Point here is, I got super used to calling pharmacists Dr. in everyday settings. I never really liked it, even though that's the degree I was getting. It seemed weird. My "elder" pharmacists don't get called Dr. so why should we? It confuses people. Then you have to go into all the bullshit about how you did or did not do a doctoral thesis, how long you spent in school, or in my case "there's no way you're old enough to be a doctor" to which I normally stare ahead, then continue what I was saying.
I met a (newly graduated/residency completed) pharmacist at the VA who said all her patients just call her Dr. Pharmacist. Now, I'm not really sure how to take that, either you don't spend the time to make sure they know your name... or something? I would not respond to "pharmacist" so why they hell would I respond to "dr. pharmacist?" I think she liked it, but, ehh... I have a name.
So, in academia everyone seems totally down with inflating their egos and allowing (or telling) anyone and everyone they meet to call the Dr. Well, in retail, it's just weird.
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my title. I'm the first in my family to be able to put "Dr." on my checks in front of my name. If Bill Cosby can be called Dr, then sure as fuck I can. And chiropractors receive roughly the same amount of education as pharmacist, and they have NO qualms being called Dr., so why should I?
I figured I would reserve the title for use in professional situations, if I ever (HA!) had anything published, or decided to go into politics. That or when for some reason I felt like being a total bitch and using it to belittle someone with a big head who pissed me off. "Yeah, well from now on you can call me Dr. ____, ok?" I haven't had the pleasure of doing this yet, though my other half does seem to have stopped arguing with me so much when I give him medical advice since the title became official.
If you've read further back, you've seen that I didn't end up exactly where I figured I would for work. Holy shit has this been an eye opener.
I've spent so much time putting out fires the first few months that I didn't have time to consider that I am the only professional in the building. I started to get lonely. OK, I recently acquired a second pharmacist, but, lets not get started on my feelings about him except the fact that I'm trying to figure out when we get those new Febreeze wood block air fresheners so I can stick one next to his onion smelling ass. No- I am not going to continue to make the company pay for your motel because you refuse to pay normal rent prices and lie and say there is nowhere available to you. That's my bonus fucker- and I see what you're up to. When you want to start putting in an extra hour a day and not taking lunch like me, we'll talk.
Back to "store relations"...
It gets even worse when I consider that most of the "management" at the store started from the bottom up. The bottom doesn't look so hot- there's a rare flower with some true common sense who actually listens or looks you in the eye when you speak, but I said rare. And even these have absolutely no idea who or what goes on in the pharmacy, except the fact that I get to have (extremely tasteful) facial jewelry and they don't, and my payroll is huge.
Having started to get some major attitude when going about dealing with management and trying to keep pharmacy operations running. For the hell of it, I thought I would experiment with using my title. Three months earlier I would have felt like a pretentious asshole doing this, but since I can't stand these people and they don't respect me anyways, what the fuck do I have to lose? At the very least its a chance to occasionally educate a patient that their pharmacist DID go to school. I don't just wear a fancy white coat. And yes, I might be the youngest and shortest person in the pharmacy, but that doesn't mean you should look around me and motion to the 50yo cashier to give you medical advice. She can barely figure out the alphabet (seriously, no kidding), I doubt she can explain how your PPI works.
Not to mention on my search for a new cashier, our personnel department informed me and the store manager of a candidate "who was going to pharmacist school." Sorry dumb ass (and by the way, try to clean the food stains off your faded shirt before you come to work please), we are in a 1 horse town 3 hours from the big city. That big city is 6-10 hours from any city with an actual "pharmacist school." I have some concerns (see angry pharmacist's thread on pharmacy TECH schools) with people who don't learn on the job. All the ones I have dealt with so far have been useless. But that's beside the point- the point here was that even the person who sees what pharmacy payroll looks like thinks that you can just work as a cashier and work on "pharmacist school" in the evenings in a town with no dry cleaner. Time to whip out the Dr. Badge.
So I did. I cut out the first name. It just says "Dr._______, Pharmacy Manager." Since I feel like being a bitch, I've decided that no one at this store, save the store manager, my technicians, or my boss should be on a first name basis with me. My employer considers me "an independently licensed professional." So though, unfortunately, I am an employee, I don't plan to be with the company forever- no lifer here. I'm Dr. now. NO I am not on the same level as you. I don't go to the break room and joke with you. I don't have a uniform for work, I'm allowed to eat and drink in the pharmacy. I cannot be replaced at the drop of a hat (at least not in the town I'm working in!). Sorry to be the bitch that pointed this out.
Now don't get me wrong here- I'd generally rather be with working class assholes (and I say assholes with love) than "my peers." I have yet to attend a party full of Dr.'s (of whichever variety) or pharmacist's where I enjoyed myself that much. But put me in a room with some regular Joe's FULL of common sense, who won't be offended by what I say or how I dress and can take a joke, and I'll be alright.
But as a point, I'm attempting to put a few people "in their place."
My first day with the badge had some notable occurrences. My favorite was when one the the more useless assistant managers saw me and said "why does your badge say Dr. on it?" me: "because I am one" AM: "so you got like a certificate or something?" me: "I'm a doctor of pharmacy" AM: blank, confused stare me: "Yeah, it's good to help educate people that pharmacists actually go to school."
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