Week 3

Week 3 updates!

Day 12

It was a Sunday! Apparently, the crowd is different compared to the other days. Most of the customers are foreigners from Bangladesh. Mariana says the way to counsel them is a little bit different compared to other customers. It can be pretty funny too!

One of them actually asked me for a cream called "Termite". I was like "Huh? What is it for?". He said it was for his itchy skin. I asked him to spell it out for me and he spelled it the way he pronounced it. I was confused because from what I know termites are insects that eat up wood! He proceeded to call his friend over the phone to ask for the spelling and gave me the same spelling back again. -__-". I tried searching for a product that is somewhat related to it online but it was to no avail. Luckily, he spotted the cream inside the cabinet and pointed it out. When I took it out, I was like "OHH DermAid!". LOL.

Day 13
I had to wake up super early and on top of that I only had five hours of sleep! I had to go for a training for all pharmacists in Unity. They have to go for this on a monthly basis. Usually, the training starts at 8.30 a.m but this time it started at 7.30 a.m! All because of a doctor who had an appointment with a patient after his talk.

Seng Thiam, Yu Lee and I took the first bus to Clementi which actually arrived later than scheduled causing us to be slightly late for the training. The training consisted of three talks about pain management, HSA Adverse Drug Events and, CPR and AED respectively. I enjoyed the last talk the most! The speakers were entertaining and funny!

After that, we all made our ways back to our respective stores. It was Qi Xuan's first day of work too! He just came back from his summer programme at Canada. So now I have company at work! I've never talked to him before in class but luckily it wasn't that awkward. Good thing that he's quite talkative and we could click!

Since Mariana didn't have to be at work that day, I was appointed to teach him stuff that I have learned on my first day! He dubbed me as his "preceptor", haha.

It was also the day that we encountered a customer who claimed to be an "NTUC supporter". We couldn't dispense the medication he wanted (famotidine) because Doreen wasn't around and it was a Pharmacy only item. So, we told him that he could try Watsons or Guardian thinking that he needed the medication urgently. Then he responded by saying "How can you tell me to go other pharmacies? I am an NTUC supporter you know! Later your boss will scold you! Where can you chase your customers?!" in Mandarin. Qi Xuan and I couldn't say much, so we just nodded in approval.

I went on an impromptu visit to the movies with Jason and Wil Sen after work! We watched Transformers 3! Finally!! I've been waiting to watch this movie ever since last year! Yes, Transformers never fails to impress me despite what people say about this sequel of the movie. Apparently, it was quite draggy but I didn't find it so! Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion I guess! :)

Day 14

"NTUC supporter" came back again! This time Doreen was around so he could get his medication. But, Doreen told us that apparently, she saw him coming back for the same medication in less than two weeks. The medication is supposed to last him for two weeks (14 tablets to be taken once daily). So, we have to keep a lookout if he requests for the medicine again within these two weeks!

After purchasing his medication, he asked Qi Xuan for the price of Clarinase (non-drowsy runny nose tablets). He told Qi Xuan that he wanted to compare the price with Watsons. Qi Xuan nearly wanted to tell him this, "I thought you said you're an NTUC supporter?" but he didn't, hahaha. Anyway, he came back to Unity to buy Clarinase after awhile. I guess ours was still cheaper!

On the way back from work, I noticed many policemen around Clementi Woods, just opposite of NUS Kent Ridge terminal but no signs of any road accident. I found out the next day what it turned out to be. A decomposed body was found! O_O

Day 15
Mariana insisted that Qi Xuan leaves work at 4.00 pm that day since he worked from 9 am to 10 pm for the past couple of days since he had to clock two weeks worth of hours that he missed! She didn't want it to seem like she was exploiting him. So she chased him off at 4.00 pm sharp!

A customer came with a half a strip of chlorpheniramine (for runny nose) tablets claiming that she paid $1.50 for two strips at our store when she should be getting five strips for $1.50. Our chlorpheniramine tablets come in a pack of five strips that costs $1.50 per pack. It is quite impossible that she could have bought two loose strips from us. Besides, this medication is a Pharmacy Only medication and could only be dispensed by a pharmacists. There is no way that any one of us sold her two loose strips.

