subject: The Characteristics of Effective Pharmacist: Humility [print this page] The Characteristics of Effective Pharmacist: Humility
A pharmacist is usually not visible to the average shopper in a pharmacy as his place is in the drug dispensing area and basically a pharmacist likes it that way since most pharmacists possess the charming quality of humility. If you have occassion to go to the pharmacy to have a prescription filled, you might come across an assistant to the pharmacist who will take down your personal information and take your prescription to the pharmacist to be filled. If the pharmacist has a question, he will step out and handle the matter with you with complete honesty and with the passive characteristic of humility, a trait often possessed by other professionals who work in human services.
Communicating with a variety of people from all walks of life about the medications that they are being prescribed takes a character of compassion and regard for all people equally as well as for the dignity of his profession. A pharmacist shows his effectiveness by knowing the types of drugs being dispensed, by being able to decifer the physician's scribbling and my being patient even in the most trying of circumstances. His job is to read the prescription, fill the prescription and communicate with his customer at the customer's level of understanding and always showing respect for both himself and his customer.
How does one define humility. It is a personal characteristic of dealing with people as separate from oneself with rights and obligations to know the facts and to be addressed as competent. In humility, the key word is acknowledging that each person understands his situation and yours and will only be patiently talked to if he or she has a question or if there is a problem that he or she may not be aware of regarding the prescription to be filled or the financial conditons regarding the prescription or the customer.
The humility of the pharmacist is the characteristic of the alchemist who worked long hard hours developing his deep knowledge of drugs and pharmaceuticals and only conversed with other people when they were in need of his services. The self effacing extremely focused pharmacist projects a calm demeanor and a humility that makes him a trusted professional in the community of health professionals.
