Personal Essay Notes

Your Personal Essay should address why you selected pharmacy as a career and how the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals. 1 page (4500 characters, including spaces The air was thick with apprehension and uncertainty. The room was packed from wall to wall with men, women and children. Spanish and English entwined and settled on willing ears. People were handing me prescriptions, and it was my job to assist the Pharmacist to fill and dispense medication. The people of Piedras Negras, Mexico were gathered in the makeshift clinic my church had set up with the hope of being treated. I was working in the pharmacy and my heart was full. Growing up, I knew I had a passion for science. In the fifth grade, I made up a rap song about the cell, yet knowing what I wanted to do with that passion was always unclear. After attending the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in high school, I decided being a doctor or nurse was not for me; I didn’t enjoy the idea of physically examining patients. I enjoyed interaction with people, just not in an exam room. While this helped narrow the choices, I was still unclear about my future career aspirations. I used my time in college to explore and investigate various options. My junior year of college, I started research in a developmental biology lab. It was a unique experience that exposed me to another side of science. While I had taken numerous labs in school, this was unlike any of my previous classes. It was exciting to challenge myself to think outside of the box, but there was still an element lacking; I wasn’t passionate about it. While on summer break last year, I shadowed as a pharmacy at home. Pharmacy became an option I wanted to strongly pursue. I began asking pharmacy students and pharmacists about their profession. I joined the pre-pharmacy club. I did research online and began to shadow at several retain pharmacies. Then came the experience in Mexico. I knew at last, that my passion was pharmacy, and it was the perfect career for me. The pharmacists had interaction with patients and could be there as a friend and confidante. People were known by name and there was a sense of community about working in a pharmacy. You solve problems, you figure out the piece of a puzzle and foremost, you make sure your client is taking the right medication and dose. The patients rely on you to make sure all medications work together and not in a harmful manner. I now work in a pharmacy as a pharmacy20technician, and every day, I am rewarded with knowing I have made the correct decision. This job allows me to have a hands-on approach to working in a pharmacy and exposed me to areas I wasn’t able to participate in while I shadowed. It is paramount for pharmacists and physicians to work together to provide patients with confidence in their healthcare. A pharmacist needs to be compassionate and patient, a good communicator, calm under pressure, and detail oriented. These are qualities at which I excel. I have been involved in Mission trips and tutoring underprivileged students since my sophomore year in high school. Living in Texas over the past three years, I have continued this passion and have made mission trips more of a regular event. With my Doctor of Pharmacy I will be an active participant in the local community, as well as serving others through mission trips. I will use the knowledge and passion for biology I have gained in college, and expand on my science passion in pharmacy school. I will also use my second degree, a certificate in business, in the future as an owner of a local pharmacy or pharmacy manager.