Why did you choose your specific health professional career?
My aunt is diabetic and to support her I used to go with her to some of her appointments. It was a great learning experience to see pharmacists in a patient-pharmacist relationship and so I wanted to learn more about the profession. I knew I wanted a career in the medical field and this experience directed me a little more into pharmacy.
What experiences did you have to make sure this profession was right for you?
In high school, I volunteered my junior and senior year at the pharmacy in Tuba City, and when I was away at college, I’d come home and work at the pharmacy every summer. In Tucson, I worked at Tucson Medical Center as a technician. These experiences allowed me to see the profession in two different environments. I found that I enjoyed what the job entailed and I knew it was something I could see myself doing. I spent a summer while in high school, at the University of Arizona Med-Start Program which was great in helping me narrow my focus on pharmacy.
Describe any obstacles or barriers to success that you encountered along your health professional career path and how did you overcome them?
In my path, on my way to becoming a pharmacist, barriers included time management and time with my family. As a single mom, I had to balance school/work and my daughter. Learning how to manage my time was a huge obstacle as I learned to create and follow a schedule. I would spend time with family during the day and study in the evening. The classes involved in attaining a PharmD had a lot of science and math. I found that working in study groups, going to a professor’s office hours, and tutors helped me. The resources are available but it’s up to the individual to seek them out.
What do you do in your current job?
I’m a staff pharmacist. I work in an outpatient setting which is more like retail pharmacy. This facility has an in-patient and out-patient area. I haven’t been trained to handle in-patient, because my previous experience was in retail; eventually I’ll be doing in-patient pharmacy work, which is something I am looking forward to doing. We fill prescriptions, provide medication information to the patients and providers, and we monitor patients compliance of their medications.
What advice do you have for American Indian/Alaska Native students who are interested in health careers?
There are a lot of different fields in healthcare and I suggest exploring the options before you decide on a career/profession. I suggest getting hands on experience while in high school or in college, then you can direct yourself. I mention this only because I met a lot of people, even in pharmacy school, who did not have any experience in pharmacy and felt that the profession was not for them. Most finished pharmacy school, and went on to further their education in medicine or other professions. Explore your options because there are different avenues and a lot of resources, especially for American Indian students for scholarships or fellowships. They should start looking into that ahead of time. Physically get involved with it, even if it’s just volunteering, so then you know where you want to go and what you want to do.