I didn't always want to be a pharmacist. Back in high school I actually wanted to be a doctor. I started my first year of college as a premed student, majoring in Biology and minoring in both Chemistry and then later on Spanish. It wasn't until the Spring semester of my Junior year that I realized medicine wasn't for me. And by that time I had already taken all my major courses, the MCAT, and was even ready to graduate. Seriously, I finished my college degree in just three years. Taking 18 credit hours most semesters and doing very well, might I add, the idea of going to medical school wasn't that farfetched.
The only problem was...The WOO.
The WOO (World of Opportunity) was a non-profit organization that was built to help high school drop-outs get their GED. My college roommate and I ended up volunteering there one day and it completely changed my life. I feel in love with teaching.
The semester we started volunteering, I was taking Advanced Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry II, Embryology, Statistics, and Intermediate Spanish II. My schedule was packed. The crazy thing, though, was that even though I was swamped with classes, I still found time for the WOO. Come to think of it, I skipped just about every single lecture in Embryology so I could teach my students their GED materials. And by the grace of God I still finished that semester with three A's and two B's--not bad for someone teaching 15-20 hours ever week. It was also then when I realized I didn't care for medicine that much. Looking back, I think I just did it because "that's what smart kids do". They become doctors, right? Eventually, though, I decided to pursue other interests and contemplate whether teaching was really the right thing for me. I ended up spending an extra year and a half in college, mostly traveling around Mexico and learning the language, and eventually decided that teaching was the thing for me. But instead of just teaching at some rich private school, I wanted the rejects--the kids that no one else wanted. I wanted to be like Morgan Freeman in the movie Lean on Me. I wanted inner city kids!!
Unfortunately, though, that didn't work out and I ended up teaching at a local technical college. ESL and GED Prep were my classes. And would you believe, after just 9 months I was completely burnt out. I hated teaching. And just like that I quit.
Back to square one...
I kept in touch with all my premed friends, though, who were all in med school at this point. And they all had the same advice, as they all knew I was contemplating medical school after failing terrible at teaching: "Ju," they'd say, "don't do this unless you really want it, man. Medicine is definitely not a field you want to pursue half-heartedly." And they were right. As much as I needed to find SOMETHING to do with my life, I knew going to medical school as "just something to do" was the worst idea ever. I would have been miserable.
So, instead, I went to nursing school. (That made sense, right?)
Back then--at least to me--the decision made sense. I figured nurses got do lots of cool medical stuff and I could be do done fairly quickly. Hey, I had all of my prerequisites and could be done in just two years. (I was completely ignorant and deluded myself into believing I had made right decision.) I actually liked the idea of being a nurse; that was until I actually started doing student clinicals and had to wipe a patient's butt for the first time. I almost threw-up. I was like, if this is what nurses have to do, I am out of here. And after just two semester, I quite.
So, back to the drawing board, again.
This time I really had to think. I wasn't getting any younger and all of my college friends were well on their ways. My problem was, I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. Although, I knew I liked healthcare, I couldn't really see myself being anything other than a doctor if I was going to pursue anything in that field. But every time I tried to convince myself that medicine was my thing, reality would hit me right in the face. And as I grew, I learned that more and more. I just didn't want to be a doctor.
I quickly learned that several students go down paths that they ultimately end up hating; and a lot of it could have been avoided had they simply dug a little deeper and really learned about the career. I didn't want to make that mistake, especially with a career path that pretty much sucks you in with their $40,000 a year cost. I kept thinking I would hate to take out that much money in loans and then quit.
By this point I was 24 years old, jobless and just sitting on my 3.78 GPA and decent MCAT score. After months and months of thinking, I decided to enroll in graduate school. I knew I liked research and I also figured being a professor of Molecular and Cell Biology would allow me to put my outstanding teaching skills to use. Not to mention, instead of dealing with high school drop-outs, who quite frankly, couldn't appreciate what I had offer, I would be able to teach professional students. And to top it all off, your tuition is fully covered, you get insurance, and biweekly stipend. The deal seemed pretty sweet to me.
So just like that, the next Fall I was in graduate school.
It was also during this time when I started to reconnect with my old friend Mr. Polk. Mr. Polk is a pharmacist and has been doing it for over 30 years. We went to lunch one day and talked for hours and ended up discussing my career path. After hearing my story, he asked if I ever thought about pharmacy. Obviously, I hadn't. I always thought pharmacist were just a bunch of old pill-pushers, whose job seemed insanely mundane. I said something like, "If I'm honest, I want something a little more challenging." After I said it, I knew I had just put my foot in my mouth, but by that point there wasn't much I could do to fix it. But with Mr. Polk being the good man he is, instead of attacking or making me eat my words, he simply invited me to watch him work.
I went. And, if I'm honest, I wasn't sold during that visit. It wasn't until I learned about clinical pharmacist that the pharmacy profession started to peak my interest. So, while I was in grad school, reading about lysosomal degradation and ubiquination, I was also started researching the pharmacy profession. After just three months of constant digging and asking and volunteering and speaking to any pharmacy student I could get my hands on, I realized I was officially intrigued. Actually, I realized I wanted to do it. I loved their school and the classes they took. And I also remember that Pharmacology and Pathophysiology were the only two classes I liked in Nursing School. And so I started figuring out how to get in.
I was very fortunate in that I had all of my prerequisites completed, so I didn't have to take anymore classes. The only thing I had to do was take the PCAT. And while I wasn't too worried about the PCAT, I still wanted to study for it. My problem was, graduate school took up a lot of my time, especially that first year when you're taking nothing but classes. I was reading papers every night. The last thing I had time for was studying for the PCAT. So the day before the test, I bought a little PCAT prep book from Barnes-&-Nobles and read as much I could. The next day I was in Birmingham taking my test. If I'm honest, it wasn't even that hard. I ended up scoring in the 85th percentile. I applied to one school: Harrison School of Pharmacy (HSOP) at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. (They're actually a really good school, too. They're ranked 24th in the nation, which I didn't know when I applied.) I sent my scores and application in and within two weeks I received an email from the HSOP inviting me to an interview. Wende and I both went and the next day I was accepted. I was a great day and, quite frankly, it felt like I had finally chosen the right thing. For the first time in my life I was actually looking forward to something; instead of the usual, just doing something to pass the time.
My road to pharmacy school is definitely not the typical one but I certainly think taking the route I did has made a stronger and better person. I've learned so much about myself throughout the years. I know what I like and what I don't. I know who I am and what I want. And believe me when I tell you, I want to be a pharmacist. I'm 26 years old and this Fall I will be a first years pharmacy student at The Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University. I look forward to the next four years and can't wait to one day call myself a Pharmacist.
No comments:
Post a Comment