Episode 005 | 3 Reasons Pharmacists Are Pivoting Out of Pharmacy

Are you feeling unfulfilled in your role as a pharmacist? Do you find yourself longing for more meaningful interactions with patients and a chance to truly impact their health? If so, this episode is for you. I know firsthand the frustrations of a traditional pharmacy practice. The long hours, high stress, and lack of patient connection can quickly lead to burnout and diminish your passion for this important work.

But there is hope! By incorporating services like Nutrigenomics, you can pivot your practice to provide personalized, holistic care for your patients. In this episode, I share my journey to reviving my passion for pharmacy through Nutrigenomics. You'll discover how to gain more control over your workload, take a holistic approach to patient care and build stronger relationships.

The result improved health outcomes, increased patient satisfaction and a rekindled passion for your profession. If you're ready to thrive in your role as a pharmacist and make a bigger impact on your patient's lives, listen to this episode of Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics. Together, we can elevate healthcare to new heights.

Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics, part of the Pharmacy Podcast Network, a must have resource for pharmacist entrepreneurs seeking to enhance patient care while enjoying career and life. Join us as we pivot into Nutrigenomics.

How to improve chronic conditions rather than just manage them. Celebrate entrepreneurial triumphs and receive priceless advice. Align your values with a career that profoundly impacts patients. Together, we'll raise the script on health, and pivot into a brighter future.

Hey, hey, hey, Pharmacy Fam, it's so good to have you all back here for another thrilling episode of Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics. I've been doing some early morning soul searching and a certain memory came back to me. We've all been there, on this rollercoaster ride, right? The unexpected twists, the transformative turns, navigating these is far from a cakewalk.

Reflecting on 1 particular day, a coworker turned to another and pop the 1Million dollar question. Do you enjoy being a pharmacist? The response? Well, it pays the bills. Just let that sink in. It's as though the job was just that, a job, run of the mill, passionless. But why? Where had the initial zest, the exhilarating rush, gone?

This conversation took me back to a phase of my life, teetering on the edge, ready to throw in my pharmacy towel for good. Just like them, I saw pharmacy as a mere paycheck. I journeyed through the norms, feeling restrained, almost like an assembly line robot. I grappled with self worth and questioned the real impact I was making.

Could I actually influence change beyond the conventional prescribing and verifying? Now, here's a real talk. I'm sure you've experienced similar moments in your own careers. It's human nature. We probe the depths of our worth and life's purpose. But let's flip the script. Instead of letting these challenging moments prick our self esteem, let's use them as a wake up call to challenge our comfort zones and traditional beliefs.

Once it clicked for me, the sheer potential of reaching beyond the norm, that's when the magic sparked. I started hunting for answers, attending conferences, connecting with forward thinking peers, even sacrificing sleep to Google in the wee hours of the night doing research. That's when I decided to break the mold, take the road less traveled, and take the pivot towards nutrigenomics.

Now, returning to my colleagues, where did their pharmacy fire go? What extinguished the once tireless passion? And most importantly, why? Well, we can start with the overwhelming workloads. We often face long hours, high patient volumes, and demanding work environments leading to burnout and dissatisfaction.

Have you ever noticed how your to-do list at the pharmacy seems never ending? Like, seriously, why is it so long? We face long hours, high patient volumes, and on top of that, work environments that could give a pressure cooker a run for its money. It doesn't sound like a recipe for joy, right? Here's the thing.

Most of us signed up for this profession because we're passionate about health and helping others. We certainly didn't sign up to feel like we're running on this never ending hamster wheel, but sadly, that's the reality for many of us. 1 study recently showed that nearly half, 50 percent of pharmacists reported experiencing job stress and burnout.

High 5 to that, huh? So, how do we end up here? How did we end up here? My friends, it largely boils down to how traditional pharmacy roles are structured. Our daily routine is often about dispensing and meeting sales targets and monitoring productivity. Who knew that's what pharmacy was about, right? The intensity of the workload and the stress that comes with it.

That's the reality we've all battled and here's the rub. The high stress cycle leads to decreased job satisfaction and a burnout rate faster than a Ferrari at full throttle. And what's the ultimate price we pay? It's not just about us. It hampers our ability to effectively help our patients. And that, my friend, stings even more when you got into this profession to do exactly that, help your patients.

A second reason pharmacists may be pivoting out of pharmacy is that many are realizing that their traditional role doesn't fully align with their desire to truly make a difference in their patients' lives. And I totally get it. I've been there myself. Feeling unfulfilled, even stuck. Realizing that I wanted to create a more profound impact on the lives of patients.

This feeling arises from the focus on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of a patient's health issues. Traditional pharmacy often relies on disproportionate levels of symptom management, rather than identifying and targeting the underlying factors. By not addressing the true causes of patients' health problems, our profession will continue reacting to symptoms rather than preventing illness and promoting wellness. Patients might become overly reliant on medications, miss out on opportunities for improved health and face potential negative side effects. 

Then we have a desire for a more holistic approach, right? Pharmacists want to have a more holistic approach. So, when we don't address the true cause of health problems, we're shunning this holistic approach to health care, dispensing medications and managing symptoms.

We've done it all a thousand times, but here's where that itch resurfaces. Urging us to think beyond prescriptions, we are starting to acknowledge the invaluable power of a holistic approach by embracing the full spectrum of health factors, such as genetics, lifestyle choices, nutrition and mental well being and for me, this transformation has been like a breath of fresh air.

