The #1 Link for Pharmacy Students How I Will Make a Difference in the Profession of Pharmacy "Is it really that close?" I ponder, shaking my head in disbelief. As a pharmacy student rapidly approaching graduation, the long years of learning, studying, taking tests, and battling in the trenches of academia alongside my fellow students are now coming to a rapid close. So many nights have passed without sleep as drug interactions, chemical structures, and mechanisms of action danced from textbook to brain, lodging themselves firmly somewhere deep in the cranium. Anxious days and restless nights have passed as finals relentlessly approached. Lifelong friendships have been forged in the sweat and fire of a common goal, working the hours away and learning the nuances of the art and science called pharmacy. Despite this closure and the obvious celebration of completing a hard-fought task, one central question resounds in my brain: Why do I want to be a pharmacists? I feel that this question can be answered best by reviewing what originally brought me to the profession of pharmacy. My formative years were spent on a small wheat farm with my grandmother and grandfather. Times were often cruel on the flatland, and my memory pulls me back to many a frigid morning on the barren plains when my grandfather would arise at dawn, starting the long day of work. The years of toil accumulated, as they tend to do when the body ages and he had rarely admitted the random aches and pains he surely felt. The day finally came when he had to concede to the years of brutal work by following "pill schedule". This was not what he wanted to do, and he loudly voiced that opinion to all of the family and occasionally to the family practitioner. Despite this, he never had an unkind word to say to the pharmacist. He always showed respect for the local pharmacist above that level he had for the doctor who had placed the imposition of medications upon him. I witnessed this, and asked, "That pharmacist is even more important than a doctor is? How can that be?" My grandfather's answer to the question was as clear as January ice. "He's the one who spends the time to go over these pills with me, and explains everything to me. The doctor is always in such a hurry, he just gets me in and out, then sends us the bill. I've known then both for years, but the pharmacist always visits with me as a friend," was his reasoning for his high level of respect. He truly appreciated the interaction he had with our pharmacist. Not long after this conversation, my grandfather left this world, but I never forgot that particular conversation. I have since seen for myself and realized time again that the few minutes spent counseling patients can be the most important part of the profession of pharmacy. Some patients are elderly and may be quite confused, and an extra effort to clarify medications can become the personal touch that the patient desperately needs, providing them with comfort and reassurance in addition to their basic information. Having a "regular" recognize me and tell me about their day as they ask about mine as well illuminates the role I can have as a pleasant acquaintance to a patient. Having this dame person rely on my advice when they call late at night feeling ill shows me my worth as a trusted source of reliable medical information. Seeing the troubled lines on the face of a concerned mother melt away into a smile as she starts to truly understand how and when to administer a suspension to her crying daughter makes the whole day worthwhile. Forming an actual bond with someone who needs my expertise and compassion evaporates all the sleepless nights of studying I have spent to achieve this goal. So many times, pharmacy can be a hectic pursuit, as the phone rings, orders pile towards the ceiling, patients demand attention angrily, and everything seems to move faster than it can be chased. This frenzied atmosphere can hurry the pharmacist-patient interaction as well, and make us wonder why our patients do not give us the respect we deserve. We can sometimes expect this respect on our position alone, before we even talk to the patient. Pharmacy has evolved rapidly over the last century in numerous ways, yet this profession still revolves around quality care for the patient. Pharmacy has ranked as the most trusted profession in America because of pharmacists who take the time to truly care for the people they serve. It is my clear intention, as my grandfather instilled in me with that conversation, to not only provide all the necessary information to the patient, but also to strive to earn the trust and friendship of that patient. The patient deserves the extra attention and I need to work hard to gain the respect of the patient. My grandfather wouldn't have it any other way. 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.