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.

Kylei’s story

Kylei is half Lao-half Mexican.  She is only 12 years old and in the seventh grade, but this young lady already is ahead of the game. From what her mom has told me, she is a very good student who has a good head on her shoulder.

 1. What grade are you in?

I’m in the 7th grade.

2. What is the hardest part of being a student?

The hardest part of being a student is paying attention in class because my classmates distract me in class.

3. How do you stay motivated in school?

I get motivated in school because I think about my future and want the best.

4.  Do you think kids your age value education?

I do not think kids my age value education because they think that their present tense doesn’t affect their future.

5. What is your favorite subject? Why?

My favorite subject in school in Math because it is problem solving and fun to do and challenges me.

6. What is your hardest class ?Why?

The hardest class for me is Social Studies because it’s very boring and I can’t focus.

7. Are you involve in any extracurricular activities? (sports, band, clubs etc)

Yes, I am in band and play the flute.  I enjoy it very much, it actually helps me in my other subjects.  Music stimulates my brain.

8.  What do you want to do when you grow up?

I want to be a vet because I love animals and want to help them any way possible.

9.  Who do you think is a good role model?

I think my mom is a good role model because she succeeds in everything she puts her mind to do.

10. What do you think is a big misconception adults have about kids your age?

Adults think that kids aren’t responsible enough to take care of themselves.  Even when you’re 16 they still think you’re 10.

11. Can you describe one show you watch or a movie you have seen where the depiction of kids your age in school is the most realistic?

The show that comes to mind is Secret life of an American Teenager because in real life people pressure

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.