December 1, 2023 • 20 mins
Are you feeling like you're in a constant battle field, trying to navigate the murky waters of negativity within your pharmacy team?
By the end of this episode, you'll discover how to:
- Become vulnerable and address concerns openly
- Shift from an "I" to a "we" mindset
- Define your non-negotiables for a positive work culture
When you finish listening, I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from today’s episode. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, share it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @drtamarlawful !
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tamar (00:00):
Are you feeling like you're in a constant battlefield
, trying to navigate the murkywaters of negativity within your
pharmacy career?
Friend, just breathe.
You aren't alone and the goodnews you're in the right place.
Let's shift gears from ameltdown to a symphony of
harmony in your pharmacyprofession.
Ready to pivot?
Let's dive in with today'sguest, dolores Nira.
(00:24):
Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacywith Nutrogenomics.
Part of the Pharmacy PodcastNetwork, a must-have resource
for pharmacist entrepreneursseeking to enhance patient care
while enjoying career and life.
Join us as we pivot intoNutrogenomics, using pharmacy
and nutrition for truepatient-focused care.
(00:45):
Explore how to improve chronicconditions rather than just
manage them.
Celebrate entrepreneurialtriumphs and receive priceless
advice.
Align your values with a careerthat profoundly impacts
patients.
Together, we'll raise thescript on health and pivot into
a brighter future.
(01:05):
Hello, hello.
This is Dr Tamar Lawful, doctorof pharmacy and certified
nutritional genomic specialist.
Before you listen in, I want tothank our listener of the week,
who said (01:15):
"now I'm realizing that my own genetics, not just
my upbringing, controls myoutcome of my results when it
comes to weight loss and allother health benefits that will
affect my quality of life.
That is exactly right.
It's not just your environment,but your genetics also can play
(01:35):
a role.
So thank you for sharing yourthoughts and I'm glad that you
were able to become enlightenedfrom the information you learn
in this podcast.
Before we dive into our episodeof our guests, I really want to
have a heart to heart with myfellow pharmacists.
You know, there are reflectionsof feeling overworked,
understaffed and underwhelmedamidst the tumultuous situations
(01:56):
in a wide pharmacy landscape,particularly resonating with
recent nationwide movementPharmaGeddon.
In this sea of frustration andburnout, your feelings are far
from unusual and definitely notindicative of any personal or
professional failure.
It's these shared experiencesthat underline the urgent need
for change, for a transitionfrom toxic work environments to
(02:18):
an atmosphere of positivity andharmony, and that is exactly
where our discussion today gainsits relevance.
Let our dialogue not only beone of understanding but also
one of transformation as wejourney collectively from an
environment played with toxicityto a tranquil sphere of
professional satisfaction.
So today we're taking a breakfrom the science of genes and
(02:41):
nutrition to focus on the humanside of the equation - the
Pharmacy Team.
Our guest is positivitypowerhouse Dolores Neira.
You're in for a real treat, asthis remarkable woman has been
transformed in the world ofcorporate culture since 2001,
inspiring leaders with hersolution-driven mindset, and
she's here to share that wisdomwith all of us.
(03:02):
Before we delve into ourheartfelt conversation, let me
give you a glimpse of whoDolores is.
She passionately believes thatbrains rule the world, and
here's where it gets reallyinteresting.
She distinguishes between ourbrain and our mind as two
separate entities that guide ouractions and energy.
Are you captivated, as I amright now?
(03:25):
Dolores is renowned for hervibrant energy, her razor sharp
wit and her uncanny ability tocreate positive working
environments.
She's a dream maker whoconsistently designs workplaces
where attrition rates plummetand spirits soar to new heights.
And if that wasn't inspiringenough, dolores is a published
author.
Yes, she penned the book aworkplace inspired and is a
(03:49):
licensed brain health trainerwith Dr Daniel Eamon.
Her dedication to inspiringleaders and teams is truly
unparalleled.
So, my friends, let's begin ourempowering exchange with
Dolores Now.
Dolores, as we try to pivot ourroles in pharmacy and truly
begin to make a difference inour patient's lives, we often
(04:09):
find ourselves leading teams,whether as business owners,
managers or supervisors.
