In order to learn more about the career in which I want to pursue, I went ahead and conducted two different interviews with two different pharmacists. The first pharmacist that I interviewed was Suzanne Sterling. Suzanne Sterling is a one of the few local pharmacists from the town in which I was raised. I chose to interview her because I knew I would be able to relate best to her because my hometown is so small. We didn’t discuss anything worth sharing about her schooling but instead we talked a lot about her job now. I asked her questions on how she likes her job, how does she communicate with the physicians and patients, and if the career is a difficult one to keep up with.
Mrs. Sterling was great; she was very kind and answered all my questions. First we talked about what I could do in order to keep my resume nice and professional. She suggested that I work as a pharmacy technician while in school to give me a sense of what working, as a pharmacist would be like. Mrs. Sterling did tell me that even though a pharmacy technician has a great amount of responsibilities and similarities as a pharmacist, a pharmacist has more responsibilities because they are the ones who are in charge of the technicians and always have to double check their work. She then told me that once I have finished school, that doesn’t mean I’m finished learning. A pharmacist must keep up to date with all medications in order to completely help patients and physicians; medication changes constantly just as technology does.
Next, Suzanne Sterling and I talked about the difficulty of becoming a pharmacist as well as being a pharmacist. As any other medical field career, the schooling needed for pharmacy, is no walk in the park. Mrs. Suzanne told ...
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...ow she communicates with doctors and patients. The information that I received from her was the same as Mrs. Sterling’s information. Technology is taking over all of our old ways of completing tasks, but a phone or computer screen could never substitute giving advice face to face. From conducting these two interviews, I have learned that technology is not a laid back career and I must be very dedicated if I want to succeed. After, I talked to these two pharmacists I am ready to work harder and become a pharmacist myself. They both helped show me that I belong in retail pharmacy. As retail pharmacists I could help others in a more relaxed setting and never work in an extremely tense environment as I expect a hospital pharmacy would be. Right now I am right on track with my schooling but soon I will be volunteering more and working harder to fulfill my dream.
According to Kasie, the most difficult part about her job was learning her way around the hospital and remembering where every med room was located. This is Kasie’s first hospital pharmacy tech job, she loves it! Her inspiration was that she has always been fascinated with medications and how they work, she is also amazed by the human body and science. She is a certified technician, because, where she is working she is required to be certified as well as registered, and it looks better on a resumé. She works at Baptist Health Jacksonville in Jacksonville,
My past has inspired me to pursue a career in which I can make maximum use of my education, attributes, and abilities. Becoming a pharmacist is an extension of my genuine interest in the welfare of others. Through my academic, work and volunteering experiences, I have been able to interact with individuals from many different cultures and ages. I am confident I will respond to future patients in an empathetic and respectful manner to attain the quality of life they deserve.
Kathy has been a pharmacy technician for almost twenty-six years and has been certified for two years. She said that she never actually intended to be a pharmacy technician, and that she was a cashier for many years before when she was pulled into the pharmacy because she was already experienced
For starters, I felt that the discussion and activity relating to the attributes of a Pharmacy Technician was useful and insightful given the fact that it was professionally conducted and spoken by experienced members in enabling invaluable communicative purposes for career awareness and betterment through an engaged and collaborative environment.Additionally, I feel as though that all pharmacy technician need to have a well-rounded skill set to help patients with their medication needs. Important traits range from dependability and integrity, to attention to detail and sound reporting skills, supporting their ultimate goal of ensuring that drug therapy is carried out safely and successfully. My intent is to incorporate these important traits
My first day of clinicals at White Star Pharmacy, was exciting and I learned a lot of information that will be useful for when I actually begin to work as a Pharmacy Technician. I learned that at White Star, the pharmacist is the one that does all the computer/paperwork, they put in all the medication, patient, and insurance information. The pharmacy technicians are the ones who prepare the medications and label the bottles, and the pharmacist will then check their work and flip the bottle upside down when it is correct and ready to be bagged. The pharmacy technicians were really nice and helpful, even though I look confused about a few things, they took the time to explain it to me. For example, when I was asked to place a medication bottle
When a patient walks in to visit the pharmacy they are making a decision about their health care. Patient’s health care decisions should not be limited to choosing their doctor or pharmacy, but should be extended to deciding how that doctor and pharmacist works with them to achieve their personal health goals. Pursuing a career in health care requires a commitment to a long-term formal education, a great deal of debt and a lifelong commitment to continuing education. After completing school a pharmacist has a well-developed set of tools for dealing with patient populations to help them manage their health care. These tools are not acquired to determine patient’s health care needs for them. Often pharmacists and doctors complete their education and believe that education makes them better suited than the patient to evaluate the patient’s needs. No one is better suited to make decisions regarding their body than the patient themselves. My position in health care is one of an advisor rather than a manager. As a pharmacist I will work to educate patients rather so that they can make educated decisions about their health. Educating patients allows them to be more autonomous in their pursuit of health care and also allows them to pursue treatments that are most beneficial to them personally rather than what is most beneficial to the pharmacist, doctor or hospital.
...ed throughout this paper that a career as either a pharmacist or physician would be perfect careers for me, due to the fact that they are equivalent with my interests, values and goals in life are. There is a lot of hard work involved in these professions, but my love for helping people would carry me through the stresses involved in the schooling and work required of a physician or pharmacist.
