Reinforcement

My brother Nathan Taylor works with inner city youth. I applaud him for his work, and I also remind him of how ambitious of a task he is taking on. He normally responds that if he can change the life of one kid, that kid can change the life of another. By day Nathan works on pension plans, by night he spends time with young men at a juvenile rehabilitation center.

I'm proud of him for the work he does. He's investing in the lives of others, hoping and praying that he can gain a positive return. His reward is not money, but seeing young men develop and become productive people that can take care of their families and be of benefit to the community.

Which brings me to the concept of  reinforcement. The first time I remember hearing this term was in high school. In this high school course, we covered a mix of topics in sociology and psychology. Then in college, I had a semester of psychology and I was reminded of one of my favorite topics. Pavlov's dog! Dr. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian  physiologist that conducted groundbreaking research on the conditional reflex. Pavlov won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 1904.

A quick summary of one of Dr. Pavlov's experiment is as follows:
1) Observation: Dog's salivate before being fed
2) Experiment: Pavlov rings a bell, then serves the dog food
3) Result: Dog begins to salivate upon hearing bell ring
4) Conclusion: The dog has been conditioned to understand that a ringing bell leads to food

All seems very simple, but my summary doesn't do Dr. Pavlov's work justice.

Dr. Pavlov's was a master of physiology. However, these same basic principles can be used to describe our own human nature and general principles of sociology.

My mother is a social worker. I asked her the other night, how she feels about the concept of reinforcement. I asked her, in her career has she seen the impact of children receiving positive reinforcement versus children receiving negative reinforcement? She looked at me, and succinctly said YES! It all seemed so simple to me, but I wondered out loud, does our youth receive enough structure with positive reinforcement?

Sadly, when you consider all things, our society glorifies negativity and negative reinforcement. Its demonstrated when you watch television, read the newspaper, and look at the actions of people around us. Instead of killing people with kindness, we often see how people will just kill others with rudeness. This negativity however is rewarded when the person that is rude gets their way, while the person that is kind is walked over.

Positive reinforcement too me isn't making sure all the kids on the little league baseball team get a medal or a plaque at the end of the year. Its making sure to tell our youth good job when you graduate from high school. Or I'm proud of you for working hard and saving up money this summer to buy your books this fall for college. Reward the youth when they do the right thing, when they say the right thing, dress the right way, and treat others the way they want to be treated.

My brother Nathan is doing his part. I'm writing about his work, and thinking about how I need to do my part. We can all chip in, because I'm pretty sure Nathan can't do it by himself.

-SAB

Set into motion...

We never really think about the small details in our life. But usually it's the small details that add up to the big picture. Life is very puzzling, and yet the only way to solve our puzzling lives is to try to bring each minor piece of the puzzle together. As we fit each piece together the picture becomes somewhat more clear. But, this only happens piece by piece by piece.

As I reflect on my own life its interesting to sit down and think about the people that have come into my life, stayed in my life, or eventually left my life. Each person had their on impact. It could have been a simple smile, it could have been a hug, or it could have led to a long lasting friendship. Either way, God set these events into motion to compose my story.

Ask yourself, how did I end up here? How did I end up where I am today? 

A few days ago, about six classmates and myself had lunch with the Dean of the pharmacy school that I attend.  I grabbed a few slices of pizza and a bottle of water and sat down at a large conference table. Everyone really didn't know what to say, so there wasn't much chit chat. An awkward silence was felt in the room as each person looked around and waited for the Dean to speak. He eventually spoke and he said, "I would like each one of you to introduce yourselves and tell us briefly how you ended up at Samford for pharmacy school?"

I figured after four years of being in school that this question could be answered quickly. As each person spoke, it was interesting to hear how God set their lives into motion to choose a career in pharmacy. The more that each individual spoke, the more that I realized that my story wasn't that simple either. In our daily communications with people, we commonly give people the two minute summary of how we ended up somewhere. As the years pass, the story gets shorter and shorter. So, if someone were to ask me how I ended up in pharmacy school, I feel that I could give them a complete answer in 10 seconds. So... it was finally my turn to tell my story. To be honest, I had gotten so use to telling people the 10 second version, that after hearing my peers tell each of their stories I almost felt like I had to hold back tears before I could begin telling my own. In a matter of minutes, a flood of repressed emotions hit me all at once.