So I'm really interested inknowing how the brain and mind
can support the actions andenergies of people in these
positions.
So what's the differencebetween a brain and a mind?
Dolores (04:26):
So first of all, I'd like to say thank you for having
me tomorrow.
We go way back and you and Ishare a desire to seek wellness,
and I feel like we have tostart with the brain.
I'll get to answering yourquestion here in a minute, but I
do have my little brain righthere.
Tamar (04:44):
Oh sure.
Dolores (04:46):
So this brain, right here when you're in the
workplace, it functions morethan anything, right here in the
prefrontal cortex.
So I tell folks that this iswhat we have to focus on when
we're in the workplace, becausethe prefrontal cortex handles
your organization, your focus,your empathy.
It focuses on the tasks thatyou need in the workplace.
(05:09):
And so when I do trainings andI share that information I share
that if you're not good to yourbrain specifically, your
prefrontal cortex will sufferand you'll come to work less
than 100%.
So if you're already coming towork less than 100%, ready to
tackle the challenges of the day, and you have constraints or
(05:34):
you have requests on your timeand on your effort and your
energy, that's over the top.
You're already going to be kindof setting yourself up for I
wouldn't say failure, but thechallenges will be able to kind
of take you down easily and Ithink that that's why I was so
interested to come here andspeak with you today.
(05:56):
Tomorrow is, I know that thepharmaceutical industry, and the
pharmacists specifically, aregoing through some challenges
right now.
You never think about that.
So, to answer your question,the brain is physical.
This is physical, this can bedamaged and in fact, the brain
is easily damaged.
We don't think about the brainbeing the first thing that we
(06:18):
have to take care of, becauseboxers, football players we have
to realize how much impactwe're making on the brain.
The brain is only about sixpounds and the brain is housed
in a, the skull right, but it'sa bony ridges.
If you looked underneath theskull and the brain is a
(06:39):
consistency of butter or creamcheese, and so when you bang
that, that's when you get yourconcussions because you're
hitting it against those bonyridges of the skull.
So I say all that to tell youthat the brain is physical.
It's the biology of your brain,but your mind is imaginary and
all the functions that your mindthinks and creates will
(07:03):
influence the brain.
It's almost like the filter.
The mind is the filter.
We've gone through many, manysituations in our lives.
Memories were built and allthat is stored in the mind, and
so I see the mind is like afilter and then it affects the
brain.
I don't know if you've everheard the quote that says your
(07:24):
thoughts become your feelings,your feelings become your
actions and your actions becomewho you are.
That's because you've allowedthe mind to begin to focus or to
influence the brain functionfor the long term.
You know, you could talk aboutdrug addiction, you could talk
about anything like that, andthe mind will begin that process
(07:46):
to start to hurt the brain.
But that's really thedifference.
The brain is the biological orthe physical, and then the mind
is more of the imaginary and thefunctions that we see in life.
We see through the mind first,so we can, you know how you say,
have a positive mindset.
(08:07):
That's because the mind canreally focus first and then
allow the negativity to affectthe brain.
Tamar (08:15):
Wow.
So it sounds to me that themind is very powerful.
Dolores (08:20):
Very powerful and we forget that it's in there.
You know we got this little sixpound thing that it actually
takes 30% of your calories tokeep your brain functioning
optimally, and so when we go onthese fasts where we're only
eating like 500 calories a day,that's why we get the brain fog
and that kind of thing, becauseyou're like you're bracing
(08:42):
weight, I need some more here,you can't think too well with
the little bit of the brainneeds it.
Tamar (08:49):
Yeah, so I can definitely see how the not just the
physical brain, but theimaginative brain, the mind,
will definitely support ouractions and energy and our
pharmacists and certainenvironments, as you mentioned.
Dolores (09:05):
If we don't know how to a deal or reframe our mind to
walk into certain workconditions, it can indeed be
detrimental to we're less apt tohandle stress, really if you
wanted in a summary form, whenyou haven't been taking care of
your brain and the way that wedon't take care of our brain is
(09:26):
by not having enough water, notsleeping seven hours minimum,
not having those greens, youknow those, all those superfoods
that are encouraged for us tohave, not taking them, the right
meds if you're dealing with anykind of medical issues and
you're not taking theappropriate meds, that'll affect
(09:46):
the brain as well.
