Why Pharmacy?
Why Pharmacy?
Hi everyone, I am __________ and I aspire to become a clinical pharmacist. I chose Pharmacy because I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the Medical field. Pharmacy is a diverse and rewarding career, with opportunities for patients centered care, scientific research, and innovation. I have always been intrigued by math and science and I have always had a passion for helping others. Pharmacists are accessible healthcare providers that provide patient care with no cost to the patient. Medication will always be a part of our everyday lives because we never know when we may fall sick or become injured. To be a medication specialist means that we are leaders of the healthcare community that ensures the possible outcomes for our patients in regards to their health. I was super excited the moment I received my acceptance letter from __________. That moment was beginning a new chapter in my life and I am now one step closer to pursuing my career. I look forward to giving back and working in the underserved communities to advocate health care where it is well needed.
Mission is to prepare pharmacists to impact medically underserved communities, particularly African Americans, to eliminate health disparities through patient-centered care, community service and scholarly work.
What are your initial thoughts regarding the mission? What does this mean to you and how do you intend on advocating our mission the day after you graduate?
My initial thoughts, upon reading the mission statement of _____________, I can say that it is an honor to be a part of this profound HBCU. It’s mission is to prepare “pharmacy practitioners to demonstrate outstanding leadership and dedication to the medically underserved populations in our society, while striving to illuminate healthcare disparities.” Being that I am originally from New Orleans and grew up in the lower ninth ward, I believe in giving back to the community. I was able to witness first hand that the advocacy of healthcare in the underserved communities is well needed. What this means to me, as I transitioned from a traditional student into a medical student is to stand by the commitment to the pledge of professionalism. I will advocate this mission by adhering to the set ethical principles of the pharmacy profession. As stated in the Pledge of Professionalism ” Integrity will be an essential part of everyday life and I will pursue all academic and professional endeavors with honesty and a commitment to service. As an aspiring pharmacist my mission is to lead, serve, heal, educate and innovate and I am looking forward to becoming a healthcare professional.
During our class discussion. This was such a heavy topic and there was a lot of emotion arising from the survey.
What are your thoughts regarding the survey? As healthcare providers how can we understand these implicit biases and improve the pharmacy profession?
The implicit biases survey was quite interesting. Waiting for the results was like waiting for test results at the Doctor’s office. Honestly, I was caught off guard. I thought the outcome would be fairness across the board. I never thought that I would subconsciously prefer one race over the other. I feel as though, I treat everyone equally despite the color of their skin. The color of your skin or where you are from does not dictate the person you are. Growing up, I was taught to live by the golden rule: Which is to treat others the way you would like to be treated. I didn’t agree with the implicit biases survey because I didn’t understand my results. The only justification that I can provide is that I grew up in a predominantly African American community and this may have possibly influenced my results. I am not sure. However, when Katrina hit New Orleans, I was forced to evacuate to Texas. Where there was far more diversity. Every school I’ve attended there were students from all over the world. I thought it was fascinating to learn about all of the different cultures. Incidentally, this is where I developed my cultural competency. Cultural competency is an important aspect to the healthcare profession. Recognition of personal biases against people of different cultures can be beneficial. A great saying that comes to mind is to “acknowledge the problem but live in the solution.” Understanding implicit biases allows us to accept the responsibility to combat any underlying discrimination. So that we are able to provide the best patient centered care! Efforts to improve cultural competence among health care professionals and organizations would contribute to improving the quality of healthcare.
