As we approach July 4th it is a great time to reflect on the freedom we enjoy
In talking to my clients during our set up conversations I frequently explore each individual’s goals for their life and for their practice. After hundreds of these conversations it pretty much comes down to four essential freedoms that individual pharmacists are looking to achieve.
The first freedom is the ability to practice where you want to practice.
This can be physical location such as your city state or region of the country. Or it can be your choice of practice setting such as hospital, community practice, ambulatory care, embedded in a physician’s office, pharmaceutical industry or research.
The second freedom is the ability to practice when you want to practice.
This can include time of day, number of days per week, number of weeks per year, or any combination of time bound features.
The third freedom is the ability to practice how you want to practice.
Even within your chosen sector of the pharmacist workforce there are many different styles of practice. Finding that right employment opportunity that allows you to practice how you would like to practice is an essential element of job satisfaction.
And the fourth freedom is the ability to practice with whom you would like to practice.
Many pharmacists are stuck in positions where they are working with people that they would prefer not to work with. This could be because of their lack of dedication to craft, their overall attitude, their lack of talent, or anything that infringes on the ability to provide great service to the patient or customer.
So, do you half the four freedoms where you work?
Does your current job a resemble anything approaching your ideal job?
After over 40 years practicing pharmacy I’ve learned a lot about employee employer relationships. Several times in my career I have had my job sold out from under me. In other cases, I was able to practice and experience a phenomenally exhilarating work environment.
Here is what I’ve learned.
There are three things that make an employee become a productive, engaged, valuable member of the work team.
1. They feel that the job they are doing is important and needs to be done.
2. They feel that they are good at their job and allowed to do it correctly.
3. They feel like the company appreciates the time and effort they put in to their work.
So, do you feel like you’re a valuable member of the team at work? If not, maybe it’s time to consider making a change. Life is too darn short to not love what you do every day.