And then just social you know alot of us, because of COVID,
have become very anti-social orintroverted and the brain needs
that and needs the stimulationof other people and
relationships and that kind ofthing, definitely positive
relationships, impivotingslightly.
Tamar (10:05):
Going back to what the pharmacy profession is facing
right now, with walkouts andunsafe working conditions, how
do you feel that thesesituations could be managed in a
way to promote better brainhealth?
Dolores (10:22):
So let's go to the core .
The core is that the demand isa lot higher now, post COVID or
while we're transitioning out ofCOVID, than it was prior to
COVID in 2018-2019.
We just thought that it wasgoing to be transitional to
where it would be.
What did we say at first?
(10:43):
Three months, six months, oh, ayear max.
And you know, we're still kindof telling what that year, two
and a half, three years later.
So it's a basic businessprinciple supplying the man we
have the man.
Do we have the supply?
And again, the industry,specifically your industry,
(11:03):
feels like maybe, oh, we're justgoing to hold on and add a few
more people.
You know, no, no, no, this isthe new norm for I think, for a
while, you need, I thinkbusinesses need to look at
increasing their staff,increasing especially the
frontline staff who deal withthe client, deal with the
customers.
I just recently, if I can use myexample, I just recently went
(11:27):
to my pharmaceutical departmentand it was just almost perfectly
fitting what we were going totalk about today, because it's
fresh.
It was just yesterday.
Last night I went and I said,oh, I gotta get this, you know
this meds and I'm out.
I usually don't wait till I'mout, but I was out.
It was an insurance glitch andso you have to deal with those
(11:49):
kinds of things.
But I literally, after I wantto say probably 20 years of
going to the same company for mypharmaceutical needs, I'm
thinking of not doing that anylonger.
I think I'm thinking of goingsomewhere else.
And it was basically the factthat I got treated as if I was
no one and my urgency was nottheir urgency, and rolled eyes
(12:15):
and you know individuals whowere just not caring, not kind,
not empathetic.
I'm sure that they see a lot ofpeople that do this.
Come at the last minute, youknow, but I'm not.
You could look at my 20 yearexperience.
I'm always ahead of the game.
It's just there's a glitch inthis one thing, and but the way
(12:36):
that I felt treated by frontlinestaff, that didn't make me feel
very special at all.
Then the actual pharmacist cameout and I said I just need you
to clarify this with one thing,please.
And all he did was just writesomething on a piece of paper,
hand it back to me and I thoughtokay, well, we're waiting for
an answer.
Didn't speak.
(12:56):
Didn't speak, didn't say let mehelp you.
Goodbye, thank you.
I said are we done?
He just wrote a number I shouldcall and I started to turn
around and I said he didn't saygoodbye or anything.
Maybe are we not done.
Am I supposed to wait?
I'm like what, how long will ittake you to say thank you?
(13:17):
This is where you go next.
That's seconds.
Tamar (13:21):
Yeah, so you can imagine the stress that they're under.
They're not.
They're not even having thatconnection anymore with the
customers or patients that arecoming in.
They're on stressfulenvironments, insufficient
staffing, as you mentioned, andprobably even in environments
where the people they report totheir leaders are being more
(13:41):
reactive versus proactive, notthinking ahead of time of how
they can actually support thesepharmacists, but being reactive.
And when pharmacists are nowdisgruntled, now maybe
collectively, they're takenaction.
So would you agree that thepharmacy staff, from the front
end to the pharmacist, are justnot happy?
Dolores (13:59):
No, they didn't.
I didn't even know if they were, because this was at the tail
end where they were going toclose like within half an hour.
And the gal who came up to me,she didn't have any kind of
clothing that showed that shewas from there.
She looked like she was acustomer just coming around, and
so I was just puzzled all theway through and all I remember
(14:21):
saying is okay, so what do Ineed to do next?
