Welcome back everyone. As you probably figured out I took a break from writing over the summer to have time to enjoy the fresh air and the short summer season that we experience in the Maritime provinces of Canada.
I hope you had a good summer with family, friends and stayed healthy. This COVID continues which is disappointing but we must remain vigilant to decrease the spread. Today, I want to discuss my new life's adventure which is retirement. Be prepared for a little bit of story telling. You may have had similar experiences.
I have worked as a pharmacist for 44 years. I have enjoyed it immensely and like any other job, it has had its' ups and downs, disappointments and celebrations, but I feel fortunate to have worked that many years in a profession I love.
It was my mother who gave me the idea of becoming a pharmacist. I always wanted to be a school teacher like her. One day my mother was supply teaching and when she came home she mentioned that two of her grade 12 students had been accepted into Pharmacy at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. I decided to apply, really not sure what I was applying for, and I never expected to get accepted since the qualifications seemed a bit stringent. However, March came, I went to the post office and sure enough a letter from Dalhousie University told me that I had got accepted. I can remember standing on the mat at our front door, opening the letter with my parents sitting in the living room waiting either for me to cry from disappointment or act stunned because I did get accepted. My best friend also got accepted so that was comforting in the fact that I would know someone who would be sharing the same experiences. My sister also transferred to Dalhousie University and knowing she was close helped to eliminate some of my fear(s).. Graduation took place and we all went our ways working for the summer months before going off to university.
I worked at a canteen, not far from home, and I was experiencing severe thirst and urinating way too often. I can remember buying a can of pop and drinking it all at one time. I decided, on my own, to make a doctor appointment and the rest is history. A couple of days after the blood work was done and assessed, the doctor's office called my home and said I needed to get to the hospital right away. My mother came to the canteen to tell me and I remember saying, well it is the lunch hour rush so I will be home in an hour. Soon after I noticed my dad at the canteen window saying "you get home right away and your mother is taking you to the hospital". They probably knew what was going on, but I never thought about having diabetes.
Many of you know what happens after the diabetes diagnosis so I won't bore you with that, but let's say the months that followed was filled with firsts: first time away from home, first year of university, first year of meeting all kinds of new people and being totally responsible for my actions. Keep in mind that there were no blood glucose meters and only a few insulins to help manage the disease at this time (1973). The four years went by quickly and in 1977 I became a fully registered pharmacist and thus began my career.
I love to teach, to learn and to share this with others. I became immediately involved in diabetes teaching with the local chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association (now called Diabetes Canada) and was the first pharmacist to sell blood glucose meters in the community pharmacy where I worked. I can remember them being $365.00 plus the cost of strips at $100.00 and having to calibrate often. Meters were much more complicated as compared to the devices today. I became the first Certified Diabetes Educator Pharmacist in the province of New Brunswick a few years later while I was working at The Moncton Hospital. My legacy to pharmacy is that I was the first pharmacist involved at the diabetes education centre in our hospital, a position which remains, with the qualification of being or willing to become a Certified Diabetes Educator.
As my career developed I became involved in working with cancer patients. As many of you know or can relate to, diabetes and cancer are not easy to manage. Once again, I took patient care to the next level by counselling patients and organizing educational sessions for patients and their families. I worked in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. I eventually studied for Board Certification in Oncology, again another first for our hospital. This is an accomplishment for which I am very proud.
As I look back, I do feel I moved the profession ahead with respect to pharmacist involvement in diabetes care and cancer care. My love for teaching and for helping people was my reward. I got to play the teacher and educate people on their health concerns. You might say, I had the best of both worlds. Patients were always appreciative of how you could help them manage their disease(s). The patients were my heroes.
Pharmacy, like diabetes, has gone through many milestones over the years. We are a respected profession and we have shown that we can make a positive impact on patient's lives and the health care system .
This new adventure of retirement is going to be challenging at least for a while. I have always kept busy but now that I have 37.5 hours more per week to do things. I might even slow down a bit. However, one of my goals is to continue with this blog and maybe even publish it more frequently. During my absence, I have thought about and collected a bit of information on topics we don't often see discussed in other media types. I hope these topics will stimulate your interest enough to subscribe to my blog.
My last work day is November 19th on my birthday with the official retirement date December 30th, 2021. I know I will be emotional as I leave behind some on my best years.
Please spread the word about this blog and feel free to express any ideas for new topics or offer any suggestions.
Stay safe. Take care.
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