The hope of healthcare, Part 7 – Skills that increase in value and skills that decrease in value

When I was kid, I would go to my grandmother’s house where she had a small box of toys which my dad and his siblings would play with as kids. One of the toys in that box was a wind-up car. If you are an antiques hunter, that old toy car may be of interest to you. However, if you were five-year-old me, you would have had limited interest in that toy car because it lacked the beauty and sophistication of the Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars I played with on the kitchen floor in those days. 

There is an important lesson we can take from these toy cars. The reality is some things increase in value over time while others things do the opposite. To an antiques collector, my dad’s old toys might have tremendous value, while to a child, the value of those old toys might be quite low, especially in comparison to other toys available in the marketplace.

How does this connect with pharmacists being the hope of healthcare? The answer can be found in our skills. 

We all have skills, and not only do we have skills, we have certain kinds of skills. Not all skills are created equal. Some skills will increase in value over time, while other skills will decrease in value over time. Having the appropriate understanding and perspective of these skills will serve us well.

There are certain skills we were trained in that have minimal value today for one reason or another. I will take it a step further and say that you and I were likely tested on some of these skills as a major part of our education. For example, we know some drugs must have the dosage adjusted based on kidney function. Today, we have tools available which can calculate kidney function for use to ensure the patient receives the most appropriate dose. 

The reality is that technical skills decrease in value over time. 

As an intern, a big portion of my training was on the technical preparation of a prescription. There were some prescriptions that you and I could (figuratively) prepare in our sleep! And over time, those skills lose value. They lose value because more effective treatments become available. They lose value because technology advances. 

It is really quite amazing. People will camp out for days to be able to be among the first to get a new smartphone. Fast forward a couple of years, and while you may have some fond memories, you would not even think about waiting in line for this product! 

But there are other skills which increase in value dramatically. And for those that really work on developing those skills, they may even increase in value exponentially! Those skills are interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills increase in value greatly.

Think of all of the wonderful things you have learned since you graduated. You may have picked up some technical skills that will (or did) serve you well for a while, but you likely also have a wealth of interpersonal skills that you have picked up during the same time that continue to pay dividends to this day. 

So here is my question: to what extent do you seek to improve your interpersonal skills? 

The overwhelming majority of pharmacists I have engaged with have no specific plan to improve their interpersonal skills. None. They may pick some things up by being in the right place at the right time. But what if you aren't? How will you improve?

If pharmacists are to be the hope of healthcare, we need to show up, show out and show off our most valuable skills. 

Let's change gears slightly and move our focus from toy cars to real cars. If you were to go out and buy a new car today, what do you expect to happen to the value of that car over the next several months? You would expect it to decrease, wouldn't you? Why is that? Maybe partly due to the wear and tear on the car, but it can also be that newer cars have better, more attractive, more efficient features. 

Stay tuned next week to learn more....

Until next time

Jesse McCullough, PharmD

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