And everything was no, no, no,no.
And I thought, okay, but explainit, I need my medicine, you
know.
And I said do you think that?
Like I was asking the questionsand she was just giving me the
no or the yes, and then finally,she just told the pharmacist.
(14:41):
Actually, I caught thepharmacist going by the window
and I said, excuse me, I wasassertive, you know, because I'm
like this is me, I don't dothis, but now I know how people
feel, who are always doing it atthe last minute.
Anyway, I it was just toocoincidental that I had this
experience just seven o'clocklast night.
(15:04):
I said I'm going to use this.
Tamar (15:07):
Don't take it personally.
Don't take it personally.
These are right.
It's kind of fortunate thatthose conditions that are
pharmacists are under effects,how they feel or how they
interact.
Dolores (15:19):
So, tied into that, what would you say the cost is
in environments like this, when,when grievances are not
addressed, so there's a bookit's actually a training class
that I train and it's called theno complaining rule but it
talks about the cost ofnegativity to the American
(15:40):
workforce.
And this book is probably aboutit's post COVID, so it's
definitely a little older, butit's still valid and it holds a
lot of truth.
But one of their statementsaccording to the Gallup poll
that they took that negativityin the workplace costs the
American business world in anaverage of 250 billion dollars a
(16:05):
year.
Wow, not a million Billion.
That's a huge number, a huge.
And why?
Because we focus on our feelingsand you know we're feeling with
people we were empathetic with.
But when you yell at me, whenyou cuss at me, when you look at
(16:27):
me incorrectly in the workplace, I will not work well for the
rest of the day and may not evencome back.
And unfortunately, you knowthat the baby boomers back in
the day, or the traditionalists,those were the generations that
would be treated whatever waythat they were treated, but they
were there, right, and theycame back to work.
(16:48):
We don't have that anymore.
We know that the millennialshave so many choices, so you
treat them badly.
They're out.
That dedication is not there.
Tamar (16:59):
Right.
Dolores (17:00):
You work with a team of medical professionals for about
two years and you'd haveindividuals who were medical
assistants or you know,phlebotomists or just different
people, different roles in themedical realm, and I was working
with their teams and if theboss or their supervisor said
(17:23):
something to them that theydidn't like, you would almost
know they weren't coming backthe next day and they'd call out
or they'd say I'm putting mynotice, I'm not coming back.
Now everybody is the megeneration.
How do I feel about this?
And if you have a leader who isnot empathetic, who needs
leadership development, let'sjust say it could just make or
(17:46):
break your whole company.
Tamar (17:48):
Yeah, I definitely can.
If you have employees leavingthem, that's going to lead to
shortages and in a healthcaresetting, that's going to impact
the patient care.
Dolores (17:57):
Well, I'm not saying coddle every employee.
I'm saying my point is theworkforce has changed.
When we're going through apandemic, what are you thinking
about?
Oh my, put my mask on, you know, getting my hands washed.
How am I going to react to this?
Why would I want to go to workin an organization that I might
(18:19):
get sick and die?
I am the focus and that's for apositive, strong workforce.
We have to be about the we.
We have to.
You know, we need to focus onour goal.
So I think that that's what Ido.
I have a passion I've beendoing that for over 20 years
(18:40):
where I can go in and I canidentify, kind of the weak areas
and really it's just a matterof doing a little training,
talking to the leadership there.
But there has to be acommitment, because this change
isn't going to happen with oneweekend training.
It has to go for six months atleast before people say, okay, I
see the change, I'm going tojump on that and I'm going to be
(19:03):
the way you know they're reallyserious about but, if one
little weekend retreats you knowfour hours, the ones who are,
you know the core of the issues.
they'll just pretend for fourhours and walk on, yeah.
Tamar (19:20):
We'll continue our conversation with our guests in
our next episode.
The lawyers has proved thatteam morale in a positive work
environment are as crucial topatient care as proper
dispensing and diseasemanagement.
If any part of thisconversation sparked interest or
resonated with you, I'd love tohear your thoughts.
Connect with me on Instagram orLinkedIn at Dr Tamar Lawful.