Reflect...

I thought about all the people that had come into my life. People that I loved, people that I disliked, people that had passed away, people that looked up to me, and even the people that didn't think I was worth the effort to invest in. People that offered me words of encouragement and even the people that told me I would never be good enough.

As I began my reflection before I spoke, I thought about how I needed every person. I needed the people that were good for my life, and even the people that weren't so good for my life. I needed the good times, and I needed the bad times. I needed to succeed, and I needed to fail. All of those events led to this day, a day that I could sit before my peers at that conference table and briefly explain how my story had been set into motion.

Whats your Impact? 

The impact that we have on the lives of people around us is so great. I work with medications each day, and while I very much believe in the need for medication therapy. I also am a big believer that we are built to interact with one another face to face, and also that we're built to gain satisfaction through belief in a higher power. Our physical lives, spiritual lives, and emotional lives must be in symmetry to truly attain balance.

While medicine is a powerful antidote for our physical and emotional concerns. The best medicine I believe is found through having confidence that a higher power has our lives set into motion for a destination. Even more profound than that, is the importance in pouring our lives into serving others. Human interactions and building solid relationships with others must be done to create opportunities to be a servant. Serving others to me, means that we use the gifts that God has given us to not only better our lives, but that we use these talents to also better the lives of others.

 God set each of our lives into motion. We have each been given talents. If we bury our talents, nothing multiples. Individually we will not grow, and our impact on others is minimized. However, by setting forth on often unknown voyages, we put our talents into position to be of use to glorify the Creator of all things. Individual glory dies like a flame in a wind, but an investment into the lives of others can blaze an eternal flame that is reflected in having all the pieces of the puzzle come together.

The story has been written, but we all have to do our part..

Now its time for you to play your piece of the puzzle. Because I'm pretty sure everything has been set into motion.

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is a big part of my life. I'll graduate in May of this year and as the day gets closer, I have begun shifting my attention to how life will feel practicing as a pharmacist day in and day out. What's most interesting to me about my profession is how little the public actually knows about what I do on a daily basis. In many ways, pharmacy is sort of a secret society. You get hazed for four years, graduate, and then keep your mouth shut to ensure that you receive your check biweekly. And what has become more interesting as time has passed is trying to explain to family, friends, and even my patients as to what services pharmacist offer. 

So tonight, I will give my family and friends that have no association with pharmacy an education as to what I have studied for four years. Which as a side note apparently will cost you a house note upon graduation. If you're one of those young people thinking about taking up pharmacy as a career path, maybe this will be informative. 

After completing two to three years of undergraduate work, you can apply to a pharmacy program which then takes four years to complete. 

Calculations-a course designed to introduce pharmacy students to the basic math concepts seen in everyday community or hospital practice. Some of the things you will learn to calculate are total parental nutrition for patients that don't have gut motility or can't eat. Or how to calculate IV infusion rates and when its appropriate to use different formulations of normal saline, dextrose, etc. For the community pharmacist, how to calculate appropriate days supply or how to appropriately compound a suspension, solution, or cream.

Pathophysiology-I think the course name speaks for itself. Its the study of human physiology. For instance, diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels raise in the body. Insulin is produced by the pancreas and brings the blood glucose levels at a normal range of 70-110. Patho means disease in latin, while pathology is the study of disease. Thus this course describes how you will study what occurs in a healthy body, and what occurs in the disease state. 

Medical Biochemistry-To be brief, biochemistry is the combination of biology and organic chemistry. 

Pharmaceutical Dosage Form-The study of dosage forms and how different dosage forms are appropriate for disease states. The easiest example off the top of my head is rather than a woman taking a daily dose of a birth control pill, she can choose to receive Depo Provera(medroxyprogesterone). A shot that once injected into the muscle releases slowly over a 3 month period. 

