Why I Want To Be A Pharmacist

Its odd in that I have explained the answer to this question numerous times at interviews, yet I found it difficult to actually put into words.

How do you adequately describe your life's aspirations while being able to convey the passion behind it?

As you all have gathered, I am a massive pharmacy and chemistry nerd which is evident in some of the decorations I own that the wife does not care for. Actually, I can somewhat understand since I am an uber nerd, but I digress.

That aside, there is something about pharmacy that is innately fascinating. No other medical profession do you have such a direct impact on a patient's life.

Doctors, in some ways, are showered with all of the glory. I will not argue that some of it is deserved, but pharmacists are always over looked. Often,when explaining my choice of pharmacy over medicine, I explain that doctors often save the lives of the patients. Pharmacists are here to make their quality of life better.

I like interacting with people, its what fuels my day. The fact that I could use my knowledge of chemistry and the processes of the human body to increase the joy a person has during a day is immensely rewarding to me. Pharmacists can offer so much to their patients and rarely is this fully realized.

Even more so is the fact that pharmacy is still evolving. Really, who knows what pharmacists will be doing 10-20 years from now? Those who graduated twenty years ago, could you imagine MTMs, vaccination clinics, prescribing abilities (in some states), etc etc? It's almost exciting in a way.

Most of all its where I feel at home. Yes, I flirted with medicine for a while and its probably something I could have done well. It was, however, not something that I felt fit with me.

My whole goal in life is to give back in some way. I want to be able to look back on my life and see that I had a profound impact to not just my patients, but the world in general. Maybe I'm overly ambitious and insightful due to my youth, but I want to change the profession. I will not be one to sit idly by as the profession storms by.

And I feel that pharmacy, specifically retail pharmacy, is where I can most efficiently give back.

Sappy and overzealous? Perhaps, but its what I want to do with my life.

I was once told that in the grand scheme of things the only thing that matters is if at the end of your life you can look back and ask the question 'Was I a good person' and answer yes. The path you may take may have many twists and turns, but ultimately you wind up at that answer.

My path is taking me through the field of pharmacy... and damnit, I cannot wait to start.