Why Pharmacy?
47 Tonnelle Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306. The sign read: “Noble Pharmacy.” صيدليه نوبل, the same in Arabic, my second language but my parents’ first, as they were not fluent in English. At the age of four, not reading big words, “Noble Pharmacy” was incomprehensible. This cultural place with the primordial music of the oud and its smooth rumble, the aroma of roasted meat in the air, cinnamon and myrrh merging with sweet perfume reminds me of Egypt: my homeland. I can never forget. From every sunny to every snowy Saturday, it felt like my second home. Constantly coming in and out, I remember every detail. Swoosh swoosh, I hear the floor as the door opens and closes. Ta ding, the exasperating bell as the customer comes and goes. Bam, the door closes behind me so swiftly as I enter. These are the sounds I heard ‘growing up’ in a pharmacy.
Why Pharmacy? The two constant words ringing in my ears. Just do two more years and you’ll be a real doctor, they said. Some people ask me, Why Pharmacy instead of Medical School, a career dominant in Egypt? From the repetitive “why” to the common stereotype of being a doctor in Egypt, it is almost impossible to escape. I chose pharmacy not by force and certainly not because of stereotypes. Simply, it was entering my optometrist’s office, smelling the antiseptic, and receiving my new pair of glasses. In eighth grade, I was forced to live without my grandma after her sudden death. In eighth grade, I received my first pair of glasses. Why Pharmacy? The odor of glasses, like the cleaning agent in fresh new laundry, transformed me into seeing the world with much clearer vision. It was my prime transformation to pharmacy. Why just Pharmacy School and not Medical School? Pharmacy has given me a clear vision of my purpose in life. Pharmacy encourages me to be an advocate for patient health by focusing on medications to improve lives. As my grandma’s only granddaughter, our relationship was inseparable; she was who I thought of every time I stepped into the pharmacy. ‘Growing up’ in a pharmacy was an advantage and a privilege all those years. Living in the United States with a full grasp of health insurance, medication was only a seven-minute walk… a seven-minute walk to the pharmacy. My grandma, on the other hand, did not have that ability to walk, she did not have the ability to get the medication that she needed. This lack of ability was a constant ache for my family and I. She is the main reason why ‘growing up’ in a pharmacy has shaped my life and the person I am today-- the reason I want to use that advantage to pursue pharmacy. To aid more people in receiving the adequate medication they need, not only in my country but all across the world. It is my gift to her.
Glasses are made of glass and glass is made of sand. When rock breaks down, sand is the product, and when faced with intense heat, is transformed into a liquid and then a solid when it cools. This can then be used to create much more novel, stronger, and sturdy glass. Glass represents rebirth and its process is a rebirthing of the Earth. I had a total of three pairs of glasses that broke, whether they were too big on me, too small on me, or simply just broke. However, I quickly learned that each time I needed new glasses was a redirection in my life. The first time, I thought I saw myself as a forensic scientist. The second time, I thought I saw myself as a neurosurgeon. The third time, I thought I saw myself as a pediatrician. Each of these times, I went through the physical suffering of not seeing clearly and so my path was unclear and not for me. By my fourth time, I found the one pair that fit me just right. I was relieved from the hardship and distress. I was able to see and my vision was no longer fogged. This fourth pair of glasses assisted in the reshaping of my path and purpose in life. Why Pharmacy? How do you know it is for you? I see clearer than before; my path to identifying and expressing myself with pharmacy… to become a pharmacist.
Pharmacy presents itself as a formula — a combination of various ideas to produce a unique therapy that serves a specific purpose, especially harmonizing and employing various techniques. Pharmacy is all formulas. Aside from the self-evident drugs and compounding, there is a formula to follow to be a pharmacist (getting your PharmD) and in practice, following strict processes to verify prescriptions/counsel patients and doctors. Formulas are an unceasing mystery; eternally evolving and never set in stone. “Change is accelerating disruption across the health care value chain and transforming the future of pharmacy” (Deloitte). The eternal evolution of new ideas, approaches, and techniques for medication can generate more opportunities for pharmacists to aid people and steer them in the right direction, all leading to my purpose and role in pharmacy. The purpose of aiding people in receiving the adequate medication they need by optimizing and innovating medicine. Pharmacy is a lifelong mystery that is continually unlocked and I am continually unlocking these formulas. Pharmacy is a lifelong mystery that I am continually discovering. Everyone had their own formulas for me. So Why Pharmacy? Your brother is M.D. and so are your cousins. Pharmacy may not have been the formula or path for my brother or cousins but Pharmacy is my formula, my path, and my purpose that I had to unlock and go through. Why Pharmacy? I’d recapitulate it this way: to have a clearer vision of my path/purpose and to solve formulas that express myself and find my identity.