Pharmacy. The patients that are the worst at managing their conditions are the ones you have to deal with the most. Add to that the issues that stem from insurance, addiction, neglect, or end of life care, it can be really tough.

Many years ago was working in a pharmacy and a patient came in for a prescription for an steroid inhaler. Steroid inhalers can cause a fungal infection in your mouth if you don’t rinse and spit after using them. I told this to the patient’s mother but she said that the doctor told them to not inhale the spray and instead hold it in the mouth and then rinse and swallow. I told them that didn’t sound right and could be harmful but she insisted.

I called the doctor who told me the patient had a relatively rare condition called eosinophilic esophagitis that required they swallow instead of inhale to reduce the swelling in their esophagus and the chance of a fungal infection was manageable. Turns out that physician was performing a clinical trial which is now a recognized (off label) therapy for the disease.

I use that experience when I am training others on why it is important to listen to everything the patient/client/customer is saying, and not to immediately discount it because it sounds wrong.

I know a lot of people will tell you to expect boredom, but the last time I was called for jury duty it was actually a great time.

Once I got inside the building and signed in the jury room was pretty nice. It was set up with a bunch of large armchairs with a side table next to it with a charging station all facing toward a projection screen. In the morning they would show a concert and a movie in the afternoon. You could listen to or you could sit there with your laptop in your chair. They had coffee and snacks for free and a side room which was dark and quiet if you wanted to sleep. They encouraged people to bring in food or entertainment too. In the afternoon they had a field trip where we were given tours of the state buildings or meetings with the judges. We had to be available for 2 weeks unless we got empaneled which only happened once but the case was settled before any arguments. If anyone’s work complained that they were out or asked them to do work during the day the court would physically send one of the jury officers to go yell at your boss and he would come back and tell us about it.

By the end of the week we were all on a first name basis and people were bringing in legitimately good food. One guy played us some music and another guy was a radio host and offered to announce an Uno tournament like it was a professional sporting match. One guy needed help with filling out a bunch of paperwork for an issue he was having and we all pitched in to help him figure it out and it was done in a morning.

I still talk to some of those people and it was 5+ years ago. Hopefully you have a good time too.

During a particularly hard part of my life I asked my partner to take my car for an past due oil change while I was at school/work. When I got home at 11pm I asked how it went and they said that my car was a mess, which is not how I keep my car. Turns out someone trashed my car and stole everything the previous night including a bunch of school textbooks and a bunch of other related stuff. I have had things stolen before but this was in my driveway way outside the main city so it felt personal.

Luckily, I was able to work with the professors and my classmates who provided me copies or a spare book for the semester and I was able get by. Really sucked at the time but it was really warming to have other people pitch in to help me.