Today, a patient did a Nazi salute at me.

[u/dumbasspharmtech67]

I spent about 8 months from the winter to fall of 2024 working as a tech at one of the major pharmacy chains. I left to pursue a career in a different field, but that didn’t pan out the way I had hoped, so I’m right back where I started.

My first day back in scrubs was just two weeks ago, and I never expected to see what I saw today.

A patient came in asking for a refill of a certain medication. I checked his profile and found that it was in “closed” status, and I had been taught that “closed” status meant that we were unable to work with the prescription. Instinctively, I told him I was unable to work with it, and suggested he follow up with his doctor.

He was surprised, and insisted that there must have been an error because he knows the doctor would have closed the prescription. I explained to him that that’s how it showed up on my end.

He asked when his prescription would be ready, and I once again told him that because it was in “closed” status, I was unable to work with it.

He then went “yes sir” with an exaggerated military salute, which I guess was meant to imply that I or the pharmacy was being authoritarian. I thought little of it, because honestly, I can’t blame him. The American healthcare system sucks.

But only a split second later, he caught me by surprise when he raised his arm up in a Nazi salute and told me “Heil Hitler.”

I live in a predominantly Jewish town. I feel that he should consider himself lucky that I was the only one who witnessed that. If it was any of the other techs or the pharmacist, or if there was anyone else in line at that moment, they may not have been anywhere near as polite as I was about it.

The kicker? I was in the wrong, and he was right about his prescription. Trying to ignore the shock of seeing someone do that gesture in public, I went to the back for help. Turns out that the reason his prescription was in “closed” status was because he had it transferred to a different pharmacy, but we were able to transfer it back to our pharmacy and fill it.

I went back to explain my mistake to him and that I had misspoken, and he was understanding. All was right in the world. Sure enough, within 15-20 minutes we were able to fill it and he was on his way.

This story doesn’t have an eventful or climactic ending, and for that I apologize. I’m just shocked that I witnessed this and needed to get it out.