(19:40):
You can also leave a five starreview and comment here in this
podcast so you can help guideother pharmacists on a similar
journey.
If you haven't alreadysubscribed, rate and download
this episode to ensure you'realways in the loop.
Are you feeling like you're in a constant battlefield
, trying to navigate the murkywaters of negativity within your
pharmacy career?
Friend, just breathe.
You aren't alone and the goodnews you're in the right place.
Let's shift gears from ameltdown to a symphony of
harmony in your pharmacyprofession.
Ready to pivot?
Let's dive in with today'sguest, dolores Nira.
(00:24):
Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacywith Nutrogenomics.
Part of the Pharmacy PodcastNetwork, a must-have resource
for pharmacist entrepreneursseeking to enhance patient care
while enjoying career and life.
Join us as we pivot intoNutrogenomics, using pharmacy
and nutrition for truepatient-focused care.
(00:45):
Explore how to improve chronicconditions rather than just
manage them.
Celebrate entrepreneurialtriumphs and receive priceless
advice.
Align your values with a careerthat profoundly impacts
patients.
Together, we'll raise thescript on health and pivot into
a brighter future.
(01:05):
Hello, hello.
This is Dr Tamar Lawful, doctorof pharmacy and certified
nutritional genomic specialist.
Before you listen in, I want tothank our listener of the week,
who said (01:15):
"now I'm realizing that my own genetics, not just
my upbringing, controls myoutcome of my results when it
comes to weight loss and allother health benefits that will
affect my quality of life.
That is exactly right.
It's not just your environment,but your genetics also can play
(01:35):
a role.
So thank you for sharing yourthoughts and I'm glad that you
were able to become enlightenedfrom the information you learn
in this podcast.
Before we dive into our episodeof our guests, I really want to
have a heart to heart with myfellow pharmacists.
You know, there are reflectionsof feeling overworked,
understaffed and underwhelmedamidst the tumultuous situations
(01:56):
in a wide pharmacy landscape,particularly resonating with
recent nationwide movementPharmaGeddon.
In this sea of frustration andburnout, your feelings are far
from unusual and definitely notindicative of any personal or
professional failure.
It's these shared experiencesthat underline the urgent need
for change, for a transitionfrom toxic work environments to
(02:18):
an atmosphere of positivity andharmony, and that is exactly
where our discussion today gainsits relevance.
Let our dialogue not only beone of understanding but also
one of transformation as wejourney collectively from an
environment played with toxicityto a tranquil sphere of
professional satisfaction.
So today we're taking a breakfrom the science of genes and
(02:41):
nutrition to focus on the humanside of the equation - the
Pharmacy Team.
Our guest is positivitypowerhouse Dolores Neira.
You're in for a real treat, asthis remarkable woman has been
transformed in the world ofcorporate culture since 2001,
inspiring leaders with hersolution-driven mindset, and
she's here to share that wisdomwith all of us.
(03:02):
Before we delve into ourheartfelt conversation, let me
give you a glimpse of whoDolores is.
She passionately believes thatbrains rule the world, and
here's where it gets reallyinteresting.
She distinguishes between ourbrain and our mind as two
separate entities that guide ouractions and energy.
Are you captivated, as I amright now?
(03:25):
Dolores is renowned for hervibrant energy, her razor sharp
wit and her uncanny ability tocreate positive working
environments.
She's a dream maker whoconsistently designs workplaces
where attrition rates plummetand spirits soar to new heights.
And if that wasn't inspiringenough, dolores is a published
author.
Yes, she penned the book aworkplace inspired and is a
(03:49):
licensed brain health trainerwith Dr Daniel Eamon.
Her dedication to inspiringleaders and teams is truly
unparalleled.
So, my friends, let's begin ourempowering exchange with
Dolores Now.
Dolores, as we try to pivot ourroles in pharmacy and truly
begin to make a difference inour patient's lives, we often
(04:09):
find ourselves leading teams,whether as business owners,
managers or supervisors.
So I'm really interested inknowing how the brain and mind
can support the actions andenergies of people in these
positions.
So what's the differencebetween a brain and a mind?
