Why do you want to be a pharmacist? Final Exam.

[255942]

As I bid adieu to SDN, I have a final exam question for all those considering a future as a pharmacist. It sounds simple enough, I know, but this is the $1,000,000 question that stumps and confuses more applicants than any other. I have seen many an interviewee stumble all over him/herself trying to come up with an answer. So I am warning you in advance, you should be prepared to answer the question, "Why do you want to be a pharmacist?"

So, let me ask you, "Why do you want to be a pharmacist"? In an earlier entry I wrote about some of the wrong answers that we hear time and again during the interview process. These usually relate to job security or financial success, maybe reduced stress compared to being a physician and the list goes on. What we have yet to discuss are the "right" answers. For everyone, the reasons are different. The reason I went to pharmacy school is probably different than the reason you are considering a career as a pharmacist. And the way you answer the question when you start pharmacy school may change dramatically by the time you finish pharmacy school.

When I asked myself the question this week, I was able to clearly answer this: I want to be a pharmacist who can mentor the next generation of pharmacists. I have worked in community, hospital, and specialty pharmacy. I have worked in pediatrics and geriatrics. I also have experience in academia. I have enjoyed them all, but what I have found is that the greatest joy I have experienced in this profession are those moments that I have shared with my students. Whether giving lectures, precepting students on clerkships or working side by side with them in a pharmacist-intern relationship, I have loved every minute of my professional career. I hope that I am able to help you with the process of applying to pharmacy school so you can someday answer this question as emphatically as I can today.

As a pharmacist, you will be the most accessible member of the health care team. No appointment needed - just stop in any pharmacy in the United States and ask a medication related question and the pharmacist will be there to provide the best information he/she can. You should take great pride knowing that you are preparing to join a dynamic field of health care professionals willing to provide optimal care for your patients.

So, your homework is to ask yourself - "Why do I want to be a pharmacist?".

It has been an absolute pleasure discussing these matters with everyone here. I hope that I have been able to de-mystify some of the issues related to the application and interview process from the standpoint of an admissions committee member. If I can be of additional assistance, please let me know. I wish you all the very best in your academic and professional pursuits. I look forward to calling you my colleagues in the very near future.

Sincerely-
Admissions

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Shimmery]

I enjoy helping people.

And thank you for the help you offered.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Why are you leaving?

And I want to be a Pharmacist because I love drugs, I love being a know-it-all, I want to work in healthcare but I don't want to fuss with bedpans, and I don't want to deal with rotations in med. school.

 

[tommyVoltage]

Why are you leaving?

And I want to be a Pharmacist because I love drugs, I love being a know-it-all, I want to work in healthcare but I don't want to fuss with bedpans, and I don't want to deal with rotations in med. school.

He's been leaving for about a week. He shouldn't leave if all problems have been solved with the site moderators.

 

[Passion4Sci]

He's been leaving for about a week. He shouldn't leave if all problems have been solved with the site moderators.

I must've missed the prior farewell post or something.

What problems with moderators?

Enlightennnn meeeee.

 

[sungieality]

I must've missed the prior farewell post or something.

What problems with moderators?

Enlightennnn meeeee.

They were having problems with him advertising his website and email. I think the term they used was "poaching the SDN members".

 

[Passion4Sci]

They were having problems with him advertising his website and email. I think the term they used was "poaching the SDN members".

Seems like a low blow.

Sadface =(

 

[aboveliquidice]

Seems like a low blow.

Sadface =(

We enforce the rules that all members agree to. If we failed to do so - what example would that set?

Good luck admissions - Enjoy your summer off from reading applications - The next cycle begins anew in August However, since I am on rotations - I am absolved from reading applications

See ya on the flip side

 

[diastole]

We enforce the rules that all members agree to. If we failed to do so - what example would that set?

Good luck admissions - Enjoy your summer off from reading applications - The next cycle begins anew in August However, since I am on rotations - I am absolved from reading applications

See ya on the flip side

This is interesting. I knew that students were involved in the interviews but you also get to help decide who gets an interview? Do you volunteer for that or do you have to get invited to participate?

 

[thephoenician88]

in it because i want to describe the pharmacology to the community. Then use that information to benefit them.

 

[aboveliquidice]

This is interesting. I knew that students were involved in the interviews but you also get to help decide who gets an interview? Do you volunteer for that or do you have to get invited to participate?

At our school - we have one representative from each class on the admissions committee - I am unsure whether or not other programs due this. I was appointed to the committee as our P2 representative - and will remain on for interview days only this year.

Reading applications is really very interesting - but very time consuming. Every applicant deserves a decent amount of your time - but you have 10 applicants to read this week - along with a major therapeutics test on Friday - your schooling ends up suffering.