Even if we did, the staff at the cashier would know because there is no bar code to be scanned on each strip. The customer was so confident that she bought it from our store and apparently, a female pharmacist with short hair served her. But guess what, none of us have short hair! Aunty Karen told me that lucky thing, none of us tied our hairs! The customer tried to accuse Fang Fang (a promoter) for selling her two strips since she normally ties up her hair. But Fang Fang isn't a pharmacist! So we told her to show her receipt as proof but she said she didn't bring it. So we told her to bring the receipt back the next time she comes.

I doubt she'll come back!

Day 16

Warehouse goods day! Qi Xuan and I had to count and check the expiry dates of all the warehouse goods which arrived! We also had to stick labels on all Pharmacy Only medications and replenish them on the shelves! It was a lot of work. We worked non-stop until it was lunch time!

After lunch, a customer came by claiming that he bought a wheelchair from our store and that he needed some spare parts because it was spoiled. He asked if we provided any servicing. Mariana told him that we do not provide such services, neither do we sell any of those spare parts. He then asked what should he do and what can we do. Mariana told him we could give him a refund if the wheelchair is still under warranty. He didn't seem to be very fond of the answer and questioned her again. She helped him to call the respective party regarding the wheelchair. But, she was told to ask him to call the lifeline. He was quite angsty because he couldn't get his wheelchair fixed. He asked the same questions over and over again and Mariana answered him patiently. He kept looking at her name tag, showing signs that he wanted to use her name as someone to be referred to or report about the next time he calls the lifeline or visit another pharmacy.

Mariana was quite pissed because she's not in charge of these kinda things! Our pharmacy only helps to sell the manufacturer's products! She asked Qi Xuan and I to buy her a cup of chai latte from Coffee Bean! She also asked us to get a drink each for ourselves from there. It was our first treat from her! :) Qi Xuan bought her the largest chai latte and she was shocked! He told her that she needed to drink more since she was quite stressed out and she told him that she won't be able to sleep tonight! Haha.

Day 17
Qi Xuan and I packed seven boxes of chlorpheniramine into packets of five strips (50 tablets) each. Each box contains 1000 tablets of chlorpheniramine! We pasted the main label and auxiliary labels as well! We also packed Famotin tablets at which I had to cut the sharp edges of the strips and made it round-edged!

There weren't many customers so we did all the packing to kill time! After lunch, the sales representative for "Hairy Lemon" came looking for me! I attended to him during my first week since there wasn't any pharmacist around. When I saw him, I immediately blurted out "Oh you're the Hairy Lemon guy!". He told me he was grateful that someone actually remembers him. Haha. Then, he asked how is his product doing and frankly, it wasn't doing so well. So I tried to put it in a nice way and told him that it wasn't doing well but there is at least a progress eventhough it's selling pretty slow!

He did a stock check and I asked him how often does he come for a stock check, he told me at least once a month. I told him that he might not be able to look for me the next time he comes because I would be done with my preceptorship. So I gave him Mariana and Doreen's names. He asked me how long have I been working in Jurong Point and I mentioned to him three weeks. He said, "Wow, three weeks only but you look so experienced!". Hehehehe :P

Anyway, he sounds like a humble guy but the way he looks at people can be a little bit scary!

Day 18
Worked for 3.5 hours only, can you believe it?! Haha.

An old lady came requesting for Domperidone (for indigestion, nausea and vomiting) but we don't sell the brand that she was looking for. However, the active ingredient and strength are exactly the same! Told her she could use what we have for the same purpose but apparently, she tried it before and it doesn't work for her but the other one (more expensive) does. :S That's weird because they have the same content! Qi Xuan thinks it's just a placebo effect, maybe she thinks that the expensive one is better.

That's about it for Week 3! :) I really don't know who would read my weekly lengthy posts about my preceptorship! They're all words without pictures at all!