Muscle Memory in Pharmacy

When you do something long enough, the work becomes a rhythm. Regardless of pharmacy niche, we all fall into patterns. Regardless of whether the project is new, the WAY we do our jobs may be repetitive. Once we find the most efficient way to an outcome, we train our brains to use and reuse these patterns.

In my life, I may repeat the following behaviors:

· The type of questions I ask patients

· The way I put together slides

· How I use PubMed

· The type of interview questions I ask

· The way I drive to and from work

· How I answer emails

When new people enter our worlds, we get to observe THEIR behavior. A student on our rotation. A new employee at work. A ride-share driver’s route. A co-presenter creating their slides.

When we’re “forced” to look at things from a new perspective, we usually learn something from it.

Our muscle memory in pharmacy has served us well, but what would it look like to voluntarily try a new way of doing things? It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be simple. A new way of asking the same question. A different assignment for your trainees. A new way to give a quiz.

Let us know how it goes in the comments below!

Until next week,

Brooke