30 Years

 

   On March 10, 1993 the state of Minnesota issued my pharmacist license. That mean that I have been working in the profession for over half of my life. I wish that I could say that I had always wanted to be a pharmacist and had been working toward it since I was young, but that would not be true.

   I actually started out wanting to be a nurse. I read books about nurses that I checked out from the library. I pictured myself wearing a white dress and cap, helping people. In fact I even tried to make a nurses cap out of paper to wear as I took care of my dolls. I read every book about Florence Nightingale that I could find. I discovered my aunts' Cherry Ames books. I also read nurse romance books. 

   Being a practical person I thought it would be a good idea to get a little real life experience working with and around nurses. I volunteered in a nursing home and later on worked as a nurses aid. I saw some of the things that nurses did and decided that wasn't what I wanted. 

  I wanted to do something in health care. That was one thing I knew for sure. My brother was thinking about going into physical therapy. I thought that might be something I could do and looked into it or occupational therapy. (My brother wound up being a paramedic, something he was very good at.)

   My career plans changed during my junior year of high school, at career day. We had to go to three different sessions. I went to the physical therapist session, the occupational therapist session and on a whim, the pharmacist session. I liked chemistry and thought it would be a good way to fill in the time. Little did I know I had found what I still consider to be my calling.

   I found out that the coursework for being a therapist would involve a lot of math and physics, subjects I was not good at. Pharmacy involved chemistry, which I loved. I allowed me to help people without having to give shots or start IVs two things that scared me when I was investigating nursing. It also seemed to be a stable career that paid well enough. I was sold. I was going to be a pharmacist.

  Going through the pharmacy program was hard work. I failed to pass two classes and had to take summer classes in order to graduate on time. Fortunately there were ten other classmates in the same boat. We studied together and supported each other.   We adopted the motto C= RPh, because we needed to get at least a C to pass our classes and eventually become Registered Pharmacists. 

   After graduation I did the rest of my internship. It was a good experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity. I was also fortunate that I could take three months off to move back to my parents' home and study for the pharmacy board exam.   

   It was a grueling two day experience. Back then we took the tests on paper and would not get results for two months. I passed all four sections on the first try so I didn't have to retake anything. Some of my classmates were not so lucky.

   I started my first job a week after I got my license. That was the start of my journey into what I believe is the best profession. It's been an interesting career so far. I never imagined that I would be giving vaccines, be granted limited ability to prescribe (pharmacist could prescribe Covid vaccines under certain guidelines)   and work during a pandemic. The profession has changed and the degree I hold is now obsolete. (The current degree is closer to a masters than a bachelors, which is what I have.)

   Despite the hard days, long hours missed holidays and meals, grumpy customers and one robbery, I'm still glad to be working as a pharmacist. I have no regrets. I do it again and hope to continue to practice pharmacy for another 20-25 years.