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Pharmacist Prescribing – It’s Time!
Australian pharmacists lag behind their counterparts in other western economies (particularly the UK) in their scope of practice involving independent prescribing. In Scotland, for example, around 40 percent of pharmacists are registered as prescribers. The problem in Australia is a cultural one. Firstly, there has been disharmony within the pharmacy profession through disruption of the…
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The Difference Between Care and Service is Significant
I’m not bemoaning the current state of pharmacy, but what percentage of your time is spent doing what you went to pharmacy school to provide? How can we ensure that we prioritise care over service? Somehow, we have to re-educate our patients and customers that outstanding care is essential, and good service isn’t. We don’t…
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Believe in yourself even when no one else does
Life is not a parabolic curve. It doesn’t go straight up. There are a lot of lumps, a lot of bumps. I have never yet met a successful person that hasn’t had to overcome either a little or a lot of adversity in his or her life. Overnight success is much more of a myth…
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Perseverance pays off
The popular Academy Award nominated movie “Darkest Hour” has brought a lot of attention to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill recently. It’s also brought a lot of attention to Gary Oldman, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Churchill. According to biographers, Churchill did not have the happiest of childhoods. Neglected…
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Scotland’s Pharmacist Practitioner Champions
Perhaps it is because of my Scottish heritage, but I am continually dawn to the Scottish business model for community pharmacy, funded and developed in a genuine partnership between community pharmacists and government. One of its lesser publicised components is the funding of “Practitioner Champions”. It’s not a lot of money (£300,000 funding for this year),…
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Honesty, integrity, values – not optional
A dejected father confided in his pastor with a problem: his youngster had been caught cheating on a test at school. He was crushed, feeling like he had failed as a father, concerned it would saddle the child with a reputation for dishonesty. “The worst thing that can happen to a youngster starting school,” said the father,…
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Appreciation increases your value
A man attending a seminar on interpersonal relationships became convinced of the need for him to begin showing appreciation to people. His family seemed like an appropriate place to start. So on his way home, he picked up a dozen long-stem roses and a box of chocolates. This was going to be a real surprise,…
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The worst failure is the failure to try
That is the message I hear every spring when I attend the Horatio Alger Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., where 10 new members are inducted annually. I was honored to be one of them in 2004, during the short speeches given by new members to the audience, which includes more than 100. Failure can become…
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The Power of Broke
A lot of people believe you only have one shot at success. Let’s agree that’s just not true. But what is true is that many people don’t even take that one shot – out of fear of failure, inexperience, lack of motivation or just not knowing where to begin. Daymond John, one of the stars…
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Methods for gaining knowledge – mentors, advisers and choosing a discomfort zone
I was reading up on some material written by marketing guru Seth Godin and marveled once more at the insight this man brings to his writing so effortlessly and at once, so obvious as to wonder why you hadn’t tapped the same vein of thought through your own resources. He highlights that if we go…