Pharmacy School Interview Answer to a Scenario - Ethical Sources of Funding

In this scenario, I’m the CEO of a financially struggling chain of pharmacies, and a representative from a famous fast food company has approached me with an offer to set up one of their restaurants inside my stores, which will help alleviate our financial struggles. Here, I am concerned about the future of my business, but the overall well-being of our patients and upholding the values of the medical profession are my top priorities.

The first thing I would do is thank the representative for approaching me with this offer, and let them know that I will need some time to think over their proposal. There is no need for me to make a decision on the spot, and – actually – though I’m the CEO, I would need to take this proposal to my Board of Directors prior to taking any action. In any case, there are several things that I need to bear in mind before moving forward and making a decision, so I would need to gather as much information as possible before speaking to the Board.

First, I need to know as much as possible about this fast food chain. Is this a company that offers only food that is high in fat, calories, salt, sugar, and other things that do not align with health and wellbeing? If so, this would be a problem. As part of the healthcare industry, my primary concern must be the health of patients. It would be a violation of the principles we stand for to bring something so unhealthy into a space where health is meant to be the top priority. We know that such fast foods contribute to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions that cause a lot of suffering. We do not want to appear as though we support such an industry by having them set up shop in our pharmacies.

That said, the idea of food options in the pharmacy isn’t an inherently bad one, so long as the health and well-being of our patients is the priority. Certainly, there are some medications that must be taken with food, and so patients could grab something to eat at the same time as they are picking up their prescriptions. Or, if we are very busy and there will be a long wait time for their prescriptions to be ready, they can have some food or beverages to pass the time as they wait. So, if the fast food company were one that offered genuinely healthy options – such as a smoothie kiosk, a place that offers genuinely nutritious salads or sandwiches, or something similar – then there wouldn’t necessarily be any conflict. While we usually associate fast food with unhealthy food, there are a number of businesses that exist today which don’t follow the high fat, salt, sugar, calorie model of more traditional fast food restaurants. Indeed, having healthy choices available exclusively could have a positive impact; perhaps patients would choose to purchase something there (since it’s readily available and convenient), rather than making an additional stop somewhere with fewer or no healthy options.

As I’m doing this investigation, I would also want to look into our finances, to see if we’ve already made all the reasonable cuts that we can make, while still running our business effectively. For example, have we gone paperless yet? That can save a good deal of money in the long run. Are there utilities we can cut down, such as putting back rooms on a sensor, or using energy efficient lighting and appliances? Finally, are there any resources we could potentially access as a struggling business in the field of medicine, such as grants or business loans? I would want to consult with the Board of Directors about all of this, assigning groups to look into each of these types of options and brainstorming their own possible contributions to this larger plan. As part of this, I would also ask them to contribute their opinions regarding the proposal from the fast food company.

So, if it turned out that this was a company that offered only healthy fast food options, as long as it was agreed upon by my Board of Directors, I would consider taking the offer. This would help us continue serving our patients, while also making healthy food choices accessible to them, thus advancing the ideals of healthcare providers. If, however, it was a more traditional and unhealthy fast food company, I would have to decline the offer on principle. It would be hypocritical to advocate healthy, positive choices on one side of our stores, while making very unhealthy options available on the other side.

That said, this proposal would give me the idea of approaching some of those healthy fast food chains, to see if they might want to partner similarly. As well, it would give us the opportunity to really reflect on our finances to see if there are additional cuts that we can make. We are clearly in a dire situation, and we cannot help patients if we go out of business or cut our staff down so much that we are unable to meet patients’ needs. So, I would collaborate with the members of our Board to think through some potential cost-cutting measures, while also looking into grants, loans, refinancing, or other ways to improve our financial situation.

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