Complete Story
P4 to Resident Reflextion
P4 to Resident Reflection
By: Southerlin Calhoun, PharmD; PGY1 Community Resident - Kroger | The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy
APPE year was fantastic. It began with moving to Columbus, OH, a place I had never explored before. It was definitely an upgrade from the cornfields surrounding Cedarville University, where I spent six years completing undergrad and most of pharmacy school. I was blessed with good rotation schedules that made it feel like I was working a normal job, just like all of the new friends I was meeting. That feeling is more important than you would think for a 25 year old who has been a student for her whole life. Because of the basically normal work schedule, I had time to bring some hobbies back into my life. I was also able to get my precious eight hours of sleep almost every night. I was honestly really happy. But somewhere around January, thoughts of the upcoming NAPLEX started to creep up on me. I have never been very good at studying. I am a big picture person; I am built for ideas and concepts, not details and facts. Ironic, since pharmacy school is all about knowledge and memorizing. Occasionally, I wonder why I chose to go into pharmacy in the first place. It seems like the way my brain works is the opposite of what I need to be a proficient pharmacist. But after I started my residency, I began to see the value of my gifts and how I could use them in pharmacy.
At the beginning of July I started my PGY1 with the Ohio State University community residency program. I chose this program because they also express a love for innovation and a desire to see pharmacy reach its full potential, especially in the community setting. My time spent here has been saturated with brainstorming sessions with likeminded people. I have gotten to dream about the future of pharmacy and imagine all the ways that I could help improve it along with the pharmacists that I work with. I don’t think I would’ve had that opportunity if I had gone straight into the workforce. Seeing the engagement and passion from my preceptors has encouraged me to use my big picture brain to make all of my projects and plans come to life. It is still hard to believe that the things I do this year will impact the profession of pharmacy for the better.
If you are a big picture pharmacy student who prefers imagining the future of pharmacy to memorizing all those drug facts, I want you to know that we need you out here. You can 100% find your place in the pharmacy world. Keep on studying hard, and when you’re out of school, find somewhere that will allow you to explore your big ideas and use them to drive the profession of pharmacy forward.
