My goal in life is to transform healthcare. I believe we are in a time where the new school western medicine meets ancient Eastern practices. The incorporation of new technologies with humble understanding of how we affect our own health is what I want to bring to healthcare. This will require hours of study to understand the human body and explore ideas, but the path less taken is most rewarding. My passion is to consult people to become healthier, mentally and physically. I am a natural healer and listener. To be a value to individuals, I must gain as much knowledge as possible.
The trusted pharmacist is the niche I fit so perfectly into. People will be seeking help and information and I can be the one that they turn to for solutions. Health has always been one of the main conversations in my family. With the knowledge and years of experience of my mother in the healthcare field, we always discussed in detail our symptoms and are very aware of changes in our bodies. These types of conversations come naturally to me and is probably why I find myself having these discussions, quite possibly with a stranger, about their symptoms or diseases such as, diabetes, nerve damage, headaches, or stomach troubles etc.
I inquire about their medications, diet, and activity to come to a possible solution if I am able to. People find it easy to open up to me because I am sincere in my curiosity and want to help with any piece of knowledge I have to give. Going to pharmacy school will provide me with information to pass on to patients. I will be able to provide the knowledge backed by a degree and countless hours of study. The things that I will learn in pharmacy school will give me the success in making individuals healthier and ultimately happier. This love for knowledge has been with me forever.
My mother is a registered nurse and my father a geologist. Growing up with their influence, it was no wonder I would turn to the sciences to fuel my curiosity. I approached life by questioning all around me and reading about the universe from a very young age. Science came naturally to me. During high school, the logical characteristics of the sciences drew me in to learn more. When entering college I was unsure about which science I wanted to study. All were intriguing to me in someway. Astronomy was among my favorite. Then I took my first look into a microscope and saw living onion cells.
It was like the universe on a micro scale. Tons of tiny universes living together in symbiosis. My degree path of choice was Biochemistry. Understanding chemical pathways in biology were so logical to me. The whole body function itself made so much sense to me about how they worked. During the chemistry courses is when I really became challenged, but prevailed through by picking my professors brain until I had my “Aha” moment. One was so impressed with my tenacity, for a semester he gave me a task of extracting silver nano-particles out of samples.
I developed skills of understanding standard operating procedures and how crucial attention to detail is when doing such a tedious task. During my semester extracting, I learned a valuable lesson in the laboratory. All of my calculation were way above expected value and nobody knew why. I had people check my work and get the same results. For three weeks we worked tirelessly to understand what the hell was happening. In ultimate frustration, I picked apart every aspect of the procedure. Finally, I tested the standard silver used for the calibrations and come to find it was previously mislabeled with the wrong concentration.
Though it was one of the most frustrating experiences in school it taught me a tremendous amount about precision, accuracy, and attention. My professor was so proud that I figured out the mystery, that as a “reward” I got to test all lab standards used to make sure they were correct. I saved another undergraduate from three weeks of frustration. That is my legacy I left when I graduated with my Bachelors in Biochemistry. Effective communication is essential in a healthcare provider such as a pharmacist. I have worked in a variety of environments that put customer service as that companies number one priority.
While working these jobs, I perfected interpersonal communication. I have worked as a pharmacy technician, bartender, and other sales positions. During my time as a bartender, giving friendly service affected your tips so I learned to listen to peoples stories and inquire into who they were. My time in sales taught me how to craft language and get people to understand you effectively. Our entire lives consist of interactions with others using verbal and body language and it is an art. These opportunities I have had gave me valuable skill in communication.
These skills would be brought with me into the pharmaceutical world. In order to discovery if a career choice is well suited, you must put yourself in the environment. I worked at CVS pharmacy as a technician. When you’re your main clientele is mostly customers who are ill, sincerity in communication are a must. I was always empathetic and compassionate to their needs. My communication skills became a useful tool to help them feel like we were doing our best to get them on the way to feeling better. The pharmacist that I worked with would give the best consultations.
She was loved by her patients because of her genuine concern and would take the time to figure out solutions for them. I really admired that about her and see the same in me. I believe that becoming a pharmacist will put me in the position to accomplish my goal of transforming peoples health. With an education in Biochemistry and Pharmacology my knowledge will be a value so I will be able to provide a great service to my patients. Pharmacy will allow me to unite my passion for the sciences with my need to help individuals with their mental and physical health. To me that would mean success in my career and life.