Last Call for 2022

Monday, 19 December 2022

It’s the last call for 2022, and it's been another busy year for the team at Roslyn Pharmacy. We’ve had COVID, Flu and RSV viruses and vaccinations, we’ve had our doctor colleagues get overloaded, which has resulted in more consults, more blood pressure testing and more scripts! We’ve said goodbye to some amazing long-term customers and we’ve welcomed new patients to our community. So yes, 2022 - it's been… something!

As Pharmacists we get to be part of it all - it's a dynamic, ever changing workplace and it's never boring. We’ve had nearly 80 thousand interactions with our community this year! We have such a short time frame with our patients as people drop in and out of the pharmacy. We don't have set appointment times, but we need to make the most of this time. What information can we give that is most impactful? How do we ensure that the patient leaves us better off? Part of it is continuing education, we are always trying get better.

Due to our size we are lucky enough to have regular peer-based gatherings to discuss new topics in healthcare, and I want to share with you the most impactful learning that I made this year.  Usually this involves a new medicine in the treatment of a disease, but for me personally this year, it was the topic of providing health services for transgender people. It’s a topic that is confronting to some, confusing to others. Transgender people are often overrepresented in poor physical and mental health outcomes. Few of these poor outcomes are caused by a transgender identity itself, but rather by discrimination from whānau, health services and those in wider society. Its important that we respect all patients' privacy, identity and expression - the simple act of addressing people by their correct pronoun (he/him, she/her, they/them) is respectful and creates an inclusive environment. It can be offensive or harassing to refer to people with pronouns they don't identify with. I don't know about you, but if I'm causing offence to someone and I'm actively choosing or unwilling to address the situation, then I'm being a bit of a dick. (No offence).
 
One Christmas wish I have is that as NZers we do our best not to have politicisation of health. It sits seperate, we clearly have over-representation of some of our community in certain areas and these need to be addressed.  Thanks so much for all your support this year, thanks to those that choose our little Pharmacy on the hill! Thanks to all those that read and enjoy this blog - as always, we appreciate any feedback or questions. Merry Christmas everyone! My last health tip this year: Everything in moderation.

Andrew and the team at Roslyn Pharmacy