Dolores (04:26):
So first of all, I'd like to say thank you for having
me tomorrow.
We go way back and you and Ishare a desire to seek wellness,
and I feel like we have tostart with the brain.
I'll get to answering yourquestion here in a minute, but I
do have my little brain righthere.
Tamar (04:44):
Oh sure.
Dolores (04:46):
So this brain, right here when you're in the
workplace, it functions morethan anything, right here in the
prefrontal cortex.
So I tell folks that this iswhat we have to focus on when
we're in the workplace, becausethe prefrontal cortex handles
your organization, your focus,your empathy.
It focuses on the tasks thatyou need in the workplace.
(05:09):
And so when I do trainings andI share that information I share
that if you're not good to yourbrain specifically, your
prefrontal cortex will sufferand you'll come to work less
than 100%.
So if you're already coming towork less than 100%, ready to
tackle the challenges of the day, and you have constraints or
(05:34):
you have requests on your timeand on your effort and your
energy, that's over the top.
You're already going to be kindof setting yourself up for I
wouldn't say failure, but thechallenges will be able to kind
of take you down easily and Ithink that that's why I was so
interested to come here andspeak with you today.
(05:56):
Tomorrow is, I know that thepharmaceutical industry, and the
pharmacists specifically, aregoing through some challenges
right now.
You never think about that.
So, to answer your question,the brain is physical.
This is physical, this can bedamaged and in fact, the brain
is easily damaged.
We don't think about the brainbeing the first thing that we
(06:18):
have to take care of, becauseboxers, football players we have
to realize how much impactwe're making on the brain.
The brain is only about sixpounds and the brain is housed
in a, the skull right, but it'sa bony ridges.
If you looked underneath theskull and the brain is a
(06:39):
consistency of butter or creamcheese, and so when you bang
that, that's when you get yourconcussions because you're
hitting it against those bonyridges of the skull.
So I say all that to tell youthat the brain is physical.
It's the biology of your brain,but your mind is imaginary and
all the functions that your mindthinks and creates will
(07:03):
influence the brain.
It's almost like the filter.
The mind is the filter.
We've gone through many, manysituations in our lives.
Memories were built and allthat is stored in the mind, and
so I see the mind is like afilter and then it affects the
brain.
I don't know if you've everheard the quote that says your
(07:24):
thoughts become your feelings,your feelings become your
actions and your actions becomewho you are.
That's because you've allowedthe mind to begin to focus or to
influence the brain functionfor the long term.
You know, you could talk aboutdrug addiction, you could talk
about anything like that, andthe mind will begin that process
(07:46):
to start to hurt the brain.
But that's really thedifference.
The brain is the biological orthe physical, and then the mind
is more of the imaginary and thefunctions that we see in life.
We see through the mind first,so we can, you know how you say,
have a positive mindset.
(08:07):
That's because the mind canreally focus first and then
allow the negativity to affectthe brain.
Tamar (08:15):
Wow.
So it sounds to me that themind is very powerful.
Dolores (08:20):
Very powerful and we forget that it's in there.
You know we got this little sixpound thing that it actually
takes 30% of your calories tokeep your brain functioning
optimally, and so when we go onthese fasts where we're only
eating like 500 calories a day,that's why we get the brain fog
and that kind of thing, becauseyou're like you're bracing
(08:42):
weight, I need some more here,you can't think too well with
the little bit of the brainneeds it.
Tamar (08:49):
Yeah, so I can definitely see how the not just the
physical brain, but theimaginative brain, the mind,
will definitely support ouractions and energy and our
pharmacists and certainenvironments, as you mentioned.
Dolores (09:05):
If we don't know how to a deal or reframe our mind to
walk into certain workconditions, it can indeed be
detrimental to we're less apt tohandle stress, really if you
wanted in a summary form, whenyou haven't been taking care of
your brain and the way that wedon't take care of our brain is
(09:26):
by not having enough water, notsleeping seven hours minimum,
not having those greens, youknow those, all those superfoods
that are encouraged for us tohave, not taking them, the right
meds if you're dealing with anykind of medical issues and
you're not taking theappropriate meds, that'll affect
(09:46):
the brain as well.
