A pharmacy nightmare before Christmas!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas 2021 by Lauren Marie Sule (Inspired by the Poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore) 'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the pharmacy, Last minute prescriptions were filled with much urgency. Medications were counted by the assistants with care, Knowing the patients soon would be there. The pharmacy workload volume was high, Especially since some staff had already left and said their vacation good-byes. If our pre-Christmas rush wasn't enough, Many more people began to pile through the door, Asking for COVID home tests kits galore. The COVID tests flew from boxes like a flash; It was fortunate we had on hand a good stash. Staff were giving out forms non-stop to complete, Resulting in collection of almost a thousand sheets. As it turned out, handing out test kits was only the start, What happened next could stop any short-staffed pharmacist's heart. When what to our shock and amazement was pronounced, Third COVID doses to everyone before Christmas was announced! Online booking was then opened to meet the demand, With appointments every 10 minutes for vaccines to be administered by the pharmacist's hand. The nearby Public Immunization Center was no more, After second doses were administered, it had closed its doors. Boosters to protect against COVID before holiday gatherings was a delight, Though added an immense work load to our pharmacy's plight. Once patients began presenting at twelve thirty-one, -two, -three, -four, - five, and -six, The pharmacy team knew something was amiss. We wanted to support vaccination, but not in a manner crammed like this. When what to our wondering eyes did perceive, An error was made that scheduled appointments every 1 minute it did seem! The pharmacy quickly became turned upside down, It seemed our online portal had booked in almost all of Downtown. As people flooded the pharmacy, health-cards in hand, It was simply impossible to keep up with the demand. This deluge seemed like some kind of strange dream, The sheer number of people was truly obscene. The store and hallways were so full, patients could barely get through, As hundreds awaited their turn in the queue. We whistled and shouted and called people by name, And after over an hour of waiting, their turn finally came. Kristen, Brenda, Lauren and Neil*, This team's dedication to healthcare was truly unreal. However, three pharmacists working together non-stop, Even with their amazing assistants couldn't keep up with the clock. Aside from vaccines, all other services ground to a halt, All a result of a booking fault. If you thought matters couldn't get worse, Wait till you read the rest of this verse, The pharmacy lights went out for a few hours, and we could barely read patient charts, We literally had to give COVID shots in the dark! Turning our pharmacy into a mass vaccine center simply wasn't fair, We didn't want this rush to impact our excellent patient care. We toiled all day long with much stress and strain, Knowing eventually 5 o'clock would relieve us of our pain. Our team knew the situation must change, As I cried out "This insane schedule we must rearrange!" Three days of this madness, what a disaster. It was only with amazement could we look back on it after, As a bonding experience and Accomplishment truly spectacular, A team two or three times our size couldn't have mastered. With hundreds of patients served, no exaggeration, it's true, Our heroic team was even on Global News! What was it that got us through? Dedicated staff supporting public health, And non-stop patient gratitude. If you can believe, we were finally saved by Christmas Eve. Our holidays had arrived, a well-deserved break was nigh. Patient numbers slowed down and we said our good-byes, Locked the pharmacy doors and turned out the lights, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! *Names used with permission The response to our reader "Write to Win" contest has been incredible! Thanks to all who have submitted stories, poems and blogs. We've enjoyed reading your entries so much that we're going to leave the contest open for a few more weeks. Read about the contest and how to enter here.

A pharmacy nightmare before Christmas!

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