Pharmacy Experience and Personal Statement

¶ … 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 benefits society, my passion for science and my strong computer skills, I believe I would be a credit to the pharmacy profession.

To learn more about being a pharmacist, I volunteered in the out-patient pharmacy of the University Hospital at San Antonio, beginning in January 2003. 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, ability to work with details well, and a tremendous amount of patience. Some people might find some of these characteristics unpleasant or stressful, but because of my experience discussed below in my family's restaurant, I have learned that these things are not problems or drawbacks for me, leaving me to consider the positive aspects of being a pharmacist, and whether I am suited for the profession.

Because of the experience I have had in the hospital pharmacy, I have had an opportunity to evaluate the demands of this career well. I have also talked with the registered pharmacists at some length about what they do, and what they like and don't like about the job. The things they object to most, the paperwork and the pressure, are things I have learned to not bother me. I know this about myself because of what I have done to help my family's restaurant succeed. So, I find the prospect of a career in pharmacy an exciting one. I look forward to working with the many professionals who make up an individual patient's team of medical support, the opportunity to use my abilities in science, math, and technology, as well as the opportunity to work with other medical professionals to help patients in need.

My cultural background will be an advantage also in a society as culturally diverse as the United States. I immigrated with my family to the United States only four years ago, when I was 18. In those four years I have learned to read, write and speak English, although I expect to continue to improve for some time. Since none of my family speaks English well, I had to do this on my own, taking English as a Second Language classes at a local community college before moving on to college-level coursework. Meanwhile, my father and aunt opened a restaurant, and I have helped them run it while going to school. Because I could speak English so much better than them, I have helped with the business end of the restaurant, doing all the paperwork including employee records and scheduling customer relationships, health department inspections, and all the other many details that go into running a restaurant. Through this experience I learned that I handle details well and can work efficiently under pressure, and that I am a team player who gets along well with a wide variety of people.