And then just social you know alot of us, because of COVID,
have become very anti-social orintroverted and the brain needs
that and needs the stimulationof other people and
relationships and that kind ofthing, definitely positive
relationships, impivotingslightly.
Tamar (10:05):
Going back to what the pharmacy profession is facing
right now, with walkouts andunsafe working conditions, how
do you feel that thesesituations could be managed in a
way to promote better brainhealth?
Dolores (10:22):
So let's go to the core .
The core is that the demand isa lot higher now, post COVID or
while we're transitioning out ofCOVID, than it was prior to
COVID in 2018-2019.
We just thought that it wasgoing to be transitional to
where it would be.
What did we say at first?
(10:43):
Three months, six months, oh, ayear max.
And you know, we're still kindof telling what that year, two
and a half, three years later.
So it's a basic businessprinciple supplying the man we
have the man.
Do we have the supply?
And again, the industry,specifically your industry,
(11:03):
feels like maybe, oh, we're justgoing to hold on and add a few
more people.
You know, no, no, no, this isthe new norm for I think, for a
while, you need, I thinkbusinesses need to look at
increasing their staff,increasing especially the
frontline staff who deal withthe client, deal with the
customers.
I just recently, if I can use myexample, I just recently went
(11:27):
to my pharmaceutical departmentand it was just almost perfectly
fitting what we were going totalk about today, because it's
fresh.
It was just yesterday.
Last night I went and I said,oh, I gotta get this, you know
this meds and I'm out.
I usually don't wait till I'mout, but I was out.
It was an insurance glitch andso you have to deal with those
(11:49):
kinds of things.
But I literally, after I wantto say probably 20 years of
going to the same company for mypharmaceutical needs, I'm
thinking of not doing that anylonger.
I think I'm thinking of goingsomewhere else.
And it was basically the factthat I got treated as if I was
no one and my urgency was nottheir urgency, and rolled eyes
(12:15):
and you know individuals whowere just not caring, not kind,
not empathetic.
I'm sure that they see a lot ofpeople that do this.
Come at the last minute, youknow, but I'm not.
You could look at my 20 yearexperience.
I'm always ahead of the game.
It's just there's a glitch inthis one thing, and but the way
(12:36):
that I felt treated by frontlinestaff, that didn't make me feel
very special at all.
Then the actual pharmacist cameout and I said I just need you
to clarify this with one thing,please.
And all he did was just writesomething on a piece of paper,
hand it back to me and I thoughtokay, well, we're waiting for
an answer.
Didn't speak.
(12:56):
Didn't speak, didn't say let mehelp you.
Goodbye, thank you.
I said are we done?
He just wrote a number I shouldcall and I started to turn
around and I said he didn't saygoodbye or anything.
Maybe are we not done.
Am I supposed to wait?
I'm like what, how long will ittake you to say thank you?
(13:17):
This is where you go next.
That's seconds.
Tamar (13:21):
Yeah, so you can imagine the stress that they're under.
They're not.
They're not even having thatconnection anymore with the
customers or patients that arecoming in.
They're on stressfulenvironments, insufficient
staffing, as you mentioned, andprobably even in environments
where the people they report totheir leaders are being more
(13:41):
reactive versus proactive, notthinking ahead of time of how
they can actually support thesepharmacists, but being reactive.
And when pharmacists are nowdisgruntled, now maybe
collectively, they're takenaction.
So would you agree that thepharmacy staff, from the front
end to the pharmacist, are justnot happy?
Dolores (13:59):
No, they didn't.
I didn't even know if they were, because this was at the tail
end where they were going toclose like within half an hour.
And the gal who came up to me,she didn't have any kind of
clothing that showed that shewas from there.
She looked like she was acustomer just coming around, and
so I was just puzzled all theway through and all I remember
(14:21):
saying is okay, so what do Ineed to do next?
And everything was no, no, no,no.
And I thought, okay, but explainit, I need my medicine, you
know.
And I said do you think that?
Like I was asking the questionsand she was just giving me the
no or the yes, and then finally,she just told the pharmacist.
