Stephanie Jackson
Managing Pharmacist
Aurora Health Care, Fond du Lac
About Me
I am a 24 year old pharmacist, and have lived in Fond du Lac almost my whole life. I am married and have a dog named Sasha. The college I attended is in Des Moines, Iowa. My wedding was August 12, 2006 and my husband is a commercial airline pilot. We really like to travel, and our favorite place to visit is Hawaii!
My professional title is Managing Pharmacist of Aurora Pharmacy in Fond du Lac. I fill prescriptions that patients bring to me. I get the patient the medication that they need to make them feel better. I also get to work with patients and physicians to make sure that the patient is taking the right medication and the one that is best for them to treat their problem. I have known for a long time that I wanted to be a pharmacist. I love working with people, and like to help them every day.
Why this Profession?
I chose to be a pharmacist for many reasons. First, I was always really good at math and science in school, and very poor in English and social studies. Secondly, I worked at Younkers as my first job and really enjoyed working with people. Thirdly, my dad is a pharmacist, so I knew the benefits of the job at an early age. He helped me realize that I could use my math and science skills and work with people in this profession. Though it wasn't the most popular job, I went on a job shadow of a pharmacist and I saw how much they talked with people. It wasn't just all talk of drugs, either. The pharmacist was able to form a relationship with his patients and the patient really trusted him a lot.
Also, I thought about being a doctor, but doctors are so short on the time that they can spend with their patients. As a pharmacist you get to spend as little or as much time as you want with your patients. Finally, the pharmacy profession allows me a wide range of opportunities. I can work as long or as short as I want, in a number of different settings. I can work in a hospital, working with doctors very closely, or in a clinic where you get to see many patients and interact with doctors, or I can work in a supermarket, a shopping center, or many other places. I also like that because there is such a demand for pharmacists, I can take a break from working full time, and not have to worry about having a job when I get back. It gives me comfort in my job security.
True stories
Patients have many problems when they come to me. They are not feeling well, and most of the time they just want to get home. I had one patient who had been treated badly at other pharmacies because her insurance was giving her so much hassle to get her medications. The medication that she needed was an expensive one, but rather than keeping her there while I made the hour and a half worth of phone calls I needed to make, I sent her home with her medication to get better. The patient came in with her daughter a week later, and she was so grateful that we were there to help her out. She realized all of the work and the sacrifice I made for her because of her past experience. It really made her day.
Getting through school
I graduated from Goodrich High School in 2000 and then went to Drake University into the college of pharmacy for 6 years. Currently, the standard is to go to college for 6 years, consisting of 2 years of pre-pharmacy (undergraduate) work, then 4 years of pharmacy (graduate) work.
Challenges of my academic career were the same as many, mainly the class load. The first years of undergraduate work are broad subjects, covering the non-pharmaceutical topics as well as the basics of science to help people understand the more complicated pharmaceutical information. The later years really worked on developing my medication knowledge and problem solving skills. Though it was a challenge, it really paid off, because passing the tests to be a pharmacist were not as difficult as I thought.
Some advice
In high school, I took the most difficult classes focusing on what I had interest in. So, I took advanced math and chemistry, but took the more basic English, history, etc. It was important to me to find a balance, so that I wasn't overwhelmed with taking the most advanced class of every subject. I think that really helped me in my college career. Also, doing a lot of job researching and shadowing to see what you like or dislike really was beneficial. The only thing I really would have done differently was develop my writing skills a little more, or taken harder classes for writing. You have to write a lot of papers in college and beyond, and I feel as though I was weak in that area during my college career.
If you want to pursue this healthcare field, focus on math and science, namely chemistry. I took the advance placement chemistry as a senior in high school, and it really helped my freshman year of college. I was doing well in that class, so I could focus my attention on other classes. It will also help if you develop your people skills outside of school. Dealing with people is something that is difficult to learn in a classroom. I found a job at Younkers, even though it was not in the healthcare field, and I worked with all types of people in many different settings. Healthcare is a service oriented field, and the more you work with serving people in many different settings, the more successful you will be in the future.
The Future
I think health care is going to become even more patient centered and service centered. I believe that right now insurance companies dictate a patient's care too much. Also, I think that many people look at the cost of medication and healthcare as a driving force for decisions they make related to health care. I see that changing to more patient care than healthcare cost. This will impact the pharmacy by changing what I do on a daily basis. I will be doing more work one-on-one with the patient, and less focus on getting people their medications. My job will focus on getting the right medications for that problem. There has been an increase in demand for physician's time with patients, in turn they have been getting less instruction on the lifestyle changes and medication instruction that needs to be done. This information is very important to patients, and I see pharmacists becoming instrumental in filling that gap.
My goals include taking care of each and every patient that walks through my door. Each patient has a different need, and I will find out what those needs are and do my best to fulfill each and every one. I think it is exciting to do something different each day and I have that opportunity every day in the pharmacy. I also want to push the pharmacy profession to its limits; I want to take responsibility for my patients care and do everything that I can to help them get and stay healthy.
Last Thoughts
I hope that I have created a real picture of what a pharmacist is. The truth is, with many careers, being a pharmacist is what you make of it. If you want to be one who counts pills daily, you can be that. If you want to be someone who basically prescribes drugs, or gives flu shots, or describes how to use a new medication or glucose meter, you can be anything that you want to be, and the profession needs each and every pharmacist. I hope that whatever you decide to do, you are passionate about it!