First Impressions

Written 10/19/09

Today I got to meet my preceptor (Julie) who seems very nice and really into having me there. We only talked for about 15 minutes but she had a pretty good plan for the next few weeks. I will be in the outpatient clinics in Pinon and Tsaile for 2 days each, im going to be in the OR on Friday, and potentially working with a nurse practitioner who does home visits. The best news was that my last day got canceled, I was supposed to be done on Wednesday the 11th before heading to SLC and then flying home for interview day. Since November 11th is veterans day the hospital is closed so I can leave even early and get to spend more time in Salt Lake City which is one of my favorite places in the world. Apparently I was supposed to be at the Tsaile (Pronounced Say-Le) today, but since I didnt have the schedule I didnt know. I went up to Tsaile as soon as I found out and had a nice relaxing day in the outpatient clinic. They are about 30 minutes from Chinle and serve a smaller population. The people out there were nice and I was able to work with a Navajo pharmacist for the first time. It was pretty cool to see him interact with the people and speak the same language while having the knowledge about pharmacy. Having a pharmacist who looks, speaks, and acts like you do as well as who understands where you are coming from really helps build the pharmacist/patient relationship. I saw similar things in Amsterdam where the Hispanic population didnt really react well to having a large white man giving them pharmacy advice. At one point I actually heard an old Puerto Rican woman call me El Diablo Grande (The Big White Devil). Being in such a small isolated community like Chinle or Tsaile they will better react to a pharmacist who is just like them than to a large white man like myself. I was actually surprised that IHS doesnt have more Native American pharmacists, but I dont know if there are many out there, or if they are willing to go to a place like Chinle. I know that I wouldnt be up for returning to Broadalbin long term just because they need a large white man as a pharmacist.
-O