600th Post!

Apparently I completely over looked the "500th post" mark, but at any rate, I've been rocking it out in this blog for over four years and for 600 posts. Honestly, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I've got some seriously good stuff going on here. Perhaps my life is only interesting to me (in fact, I'm pretty sure it is), but I get a kick out of myself. Lately not so much, but we all have "dry spells" if you will. I have my entire graduate school career documented in this blog, which I can say now I am so grateful for. Reading back on days which have past makes me truly appreciate how far I've come, how much I've changed, and how glad I am that some of those days are over (and by those days, I mean BioChem, Chemo, and Internal Medicine, just to name a few). The me which created the very first post to this blog is so different from the me that sits here now, and I have to say I'm glad for that. Growing up sometimes is hard and sad, but by the time you do it I think we all feel a little bit of relief.

Aside from that, I finished my rotation with Meijer on Friday, which means I've completed all my required clinical work. I have three electives left, the first of which I begin tomorrow at Health Plus. I have to say, I really enjoyed my Meijer rotation. This is the environment that I've chosen to work in for at least the beginning of my career. I took the position with Target thinking that community pharmacy was where I belonged, and the weeks I spent at Meijer did nothing but reinforce that choice. I don't belong in a hospital, locked up in the pharmacy (usually in the basement with no windows) with no one but doctors, nurses, and other pharmacists to talk to. I belong in the community, as one of the most accessible health care professionals to the patient. I want to be asked questions, to help, to develop relationships with patients who will come back to me again and again because they trust me. That's where I belong, and it would be a horrible waste of my effort, skill set, and personality to place me somewhere else. I know now that I made the right choice.

Three more months until I graduate. Only a few weeks until I need to crack down and study for the pharmacy board exam, NAPLEX. As usual, I feel myself sprinting through the final miles.

And in honor of my 600th post, I think back to that very first, which took place exactly two weeks prior to my applying to Pharm school. Little did I know that it would consume my life, change my life, my relationships, and my choices, for the next four years. And my blog would hear it all--the good, the bad, and the ugly. ;)