Sydney Thompson sydneythompson67@yahoo.

com Professor Kanehara 30 March 2014 Interview Assignment For the past couple of years, I have been interested in pursing a job as a Pharmacist. I found out in high school that I really enjoyed the math and science classes. I like to challenge myself and see what I am capable of after looking back at things I have accomplished in school. I am going to be receiving my Associate of Science degree after this current, spring semester and will be transferring to UVU in the fall. I am planning on taking a summer course to get my pharmacy technician license and start working in a pharmaceutical environment. I want to help people, and I think this job will give me the opportunity to do that while making a living. I know quite a few people that are Pharmacists and decided to do a face-to-face interview with Pete Haws. My mom went to school with his girlfriend and I thought it would be a great way to get to know more about the career. I have heard many different things about this job, both negative and positive. I want to be sure that this is something that I want to do before starting a 4-year pharmacy program and getting into unwanted debt. I was extremely excited and genuinely interested in this interview and what answers Pete would give me about his experience being a Pharmacist. I first asked Pete what made him want to be a Pharmacist. His response was, I was working in a genetics lab after getting my bachelors degree and the Pharmacy building at the U of U was right out the window below. I went and talked to the

admissions office and decided it seemed more promising than applying to graduate school in biology. I then asked about the company he worked for and how long he had been working there. Pete works for Walmart and has been for five years. He says that it is very busy, but he overall enjoys being in retail Pharmacy. I then asked him where he attended Pharmacy school and what his experience was like there. Pete answered, I attended the University of Utah for Pharmacy school. My classmates were the ones that made it a fun experience. Pharmacy school intimidates me, but I can imagine if you are friends with the people in your class, it would make a world of difference when it comes to how enjoyable the experience overall is. As I look at the prerequisite classes to even get into Pharmacy school, it can be overwhelming. There are heavy science classes and math classes that are required that you need to get at least a C or better in. I asked Pete what his hardest prerequisite class during his undergrad was and he told me that it was inorganic chemistry. I have heard from several people that nothing is more confusing or challenging than that class. I know I am going to be utilizing the tutoring lab and other resources available to me at the university. Because getting into a good Pharmacy school is important to me and something that weighs on my mind, I asked Pete how many graduate schools he applied to. He told me that he applied to 4 and that he got into his first choice school being the U of U. That would have to be one of my top choice Pharmacy schools as well. It is ranked in the top ten best Pharmacy schools in the country. The program is prestigious and difficult to get into, but I can imagine you would get a very good education.

When working towards being a Pharmacist, you can major in anything you want, as long as you meet all the prerequisites for the graduate programs you apply to. I have been going back and forth between majoring in biology or chemistry. Pete majored in Biology and suggests that it is a great major because most of the major requirements overlap with the Pharmacy prerequisites making the process more efficient. Something that I am very interested in is learning and getting to know what a typical day at the Pharmacy is like. I have not job shadowed anyone before and I would really be interested in what day to day life at the Pharmacy is truly like. After asking this question to Pete, he stated, There are many calls to doctors office to clarify prescriptions. The phone never stops ringing. About a quarter of customers have some sort of insurance problem that requires either a call to the insurance company or some sort of override code. Its rare to ever be caught up or have a quiet moment on a weekday. This is an answer I expected. I have really researched what retail Pharmacists do on a daily basis so I had a close idea from my research. According to the internet, on average, Pharmacist make about $116,000 a year. I asked Pete what the average salary is and he said that it can depend on whether you work retail, in a hospital, or a clinic. The average pay to be a Pharmacist is very comfortable. I would like to work part time while I am a mother and I think that my income could benefit my future family very well. I asked Pete what the best part about his job is. He answered, Some of my coworkers the past five years have been a delight, super competent and great company. I hope to work with people that I enjoy being around as well. This can make such a difference every single day and positive people can change a work environment so easily.