(14:41):
Actually, I caught thepharmacist going by the window
and I said, excuse me, I wasassertive, you know, because I'm
like this is me, I don't dothis, but now I know how people
feel, who are always doing it atthe last minute.
Anyway, I it was just toocoincidental that I had this
experience just seven o'clocklast night.
(15:04):
I said I'm going to use this.
Tamar (15:07):
Don't take it personally.
Don't take it personally.
These are right.
It's kind of fortunate thatthose conditions that are
pharmacists are under effects,how they feel or how they
interact.
Dolores (15:19):
So, tied into that, what would you say the cost is
in environments like this, when,when grievances are not
addressed, so there's a bookit's actually a training class
that I train and it's called theno complaining rule but it
talks about the cost ofnegativity to the American
(15:40):
workforce.
And this book is probably aboutit's post COVID, so it's
definitely a little older, butit's still valid and it holds a
lot of truth.
But one of their statementsaccording to the Gallup poll
that they took that negativityin the workplace costs the
American business world in anaverage of 250 billion dollars a
(16:05):
year.
Wow, not a million Billion.
That's a huge number, a huge.
And why?
Because we focus on our feelingsand you know we're feeling with
people we were empathetic with.
But when you yell at me, whenyou cuss at me, when you look at
(16:27):
me incorrectly in the workplace, I will not work well for the
rest of the day and may not evencome back.
And unfortunately, you knowthat the baby boomers back in
the day, or the traditionalists,those were the generations that
would be treated whatever waythat they were treated, but they
were there, right, and theycame back to work.
(16:48):
We don't have that anymore.
We know that the millennialshave so many choices, so you
treat them badly.
They're out.
That dedication is not there.
Tamar (16:59):
Right.
Dolores (17:00):
You work with a team of medical professionals for about
two years and you'd haveindividuals who were medical
assistants or you know,phlebotomists or just different
people, different roles in themedical realm, and I was working
with their teams and if theboss or their supervisor said
(17:23):
something to them that theydidn't like, you would almost
know they weren't coming backthe next day and they'd call out
or they'd say I'm putting mynotice, I'm not coming back.
Now everybody is the megeneration.
How do I feel about this?
And if you have a leader who isnot empathetic, who needs
leadership development, let'sjust say it could just make or
(17:46):
break your whole company.
Tamar (17:48):
Yeah, I definitely can.
If you have employees leavingthem, that's going to lead to
shortages and in a healthcaresetting, that's going to impact
the patient care.
Dolores (17:57):
Well, I'm not saying coddle every employee.
I'm saying my point is theworkforce has changed.
When we're going through apandemic, what are you thinking
about?
Oh my, put my mask on, you know, getting my hands washed.
How am I going to react to this?
Why would I want to go to workin an organization that I might
(18:19):
get sick and die?
I am the focus and that's for apositive, strong workforce.
We have to be about the we.
We have to.
You know, we need to focus onour goal.
So I think that that's what Ido.
I have a passion I've beendoing that for over 20 years
(18:40):
where I can go in and I canidentify, kind of the weak areas
and really it's just a matterof doing a little training,
talking to the leadership there.
But there has to be acommitment, because this change
isn't going to happen with oneweekend training.
It has to go for six months atleast before people say, okay, I
see the change, I'm going tojump on that and I'm going to be
(19:03):
the way you know they're reallyserious about but, if one
little weekend retreats you knowfour hours, the ones who are,
you know the core of the issues.
they'll just pretend for fourhours and walk on, yeah.
Tamar (19:20):
We'll continue our conversation with our guests in
our next episode.
The lawyers has proved thatteam morale in a positive work
environment are as crucial topatient care as proper
dispensing and diseasemanagement.
If any part of thisconversation sparked interest or
resonated with you, I'd love tohear your thoughts.
Connect with me on Instagram orLinkedIn at Dr Tamar Lawful.
(19:40):
You can also leave a five starreview and comment here in this
podcast so you can help guideother pharmacists on a similar
journey.
If you haven't alreadysubscribed, rate and download
this episode to ensure you'realways in the loop.
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