An Interesting Malaysian Pharmacy Issue

Below here is a post I found in a person's blog. He posted this three years ago and it is really funny that this chap here didn't really know anything about pharmacist but acted like he knew it.


The Blog title is WHY I DISLIKE MALE PHARMACIST IN MALAYSIA
Who is the president of United States?
George Bush. It’s so easy, right?
Who was the president of China?
Hu Jintao. it’s simple, right?
Who is the richest guy in the world?
Bill Gates. it’s commonly known, right?

Now, let me ask you,
Who is the vice president of United States?
Who is the vice president of China?
Who is the second richest guy in the world?

How many of us, can answer the first question?
Maybe 70% people can come out with the name “Richard Cheney“
How about the second and third question?
How many can answer?
Not much. Really Not much.

Why we can simply remember George Bush, Bill Gates and Hu Jintao? However, most of the people find it reasonably hard, to come out with the names of people that ALMOST play the same roles like Bush, Gates, and Hu?

Is it because those people are insignificant?
No. They are also great people.
They also play important roles that determine the well being of billions of lives.
Then, why they are not remembered?
The harsh fact is that, people tend to recognize the top and the first only.
If you are a guy, and you want to do extremely well in life, you need to be the FIRST, not second, nor third.


Back to the topic, Why I dislike male pharmacist in Malaysia?
More accurately, I dislike non-entrepreneurial male pharmacist in Malaysia.
“Non-entrepreneurial” means the nature of “not having/planning to have” his own business.

“Male” is regarded to your gender.

“Pharmacist” is regarded to those highly-trained and skilled healthcare professionals who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients.

The reason I am going to tell, will make some people have uneasy feeling. You can leave anytime, if you feel offended by my extremist’s crap below.

The whole argument below, is excluding ALL entrepreneurial pharmacist. They who run pharmaceutical business are not counted as pharmacist in my term. I call them businessmen with privileged knowledge, which set up the barrier to entry for pharmaceutical business. I have pharmacist friends earning 5 figures monthly. I respect and envy them very much, they are my role model that inspire me to do well in my life.

With all due respect, non-entrepreneurial male pharmacists in Malaysia are just some powerless and cocky professionals. Yes, I have heard about the future, the separation of consulting and dispensary in medical field. This is great for overseas developed countries. I respect those overseas pharmacists very very much. They are true drugs experts with dignity and power.

It was two months ago, my girl friend, Amanda had an ear infection. It was a very common disease to her, she had been having that throughout her childhood. So, we went into a pharmacy called “Caring” for some pills she used to take. And the pharmacist inside, as usual, asked her some questions.

Amanda had sought for a doctor last time, she had the exact name of the pills for her disease. She told the pharmacist, but the pharmacist resisted to give her the pills. Amanda made it very clear that the symptoms are completely the same, but the pharmacist said that she could only get Panadol. Furthermore, the pharmacist asked Amanda to go for a doctor.


How many years are required to obtain a pharmacy degree?
4 years to 4.5 years in campus.
How many years are required to obtain a medicine degree?
5 years in campus.(excluding off-campus practice)

So you are telling me that,
the 4.5 years guy gives me Panadol?
And, the 5 years guy gives me everything?
The 4.5 years guy can only help me kill my pain temporarily;
And the 5 years guy can save my life?
The 4.5 years guy will scare and worry about their legal liabilities of dispensing wrong drugs, even the patient insists the symptoms are the same.
However, the 5 years guy will take up all the responsibilities and do what it takes to cure?

I’m not a medicine student, but I seriously feel that a pharmacist in Malaysia deserves more. If a pharmacist is just an individual that reads the piece of paper, written by doctor, with that particular drug name which the patient needs, we don’t need you to stay in university for 4 years. We just need an individual that can read English.

You are educated for 4 years, to make judgement and make money, not keep avoiding and worrying about breaking the chain of causation, for any medical law suit. If I tell you what I need, and you don’t dare to give me, then what makes you different from a coward that just make money?
If you just want to make money, why don’t you run your own pharmaceutical business, then I’ll respect you like a businessman with privileged knowledge.
If you don’t, then make your judgement. Don’t avoid.

You will argue that, you have studied so hard, to understand the medicine, in order to explain the ingredients and effects to the patients. For all the purposes I mentioned, I figured out that all of them are being done by doctors in Malaysia.
You will argue again, saying that you are in charge of healthcare. Frankly, I will definitely turn to a doctor for consultation, if I’m going to take any vitamins for a long period. Yes, seeking for doctor’s consultation for once, is going to cost more compared to seeking for a pharmacist, but we are talking about things that we put into our mouth daily, I will never want to risk that.