 

[wes011]

This is an excellent question, and one I am fully ready to answer.

When I graduated from college I worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a chemist. I felt like I had a very rewarding job in the sense that I felt like it mattered in what I did. I left that job for my current employer because he sold me on supplying the US market with generic FDA approved medications at a lower cost, which I felt good about. The owner has since abondoned that idea, so I sell raw materials to pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, and it all comes down to the mighty dollar. I've realized that it doesn't matter if I sell this company aspirin or acetaminophen or folic acid or whatever else because there are another 20 guys just like me, so I am basically whoring myself out for the almighty dollar. I've realized that it doesn't matter how much money you make, money truly does not buy happiness. I have zero job satisfaction where I am today and I cannot live this way anylonger.

My past job experiences and interests make pharmacy the ideal choice for me. I want to educate people about drug interactions and how a certain medicine improves their quality of life. I want to become a clinical pharmacist because I personally feel that MD's do not spend enough time with their patients explaining what happens when you swallow this pill or inhale this mist. Thirdly, I want to treat the underserved children population in Kentucky and help improve their quality of life. Children do not get to choose who their parents are, some are born into poverty/neglect while others are not. I was one of the fortunate ones, but just because I am fortunate does not give me the right to turn my back on the less fortunate. I want to become a pharmacist to make a difference in a young one's life and with a little luck help shape his/her future for the years to come.

I could not have answered this when I graduated college, as I needed to mature. The time has come for me to live my dream, and live it I will.

 

[dumbguy]

i love drugs and having the title of "legalized drug dealer'

 

[wes011]

i love drugs and having the title of "legalized drug dealer'

We all have our reasons.

 

[jasonbourne]

i love drugs and having the title of "legalized drug dealer'

I once said this to a professor at school and she was visibly stunned. I felt like taking it back cuz i realized they might have been thinking of crack. I meant to say medication.

 

[dumbguy]

I once said this to a professor at school and she was visibly stunned. I felt like taking it back cuz i realized they might have been thinking of crack. I meant to say medication.

according to my experiences, don't tell jokes to professors unless the joke is completely funny to all parties and doesn't make fun of anyone.

 

[drhopzz]

I once said this to a professor at school and she was visibly stunned. I felt like taking it back cuz i realized they might have been thinking of crack. I meant to say medication.

Would saying economical stability and $$$ be a better answer?

 

[wes011]

Would saying economical stability and $$$ be a better answer?

Or because you can score with chicks easier. 2 percocets in their beer = easy target.

 

[SHC1984]

clean job, indoor job, can be relaxing if you pick the right places (mail order), and decent pay.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Or because you can score with chicks easier. 2 percocets in their beer = easy target.

Good way to kill someone, too.

Besides, do you really want to score with a chick that drinks beer? Like, ugh.

 

[triumphbr]

hahah... and there you have it.

Congratulations, you just said the weirdest thing I've ever heard.

Not the pill thing.. I think the dude was joking... the beer thing. I've always figured "beer drinker" was a pre-req for any chic I would be interested in.

Again congratulations.

 

[Passion4Sci]

hahah... and there you have it.

Congratulations, you just said the weirdest thing I've ever heard.

Not the pill thing.. I think the dude was joking... the beer thing. I've always figured "beer drinker" was a pre-req for any chic I would be interested in.

Again congratulations.

Beer is nasty.

If that's the weirdest thing you've ever heard, though, you've lived a very sheltered existence.

Also, I think I found your problem:

"was a pre-req for any chic" - Once you start dating women and step up from "chics[sic]", maybe you'll change your mind.

 

[trailrider400]

Or because you can score with chicks easier. 2 percocets in their beer = easy target.

I've found 3 in a shot of cabo wabo a little more effective... but to each his own

 

[wes011]

I've found 3 in a shot of cabo wabo a little more effective... but to each his own

Nice one.

Passion4Sci - Beer is not nasty, but is actually an acquired taste. I use to hate the stuff but it does grow on you. And if you drink good beer, it helps.

Being from Kentucky, we are beer and bourbon drinkers. Nothing else exists in our books; well jagermeister can be tolerated from time to time.

 

[MinaJoon]

LOL...funny how this thread went from passion for pharmacy to alcoholic beverages.

 

[triumphbr]

Beer is nasty.

If that's the weirdest thing you've ever heard, though, you've lived a very sheltered existence.

Also, I think I found your problem:

"was a pre-req for any chic" - Once you start dating women and step up from "chics[sic]", maybe you'll change your mind.

I've been married for 8 years so I don't really have to concern myself with the silly rantings of the teeny bopper crowd.

Thanks anyway.

Good luck with the women though.