries from customers, so my day went smoothly.. but I was just checking and checking the entire day, non-stop.. the other pharmacist was in the consultation room, taking advantage of an extra person to complete his odd jobs ie. MUR (medicines use review)

Few simple queries today -

1. Lansoprazole (orodispersible)  + Gaviscon, can take them together? if attack occurs, take which one..
2. Can take metronidazole + erythromycin or not.. and how to take them etc..
3. Used zyneryt solution on scalp.. and its itching and sore, and swollen..
4. Lidoderm patch and lignocaine patch, whats the differences…

Well thats all I can remember now..

Since a friend of mine, asked for answers.. Im just gonna briefly mention what I did for the above queries, however, every pharmacist may respond differently. There are no definate answers too, it is the pharmacist’s discretion to treat, or refer

1. Antacids can affect the absorption of lansoprazole, I make sure they dont take them at the same time, i think 2 hour gap is sufficient. And if there is an attack, of course take the lansoprazole, because it would work faster, and it is a more effective drug too for heart burn and reflux disease. The reason antacids like gaviscon can be sold over the counter is because it has a safer side effect profile, remember PPI can cause tummy upset, i.e. diarrhoa are common.

When to take lansoprazole? It depends on the customer’s condition. If they always get the symptoms after a meal, then 30min-1hour before food. If their symptoms are worst at night, they can take one before bedtime, to prevent acid from coming up, especially when they are lying flat.

2. They can take the 2 antibiotics together. In some severe infection, doctors would combine another antibiotic to help treat the infection, and penicillin/macrolides(erythromycin) + metronidazole are commonly used together. What I was concern about is because of her age, and the side effects. So ask how she was coping with one antibiotic, any diarrhoa so far, if yes then warn her about adding another antibiotic, that could make it worse, if diarrhoa is bad, and last long.. gotta see doctor, due to risk of dehydration.. and not to forget about councelling on metronidazole to be taken after food and avoid alcohol. For erythromycin, it is ok to take before or with food.  

becareful if they are on other medication as well, this customer was taking PPI- omeprazole.. certain macrolides can interact with PPI..

3. I refered this case, because 1stly they are not supposed to use zyneryt on the scalp! that silly man used it inappropriately, thus head itchy, sore, and swelling. Not sure if it was due to the zyneryt, but better to refer as the scalp and head is always a very sensitive part of the body.

4. I couldnt find information on lidoderm patch, so I refered patient back to doctor.

So how did my first day go?? I wouldn’t say it was AWESOME. But It was definately a good feeling :) Yay.. I finally stepped into the world of pharmacist, Im ever so ready to embark on this challenging journey, at least for the next few years to come… hehe..

Basically I went into a moderately sized, your local boots pharmacy, situated right opposite the surgery. So you can imagine, it is a busy store. Checking all the way, non-stop.. no pee break.. until i had my 30min lunch break! Lol.. no more cakes and tea sessions like in my previous store …Having said that, I no longer need to do the goods, labelling, or dispensing.. that is the good thing of being in a busy store… Just gotta check, check, and check… GREAT.

You must be wondering the day can’t just go on like that, it would be really boring eh.. were there any queries etc?? YEs! Ok, ill leave the best for last hehe. 1st query I had was over the phone.. someone experiencing a headache, and wonders if Optive eye drops is the culprit. No. But then I found out later it could be the Lumigan drops that caused it.. next.. anothr customer over the phone asking for the pharmacist. So I said how can I help… Guess who? it was my tutor playing a prank on me! I didnt realised until half way through the conversation.. silly me!! … ok lets skip this bit…

So finally… if someone over the counter ask you this — ‘Can I still have oral s** if I use ortho-gynest cream(HRT-estriol)?’ How would you respond??  So I need you NQP’s contribution in this. What would you say? Yes or no, if No, what advice or how can you help this person??

So tomorrow is my off day for the week. Great. I have got soo much to do in my head. I definately won’t get all things done, but let’s prioritize. So these are the few things I need to get done.

• 10.00am – Go to the bank to set up new accounts for savings! It’s about time to think about the future. My short term (1 year goal is to save up 60% of my pay!! The rest will go to renting, bills, food and misc.
• Pass a friend a CD (been saying it for ages)
• 11.00 am – Get Stockley’s drug interaction handbook from WH Smith in town
• 12.oopm – Washing up- laundry, ironing, hoovering
• 2.00 pm -CPPE learning – Finish my EHC training (1.5 hrs), Repeat Dispensing Training (1.5hrs) and do the assessment, Substance Misusers training ( 2hrs) – yeah more learning!
• 8.00 pm – Update my blogs!
• 11.00 pm – Time for bed

Where do I fit time for eating and entertainment? Perhaps blogging will be my entertainment for now till I settle in. Ha-ha!

I rang the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain yesterday, I will get my registration on Thursday, so I will officially start on Thursday!! Apparently the store I will be going to on Thursday is a very busy store!! So my AIM is to sleep early, by 11pm. So that I will be vigilant at all times, with checking, and addicts! No more after midnights. That’s it for tomorrow, I need to finish my grocery shopping – online heh.

Have you watched Toy Story 3?? I went for the 3D in Apollo Torbay 2 days ago. It was out for awhile already in Malaysia, but only just released on 19th of July here in UK..How did I find the show?? Find out more here..

