The Profession of Pharmacy

So today in my Profession of Pharmacy class we had a guest speaker instead of our normal instructor. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to the majority of issues, but this guy was a jerk, and I would like to complain about him now. You don't have to listen(read).

He started off the lecture by announcing that the majority of us were in pharmacy school for the money which the profession could bring us throughout our lives. Although I realize that people such as this exist, I couldn't help but feel slightly insulted. I'm not going to say that the money isn't attractive to me--I have to pay back my college debt somehow--but money alone could never have gotten me to do this. If I merely wanted to make a ton of money, I would've found a less-expensive way to do it. One that wouldn't take seven years of my young (and "care-free) life and $150,00 of money I just don't have. I could drop out and be a stripper or something. I hear they make a lot of money these days--far more than a pharmacist.

He proceeded to tell us that at this early point in our professional education we don't really have a good reason to be here. We don't have "the passion" or the dedication that is needed to care for individuals for the rest of our lives, putting their needs (sometimes even at the threat of losing our license) before our own. Once again, I'll admit that the pharmacy profession in actual practice, with me in the driver's seat so to speak, is a very cloudy vision at this point. I want to be a good pharmacist and I'll do everything I can to become one, but just what experiences I'll encounter in my field are still very fuzzy. I haven't learned what all the drugs do (or even what they're called). I haven't been personally responsible for a patient the way I will be in a few short years. So maybe in this man's eyes--this man who has practiced pharmacy since before I was born--it may be easy to suggest that this means I have no passion or understanding. I only wish I would've had the guts to be defiant and tell him exactly what got me into this seat.

Passion is why I'm here, and if I didn't have a bottomless supply of it, I would've cracked up here after the second week. Because they were wrong--getting into pharmacy school is not the hardest part. Getting up everyday, spending the entire day in class, coming home every night and sacrificing time with friends, significant others, family, hobbies, and just about every other enjoyable thing you used to love--that's the hardest part. And perhaps the most difficult of all, to come through seven weeks of this mess and to sit here and honestly say that I still love pharmacy and want to do it with all my heart--that takes understanding, dedication, and passion that many people never experience for anything or anyone. The truth is, I sacrificed far more than I ever anticipated when I moved up here half a semester ago. I'm not even talking distance from Mike or my friends--that is at least tolerable. I'm talking my life has completely changed. And now it can never go back.

So I'm wet behind the ears. So I have a lot to learn. And yes, maybe I'm trying my hardest just to keep my head above the water. But I got here, I'm still going strong, and I'm still in love with my decision. Teach that in your classrooms. More importantly, teach the youthful to go after their dreams--not just to pursue a career that a high school counselor told them they would be good at. Once you've accomplished that, then you can tell me whatever you want about why I'm here.