I bet the California Pharmacists Association goes to bat for us. I mean, it says right on their website they are dedicated to advocating for all pharmacists in the State of California in the Legislature. That's really cool. We could use an organization that will advocate for the interests of both the profession and our patients in Sacramento. They even have a Political Action Committee, which says its goal is to "promote good government, which enables the pharmacy community to provide quality pharmaceutical care for Californians."
That's awesome. Because you know what kept me from providing quality pharmaceutical care to the Californians who came to my counter today? The fact there are 5 phone lines in my pharmacy, a voicemail, a fax, 2 customer service windows as well as a wide-open area in the middle people see as an invitation to ask the location of potato chips and the bathroom, and that my employer saw fit to give me one other person today to take care of all this.
How many of you out there see the biggest barrier to providing quality pharmaceutical care to your customers as the working conditions your employer forces upon you? I'm looking through my magical Internet screen and seeing about 90% of your hands going up.
So I'm sure The California Pharmacist's Association was all over Assemblymember Bill Monning's hearing back in April exploring how working conditions in retail pharmacy are destroying the profession. I mean, they said they were dedicated to advocating for pharmacists in the legislature. They wouldn't lie.
Some of you can imagine where I'm going with this. Here's a little cut and paste from an email exchange between myself and Monning regarding the hearing:
Me: Were any professional organizations, such as the American or California Pharmacists Association involved? Was their input solicited?Back to California Pharmacists Association's website:
Monning: We invited the California Pharmacists Association to attend and testify, but they declined our invitation.
Through our lobbyist, we play an active and crucial role at the Capitol in protecting the interests of the profession of pharmacy. We help to educate the Legislators on the importance of the role that pharmacists play in the overall health care of patients.
Huh. So I guess in The California Pharmacists Association's world....."active" and "crucial" are synonymous with "not bothering to show up," and "helping to educate legislators" means "not attending hearings where legislators are gathering information about pharmacy issues."
That is one kick-ass lobbyist you got there California Pharmacists Association. And by kick-ass I mean useless.
Yet somehow the California Pharmacists Association thinks it would be worth it for me to send them $365 a year to join their little club. Plus more for their Political Action Commttee. If you're a member of The California Pharmacists Association, I have a better idea. Cancel your membership, send half the amount you would have spent on dues this year to support the one person who has shown any leadership on the issues we care about, and buy yourself something nice with the rest. Everyone wins.
If, however, you choose to maintain your membership in The California Pharmacists Association after this, I am issuing a direct challenge to you to justify why.
For the love of God tell me why.