Why I Chose Pharmacy

With several voices speaking to me all at once, I try to focus on the task at hand. I am the only experienced pharmacy personnel volunteering at the Flying Samaritans Mexico clinic. I delegate counting tasks to student volunteers while I am checking off fills to ensure quality.
Simultaneously, I am counseling patients on medication use and adherence. Lastly, a doctor is asking me which nausea drugs we have in stock. This environment of organized chaos became my Eureka moment. The moment where I could tie all my experiences from my academic background to working full-time as a pharmacy technician. Now I can confidently say I want to pursue a career in pharmacy. !
One of the elements that drove me to pharmacy is my academic background at UC
Riverside. Science
courses were initially a struggle for me, but I learned from my mistakes and found a successful technique for studying the subject. While reading and analyzing research papers for a project on prions in my virology course, one study discussed how prions are folded, causing a side of amino acids chains to be exposed. I learned it is possible to use antibodies to bind to the exposed amino acids, thus allowing a system of delivery or a diagnostic tool to treat
prions.
After completing that course, each time I filled a medication at work, it provoked me to think about its mechanisms of action. For example, Tylenol has a diverse effect on the central nervous system. It inhibits the prostaglandins to increase pain threshold, and interferes with the hypothalamus to reduce fever. This perspective taught me medications can have multiple purposes. Ultimately, this experience initiated my curiosity in the clinical research side of pharmacy. !
After college, I started working 40 hours a week at a community pharmacy. While the job can become strenuous at times, there are moments that make it worthwhile. Often there are confused patients, who are afraid of facing their given situation. For example, a patient was struggling to figure out her health insurance plan. Primarily being a healthy individual, she had not used her insurance for some time. I collected the appropriate information and made a few phone calls to gather the correct insurance data. The pharmacy was able to bill the insurance and dispense her antibiotic covering the charges. It was rewarding to see the relief on her face when she found out everything was going to be okay. With help from the pharmacy team, it
is satisfying to see a confident, informed patient walk out the door. It also brings about professional gratification knowing that a patient's health is cared for. !
In addition to working, I have been volunteering at a medical clinic in the small town of
El Hongo, Mexico, through the student organization, Flying Samaritans. This experience has allowed me to apply, develop, and realize the impact of what I have learned from my academic and work background. After my first three clinics, the organizational leaders offered me to become their pharmacy coordinator. Being in charge of the pharmacy, I decided to use my work experience to incorporate policy and procedural guidelines to create a system of structure. Before applying my ideas, there was only a capacity to take on two student volunteers. Now with an assembly line in place, it has allowed volunteer pharmacists to transition into the workflow with ease. Furthermore, it enables the pharmacy to take on six more student volunteers, who can learn from the insightful stories of technicians and pharmacists while counting and shadowing side by side. Implementing these changes made me realize that I enjoy forming structure and seeing its impact. It felt fulfilling to be a leader in a healthcare team just like all the other pharmacists I have been working with. !
My academic, work, and volunteer experience has helped me become a more confident and well rounded leader in pharmacy. I want to take the next step to further develop my leadership in the healthcare team. I want to contribute my skills back to the community and
Flying Samaritans as a pharmacist. Amongst the constant and rapid changes in our healthcare system, I aspire to pursue new opportunities, not just in retail, but also industry, research, and IT.
A pharmacist is the bridge between patients, doctors, and insurance companies. I want to become this accessible bridge and help members of the community improve and maintain their health and
wellness.