CXXV : Networking

Each time after networking and speaking with people working somewhere in the field, I become motivated, but lost. Maybe that is why it is so helpful to have a mentor (or multiple ones). But, after listening to many people's experiences prior to getting their current job, I find there are a few commonalities that are emphasized...

Each person's path is different, and there is no one good way to get to where you want to be.
Make opportunities for yourself. Reach out to people, ask them what paths they took to get where they are, what experiences helped them, and how much their current life matches their dreams.
Do what you can to get a diversity of experiences so you can find what exactly it is you are passionate about, and then pursue that passion.
It's surprising how much people are willing to help you. You just have to be proactive and contact them.

Ultimately, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life, but I'm starting to realize that I've always been so much more focused on discovering what I want as my dream future career than going broader and trying to find my dream future LIFE. It's not too early to be thinking about that, though work is still a high priority. Where do I want to live? What kind of life do I want? Will my parents be nearby? What kind of person do I want to become? And, recently, I was asked, what are your goals for the future? My answer revolved around work and education. But I don't want to become a workaholic. I have yet to see the value of starting my own family in the future. My mentality is still, "I want to do things that don't tie me down-- whether it's to a place, a person, or an occupation."

CXXIV : Where do you see a pharmacist?

Think of a pharmacist as the last line of defense to make sure the right drug is going to the right patient at the right time.

Think of a pharmacist as the developer of the right properties for a drug to pass the FDA trials before entering the market.

Think of a pharmacist as the point of care provider for patients with lifetime health issues that need to be maintained such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and osteoporosis.

Think of a pharmacist as the manager of the drug inventory to control costs and maximize benefits, adjusting the formulary based on the frequency of need and the market price.

Think of a pharmacist as the knowledge house for questions about starting a drug, various interactions, administration, usage, monitoring, cost, stability, dosing, mechanism of action, and maybe to the point of identification based on color, size, and whatever is carved onto the capsule/tablet.

Think of a pharmacist as the health care provider you can approach and ask about your health issues at any time, no appointment needed. Ask about your supplements, your Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications, your prescriptions, your health habits, your daily lifestyle, and any of your health concerns.

Think of a pharmacist as the personal health coach who wants to work with you to make sure the medicine is appropriate for your lifestyle and improves (or maintains, in some cases) your health condition.

Pharmacists can work alone, but ideally, all the health professions should combine their expertise to manage a patient case. That way you have each focus doing what they do best and giving the best care possible. Medical doctors diagnose the patient, nurses take care of the patients, pharmacists check the medications and monitor that they're given properly, and various specialties may be involved as well: physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, nutritionists, etc. Of course, even more people are involved to manage the costs, be the liaison between health practitioner and family, do the labs (blood work is extra important in many cases), and keep the supplies in stock. Right now, a lot of these linked professions are separated and communication is too easily lost between them. A person's health problem can already be complicated to deal with (because people are all different and it might take multiple tries before finding the right therapy for one person), why make it more complicated with any chance of miscommunication?

CXXIII : Health Fairs

One particular aspect I absolutely enjoy about being a pharmacy student is attending health fairs. I like being able to translate those medical connections into terms that other people can understand. I want people to understand their own health and how to take care of themselves. What can they do for themselves. Because ultimately, it is the patient who is in charge of how their health will progress. Will they get better? Will they stay the same? Will they get worse? Participants who come to the health fairs are people who need to understand in order to prevent developing health problems such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes (high blood glucose), dyslipidemia (high cholesterol and/or triglycerides), osteoporosis (low bone density); people who are interested in learning more about certain diseases such as heartburn, sexually transmitted infections, and asthma; people who want to take advantage of getting a free flu shot and find that they learn about vaccines as well; people who know they have health problems or are at risk of developing health problems and want to know how to combat it.

This is what I am Director of...

I want to tell people all that I can about over-the-counter medications, but what do people want to know? What do people know? What have they tried? What are their experiences? Some people don't feel comfortable revealing any of this, which makes it difficult to talk to them.

I participated in a health fair yesterday in a primarily Chinese community, so I was forced to use my limited Mandarin skills to counsel participants on body fat. We used a machine that measures a person's BMI and % body fat. It's called a BIA and it sends electric signals through your body as you hold its two metal sides, and it detects the conductance of these electric signals. Muscles conduct electricity more than fat does, so a slower conductance registers as increased fat content. Since water and food could potentially make the measurement inaccurate, it is best to measure your body fat in the morning before you eat. The BMI is calculated using your height and weight, so it sees whether your weight is acceptable/healthy for your given height. It does not tell you if your body is composed more of fat or of muscle. BMI should not be 25 or greater, as that is generally indicative of being overweight. At the health fair yesterday, most of the participants were Asian and had good BMI. However, their fat % reached as much as 40%, which is obviously too high. The recommended body fat % for women is 22-25% and for men is 15-18%.

So how does it make sense to have a normal, good BMI, but have a high body fat percentage? This is because high weight does not always correlate to fat, and normal weight does not always correlate to less fat. Fat may not be evenly distributed in the body, so when you lose weight, you may not be losing fat, you might be converting muscle into fat instead. It is important to know that just because you see your BMI is 24.9 doesn't mean you should go on a diet or you should immediately think you have to lose weight. What you should be doing is modifying your lifestyle. Exercise, again, is a key factor. Consuming less glucose foods (because excess glucose to your body means more conversion to fat to store energy for later) doesn't mean avoiding fruits. It is better to consume mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids than saturated. Completely avoid trans fats.

So I had to say this and more in Chinese to the participants, who kept coming nonstop for a good 4.5 hours. It was the busiest health fair I've been to, which was a good experience, though it did have it's negative aspects. I wasn't able to rest so sometimes I'd feel compelled to say less to a participant just to get them over with. Usually, we hope to get to know the participant's lifestyle to help them make beneficial small changes that can help with their health, but at health fairs that are nonstop busy, it gets impossible to do so. This makes me want to open a clinic to provide these services to people. Have them feel comfortable talking about themselves, their lifestyles, their concerns with a health care professional who wants to help them control their health to the best they can. This is just one possible future I can have...