Pharmacist

 

My little brother is a Clinical Pharmacist so I decided to interview him to get an idea of what exactly he does in his field.

 1. How long does it take to become a pharmacist ?

 It usually takes 6-8 years, but most likely 8 because most candidate accepted to Pharmacy school has a bachelors already.  So, four years for your undergraduate studies and then another four for your medical/pharmacy school.  Some people take longer if they fail some classes that they need in order to go to the next tier.

2. What would you major in during your undergraduate study?

 Most candidate has a major in the science field like biology or chemistry.

3. What is your salary be?

 I make about 120,000 but if I moonlight work on holidays and moonlight with other stores, I make more money.

4.Describe your daily routine.

 I mainly work with doctors to get patient’s their meds. The technician are the primary ones to fill the prescription because the filling process doesn’t  require any knowledge of pharmacy. The main job of the pharmacist is to check and verify that all presccriptions are filled correctly and that the patients are counseled on new meds.

5. What is the most challenging part of your job?

The hardest part of the job is to remember the effects and interactions of different drugs because you the wrong combination can be lethal.  Also, keeping current with the new kinds of med can be challenging.

 6. Is working with the public difficult and how?

No matter what you do you can’t please everyone everyday. Also, it’s difficult because most people are not very educated so when you try to explain the medication, its effects, dosage, and usage they don’t understand. Also, the customers do not realize the entire process that goes into filling their medication so they complain about why it takes so long to get it done. They just think, “How hard can it be to count pills and put it in the bottle!” It is much more than that.  Our main concern is safety first.

 7. What is the best part of being pharmacist?

The job is very fulfilling especially when you know or can see the advice you give your customers are working.  It is a great joy to see the improvement in the clients.

8. What kind of a personality is best suited to being a pharmacist?

Being extroverted with help you interact with your workers and patients. Also you a good communication skill is necessary especially when it comes to medication counseling.  You have to clear and concise in what you want your client to know about the benefits and effects of the medication.

9. What was the most challenging part of pharmacy school?

It  was definitely  the book work because you had to read a great deal and absorb the information you read and be able to apply it. For some people like me, working with patients was easy because I liked helping people out.

10. Do you have to do a residency after your pharmacy school?

No, only people who wants to work in the academia field or clinical setting has to do a one to two year residency in whatever area they want to specialize in. Once they figure that out they can find a place whether it is clinic or hospital or university to apply for their residency.  I decided to do my residency in Minnesota so I applied and got accepted. I was paid about 32,000 a year while I was during my residency.

A seven year old’s perspective on education

My son Austin is in a combo class: 1st/2nd grader. The reason why he is in this class is because he is among the top first graders so he was put into a combo class with the second graders. He can read at a fourth grade level. Many people probably assume that since I am a teacher, I probably work with him constantly on his reading.  It is true that I read to him when he was younger and tried to teach him to read, but he struggled in the summer before his kindergarden year.  He couldn’t read very well at all and then it seemed that by August something click and he was reading well beyond his age.  It shocked me the first time he read Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” straight through because he had speech problems in his earlier years. To go from having difficulty speaking, enunciating to reading fluidly was amazing to me.  At first I thought he was just repeating what he remembered, but when I would randomly point at words, he would know it or when we would be driving he would read the signs. Once, I realize he can read so well, I took more time to discuss everything with him and yes even the election. When I asked him who I should vote for he said Obama.  I asked him why? He told me because the other guy (McCain) looks weird!  I was laughing at his response, but at least he knew who was running.

 I decided to interview him and get his opinions on education. When try to rephrase his responses he told me to not do that since he is a ” little kid” and he doesn’t use certain words so I decided to take his advice and write what he dictated.

 1. Do you think going to school is important?

Yes, because you get knowledge from math, reading, and writing.

2. Why is it important to have knowledge?

It helps you become smarter and do more things.

3. Can you learn if it is loud in class?

No because I need concentration. I mess up on things when

there’s a lot of noise. I can’t focus.

4. Do you feel that you are being challenged?

It’s boring because I’m not being challenged. We do the same homework. The work is too easy.

