“I know, I’m an RN!”
My boss made an observation that every time we have an RN come in to the pharmacy to pick something up, either for themselves or for a family member, they have to mention the fact that they are an RN. I guess that statement is exaggerating a bit, because if they didn’t mention it.. we wouldn’t know, right? It seems, though, that RNs have a habit of letting us at the pharmacy know that they are also in the medical field and hence don’t need any counselling on any of the meds we give them. They are also the first to call up with dumb questions about the medications that are given out to them, that they would have discovered had they accepted the couselling offered to them instead of saying “I’m a retired RN, I know all about this.”
They are also the ones to come back for early refills on their children’s asthma meds that “aren’t working right” because they are using improper techniques, or bringing in their glooked up blood glucose monitors and don’t know why they aren’t working. They’re RNs!! They don’t need a lowly tech like me (who has advanced meter training courses under my belt and a name tag and certificate that proudly declares this) to tell them how to use it!! Even this lowly tech knows that if your child had an aerochamber that was being used properly and an inhaled corticosteroid that was used on a regular basis, your child might not be going through 3 Ventolins a month (although I would always refer to our resident asthma expert). Even I know that all you need to do is change your battery and make sure the code on your strips match the code in your meter. But.. I am not an RN. I don’t know everything!
It even extends to children and spouses of RNs. They will announce proudly “my wife/mother is an RN, she knows what this is all about. They used to give these out at the hospital!” Don’t get me wrong here. I have a lot of respect for nurses of all types. RNs, LPNs, heck! even nurses’ aides get my respect. They do an incredible job dealing with patients and doctors all day. They bust their butts in a field where there is a huge shortage of qualified employees. They are the experts in their field(s) of medicine. But… they don’t know everything there is to know about medications. That is what the pharmacist is there for.
Ladies and gents in the nursing field. Lend us your ear…. for the 2 minutes it will take a pharmacist to counsel you properly on your medications. And you don’t need to tell us you are an RN. We will treat you equally no matter what your profession. I don’t go to my car dealership to get an oilchange and tell the mechanic “my significant other sells cars, so I don’t need you to tell me what you’re doing… he knows”
I’m done now.