Then before movie, My friend and I went to Magic Bowl Restaurant again! Hehe.. If you followed my blogs, you’d know the owner is from Malaysia as well.. I think she kinda recognizes me since I went there several times now, and also ordered take aways from them.. You know what she asked me today?? She said ‘ Did you write about us on the internet?? There is a malaysian girl who was writing and posting pictures of our restaurant’ Lol.. I was shocked how she knew.. She said it must be you then.. no one else has posted pictures so far.. I guess we are both happy because Im promoting her restaurant FOC, and my site do get recognized as well!

By the way, Magic Bowl serves Malaysian, Thai and Singaporean dishes, check it out here.

I contemplated whether to go out today actually, thank god I did! There was a carnival going on there, was very crowded and lotsa people, with a stage and bands playing songs all night, then countdown for fireworks.. well I dont know what occasion it was, but fireworks are always great!! And it was by the beach, great day. The bands  ended the night with the famous song ‘YMCA’.. do you know the dance moves? You must know it..

So, tomorrow will be an entirely new chapter of my life, that is the start of my journey of taking on the role of a pharmacist. Am I ready? The title of my post above says it all. I am not. After 4 years of University, 1 year of training, you’d think oh 5 years of studying and you are not ready, nonsense! But it is true, no one will ever be ready at the beginning, and now Im in a transition state of becoming a pharmacist from a pre-reg student. Anything that involves ‘changes’ or ‘new’ are always difficult. People are always more comfortable staying where they were, thus shun changes and new things. That is human nature. Don’t you agree?

But how do we cope and adapt to these changes? That is what I am experiencing at the moment and learning to deal with it. I am totally in a denial state. Sitting on my bed with my laptop on my lap… trying to look for inspiring music to lift up my spirits.. Any suggestions?? I was watching glee yesterday, so Im listening to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ at the moment.. But I don’t think it is helping.. I have been watching Glee, then the movie ‘Losers’, then took naps, so that I can get my mind off this whole pharmacist thing.

Most of the pre-regs’ including myself are still waiting for our registration number, without it we can’t practice, so we have to constantly go on the RPSGB website to check if our names been added on to the list.. and me being in denial, Im hoping that there will be a delay, so I will have another 1 or 2 days to get myself ready.

I am a suc*** at dealing with changes. Before this, I was caught up in a personal problem, I was so down and wanted to stay at where I was, but situation pushed me to move on, and in the process, talking to people, writing down the problems, and Spending money helped. All of these helped to make me feel better and move on, but I did regret one thing. I spent too much, especially on unnecessary things. Well, I had no way out, and shopping and spending money kept me going, and that is what I had to do. So I wish there were other ways that doesn’t involve money. Lol. Any suggestions??

Feel free to share how you deal with changes, or any tips you can give

Check out top 20 country songs for the week, July 2010.. what do you think of Luke Bryan??

Luke Bryan topped billboard’s top 20 chart this week! Well done! I knew he would be famous soon after seing him on Apprentice 2010, earlier in the year.  It isn’t a surprise, after all it was on Trump show he appeared in! Only surprised that Emily West who also appeared on apprentice together with Luke  is not on the chart, I thought she was as good or better. Check out his song ‘Rain is a good thing’, the title of the song is not very appealing i know. But try listening to it, im sure you will like it

Let me introduce all of you to a dear friend of mine from University, another pharmacist who is currently practicing in Malaysia! But NadJ has got a bigger passion for singing and music more than anything in the world!!

I don’t blame her, 4 years of pharmacy can drive us all up the wall!! and not forgetting CPD (continous professional development), this profession will be a life long learning for us.. so you can understand why we all need to have other ‘passion’ to de-stress and be sane.. Heh..

So, people please show some support, and listen to her version of ‘I will be’ … Well done my dear friend!!

For those who likes her singing, feel free to request for songs im sure she would be more than happy to do her version for you anytime.

Today was my final day as a pre-reg student at work.. The year has gone by so quickly, I still remember the 1st day I went into the shop, and my tutor wasn’t there! I started last year on a Monday, 27th of July 2009, Mondays was her off day. So another lady, a more senior staff, J, showed me around the shop.   

In this store, I met a few other collegues – spanish, bulgarian, then swedish friends, and of course the english staff there as well!! It really has been a great year, its been a pleasure working with them, they looked after me so well, see me through till I passed my exam, and now on Monday- I’m officially a full fledged pharmacist. I have to say without their help and guidance, especially my tutor’s constant nagging.. I wouldn’t have done it!

Yay!! Im finally free!! No longer a student anymore!! I SmeLL FREEDOM!!!

Yay.. Theatre – Monty Python Spamalot will be coming to Torquay in November.. Im so happy.. If you don’t know by now, Im a big fan of Sara Ramirez aka Callie Torres from Grey’s Anatomy. She is the Tony Award winner for Spamalot several years ago, before she went into Grey’s Anatomy as a regular. Eventhough she is not one of the casts now, I would still love to watch this great musical!

Yea I know November is still months away.. but on the coming Monday, I will be going for the free screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail film Havn’t watched it before, hope its a good one. After all, it is free The good thing about going for this free screening is, you can get £5 off your purchase of Spamalot in November. Great isn’t it? I can’t wait.

For those who have no idea about this at all, I have attached a few youtube videos here, of my favourite cast from grey’s and spamalot check it out. When I am down, I listen to this. It really lives up your spirit. Very inspiring wordings.

My favourite parts of the song

Life is really up to you
You must choose what to pursue ohh yeeeah
Set your mind on what to find
And there’s nothin’ you can’t doooo

So keep right to the end
You’ll find your goal my friend
You won’t fail
Find your grail
Find your grai-a-a-a-ail
Find your grail

When your life
Seems to drift
When we all need a lift
Tell yourself you won’t fail
Find your grail
Find your grail