5. Do you have lazy kids in class and how can you tell if they are?

Some kids are lazy, they don’t do anything. They just sit there. They don’t listen to the teacher. They probably want attention from the teacher.

Court Liaison for Magellan Behavioral Health Services

My job is to be a part of the team with the court administration department within the Maricopa County Superior Court for juveniles . I have to act as a centralized point of communication between the mental health service delivery system and the courts.  I work with judges, commissioners, public defenders, prosecutors, probation officers, and CPS workers on behalf of Magellan in cooperation with the assigned PNO in order to ensure continuity of care and timely service delivery for children as applicable to delinquency and dependency issues.  Basically-Magellan is responsible for providing mental health services for the kids in Maricopa county and we contract out to 3 different networks who actually provide the counseling, case management, or other needed services  to the kids. My job is to make sure that they are doing this-specifically for the kids who are involved with the court system because they are on probation, have broken the law, or about to break the law .  For example, kids who runaway. I get notified by the judge, probation, and/or lawyers  about a case where the kid is getting services from one of these providers but not getting what they need or they are not getting mental health services but need to. Therefore I step in to make sure that this happens and have to answer to the court about their services and the progress that is being made. Everyone (judges, lawyers, family, ) is usually wanting to place the child in a treatment facility but that is not appropriate at times. They have to get other services first before they can get that higher level of care. I also like to give the example of anyone of us needing an operation but just like with our insurance-we have to get a battery of  tests done, see the doctors more than once  before we go straight to having surgery to make sure we actually  need it. The kids have to be on medicaid to get our services unless they want to pay out of pocket.

My daily activities are attending court hearings,  staffings at different agencies, making tons of phone calls and emails to make sure things are getting done.

My challenges are getting everyone together, getting people to answer my calls, and making sure that they did what the court ask them to-basically gather information. I have to do all these before the next court hearing because although it is the provider that is giving them the services-the court looks at me for the answers. I have to make sure I have an answer before I get in that court room. It is difficult at times because as we all know not everyone does their job and if I have to I call their supervisors or the head of the networks. My position lets me do that and when I have to call the higher ups-things do get done so that is great. I let them know  that I am on their side and I use “us” and not “you” when I work with each team because when I go to court the judge does not care if I tell them nothing is being done or if I blame anyone. I think that is why I get a great deal of cooperation from the different agencies because I do what they do too. For example, I attend staffings,but also I schedule them if I have to. I do not just ask them to do something and not do it myself. Another important aspect of my responsibility is that I stand up for the providers when we are getting verbally attacked by the lawyers, etc. The biggest challenge I faced in this job was that it was a new position. As a result, my bosses did not know what exactly I was going to be doing day to day. I was just put in an office in the court and that is all the direction they gave me. I had to find ways as to how I can be productive and useful to the court.

I have a master’s degree but you do not have to have a masters for this job because a bachelors in the  field of mental health or social services will be fine. However you have to know how the system works, be able to remember little details so you can follow up with people in a timely manner, be on time, multitask, have good communication skills, and be able to motivate people to get things done. If I do not hear from someone within 24 hrs I will call the next person in charge and I have to do this because I am in a time crunch to report to the court. You cannot be the type of person who waits for someone else to do it because then you will not be good at your job.  Anyhow-it will only take one time for you to get yelled at by a judge in front of everyone for you to do your job better. It has not happened to me but I have seen it happen to others. I take pride in my word and when I say I am going to do something I do it. Our word is the only thing we have and if you do not keep your word then no one will think you are competent. I am an extrovert and an introvert but I definitely have to use my people skills in this job just like most of the jobs. You also have to be a go getter and not someone who needs a supervisor to hold their hand every step of the way. You have to be able to work independently.The bottom line as to why I am persistent and make sure things get done is because I believe that the kid and his/her family need the help and that is the reason I do it.

Annelise’s college profile

Two Bachelors: Psychology and Sociology

Years took to finish degrees: 4

1. When did you graduate from high school and when did you start college?

I graduated from HS in May 2003, and I started college the following semester in fall 2003

2. Was it a difficult choice for you to make to go to college?  Why or why not?

No, it wasn’t a difficult choice to make at all.  Aside from doing well in school and actually liking it, I pursued college because I kind of felt like I had to go.  The reasons being because my parents brought it up to me constantly and because my two older brothers and two older sisters went and all graduated. So, in a way, it kind of felt like ‘tradition’.

