Example Of Why You Selected Pharmacy As A Career And How The Doctor Of Pharmacy Degree Relates Admission Essay

Why you selected pharmacy as a career and how the Doctor of Pharmacy degree relates to your immediate and long-term professional goals. Describe how your personal, educational, and professional background will help you achieve your goals.
The reasons for my choosing pharmacy as a career are many. First of all, pharmacist has consistently been ranked as one of the best jobs in the USA. A pharmacist plays a crucial role in the health care system. Apart from dispensing medications that have been prescribed by health practitioners and physicians, they also monitor the health of the patients, and give advice to the medical practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions and side effects of medicines. They also counsel patients while dispensing prescription and non-prescription drugs and take active part in health promotion programs. The goal of a pharmacist is to ensure positive health-related outcomes and improve the quality of life, and this exactly matches with my immediate and long-term professional goals. I want to make a positive impact on the lives of others and carve a niche for myself in the pharmaceutical world. I also seek to generate optimism in people, especially in those who have lost all hopes and establish myself as a well-known caregiver. The Doctor of Pharmacy degree will help me fulfill my goals by educating me about different medicines and how they function in the human body. This education would also help me develop an understanding about the use of drugs, their clinical effects, and their composition, including the chemical, physical and biological properties. The knowledge acquired through the doctoral program would enable me to secure the public health by ensuring drug purity and efficacy.
Currently, I am studying in Brookdale Community College in third year. I have an Associate degree in math and science that make me eligible for the pharmacy course. I am a quick learner and pick up things easily by observing and performing. I am ambitious, hard-working and eager for learning new things and I do not mind taking extra endeavors to fulfill my dream. I have leadership qualities and have served as a captain of the high school soccer team. I believe with a strong will and determination, I will be able to achieve my goals.
Personally, the desire for learning about critical diseases and their treatment grew in me first when I was diagnosed with high cholesterol at a young age. I have been on medication (Lipitor) ever since. That desire turned into a life term goal when my grandmother, whom I am very close to, fell sick with rheumatoid arthritis and I saw her suffering from immense pain. Though she was on medication and was advised to do some simple exercises daily to keep her joints free of pain, it was, nevertheless, difficult for her to execute even the simple day to day tasks. It was at that time that I began to question how one could relieve people suffering from acute illnesses of their pain. It was at that time that I developed an interest in learning about medications. By pursuing the doctoral degree in pharmacy, I would be able to learn about the drugs that provide some sort of relief to the patients suffering from such acute pain and illness, and this learning would enable me to fulfill my goal of helping patients.
I have been working as a certified senior pharmacy technician for Walgreens for the past year and a half. I like dealing with difficult patients who have more complex issues than others and it gives me immense satisfaction when my inputs come to the patients' help in any way. My job at Walgreens has exposed me to a variety of experiences. Once a patient suffering from high blood pressure was out of medication, but his doctor was out on vacation for 3 days. I was glad that I along with my colleagues was able to give the patient an emergency supply of medication to help him get through the remaining three days until his doctor's return. Another time, I came across a patient who had no idea about diabetes testing supplies (test strips and lancets) and how he could acquire them through the Medicare insurance. I talked to the patient and helped him to the best of my ability so that he could leave the pharmacy with peace of mind. Another common issue that has come to my notice at Walgreens is some patients who take medication for high blood pressure often ask for over the counter medicines without the knowledge of how certain over the counter medicines may interact with them and lead to dangerous side effects. In such situations, I always try to stay alert and careful to be able to ensure the patients' safety and wellness. I have seen how some patients try to avoid taking vaccinations for the fear that vaccines would lead to long-term health impact. In such cases, I provide my counselling to patients on certain vaccines they are recommended to receive and how these vaccines would benefit them.
I believe my educational, personal and professional experiences suitably provide a background to nurture my career in pharmacy. The doctoral degree will not only help build my education base solid, but would also help catapult my career in the desired direction. With the earning of this degree, I would become a medication expert and would be able to contribute to the welfare of the community by ensuring public health and safety.