Wednesday, May 21, 2008
What if I could do more than just stand behind a dispensing counter dispensing and dispensing medication for the rest of my life? what if i could go beyond the walls of working in a hospital? what if working in a pharmaceutical company could mean more than just making money and more money?
You know that feeling when something is bugging you and it won't go away? well as odd as it may seem, this is exactly what has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks.
A thought just randomly popped into my head one day...and it's probably a result of me always thinking more than i have to. Why is it that Australia and in particular..melbourne and sydney..have soooo many pharmacists that it is pretty much impossible to open up a new pharmacy because the states are so saturated, when there are third world countries out there that have completely NO access to medication what so ever? Why is it that medication in Australia is so acessible for the majority of the population when in other places...medication is non exisistant...not to mention pharmacies? Why is it that when we contract the flu or catch a minor infection it can be treated straight away when other ppl across the world are dying from diseases that could have easily been treated in the early stages?
Having been on short term mission trips before and having seen make shift medical clinincs being run it doesn't take long befre you realise that medication will not help the majority of these people because the diseases have progressed to such a stage that medication..espescially a weeks supply..or even a month's supply of medication ain't going to help one bit. Sure, it's a great tool to use to open the door for evangelism but what if we could do MORE? If there was an on going supply of drugs to these regions, the story for so many of the patients we see could be sooo different.
So what is my point? My point is, what if I could look at international public health from a pharmacists point of view? It all seems like such a great idea in words. Just supply a third world region with on going supply of medication and all your problems will be fixed. Unfortunately..it's not so simple. Firstly, the cost of medications is a lot more than you may think. Australia spends literally billions on medication every year but none of us ever realise it because medications we buy are mostly subsidised heaps by the governement. So where would you get the money from to supply other parts of the world? Secondly...you can't just supply one small village and not supply the surrounding areas and for that matter..the rest of the country. On top of that..there are governements to deal with, pharmaceutical companies to deal with and of course you need medical clinics and medical staff in those remote areas as well. It seems like there are so many hurdles you would have to face.
I could go on forever but for some reason...I'm beginning to realise that my studies and future profession and more importanly, my relationship with God..may just lead me somewhere in life i may not have expected. It's almost frustrating only being in first year though and it's frustrating that i'm sitting here typing out mere thoughts when really...right now...i want to be in africa, i want to be in china, i want to be in south america...i want to be in south east asia. I have a feeling though...with churches behind you, a degree in hand and with the work of the Holy Spirit who can make the impossible possible, what is my dream now may one day become reality
posted @ 5:11 AM
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