I was first introduced to RxPharmacist in my first year of pharmacy school when I had little idea of what I wanted to do when graduation came. As the first person in my family to pursue a professional health care degree, I was searching for a mentor and spent much of my first few months of school exploring as many paths through pharmacy as I possibly could. When I was presented with an opportunity through RxPharmacist for mentorship and an opportunity to make connections in the world of pharmacy, I was beyond ecstatic. Beyond that, I was given the chance to help to build the online platform for a company that valued students like myself, and to learn from people who were truly working to make a difference for recent graduates. I was tasked with translating written guides into the online learning modules on the website. I remember spending hours sitting quietly in my room watching YouTube videos about programming because everything was so new to me. But for those three years, I was a sponge, soaking up as much information as I could about career paths, life advice, and even the eventual licensure exams I had to take, and I had support from that RxPharmacist team every step of the way.
When it came time for fourth year rotations, I was ready. I felt like I had so many new networking skills under my belt, and I was so excited about the people I was about to meet. The mentor I met through RxPharmacist ended up being my primary mentor throughout school. She listened to what I was looking for in a wholistic life and career, and introduced me to people in fields that I was interested in. During my fourth year, I was finally able to actually experience what these possible careers would be like for myself. I ended up falling in love with the Indian Health Service and made so many connections because I had training on the kinds of research I needed to do to connect with people as I met them! It is truly incredible how small pharmacy is, and how few degrees of separation there are between you and the person who has your dream job.
Now, I am about to start a PGY1 with Cherokee Indian Hospital in North Carolina, and I was finally able to help create an MPJE guide of my own! I am so thankful for the opportunities that have shaped who I am today and that have helped to guide me here. During my first year at RxPharmacist, I wrote a blog post about the value of an internship and about how an internship worthy of your time is one that truly values YOU. Now, four years later, I am simply so excited to give back to new graduates because of how much this internship has given me.
-Madeline W., 2019-2022 RxPharmacist Graduate Intern