Prelude
My heart starts beating fast. I'm hoping my neurons will start to fire. My inner know-it-all is very disappointed. "Come on! All of this sounds so familiar!," I think to myself. Time is ticking away and finally I decide to wave the white flag and use the only phrase we've learned in pharmacy school to save us from complete embarrassment, "I don't know, but I will find out and get back to you." I find the answer and report back with as much information as I can, but the inner know-it-all in me is absolutely crushed and defeated even.
The problem here is not that I didn't know the answer to a question because I knew where to find it; instead, the real problem is that I don't know where to find the chapter on "How To Be a Tough Cookie." Don't flip through your pharmacy survival book because it's not there. Nor is it in your pharmacotherapy book, although it would fit well between cardiac arrhythmias and mood disorders. So the question remains, how do we, as pharmacy students, (regardless of classification) become more motivated to learn and be less enthralled with knowing it all.
What I've learned so far is that you can't be afraid to be wrong and you can't be afraid to make mistakes. When I don't answer correctly, I look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. And no, it doesn't matter how minute or trivial it may seem because I know it will come up again. And when it does, I will be prepared. I will answer confidently (and correctly). This is what I focus on...this is what has made me tough in this dynamic world of pharmacy...and this is what will allow me to eventually practice at the top of my license.
Note to self: regardless of the question, I have a 50/50 chance of either being correct or being on the right path: either way you are WINNING!
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So now that you have read the prelude and are ready to move forward as fearless students and future pharmacists I can introduce myself. My name is Meshell Maxam and I am a fourth year pharmacy student at South Carolina College of Pharmacy-MUSC Campus. I am really excited to share my thoughts with you these next few months! I hope you find my blog both encouraging and helpful with a dash of humor and wit. This is my first time blogging so I welcome any feedback that you may have. And don't worry, I found the chapter on being a tough cookie in another book called "Life" (sold everywhere).
I look forward to hearing from you and please stay tuned for chapter 1!