I helped the pharmacy as a clerk first while studying pharmacy technician. After having the pharmacy technician certification, I was able to help more as a pharmacy technician intern. I learned how to read prescriptions, how to pick the right medications with the right forms, how to mix liquid drugs, how to calculate the amount of drugs to dispense, how to receive new shipments, and how to store, label, and distribute them to each patient. More than that, working here gave me an insight about the importance of community pharmacists and their difficulties. I saw pharmacists significantly increased the safe use of medications and save many people from harm on a daily basis. Many doctors did not use the electronic prescribing method, and many of them wrote illegible prescriptions. Because medications names were very similar to each other, pharmacy technicians could create many typing errors when entering orders. Besides, doctors did not always thoroughly understand the drugs they prescribed. They also did not always know all about the drugs their patients were taking. To make sure the right medications to the right patients, pharmacists had to call the doctors, verified prescriptions, and made advices. However, many patients did not want to wait for medications. Thus, I saw the challenge of community pharmacists was that they had to work accurately, quickly, and efficiently while being caring and diplomatic with patients and doctors. I also recognized that a pharmacist was both a drug scientist and a business person. The work challenge and a variety of roles a pharmacist plays attracted me to be a
When you ask people what you think when word “pharmacist” come to your mind? They often say pharmacist have to deal with variety of legal drugs. From my personal opinion, when I hear the word “Pharmacist”, I think of helping others. This inspiration came from my Health Science class I took in twelve grade. Until senior year of my high school, I did not know what I wanted to be. But it all changed, after my first shadowing experience at pharmacist station. There I learn about what exactly the pharmacist career is about, what are some of the equipments used in the field and how I can contribute the knowledge I receive here to help others.
...of the university. My role as a pharmacy assistant in the pharmacy I had to stack shelves as well as answer any customer query’s e.g. what gel someone should use for a verruca, this gave me an opportunity to broaden my knowledge about medication and the uses of different medication.
This introduced a different side of the pharmacy field where a strong interaction with the public is substantial. As a pharmacy techician, I worked to support pharmacists in greeting patients with prescription orders, processing insurance paperwork, and answering questions and requests. I learned to be patient and resourceful, but constrained in my ability to give medical advice as often times patients ask for advice. Also, this job allowed me the opportunity to learn from pharmacists as they prepare prescriptions, provide advices to doctors and help patients with the most cost effective medications. Nonetheless, the most rewarding aspect of this job has been my ability to assist patients and conversing with them on personal level, ranging from trivial topics like how their days go or casual chats about the recent daily events, to their history of medical troubles. This job has definitely provided me with the real-world experience needed to be successful in the pharmacy field and improved my customer service
I pleased to apply to the PharmD program as the program is one area that corresponds to my career dreams. Being part of this program gives one the opportunity to gain an excellent experience in working and collaborating with various health care providers in the ward. But more importantly, it facilitates a practical environment in dealing more closely with patients. Hence, it helps to provide the ultimate health care services to patients. Also, it permits me to carry on gaining different knowledge, skills, and values in addition to those I have already developed during my undergraduate studies. My interest in being a clinical pharmacist was first aroused during my SPEP rotation in the hospital setting where I was really impressed with the role of clinical pharmacists who provide a consistent process of patient care with healthcare teams to maintain the appropriateness, effectiveness and safety of the medication use. Unlike a pharmacist, a clinical pharmacist has a more diversified responsibilities and closeness to direct patient care. Moreover, provides
First, here is some important background information about Pharmacists. A Pharmacist is someone who is trained and licensed to distribute medicinal drugs and to advise on their use. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook Pharmacists do all of the following: "Fill prescriptions, verify proper amounts of medication to give to patients, check whether the prescription will interact negatively with other drugs that a patient is taking or conditions the patient has, instruct patients on how to and when to take a prescribed medicine, Advise patients on potential side effects they may experience from taking the medicine, Advise patients about general health topics, such as diet, exercise, managing stress, and on other issues, such as what equipment or supplies would be best for a health problem, Keep records and do other administrative tasks, Complete insurance forms and work with insurance companies to be sure that patients get the medicine they need, Teach other healthcare practitioners about proper medication therapies for patients, and lastly oversee the work of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists training."() Some pharmacists participate in compounding, where they create medications by mixing ingredients themselves. Pharmacists tha...
Like every career, pharmacists have certain qualities and skills. I feel that I fit many qualities of pharmacists, including an attention to detail, communication skills, and science and mathematic skills. I have also been a perfectionist, paying attention to each detail of my work. This is what helped me stay organized throughout high school, and earn a 4.021 cumulative GPA. Pharmacists must be detail-orientated to ensure their patients receive the right dosage, amount, and type of medication. An error in this could harm the patient, therefore breaking the Hippocratic oath. Furthermore, a pharmacist must pay attention to the patient’s other prescriptions and medical history to avoid any negative reactions. Next, I have earned strong customer service and communication skills from my job at Fareway Food Stores. Since I earned this job in May 2012, I have made it one of my goals to assist and brighten the day of my customers. As a pharmacist, I would need strong communication skills with my patients to fit them with the best prescription possible. Additionally, I would counsel them on the directions of their mediation, any potential side affects, and how to add new medications into their lifestyle with the least amount of stress. Apart from my patients, I would have to communicate my with pharmacy technicians and any interns I may have, as well as insurance companies. Lastly, I feel I have natural abilities in science and mathematics. I
Though pharmacy school is long and arduous for many, for me it was a journey that I wanted to make the most of. Each year I learned more and I developed more, not only as a student, but as a person as well. Even still, I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do with my pharmacy degree until I entered into the fourth and fifth years of my degree program. It was then that I began taking classes in therapy