How a child perceives and understands illness depends greatly on their developmental age. Kids change remarkably through ages and stages, and it is extremely helpful for parents to recognize and understand the differences. I hope that by breaking down the stages below, I provide a little bit of insight to parents as to what children are actually capable of doing and understanding at these points of development. Hopefully parents can use this information as a guideline to structure age-appropriate conversations and efforts when dealing with their sick children.

Advancing technology has really improved our efficiency and ability to do a pharmacist’s job, but unfortunately it overshadows a significant portion of the job which has traditionally been patient contact and care. In pharmacy school, we are trained in patient counseling, but today’s patients simply click “decline patient counseling” as a quick step in the check out process. Technology is wonderful in that it helps eliminate many of the tedious steps that infringe on our time as pharmacists. Theoretically, the more technology we have at the pharmacy, the more time we should have to spare to speak directly with our customers and build lasting relationships. Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case.

Understanding seasonal allergies is fundamental to effective allergy management. The more you understand the what, why, when, and where associated with seasonal allergies, the better you can counsel and educate parents and children about ways to help reduce allergy symptoms. The ALLERGY acrostic below is designed to highlight the important things you should know and remember about allergies, as you counsel and support your young customers and their families.

As a pharmacist and a mom, I understand the difficulty and the stress related to medication-time for children and parents from behind the counter, as well as in front of the counter. This dual perspective encourages me to empathize more with sick children and better understand and support frustrated parents.

Medication adherence is a multifaceted subject, and recognizing that gender may influence a patient’s level of adherence is frequently overlooked. According to an article, “Medication Adherence: Are Women Worse than Men at Taking Their Meds?" understanding how gender impacts a patients’ understanding of their health condition and the relative importance of taking their medication could help explain the gender gap related to medication adherence and help health care providers address barriers and develop patient education tools more appropriately.