My First Professional Reflection Paper

First Year Seminar is a beneficial, getting started-like course provided by West Coast University during the first term of the program. Since the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is very rigorous this course is helpful in adjusting new students, such as myself, to a very demanding, fast-pace program. This class focuses on topics that help students organize and understand oneself and the mission of WCU mission to achieve the greatest success as a student. In my Signature Assignment term paper I will focus on my experience with FYS and what information I’ve gained to help me understand my learning style, strengths and weaknesses I have as a student, how working collaboratively benefits me and how I will go about achieving success at WCU.

Math had always been the easy, simple subject for me until calculus suddenly turned math into a terribly fascinating new world for me to explore. My paradigm regarding the seemingly rigid discipline shifted from indifference to a desire to learn how the puzzle pieces of the world clicked and fitted together. I hoped to spread that sentiment by establishing Mu Alpha Theta at my school, a chartering process that I expected to last at most two months.

My strongest impetus for the study of this major is pegged on the personal urge to improve the lives and health of those around me. I would only be able to serve the health of others when I am fully acquainted with the knowledge of pharmacy, which to me is one of the noblest professions. I am deeply concerned about the welfare of others. My experiences, especially as I visit hospitals form a significant part in influencing my choice to study pharmacy. At one point, I felt very bad when a pharmacist in a hospital I had visited was very indolent in serving a patient. All human beings would feel adored and valued when they are given appropriate attention in regard to their health. The health profession has a mission geared towards safeguarding people's health and that mission is perfectly in sync with my desires. I want to be exceptional, to do my best in caring for people, and attend to their interest to the best of my knowledge. I admire nourishing hope to desolate patients and always give them a reason to

Our tutoring program is a big success as it pairs NHS members with students who are struggling in certain subject areas. As scholarship is another pillar of NHS, our members take their schoolwork very seriously and they are some of the brightest students in their classes. This tutoring program allows them to give back to our Holmdel High School community by imparting some of their knowledge to struggling students. Their service and time does not go unnoticed as they often have to give up their free time during study hall, lunch, or even after school. One of my fondest memories while being a tutor was when I had to help a younger student study for an Algebra test. I was a bit nervous before our session that I wouldn’t be able to help her understand the subject matter, but we went through her review packet question by question and to my relief I was able to explain the material to her with ease and give her advice on how to solve them, as well as testing tips and strategies that she could use. After our session was over I was glad I was able to help her, but really didn’t think anything of it. I had kind of forgot about our tutoring session when two weeks later, the girl I tutored came up to me with a huge smile on her face telling me she got a 100 on her test and told me she couldn’t have done it without

As future pharmacists, we are going to face with not only the medications but also the patients, which the former ones are our tools while the latter ones are the people we use correct tools to care about. We are required to combine our pharmacy knowledge among medications with patients’ different health conditions to create the patient-centered care and provide the best outcomes. However, this care trend is in transition now, from professional-orientated to patient-centered.

During the two and a half years of my pharmacy journey, I have been thinking what can a pharmacist do within the healthcare interprofessional team to better help the patients in order to achieve the best health outcome. I work in a clinic as well as inpatient pharmacy, additionally, I had my rotations at CVS and Regions Hospital. all these experiences shape my version of the pharmacists at different settings. Therefore, in various pharmacy settings, pharmacists can work differently with the whole healthcare team. The recent PED-Rx events inspired me how important pharmacists can play roles in when working in a team.

In the delivery of healthcare every member of the healthcare team plays important role in ensuring that the most appropriate care is provided to the patient to the best of their expert capabilities. The role of a pharmacist is critical in delivering quality healthcare. The article “What Pharmacist Do?” by Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) provides detailed statement of the important roles pharmacists play and the services they provide in healthcare delivery.

I have spent my time as a student pharmacist learning about opportunities within clinical pharmacy and making certain that I was equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. In my pursuit, I became an active member of pharmaceutical organizations, held multiple leadership positions, attended clinical conferences, established research projects, participated in community service events, and other initiatives. I excelled academically, which was manifested in not just a high academic standard but also in tutoring fellow classmates and arranging sessions with other pharmacy students to help them improve time management and study skills. I shadowed pharmacists and residents before my advanced pharmacy practice experiences commenced to discover which areas of clinical pharmacy I found intriguing. I have obtained valuable pharmacy practice experiences in five specialties thus far including inpatient internal medicine, long term acute care, geriatrics and telehealth, and primary care. Through these rotations, I built upon the knowledge I acquired from my didactic courses but also developed patient-centered approaches and strengthened my clinical skills. I enjoyed many aspects of my rotations, including contributing pharmacotherapy recommendations, providing patient education, attending rounds and interdisciplinary team meetings – all of which have solidified my desire

Said people will have questions about the nature of their medications that will affect their well being. A good pharmacist needs to have the patience to take the time and answer customers’ questions.

Furthermore, I realized that this semester was going to be particularly challenging because of the Pre-calculus and Calculus hybrid course I had enrolled in; math has not always been my best subject and taking a fast-tracked math course was sure to be disastrous. Nevertheless, I was determined to make A’s in all my classes. After the first week of classes, I could already feel myself becoming overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to do in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, how disappointed I felt in myself when I received my first quiz grade for my pre-calculus class, I had bombed the quiz terribly by making a 65.

As I reflect on my experience of a pharmacy practice, I realize how much of my personality has changed in only few months. The experiences I gained during my first rotation at Walgreens were particularly rewarding, especially those gained while working as a team to achieve a common goal of a patient’s well-being. I did not have any previous experience in the pharmacy setting, therefore I was determined to take advantage of this opportunity to grow and develop skills that are vital to be a good pharmacist. During the rotation, I performed many activities that were assigned by the preceptor, learned new skills and competencies, identified my strengths and weaknesses, and made plans for continued development throughout the journey of pharmacy practice.

As the roles of Pharmacists continue to evolve and expand, Pharmacists are more easily accessible to patients and are able to provide direct patient care services but with all the other roles they have to perform, such as verifying everything that leaves the Pharmacy, they are sometimes unable to provide as much patient-focused service. This has raised the debate on whether increasing the roles of Pharmacy technicians to include performing duties such as accepting verbal prescriptions, transferring a prescription or performing final medication verification will allow Pharmacists to have more time for clinical services thus increasing overall productivity. Although I am in support of creating more opportunities and expanding the roles of the

This semester has been a tough one but I feel like I have learned a lot about pharmacy over these past few months. I have had a lot of courses so far and in each one, I have been able to make connections to the practice of pharmacy. In this essay, I will reflect on some of things I learned in my courses and how they relate to my future career as a pharmacist. I will also identify areas where certain topics intersect in different courses.

Today in the 21st century the roles of pharmacist have expanded tremendously. Before pharmacist had the role of solely dispensing drugs. Pharmacists were limited to only being regulatory or clinical pharmacist. Back then they were called medical purveyors who were much like today’s regulatory pharmacist and hospital pharmacist who are similar to hospital pharmacist. Now pharmacists carry many roles in healthcare. Pharmacist can play roles in public health, community, health systems, state, and federal government.

This career goes unnoticed because many do not see the importance of it. Without this field, the balance in the medical community would be disrupted due to patients not receiving their medication to sustain their life. Although this career may seem easy, there are important characteristics one must hold in order to be a successful pharmacist.