Many of us recognize the importance of addressing the whole person, rather than just treating symptoms with medications. We're learning to see that each patient is a unique, complex individual, and we want to address every single aspect of their well being, ensuring the patients receive the best possible care for sustainable health improvements.

Failure to embrace a more holistic approach to health can result in patients not receiving comprehensive care that supports lasting health improvements, and this can lead to continued reliance on medications and possible dissatisfaction with their health care experience. So, what can we do to reignite our passion for pharmacy?

You can create and offer patient centered services, like Nutrigenomics and your pharmacy practice, which enables you to dictate your workload, take a holistic approach and truly start helping your patients. Creating patient centered services in your practice provides an effective solution to the problems that we see with traditional pharmacy problems, like inadequate patient impact.

When you incorporate nutrigenomics into a pharmacy practice, it goes far beyond typical medications. It enables us to dig deeper and address the root cause of a patient's health issues, considering their genetics and the interaction between genes and nutrition. This shift in perspective from treatment to prevention fundamentally changes the way we can help patients.

Beyond symptom management, we can now empower our patients to make informed dietary and lifestyle modifications to improve their overall health and potentially prevent onset of certain diseases. With traditional pharmacy, we do see overwhelming workloads, but when you develop patient centered services, you can gain control over your workload specializing in a distinct service, such as nutrigenomics may allow for improved time management with dedicated time slots for patient consultations and a potentially more predictable workflow.

You can then focus more on quality care than quantity, thus reducing the risk of burnout and dissatisfaction, thereby enhancing both job satisfaction and the standard of patient care. Standard traditional pharmacy doesn't scratch that desire for a more holistic approach. Nutrigenomics offers a more holistic approach to health care by recognizing the immense role genetics and nutrition play in health outcomes.

It enables pharmacists to offer comprehensive care that encompasses diet lifestyle and environmentally induced genetic changes. This personalized care can lead to improved outcomes, increase patient satisfaction and enhance professional fulfillment shift in the focus to overall well being rather than just treating disease symptoms.

But you know what, even the most dedicated among us start feeling a little underwhelmed with the good old medication dispensing role, no matter how many years we've been at it. But here's my two cents. We don't have to wave goodbye to our cherished profession. Heck no! What we can do instead is pivot into it, like diving headfirst into a treasure chest of innovative gems that can rekindle our fiery passion.

Let's be bold, explore these gems, elevate our practices, and level up the impact we can make on our patients lives. Guess what? That's exactly what I did. And here I stand today, a health coaching pharmacist with my very own signature program, helping women beat metabolic syndrome. Plus, I also get the incredible opportunity to guide other pharmacists in conjuring up their nutrigenomic based services and health coaching programs.

The kicker? We didn't ditch pharmacy. We danced right into its dream zone, fusing our deep love for patient care with cutting edge tools to optimize patient health. You too can wrap your arms around this holistic patient centered approach. I can already see that twinkle in your eyes and feel your passion.

Civil and back to life. Now, hear me out. This does mean investing your precious time and quite possibly breaking a sweat in your personal and professional growth game and dedicating those extra hours to become an expert at guiding your patients through their health journey.

But imagine this, whether you're a standalone community pharmacist, seeking some extra income, a full time entrepreneur, or an ambulatory care pharmacist, you can offer a nutrigenomic service, take the reins on your workload, and start dictating quality time for each patient through personalized consultations. It's like lighting a matchstick, it sparks off stronger relationships with your patients.

Take it from me, my first patient still stays in touch, giving me tidbits about her family and health. Friends. By pivoting towards nutrigenomics, you're not just becoming an agent for change in the healthcare industry, but you are also playing an instrumental role in your patient's lives. All right, that's the scoop I want to share with you today.

Thanks for tuning in and walking with me on this eye opening journey into the future of pharmacy practice. I pray our chat has ignited the embers within, urging you to consider a patient centered approach lean into the nutrigenomic platform. It's a fantastic power move that helps you provide personalized, holistic, high quality care while also striking a healthy work life balance.

Pave the way to a genuine career satisfaction. I'll totally love to get a peek into your thoughts on why our pharmacist friends are departing the profession. Do connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn at Dr. Tamar Lawful and spill the deets. From where I stand, every perspective counts. Every voice matters.

Let's get the conversation rolling, ready to revive your passion as a pharmacist. I welcome you to. Explore our raise the script blueprint program. This comprehensive program will guide you on incorporating Nutrigenomics personalized health coaching, and a patient-centric approach into your pharmacy practice.

Discover more and apply at www.raisethescript.com. Thank you for joining me on today's episode of Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics. Now, if this episode spoke to you, it would mean the world for you to share it with a friend. And if you love the show, you've been listening, and you haven't let me know how this show is impacting you, I would love to hear from you.

All you have to do is scroll down in your Apple app, tap the five stars, and write a quick review. Just one sentence, and let me know how this show is impacting you. It's a fantastic way to add value and nurture the relationship with your colleagues. In your community, because we were all in this together to elevate healthcare for our patients coming up next week on the show.

We're talking about integrating personal growth, professional fulfillment, and business innovation into your pharmacy career. So you can thrive in the rapidly changing healthcare landscape without compromising on work life balance or your personal values. So join me next week. And until then, always remember in your journey as a healthcare professional.

Always raise the script on health because together we can bring health care to higher levels.