Pharmacist

She dropped out of high school briefly due to failing courses but then rebounded to return with a new dedication to earn her diploma. She  followed a challenging career path requiring technical knowledge, which she supplemented by learning how to speak comfortably to people in settings both private and public. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Jocelyn Tyson (JT) was born in Camden, New Jersey. Her parents, both African Americans, were employed within different offices of N.J. state government. JT’s father was an auditor with the N.J. Office of Legislative Services. Her mother worked in an administrative capacity. 

CHILDHOOD

As a child, JT enjoyed listening to accomplished public speakers and had dreams of becoming a star Broadway actress. Said JT, “I have an inner showgirl!”

EDUCATION – PART ONE

Self-assessing her small chance of becoming a featured actress, JT decided to attend college. 

CHALLENGE – WOULD FAILING GRADES AND TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL FROM HIGH SCHOOL DOOM ANY CHANCE FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION?

JT was not the only student in the history of the world to have trouble dedicating herself sufficiently to study all her courses to pass tests. Faced with a report card featuring more Fs than Cs or Bs, JT decided to take a break from school to instead work part-time to stay busy and earn some spending money. Her parents approved on condition that JT agree to return to school for the start of the next academic year. 

A frequent question from JT’s father would echo in her ears: “Are you ready to try again?”

Though now an academic year behind her original classmates, JT still kept up her friendships with that group while slowly adding a few friends within her new classes, where she realized that she had to pay better attention in class and study hard to not only achieve passing grades but aim for higher marks.

JT’s teachers were impressed with her new attitude toward schoolwork and her school counselor advised that she was still college-eligible if that’s the path she wanted to pursue. The counselor worked with JT’s teachers to provide honest praise for JT’s academic turnaround through letters of general recommendation. 

But, what to study at which college? Watching a local female pharmacist enjoying her job and believing she could succeed in a science-based career, JT enrolled in her state university’s (Rutgers) school of Pharmacy (named for its benefactor, Ernest Mario). 

EDUCATION – PART TWO

Having learned the importance of paying attention in every class, asking questions to resolve any academic questions and deep-studying for exams, JT earned her PhD in pharmacology. 

PHARMACISTS – ABOUT

 A pharmacist is a health care professional specializing in the usage and administration of medication. They dispense prescriptions to patients upon receiving a physician’s orders. Pharmacists are experts on how drugs work and interact with the body so that patients who take them achieve the best possible result.

At their core, pharmacists are experts in the science of medicine. They ensure patients receive the correct dosage of life-saving prescriptions, advise other health care professionals on pharmacology, and are able to identify when one drug is dangerous or interacts with another. 

Most pharmacists are ‘community pharmacists’ who work in drug stores, grocery stores, big box stories and private pharmacies, including those who distribute over mail order. Other pharmacists work in-house at hospitals and other health care facilities serving patients. 

In addition to ensuring patients receive their proper medications, a pharmacist may answer questions and help educate both patients and other health care professionals on how certain drugs interact or the side effects they have have on the body or mind. 

While the main task of most pharmacists is to fill prescriptions for patients, other daily tasks may include: 

• Checking a customer’s history to ensure their new medications won’t interfere with their old medications
• Giving vaccines, like the flu shot
• Testing a customer’s blood sugar, cholesterol level or blood pressure
• Teaching customers how to take their medicine safely and effectively
• Consulting with doctors and other health care professionals about prescriptions for specific customers
• Providing basic wellness screenings
• Managing the pharmacy, including pharmacy techs and assistants
• Negotiating with insurance providers
• Maintaining customer records
• Recommending over-the-counter (no prescription required) medication
• Providing basic health advice on topics like stress management, nutrition, how to stop smoking and other lifestyle changes

HOW TO BECOME A PHARMACIST

1. Obtain your PharmD – A Doctor of Pharmacy degree typically takes four years of full-time education to complete. While some programs require a bachelor’s degree, many othes only require two years of undergraduate study, with courses in chemistry, physics and biology. That means with a high school diploma, a person can earn a PharmD in as little as six years.
2. Pass the applicable licensing exam. Each state has its own requirements for licensing. Most states require passing the North American Pharmacist Licensure Exam (NAPLEX) plus the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE), which tests on the laws and regulations adopted in that state. 
3. Complete a background check. Some states require additional training in specific areas, like administering vaccinations.
4. Hone the required skills, including attention to detail and accuracy, critical thinking, verbal and written communication skills, compassion, integrity, math and counting skills, ability to multitask, willingness to advocate for patients and time management skills.

ENTRY LEVEL TASKS OF ONE NEW PHARMACIST

JT’s first job as a pharmacist was with a ‘compounding’ pharmacy, which made medications for people having certain medication needs or requirements. Unlike a ‘community’ pharmacy, compounding pharmacies mix and combine ingredients to make customized medications. Such medications aren’t mass-produced for availability at typical, local pharmacies. 

ADDING A SKILL MAY OPEN DOORS TO A DIFFERENT CAREER

A child who envisions herself or himself as the star of a Broadway production will likely be comfortable – though hiding nervousness – as an adult speaking to strangers one-on-one or to an audience of many. So, it should not be surprising that JT began to consider ways to serve as a pharmacist while interacting with more people than found in the same lab every day. 

JT began attending meetings of a local Toastmasters Club – one of a global network of clubs established over a century ago (1905) originally to help men improve their public speaking abilities. As of 2023, there were 270,000 Toastmasters Club (men and women) members worldwide including 100,360 in the U.S.

Toastmasters is a nonprofit educational organization to help people develop communication, public speaking and leadership skills. One of their offerings is called ‘Speechcraft’, a 4-8 week program with materials hosted online, conducted by experienced members, who may meet with new members in person or on zoom calls focusing on improving public speaking skills through constructive comments and participating in speech contests. 

JT quickly found that Toastmasters “represents the world I want to be a part of.” Naturally comfortable speaking to strangers, Toastmasters – during the first three years of her membership – gave JT “the practice and the constructive feedback to refine and polish what she had,” said a mentor. 

“My inner critic was always telling me, ‘Yes…but’ said JT, who started listening instead to her ‘inner go-getter’ and eventually was crowned World Champion of Public Speaking by Toastmasters International following her seven-minute  monologue, “Have You Been There?” which showcased JT’s expressive storytelling and self-deprecating wit as she described herself swimming in the wrong direction at a triathlon, turning around and finishing the race.

Through the new friends and business network she experienced at Toastmasters, JT became aware of a new opportunity within her pharmacist career path: a vaccine health and science specialist at Pfizer in Baltimore. “When I worked at a compounding pharmacy, I only dealt with people on the phone, but now I’ll be communicating with doctors in the field and educating people,” said JT. “I want to go out, and do it, and see how far I can take it.”

CAREER SATISFACTION

JT has said that her success as a public speaker – not yet fully measured – is a tribute to her father, who would always ask her whether she was willing to try again. Her father responded, “She is willing to say, ‘I can be better,’ and I really admire that about her.”

Continued her father, “I was truly humbled by the fact that such a simple lesson about trying again had such a powerful effect. When you hear a child talk about you in such a positive way, you have to be very proud. And her parents are very proud of her.”

Said an official with Toastmasters, “IF JT has an ambition to become a paid professional speaker, being World Champion creates an international marketplace for her.” 

For her immediate future, JT looks forward to putting more of her Toastmasters’ experience to good use within her new business responsibilities.

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This career story was based on multiple sources including a news article written by Kevin Riordan, published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on September 10, 2023 plus internet research, including the website ‘coursera.’