The naked truth is that, pharmacist in Malaysia is Jack of all trades, expert of none.
Your job is just a derivative in medical field.
Your job is just a job to lighten doctor’s burden.
Your job is completely replaceable by a doctor.
You are just another vice president of United States,
You are just another vice president of China,
You are just another second richest guy in the world,
whom nobody bothers to remember you.
You have chosen to be the second,
And it is a sad fact that, regardless of effort and talent, second place only means you are the first in a long line of losers.
You have chosen to dispense Panadol,
Instead of sending cured-patient out of clinic’s door.
You didn’t choose to be a boy, but you have made the choice of not being a man.
You have chosen to lead a life under others’ shadow,
and there you go,
You have chosen to be a male pharmacist in Malaysia.

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This blog has been found funny by many readers and they shared with many of their friends.
So do I.

Here is an example of a comment posted there:-
ah.. jason liew, i just stumbled across whatever you wrote here by mistake by i find it very entertaining. i think you and your poor girlfriend do not understand what a pharmacist can dispense without a prescription, let me enlighten you about it so you don’t waste your time asking for oral antibiotics next time around and get all angry and start criticizing the poor pharmacists.
as a golden rule, pharmacists ALL AROUND THE WORLD, I repeat, all around the world and not just in ‘caring’ or malaysia are not allowed to dispense these without a prescription:
-oral antibiotics-antidepressants-barbiturates-cancer drugs-potent painkillers-diabetic med-med related to the cardio system
i admit, when your girlfriend had the infection, the pharmacist could have suggested topical antibiotics (as in ear drops)for her if her infection had been mild. otherwise,he did the right thing by sending her off to the doc. you know why? your girlfriend may have known thr name on the antibiotic pills but does she know the side effects and pharmacokinetics of the drug? bet she doesn’t unless i am very much mistaken.
why the pharmacist refused to give her the damned pills?number one, he is following the ethics.
number two , he can’t just dispense antibiotics as the patient likes because of resistance. know what i mean?the infection was caused by a microorganism, if she keeps taking the same antibiotics as she likes because she thinks she can cure herselfor does not finish the course, the microorganism can get ‘ used’ to the antibiotic and it won’t work as well anymore. you say she frequently has the same symptoms? think again, she might already be tolerant or resistant to the antibiotic because of frequent use of the drug and thus, the microbes keep recurring.
number two, antibiotics can damage the liver,kidneys (through which they are metabolized and eliminated) and some even pass through your brain and damage it. that’s why they don’t dispense antibiotics as they wish because patients think they are smart and use antibiotics as they wish for colds etc and poof! you might end up with kidney failure, get it? especially with repeated use and in doses larger than prescribed by the doctor.
number three, patients may lie to the pharmacist about their condition and sell the antibiotics to others. do you know the danger of this? the other people taking antibiotics without the doctor’s prescription may not know they have allergy and they can collapse,have kidney failure, low blood pressure and end up unconscious with brain damage(don’t think that allergy only comes as rash, redness, itching and swelling).
number four, there are several types of antibiotics depending on the spectrum. what’s a spectrum? it refers to the coverage of microbes. some antibiotics can only kill gram positive bacteria, some kill only gram negative bacteria. broad spectrum ones kill both. does your girlfriend know whether the ones she thinks she knows very well are broad spectrum? if she’s taking a broad spectrum antibiotic and is curcing the pharmacist for giving her the pills, then she is being unreasonable. do you know that pharmacists are not allowed to dispense antibiotics as they wish because they can kill the useful bacteria in your body like the ones in the intestines? the useful bacteria protect the body from dangerous infections. you use the antibiotics as you like, you kill the friendly bacteria and you can end up with dangerous infections . otherwise, the friendly bacteria can mutate and cause superinfections.
number five to why pharmacists don’t prescribe antibiotics as the patients wish. patients like to use it for colds (caused by a virus) and they are simply putting themselves at risk of side effects.(tetracycline causes permanent staining of the teeth if you didn’t know and as mentioned, kidney,liver and brain toxicity)
are you clear now why oral antibiotics need a prescription?? besides, a pharmacist is not allowed to treat ALL infections. Those like swimmer’s ear. fungal infections, middle and inner ear infections and those that involve hearing loss need a doctor’s advice no matter how well a patient can explain the symptoms. know why? because if one drug doesn’t work, the patient should not keep taking it for long periods. the doc needs to rediagnose and consider other drug options. not all infections are caused by bacteria, some are fungal and need antifungals. otherwise, if the patients are stubborn and insist on self medication (which is mostly hindered because pharms don’t sell antibiotics without prescriptions), they may end up deaf. but patients don’t or refuse to understand this.