I also asked him, What is the worst part of your job? He replied, Trying to motivate teammates to do things they dont want to do. I can relate to this when I was cheer caption in high school. I had a responsibility to motivate and help the team accomplish certain things and sometimes people can be very hard to work with when they dont want to cooperate. I have heard that Pharmacists get very stressed out. I asked Pete, On a scale of one to ten, how stressful are you during your shifts? He thought about the question for a minute and then said, Nine on weekdays, seven on weekends. This makes me worry about this job career path. I can handle stress, but extreme amounts can be hard on me. Im sure it depends on where you work and the environment, but I do not what to consider a job that has me constantly stressing over it, even when I am at home. I asked Pete if it was difficult to find a job after graduating Pharmacy school. He replied, Not five years ago, but now I understand it is more difficult. I have come to understand the same thing. I think that many jobs are going to be competitive, but its unfortunate that it has become harder to get a job as a Pharmacist now days. My next question was, What kind of personality, in your opinion, do you believe is best to have for this job? He said, Extroverted personality, especially for a retail pharmacy setting, where legally you are required to counsel strangers on new medications many times per day. I would explain myself as extroverted. I would like to think that my personality would fit this occupation very well. My 16th and final question that I asked Pete was, Is there any other advice that you could give me, as I am currently aspiring to be a Pharmacist someday? He said, Plan on doing a one or two year residency after pharmacy school, which will make you

more competitive to get a hospital job. Hospital pharmacists seem to have a bit less stress and a bit more job satisfaction. I thought this was great advice. Personally, I would like to work as a hospital pharmacist in the end. I felt like the interview went great and I got some much needed information right from someone in the field that I am planning on following into. While some of the information I learned intimidated me, like the stressfulness of this career, I have not changed my mind. I still want to continue to pursue being a Pharmacist. Five job interview questions that I may be asked if I apply for the job could include: Do you have any experience working in a Pharmacy? How do you handle being in high stress situations? What kind of personality do you have? What unique thing separates you from the other Pharmacists out there? Why are you interested in this job? What makes you enjoy pharmacy?

Script form for the interview: 1. What made you decide that you wanted to be a Pharmacist?

I was working in a genetics lab after getting my bachelor's degree and the Pharmacy building at the UofU was right out the window below. I went and talked to the admissions office and decided it seemed more promising than applying to graduate school in biology. 2. What company do you work for?

Walmart 3. How long have you been working there for?

A little more than 5 years.

4.

What pharmacy school did you attend and what was your experience there like?

The UofU school. My classmates made it a fun experience. 5. What was the hardest pre-rec class that you had to take during your undergrad to get

into pharmacy school? Inorganic Chemistry 6. 4 7. What was your first choice school? How many pharmacy schools did you apply to?

UofU 8. What did you major in for your undergraduate degree?

Biology 9. What is a typical day at the pharmacy like?

There are many calls to doctor's office to clarify prescriptions. The phone never stops ringing. About a quarter of customers have some sort of insurance problem that requires either a call to the insurance company or some sort of override code. It's rare to ever be completely caught up or to have a quiet moment on a weekday. 10. On average, how much do Pharmacists make? Hard to say. It depends on whether the pharmacist works in a retail chain, clinic, or hospital. 11. What is the best part about your job? Some of my coworkers the past 5 years have been a delight, super competent and great company. 12. What is the worst part about your job?

Trying to motivate teammates to do things they don't want to do. 13. On a scale of 1 to 10, how stressful are you during your shifts? 9 on weekdays, 7 on weekend shifts. 14. After graduating Pharmacy school, was it difficult to find a job? Not 5 years ago, but now I understand it's more difficult. 15. What kind of personality, in your opinion, do you believe is best to have for this job? Extroverted personality, especially for a retail pharmacy setting, where legally you are required to counsel strangers on new medications many times per day. 16. Is there any advice that you could give me, as I am currently aspiring to be a Pharmacist someday? Plan on doing a one or two year residency after pharmacy school, which will make you more competitive to get a hospital job. Hospital pharmacists seem to have a bit less stress and a bit more job satisfaction.