The #1 Link for Pharmacy Students This is my second year as a pharmacy student. I am currently enrolled in the pharmacy program here at the University of Iowa. I know that I am capable of being a good pharmacist and that my dedication and determination will help me to achieve my goals. I chose to pursue an education and career in the pharmacy field because like most, I have a desire to do what I know I am interested and committed to doing. All my life, I have heard the phrase, "if you want to get somewhere in life, you got to have the will and the power to grasp that dream you know you were meant to have." Growing up, I learned a lot about life. One of them being that things don't come easy. I experienced the lesson first hand when I chose to accept the opportunity to skip my sophomore year of high school. I believe it was the persistent determination I had in high school that built me into the very strong person I am today. I learned all about responsibility and became very efficient at balancing time between schoolwork, extracurricular activities, friends, and family. I realized that when things start looking down, then it is time I must work even harder for my dreams to come true. I had never truly understood the importance of a pharmacist's role in a person's life until I had the chance to work in a hospital's pharmacy department. I witnessed how much one depends on another human being's advice in what to consume into the body. In other words, the trust factor found between the pharmacist and the patient is more phenomenal than anything i have ever imagined. I was extremely impressed to see how pharmacists knew each of the ingredient of any given medication, and I became fascinated that they knew how each compound specifically helped or harmed the human body. To know so much about medicine and the body itself is a major accomplishment in life. I would like that kind of responsibility and the reassuring feeling that comes afterwards knowing that I've helped someone in need. I have the will and the heart to become a pharmacist. I have never been so interested in a medical field as I am in the pharmaceutical realm. Ending on that note, it is my desire to help people less fortunate than me in any way possible. With this in mind, this goal has made me who I am today. I am a very caring individual who is ready to do whatever it takes to help those in need of some personal attention and care in order to feel better about themselves, and I believe that an education and career in the pharmaceutical field is a great way to achieve my goals. The Present and the Future of Pharmacy In the last quarter century, pharmacy has expanded its role within the health care delivery system from a profession focusing on preparation and dispensing of medications to patients to one in which pharmacists provide a range of patient-oriented services to maximize the medicine's effectiveness. Medicines today have great power to heal and to improve the quality of life for millions of Americans. But medicines also may do serious harm if not taken correctly. This is where the role of the pharmacist is most important. Pharmacists practice in a number of health care settings including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health maintenance organizations, LTC, academia, research and others. However, nearly everyone is familiar with community pharmacists and the pharmacy in which they practice. Six out of every ten pharmacists provide care to patients in a community setting. You probably visit the community pharmacist more often than you do any other member of the health team. Pharmacists talk to people when they are healthy and when they are sick, when they are "just browsing" or when they are concerned with an emergency; when they have specific needs as well as when they are seeking advice or information. Community pharmacists are playing an increasing role in the "wellness" movement, especially through counseling about preventative medicine. Pharmacists serve patients and the community and by referring patients to other sources of help and care, such as physicians, when necessary. Likewise, advances in the use of computers in community pharmacy practice now allow pharmacists to spend more time educating patients and maintaining and monitoring patient records. As a result, patients have come to depend on the pharmacist as a health care and information resource of the highest caliber. Community pharmacists, in addition to the variety of tasks performed in and out of the pharmacy, are specialists in the science and use of medcations. They are knowledgeable about the composition of drugs, their chemical and physical properties, and their manufacture and uses. Additionally, a pharmacist understands the activity of a drug and how it will work within their body. More and more prescribers rely on pharmacists for information about the various drugs, their availability and their activity just as patrons do when they ask about nonprescription medcations. The community pharmacist is in an ideal position both to ensure that drugs are used in the safest and most effective way possible, and to encourage appropriate self-care. In addition, since people trust pharmacists as educated and approachable health professionals, they often present them with a variety of nonmedication-related questions concerning such issues as birth control or alcohol abuse. For practical purposes in day-to-day practices, community pharmacists are central in helping patients receive the most benefit from the medications we provide. Why I Chose the Pharmacy Profession I am a second year pharmacy student who is currently attending University of Maryland, Baltimore. Why did I choose pharmacy as a profession and what specialty will I be focusing on? I originally wanted to attend medical school because I wanted to help people. The doctor on Little House on the Prairie got me interested in being a doctor. He went to people's houses when they needed him, if they are unable to go to him. He has great people skills and compassion for his patients. I also like studying the human body and its complexities. I chose not to go that route because the profession has changed so much. There are less patient interactions and more of a business. I wanted more involvement with the patients in maintaining their health and helping to improve their disease states. I want to improve their quality of life. I want them to be able to ask me any quesitions and to assist them in any way possible. Unfortunately, the doctors do not have this type of relationship with their patients. They are rushed to see them because the HMO's do not allow them to have that type of interactions with their patients. I found that pharmacists are expanding their specialties, and they have more interactions with the patients. They are more involved in maintaining the patients overall well-being. Many disease states are improved with the use of drugs and life styles changes. With drugs, they can range from herbs to vitamins and minerals to cold remedies to analgesics. Being a pharmacist will allow me to cousil the patients on all of these drugs. I would be able to inform them of their possible drug-drug, drug-food, or drug-disease interactions. I have talked to many consumers and they feel better talking to the pharmacists than they do with their doctors. We, as pharmacists, have a great responsibility in educating the consumers about any drugs out in the market. I want to go into either pediatric pharmacy or in hospice care, or both. I want to go to people's houses and make sure they are following their drug therapy, check to see if they are improving or if any changes are needed if their situation is not better or if their disease is getting worse. I am the type of person who puts other people's needs ahead of me. My greatest satisfaction is in knowing that I am able to help people get better and providing them with answers to their questions. If I don't know the answers to their questions I will do my best to find them answers to their questions.