3. Have you always wanted to go to college? Why or Why not?

Yes, I’ve always have. There was never a doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to go.  I’ve always wanted to go, because I had seen my older siblings go and my parents wanted me to go.

4. How did you decide on what you wanted to major in?

By simply taking the intro class.  When I first started college, my major was going to be Biology because I loved it in HS, but once I started taking Bio classes, it just wasn’t the same.  So, I took an intro class to Psychology and I loved it.  So I stuck with it.

5.  Why did you double major? Was it difficult to double major? 

After deciding to major in Psychology and taking some sociology classes, I talked to my sister Khonnie, and she was the one that actually told me that I should go ahead and do a double major since the classes were very similar.  So, I decided, why not?  No, it wasn’t difficult to double major, due to that reason, that the classes complemented each other well, so I was glad that I did.

6.  How did you keep up your grade or stay motivated?

I kept my grades up by studying hard.  I would say that I’m a ‘self-motivator’.  I did well studying on my own, choosing that over group study, because when you study by yourself, you study what you want to study and what you need to work on the most.  It was difficult for me to study with groups, because not everyone learns at the same pace, so it seemed like we were never on the same page. 

7. What was your favorite class? Why?

My favorite class was Abnormal Psychology because you learned about the various mental disorders.

8. What advice do you have for first year college student?

Advice I have for the first year college student would be to stay open minded.  Like I mentioned earlier, since I loved Biology in HS, I really thought that I was going to major in it as well, but when I took intro to psych, because my general education requirements required me to take a social science, I fell in love with the subject.  So, when you take those classes to fulfill your general education requirements, be open minded because you might be surprised by what will interest you.

9. What is the hardest part of college?

The hardest part of college is growing up and being independent.  When you’re in high school, you’re just having fun being a teen and hanging out with friends.  In college you have to take yourself seriously because now you’re working towards your future career.  Also, your parents are not there anymore to wake you up to get to class, or to tell you to go to school.  When you’re in college, you choose when you want to go to class or not.  Also, you decide when you’ll study for a test and how much time you are going to spend. So, if you’re not motivated to go to classes and do well, then you won’t do well in college.

10. How many of your friends went to college and how completed their degrees?

I hung out with a set group of friends throughout high school, about 5 people, and out of the 5, only 2 have completed their degrees.

Annelise with niece and mom

I work with Triple R Behavioral Health and my job title is a Behavioral Health Technician.  I work in a community placement group home, monitoring 4 adult females w/ serious mental illnesses throughout the day. An important part of our job is observing them taking their medication.  They are not allowed to take their medication unsupervised, so that’s why it’s an important part.  Since I work the dayshift, my responsibilities include transporting the clients to their medical and psych appointments, as well as advocating for them at these appointments, when they are unable to communicate effectively to the providers.  I also monitor their behaviors and take notes of anything that is ‘unusual’ for them.  Another part of my responsibility involves assisting them with living skills that they once knew how to do, such as cooking and cleaning, but have forgotten how to, due to their mental illness. Also, I do monthly reports on the client’s progress.

 A challenge for me is that each individual is different and you must be able to work with each person on a different level, depending on what they need.  They are not the same, so what may work for one client, may not work for another, so you must stay open-minded and patient. What I have learned about the mentally ill is that they are people just like us.  Like you, they were once married with children, or went to college and got a degree, or even knew how to speak a different language such as French and a lot of people don’t realize that.  Some people seem to think that they have been this way since birth but it is not true. For example, some people’s mental illness can result from a horrible car accident or a bad electrocution from work.  As a result of certain events they are diagnosed with a mental illness.  Unfortunately, some family abandon these mentally ill people because taking care of them becomes too much or unbearable or they become frustrated.  As a result, some families give up the care of these individuals.

The most important thing to remember is that the mentally ill just wants to be treated with respect as any of us want do.