***by the way, don’t think that pharmacists just read the prescriptions and pack the drugs. as they read, they detect mistakes and question whether the docs are prescribing the appropriate medication, doses and amount . don’t think that you can do this just because you read english,pal. english isn’t enough for this whatever your narrow mind may think. what would you do if a prescription said : Clarinase repetabs 3 tablets two times a day?? Since you say you only need an english expert as a pharmacist can you tell me the ingredients in clarinase, the max dose and if this prescription is overdosed??? i’ll be waiting for a reply , pal
they also ‘prepare’ the medication. you think all capsules and tabs are made by factory operators? did you know that pharmacists learn to combine the drugs and mix the together at uni? some drugs when mixed together some may just turn into liquid and how do you make a tablet then eh? the pharmacist is in charge of these probs. don’t think they are dumb because you just see the packing and labelling. they can open up capsules and mix extra ingredients as needed and perform dilutions.
do you know who dilutes and reconstitutes cough syrups, cancer drugs according to the patients age and weight? (by the way did you know most cancer drugs are unstable in water and have to be prepared with water on the spot by the pharmacist??) not the doc,the pharmacist .
who makes infusion liquids,iv nutrients, injections, suspensions,creams,ointments and emulsions like cod liver oil when you need it fresh on the spot? the pharmacist.
the doctors may be experts at anatomy and physio, stiching and diagnosing as well as know the drugs for each condition(sure they save lives, no denying).
however, the pharmacist also knows enough on phsiology and how the drug works(how else would you know how the drg affects the body?).
and who’s the expert at memorizing the side effects, half life , chemistry (yeah, chemical structures are related to how well a drug works and the side effect), toxic reaction, the solubility in fat ( fat soluble drugs remain longer in the body and increase efficacy but also prolong side effects), the dose calculation based on age, body surface and weight, how fast the drugs are eliminated and through which organ, which organ the drug penetrates into etc…who knows all this if not the pharmacist??
who knows the various generic drugs and recommends them to the docs so that the patients can pay less and still be treated as effectively? the darn pharmacist that you dislike.
are you clear about the word ‘pharmacist’ now? don’t think they are dummies in the hospital just following the docs or in the community pharmacy just gaining profit and denying you your oral antibiotics. they can also work in the industry as bosses overlooking the quality of drugs made.
oh yeah, who does research trying to invent new drugs? the pharmacist specializing in medicinal chemistry. i have no doubt docs save lives after 5 yrs of study, and i salute them for it. but remember, the docs make mistakes too when prescribing . if the pharmacist does not detect and correct the mistakes in the drug name, doses and administration route… patients die. ever heard of a certain doctor prescribing intracranial cancer drugs instead of intraspinal and causing the patient to die??
by the way. who do you think check the supply of drugs in the hospital, estimates the amount needed especially for the emergency and operation room and places the order? certainly not the doc. and who checks whether the drugs are stored as instructed at temperature xxx, room humidity xxx, away from light, in the freezer? the pharmacist, you think all drugs go on the shelves? what about vaccines, antidotes,biotech drugs?? the despised pharmacist does all these. but you don’t see all this do you? you only see them counting, packing and reading
so… in conclusion, mr jason liew… don’t go around criticizing as you like if you haven’t done your research properly. unfortunately for you, whatever you write here may backfire and emphasize the narrow-mindedness, the ignorance and mulishness of non-medical people (which i deeply regret). don’t say that a person who studied 5 yrs can save people and the ones who studied 4-4.5 years can’t. they work together and what they studied in uni may be similar in certain areas but vastly different in others. thus, they each have the specialitites. ‘curing’ is not a matter of diagnosing and giving drugs but also monitoring so that other problems do not arise from these drugs,alternting the drugs if there is no response and giving the most affordable drug to the patient, get it? oh yeh, by the way, pharmacists get promotions too you know. there’s senior pharmacist, head pharmacist and pharmacist specializing in pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, endocrinology etc…specializing in the drugs of course
who’s the coward?? a pharmacist is a coward for refusing to sell you oral antibiotics because they are afraid to outdo the doctor?? good grief, if you ever find any pharmacist selling any of the drugs i mentioned above, it is illegal and unethical because they ar dangerous. (how do you think heath ledger, daniel smith, anna nicole smith and marilyn monroe died??-misuse and overdose) so you should report those who sell them without prescriptions.
lastly, mt jason liew… no offence meant but do not write about things you don’t understand without researching the word ‘pharmacist’ first. it highlights you’re ignorance, mulishness, tactlessness and narrow-mindedness. however, i enjoyed what you wrote enormously and i showed it to my friends, some of whom are doctors and we had a great time reading it i’ll show it to others to amuse them of course. thanks for your opinion and remember, don’t waste time asking a pharmacist for oral antibiotics without a prescription. unless,the pharmacist is an illegal drugs dealer, of course.
by the way if you’d like to know… shiri is a 28 year old pharmacist way out in uk. and this reply was the teamwork of me and others… i just typed it down.




So, please enjoy reading this.