Sterile Products-A class dedicated to understanding the process of compounding IV formulation, total parental nutrition, etc. under USP797. USP797 dictates that for patient safety a sterile environment must be maintained so that the drug product does not introduce pathogen into the body. 

Infectious Disease-The study of bacterial, fungal, protozoa, and viral infections that affect the human body. With each disease a review of treatment guidelines takes place. 

Medicinal Chemistry-The study of chemical drug structures and how each class of drug has its own uniform appearance. What you find is that the only difference between many drugs within the same class are a few functional groups.  

Pharmacology-The study of pharmaceutical drugs. Damn, theres alot of drugs. Ha!

There is three years of classroom work, with one year of rotations. Rotations are just a word that describes that you attend a different site each month. One month you could be at a hospital and the next month you could be at a community pharmacy. 

So with all that being said the degree a person is rewarded is a Doctor of Pharmacy and you're able to practice only after completing the NAPLEX and State Law exam. 

So, I've set the stage for how much education it takes to get the degree. In some regard I've discussed how much it costs, you can take an estimate. So with all this education, what do I do? Well... In some regards, even I have difficulty quantifying what I do everyday. 

A brief job description could include: patient medication review of potential drug duplication and drug interactions, knowing your product in regards to shape, color, liquid, tablet, injection and how it should be appropriately administered, patient consultation for drug products, financial billing of drug products, ensure that pharmacy law in regards to federal and state is being followed, provide drug information to patients and the healthcare team, administer vaccinations, and of course ensure patient safety. 

With all this being said with all the education that nurses, physicians, physical therapists, and pharmacists have to undertake to even practice. I feel as though there is a level of decay in the amount of respect that people show healthcare providers. And although I've learned that its just part of the business, it is very frustrating. 

Education is a privilege. The easiest thing for a person to do is to not share the knowledge, while the hardest thing for a person to do is to take the time to explain how a process works. When I consider what frustrates me in the business of pharmacy, it only takes a split second for me to realize that my profession is no different than that of a teacher, lawyer, police officer, and the list goes on. From the least paid to the most paid, I find it interesting that people don't take the time to understand what the people around us do for a living. 

I think its natural for people to get so wrapped up in their own lives that they don't take the time to educate themselves on the world around them. Funny thing though, is that you truly don't grasp why you do what you do, until you sit down and realize why other people do what they do. Does that make sense? Think of it like this. For someone to have a true appreciation of how my brain processes information and how I formulate perceptions and conclusions, I must first take the time to understand another person's process.

So, do we take the time to understand each other? Or are our lives moving so fast, that we only get fixated on our process, our desires, and our needs? So the next time a person wants their prescription filled as if it is a big mac with a large fry, or a high school teacher gets cursed out by a student because the student doesn't want to turn in homework, or a police officer gets spit on just because they're a cop... It makes you wonder, are we becoming a nation that doesn't take the time to understand one another. Maybe a brief description of what I do everyday for a living will help you understand me. 

Long time..

So its been awhile. I went without internet for a few months because Charter was ripping me a new one. I have some AT&T UVERSE now, it has a better picture, better service, and 60 bucks a month. Point I'm trying to make is don't use Charter.

While we're discussing being used.

Don't you hate these rappers that are always talking about I'm sorry I went to jail for a year, but now I'm back...

Buy my album!? Clear my throat... Double AHEMS...

Lil Wayne & TI! This is your official public service announcement. Going to jail and then writing a CD about how the MAN is against you, then selling millions of CDs, that was based off of the man being against you is straight lunacy.

Stop it rappers, stop making me feel like your lyrics are so great that I had nothing else to do in the past year since you decided to go to jail to boost your public relations campaign. I mean, now we have Lil Wayne coming out with a book of his diary entries from his jail cell.

Rappers making money on going to jail....

Pause..Contemplate.. What curse words come to mind. COME ON MANNNNNNNNNNNN!

Now that we have that out the way, what shall we discuss? In my Alex Trebek voice... Politics, love, music, television....

