It's Not All Bad

I am a big fan of ownership. No one is entitled to anything in this world and everyone is responsible for his or her own actions. Most of my posts have to deal with ownership. I hold my techs and pharmacists accountable for ownership on their part. Patients and all people should be held accountable too.
This is why I am happy when people "bother" me with questions about their healthcare. We all know the people and we all know how the conversation starts: "I hate to bother you because I know you're really busy, but..." While it's many times a trifling matter my techs could handle, I like these opening statements. It usually arises when someone has questions about their medication, insurance, interactions, or a recommendation.

I like when people notice their pills may look different. I like when they call to question it. There may be notes on the bottle or bag or someone else may have picked them up for these patients and not relayed the message but they noticed.
I like when they find old bottles and want to remember why they were originally prescribed this medication. They want to know if they still need it or if it can be tossed.
I like when they get new insurance and ask if we need it before they come to see us. I like when they ask if they can bring it by so we have it for next month when their refills are due.
I like when people remember theirs is a special order item; or there was an issue filling it last time and they call a few days early to give us time.
I like when people call their insurance to ask for a special override (vacation, moving, lost) then call us and tell us it's been approved and if we call the insurance, they'll give us the override.
I like when people ask us for recommendations: OTC's, vitamins, supplements. I like when they say we're accessible and their doctor is not.
I like when they say they trust us more than they trust their doctor.
I like it because it reminds me why I went to pharmacy school in the first place. It reminds me that, despite all the bad aspects of dealing with "the public", we are still dealing with human beings. While it takes a lot of these interactions to counter the negatives of our day, it is these that are the most rewarding.