Why I want to be a Pharmacist? by Anh
Anh's entry into Varsity Tutor's June 2020 scholarship contest
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Why I want to be a Pharmacist? by Anh - June 2020 Scholarship Essay
Since I was in secondary school, I was a student of gifted Mathematics class and have always had a great interest in science because of the impacts that have on our daily lives, I desire to work in a combined environment of different scientific fields. I have become fascinated by Pharmacy as a career because it brings together Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology and directly effects the lives of people in the community. But this is not the only reason that I decide to pursue Pharmacy as my long-term career.
The first time I have access and take a deep look at the medicine and pharmacy field was working on a project in my Sociology class. The project that caught my attention is from Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), which is a global movement of university students to ensure that publicly funded medicines and medical innovations are affordable and accessible to the public. The target of this project is drugs for diseases that impact the poor and people of color are not prioritized. This project helps people of a community in society much accessible to drugs at cheaper prices. As a long-term impact, this project promotes medical innovation in the public interest and ensuring that all people, regardless of income, have access to essential medicines and other health-related technologies, especially those developed in university labs. According to the researchers, the estimated 110 million regular prescription drug users across the US, about 14% choose not to fill their prescriptions at all due to the high price. It means that 3.8 million Americans might be going without their necessary medications. At the time, I support that project because of its humanitarian meaning and I also have hope that I can bring that kind of model to my Seattle Central College to can help needed students.
The second time, which is the time that I passionately have a desire to pursue a career as a Pharmacist. After spending approximately a year in Seattle, I found that when the Fall quarter starts, my friends tend to get flu disease. When Seattle turns to Autumn, the flu virus has a tendency to develop and people with a weak immune system will suffer from this disease easier. However, I was rejected when ask for having flu vaccine because I am an international student, under 18 years old and don’t have the signature of parents or guardians. It also means that taking drugs follow the prescriptions from the doctors is the only cure. But actually, I and my friends didn’t choose this way as it took more than two weeks to book an appointment with doctors and fill the prescriptions. Our insurance doesn’t cover the prescription if we don’t go to the clinic and we are not allowed to purchase for drugs without permission forms from the doctors. I remembered that I had to divide my little fever dose, which I prepared before going to the US, for a group of 3-5 sick students. We overcome that Fall quarter like that. I already brought the case into my project on Sociology class with the main goal that funding money to help individuals included students, poor and colored people, who get troubles with flu diseases. It is not only helping them with medicines but also in other ways such as holding food pantry with different kinds of fruits and vegetables, which contain vitamins to strengthen the immune system or giving them hot-hand warmer packs. That is what I want to do as a college student for my Seattle Central community. As further, I follow the Pharmacy career with the hope that helps those individuals especially international students like me. I want that I can operate a clinic, that can give the student a free and opportune diagnosis of common diseases such as flu, fever, cough ... and a pharmacy with a low fee charge for flu vaccine and prescriptions for students. I believed that the project I have worked on in Sociology class is evidence that I am pursuing seriously and having an obvious plan for my future.
I understand that the field I want to work one is just a little point on the pharmaceutical field and it is the standard rules in the US healthcare systems, which is hard to change, but I want to make it accessible for international students to get through disease periods. If I have chances, I would like to start working and making this project become true as soon as possible because the sooner it starts, the more benefits that students have.