For 100 points Alex, I'll take love. Okay, love is the best four letter word I know. When I think of love, I think people automatically expect me to begin the discussion of love between a man and a woman. But, if you were expecting that, guess what? My blogs don't last three pages son!

Valentine's day is coming up, and people are always thinking about what they're gonna buy their significant other for that special day. But... I had a discussion with a man by the name of Matthew Fanaei that reminds me to to remember the the big picture.  

AND SO THE STORY GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

See, it was a Saturday evening and I was just minding my business, I was hanging out with my girl as she's trying to prepare for the Red Dress Event..An event that raises money for the American Heart Association. Make sure you come FEB 10  9-3PM at the MLOUNGE, cheap plug!

Well as she begins walking the building with one of her classmates checking for where different decorations were going to be placed, I stood there and began talking to Mr. Fanaei.

Mr. Fanaei was born in IRAN and migrated to the states in 1978. His family well to do, he wanted to attend college in America. Then THE SHAH happened! To make a long story short, google THE SHAH of IRAN and you will read interesting articles about American Hostages in IRAN, etc.

This IRANIAN revolution greatly affected how IRANIANs were perceived back in America. Mr. Fanaei talked about how difficult it was for him in Alabama, but he never resented the ignorant stares and taunts that he received.

As he stated to me, "people just didn't know any better."

He's a man that went on to own over 50,000 square feet in downtown Birmingham.


MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS, MONEY, SUCCESS!!!!!

AND THEN...He told me that his daughter was the UAB student gunned down in the parking lot a few blocks away from UAB back in 2007.

He was a man that had alot to say in the short time that I spoke with him.

He was a man that stated, "I have all the earthly possessions, I have all the wealth...but what is money without family?!"


A MAN thats had the highest of professional highs, and the lowest of personal lows... 

Mr. Fanaei is a very smart man. He's made lots of money, he's overcome major odds against him in being successful in America during a very difficult period of transition in world politics.

And sadly, he's even dealt with the death of a  beautiful daughter. Who was gunned down because her perpetrators wanted a nice car.

My point of the night, is that we think about Valentine's day as if it's only a representation of love and romance between a couple.

Well, after talking to Mr. Fanaei I felt like writing a blog about reminding you and myself that we shouldn't glorify these generic calendar dates.

WHY?

Because everyday in my opinion should be a good day to take the time to tell the people around you that you love them.

Never take those around you for granted. 

With that being said...

I love you guys.

Battery Packed

So this month, I have a rotation at Shelby Baptist Hospital. I'm working with one of my professors from Samford and another student. We're learning alot, doing total parental nutrition checks, vancomycin and aminoglycoside dosing...and blah blah blah blah blah.. Yea, I won't bore you with all the details for fear of putting you to sleep.

Its been awhile since I posted anything, mainly because I've had nothing to write about. Life is moving by at warp speed and time is not stopping for anyone. The rotation that I'm on is known as an adult medicine rotation, thus I see a little bit of everything everyday. I also keep long hours to keep up with the pace of how much we're learning. Usually I'm at the hospital around 5am and I'll leave around 4pm.

So, I'm sitting at dinner with my girlfriend the other night, its around 9PM and I start to tell her how I've been awake since 4am. We're talking, we're talking...And then I pause. I look at her and say, "what are we powered by?" She says, "What do you mean?" Then, I proceed to state, "Well, have you ever realized that we're creatures that function without battery, electricity, water energy, wind energy, and don't forget nuclear energy!" She looks at me and says, "Sam...are you delusional?"

I've told this brief story I guess to prove a point. I'm calling it my battery pack theory as to explain the mystery of God. So often we forget about his existence. But in my long days of being on rotation, without much sleep and waking up at the crack of dawn, and sometimes hopping in the car and then working another four or five hour shift at Walgreens, I started to ask myself one thing over and over. Where do I receive my energy? Who gives me my strength?

I take God for granted everyday. But who amongst us doesn't take God for granted and life for granted? Think about it. We don't walk around with energizer battery packs strapped to our bodies, and you don't have to plug yourself up to an outlet at night to recharge. Its really crazy to think about it like that, but on a delusional night and not much sleep, it made perfect sense.