¶ … child in Taiwan I have wanted to use science and medicine in my eventual career. However, when I first immigrated here with my family four years ago, at the age of 18, I was afraid it might not be possible. Neither I nor anyone in my family spoke any English. However, I began learning the language, started taking college courses, and began thinking about medical-related careers. Pharmacy excites me for several reasons. I have found that I like working with a wide variety of people as a team member. I like solving problems at work and thrive in a fast-paced environment. Volunteering at the University Hospital out-patient pharmacy in Houston has only increased my interest. In researching the options open to pharmacists I have found that a wide range of career choices would be open to me with a degree in pharmacy. In addition to working at a retail pharmacy, there are in-house pharmacies in hospitals as well as pharmacies for out-patients. I could work as a pharmaceutical consultant for people in extended care facilities, a job that will become more important in the coming years. I could be a homecare pharmacist providing similar services for people who stay in their home instead of going to an extended care facility. I might work for a pharmaceutical company, helping formulate how a medication is packaged or even working in the development of new medications. Right now I am not certain what I would choose, but In any of those pharmacy roles, I would have to draw on my ability and willingness to work well with others in a way that makes a significant and positive contribution to other people's lives. With my strong interest in working with other people in a way that...

I have noticed that pharmacy requires skills I have developed while helping my family with their business. Pharmacists must be able to work well with people from a wide variety of backgrounds from doctors to medical students, nurses, other medical assistants, and the wide range of people who make up medical patients, and always deal with those customers courteously and compassionately. It takes a strong science background, ability to do math quickly and accurately, and a thorough familiarity with the supportive computer technology. All of this has to be accomplished while working as a team in a fast-paced environment where the work must be accurately as well as rapidly done.
I was happy to find that I thrive in such circumstances. Volunteering in the pharmacy has also given me a much broader knowledge of what is involved in working in a pharmacy. While interaction with customers is an important part of it, pharmacists must also be good at detail work. It takes some business sense to judge when to order new medications in, and good organizational skills. It also takes willingness to recognize that others may know more than you or that there may be good reasons for doing something in certain way, reasons you may not fully understand yet.

Being a pharmacist requires teamwork, efficiency, accuracy, a strong sense of responsibility, problem-solving ability, a desire to help others,…