Why do you think you will be a good pharmacist?

[pharmerted]

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If someone asked you this at an interview, how would you answer?
Thanks!!

 

[WVURxGal]

Wow, that's a good question.

I'd probably say that I'm interested in health care, speficially on curing disease. Academically, I'm very strong in all of the sciences (except physics, which is evil.) I feel that I have a very strong sense of empathy for patients in all situations because I've lived through most of them, the major one being problems associated with being poor and having a fairly major illness with no health insurance. Also, if I do wind up in retail or a hospital, I want to focus on patient education in the realm of obesity. Once again, the empathy comes in because I've been through that -- this time last year, I weighed at least 210 and was around 40% body fat (at 5'5, I'm down to 147 and about 27-28% now, which I've maintained so far... I think when I stopped 'dieting' I gained back 4 lbs total.) Also, as far as patient education goes, I've tutored before, and it's basically the same type of teaching. I feel that because I have a personal story to tell, a success story if you will, I might be able to be the last inspiration that someone needs to switch to a healthier lifestyle, because it can be done.

...something along those lines. I'd probably also rant about why I would be well-suited for research (from the biopharmaceutics end of things.) I guess that ties into the "why pharmacy?" question... the answer I have is pretty similar, though I plan to add in a few things. When I get asked that, I'm going to bring up that I appreciate the flexibility and the security that pharmacy allows, especially as a woman that plans on having a family (same answer for "well, why not med school?") Knowing that I can work part time in a hospital or retail setting, earn a very decent living, and take care of my family is extremly important. I hope they don't take that statement as sexist or anything... but it's not meant in a "women should take care of the babies" way, more of a "I want to be able to take care of my family" way. \

How about you?

 

[pharmerted]

thanks WVURxGal, great answer. i have an answer but not nearly as detailed as yours. i've heard that this is a common question in interviews, so i want to prep!! anyone else?

 

[Glycerin]

at 5'5, I'm down to 147 and about 27-28% now, which I've maintained so far

Congrats. 🙂

 

[cangara]

Reach in your heart and you will find the best answer. Relate the positive and negative (physical demand?) aspects of the field with your life experiences. For example, I told that I am able to produce quality work eventhough I work 60 hours a week and volunteer in a pharmacy. Also, I develop my critical thinking skills, and team and leadership qualities.

Dont think about what they want to hear, but say honest things that will make you stand out from others.

thanks WVURxGal, great answer. i have an answer but not nearly as detailed as yours. i've heard that this is a common question in interviews, so i want to prep!! anyone else?

 

[WVURxGal]

thanks WVURxGal, great answer. i have an answer but not nearly as detailed as yours. i've heard that this is a common question in interviews, so i want to prep!! anyone else?

Just because we're on a thread about interview questions, I was speaking to Dr. Jacknowitz (one of the patho & therapeutics professors at WVU who also interviews. I may have refered to him as "the other Jew" before. It's funny though, I don't think he's figured out that I'm Jewish yet... I've got a big nose, dark brown hair, and my last name ends in -berg! And I'm the only person in the office that understand when he uses Yiddish!) today and he gave me a few other questions that I didn't even think of:

(For anyone that's switched majors.) What was the thought process that lead you away from your previous major and towards a career in Pharmacy?
*My answer (I was pre-forensic sciences) was that if I were to go into forensic sciences, the best I could do for myself would be to continue on to get a masters degree... and that would essentially be the end of my career track. In pharmacy, my career choices and opportunities to enhance my education are virtually limitless. He told me that was just about the best answer he could expect.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?
His advice was to *not* go for anything relating to pharmacy for this question, because they're looking for involvement outside the university. A follow-up question tends to be "What is the biggest problem in pharmacy?", so answering it prematurely can cause the interview to end faster than expected, which is a no-no. Also, stay away from getting preachy, but you really have to take a stance. The point of this question is also to see if you can form a coherent opinion on something globally important.

In your undergraduate work, what class do you feel you got the most out of, even if you did not receive the grade you wanted or expected?
and conversly, What class do you feel that you did not get very much out of, even though you performed well?

I didn't even plan for any of those questions... I'm so glad he offered to help me out. Dr. Jacknowitz is awesome. These are all WVU questions, but they seem like they could be universal even though they're not so obvious.

Oh, and I'm sure everyone knows so, but he mentioned "don't chew gum!!!" about six times. Probably because I was chewing gum at the time (and I found out his #1 pet peeve is gum chewing), but lol, thought I'd bring it up.

Congrats.

Thank you!

 

[eslboy2005]

I want to be a pharmacist because i love to work with medicine. I don't care about the salary. If they pay me 40-50k a year, it's fine with me. Salary is not important at all.

 

[PharmDster]

Honestly, I would tell them, all my cousins are pharmacists and this job always enhanced your education!!! new diseases so new medicine every single day! always keep rolling like an energtic bunny =)..say something will make the interviewed laugh!! just dont be all serious man!!! i had a hindu pharmacist omg! i hate her so bad..she so rude to the customers with her serious face!! and customers complained about it but she did not get fired because DEMANDING OF PHARMACISTS are HIGH...so in the interview be funny but not too funny always smiles before answering

 

[Tuck]

I remember being asked this question. I told them this was a difficult question for me to answer because my understanding of the profession was not entirely sufficient. On the other hand, I indicated that we as pharmacists are a product of our education, and that the school had an excellent reputation in that respect. Furthermore, I mentioned that as a real estate agent I developed the ability to communicate with individuals from a wide variety of social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Blah blah blah. Empathy, communication, dedication, etc are words they like to hear, but ultimately each person may have characteristics that will make them a good pharmacist.