Observation 7



"A Day in the Life of a Pharm Student"




For my seventh observation, I spent a day with a Pharmaceutical grad student, here at Nova, who chooses to remain anonymous on a public internet blogging sight. She was into her third year and doing amazing. She maintains a 3.6 gpa, but I will never know how she does it. She is the busiest student I think I have every met. Not only is she in grad school, but she has a part time job at the local Ruby Tuesday's here in Davie, Florida. When she walked me through her typical day, I was fascinated. I did not know how it was possible for one person to complete all that she does in a single day.
When she fist wakes up, this Pharmacy student goes to the gym for about an hour and a half beginning at about 8 o'clock. Next she showers and gets ready for work. She only has about five minutes to eat, so she grabs a pop tart on the way out. She works for about 5 hours a day, then returns home to get ready for class. After about 3-4 back to back classes, she goes back to her room and begins studying. She studies for every subject a little bit every night. She suggested to me, that if I can find the time, studying a little bit every night will greatly increase my rate of learning the material. After she has studied for about 3 hours, she decides to have a quick bite to eat and then she goes to bed. The next day, she gets up, and does it all over again. This is her schedule for about 5 nights out of her week. She does get Sundays off, which she confessed she spends studying and eating junk food.
I greatly enjoyed this shadowing observation because I got to physically see what my future could very possibly look like in the next couple of years. It was very hectic, but looks manageable. I cannot wait to get started!

Observation 6

Comparing/Contrasting Interviews

Over the course of this research project, I have conducted interviews with two different pharmacists. The first, Suzi, was a family friend who works at her local CVS in Indiana. The second and most recent, Luis Rodas, is the night pharmacist in the Davie, Florida Walgreen's. After interviewing both, I came to discover that they are very different Pharmacists as well as people.

Suzie, who attended school for only 8 years, received her undergraduate education as well as her degree from a College of Pharmacy, did not get her masters degree in order to become the Pharmacist she is today. She works about forty hours a week beginning in the mornings and ending at around 5pm. She truly loves her job. With years of experience behind her, she is completely comfortable in her career and how to handle any strenuous situation that is thrown her way.

Luis Rodas attended a total of 10 years studying for the profession he maintains today. He, unlike Suzy, did obtain a Masters degree in biochemistry. His work schedule, includes about 60-72 labor hours a week fallowed by an entire week off of work. His work night starts at 10pm and ends around the time that Suzie's work day starts. Because Luis has only been a Pharmacist for about 2 years, he described his job as less satisfactory overall than Suzie. However, he has much less experience in the actual Field of work and may learn to love it just as much as she does as he gains more experience.

Both Pharmacists agree that the job definitely has its triumphs and tribulations, and that it can get very stressful. They also agree that the schooling required to have a job in the Pharmaceutical practice is very intense and very time consuming. However, they both also say that it definitely pays off in the end. I have determined that it will take time to really love the job that I intend to work so hard for, but I am willing to put in the work. Hopefully, like Suzie, Rodas and myself will eventually learn to love the career of Pharmacy.