"I like to help people"

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Timbo

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If asked why you want to become a pharmacist, do you think it's a bad idea to say "I want to help people". Not only does it sound cliche but it also sounds like you're full of baloney in my opinion. For the most part pharmacist just give drugs that have been prescribed by a physician to a patient right? Sure there is patient consultation and all that, but there are tons of other jobs in healthcare and outside of healthcare that will put you in a better position to help people and really make a difference.

Another one is "I like to work directly with patients". Isn't pharmacy actually one of the healthcare professions that has the least patient contact? If I really wanted patient contact I would be a nurse.

Trying to write my personal statement at the moment, so I'm thinking about this kind of stuff...
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Timbo said:
If asked why you want to become a pharmacist, do you think it's a bad idea to say "I want to help people".
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It's not bad for a beauty pageant. You just have to mean it and look good in a gown.

Anyways, there is nothing wrong with saying you want to help people. A lot of people do jobs where they want to help people; social workers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc. so it's not exclusive to health care professionals.

Just make it original and worth reading. And there is probably more to you wanting to be a pharmacist than to help people. Outline it, be real with them. I'm sure they would like a real person with a little bit of less-than-pure reason to go with it than a person who has a stereotypical essay.
 
Timbo said:
If asked why you want to become a pharmacist, do you think it's a bad idea to say "I want to help people". Not only does it sound cliche but it also sounds like you're full of baloney in my opinion. For the most part pharmacist just give drugs that have been prescribed by a physician to a patient right? Sure there is patient consultation and all that, but there are tons of other jobs in healthcare and outside of healthcare that will put you in a better position to help people and really make a difference.

Another one is "I like to work directly with patients". Isn't pharmacy actually one of the healthcare professions that has the least patient contact? If I really wanted patient contact I would be a nurse.

Trying to write my personal statement at the moment, so I'm thinking about this kind of stuff...
Click to expand...

It's only bad or bogus if you cannot support it. Try to reflect on all the health related extracurriculars and pharmacy experiences you've done and tailor it around your general idea of helping others. That makes it personal and interesting to adcom.
 
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Timbo said:
If asked why you want to become a pharmacist, do you think it's a bad idea to say "I want to help people". Not only does it sound cliche but it also sounds like you're full of baloney in my opinion. For the most part pharmacist just give drugs that have been prescribed by a physician to a patient right? Sure there is patient consultation and all that, but there are tons of other jobs in healthcare and outside of healthcare that will put you in a better position to help people and really make a difference.

Another one is "I like to work directly with patients". Isn't pharmacy actually one of the healthcare professions that has the least patient contact? If I really wanted patient contact I would be a nurse.

Trying to write my personal statement at the moment, so I'm thinking about this kind of stuff...
Click to expand...

So what are you going to say? Your love of counting by 5?

What attracts you to pharmacy? Start by being honest, and then sugar coat it til the truth is unrecognizable beneath a saccharine layer of admission committee BS. Do not include monetary gain in your essay - it is assumed that you are above such petty concerns as money.

Popular topics include: empathy, patient centered care, intricate member of the health care team, expanding role. Stretch that out over a few hundred words and you are good to go. And remember to make it personal by indicating how you perfectly encapsulate the living embodiment of those topics. Also be humble.
 
Most of the answers to why pharmacy will be generic. Its how you incorporate your own experiences that makes it unique.
 
My philosophy on it is twofold.

One:

Let's be honest - everyone wants to work a job that will allow them to live a comfortable lifestyle. People in this world have figured out all kinds of ways to make money - some more altruistic, some less. The way I see it, I intend to take care of myself. But if I can do that, while helping others.... well, that's a good thing, right?

Two:

Even if pharmacists don't have huge amounts of one-on-one patient interaction, they interact with dozens of people every day. Every one of those interactions is a chance to improve someone's life, even if only in a small way. Yes, you might catch a potentially fatal interaction, or sweet-talk a physician into a substitution that saves an impoverished patient a good chunk of money... or you might just simply have a recommendation for a corn remover or something similarly trivial. Either way, that person's life has gotten better thanks to what you were able to do.

That's my thought, anyway. I'm not sure if admissions committees would really be down my benevolent mercenarism world view.
 
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Jabberwocky12 said:
To quote a source from owlegrad from a while ago:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WF3V6MjSt3A/TDz1pxDHytI/AAAAAAAAARk/-8Wdql6MgYc/s1600/personal.jpg

That is all you need to know.
Click to expand...

LOL. Thanks maybe i'll use that.

Anyway, of course I have other reasons to want to be a pharmacist: putting science/math knowledge to good use, interest in antibiotics (microbio major), working as a team, good work hours etc. These reasons may also sound cliche but they are honest reasons. At the same time I feel i may come off as uncompassionate without the obligatory "I like to help" response.
 
Timbo said:
LOL. Thanks maybe i'll use that.

Anyway, of course I have other reasons to want to be a pharmacist: putting science/math knowledge to good use, interest in antibiotics (microbio major), working as a team, good work hours etc. These reasons may also sound cliche but they are honest reasons. At the same time I feel i may come off as uncompassionate without the obligatory "I like to help" response.
Click to expand...

I didn't put "helping others" in my essay; at the time I didn't realize it was a requirement. If you list all that stuff you mention with an overall tone of wanting to help people you will be fine. If it seems awkward don't use the line "I like to help". Rather just explain HOW you will be helping people (using scientific knowledge, working on a team, etc.). I wouldn't list "good work hours" if I were you.
 
I'm still of the opinion that it's not bad to address in an essay that you don't like to say you want to help people. If an application says "why do you want to be a pharmacist" I think it's not in bad taste to address 2 points.

---It's very difficult to put into a 250-500 word essay what makes you want to be a pharmacist when you have been deliberating on it in your head for a few years. However, here are some of the big contributing reasons:...

---It goes without saying that you want to help people. You don't go into pharmacy solely to help people; that can be done as a social worker, doctor, nurse, dentist, lawyer, police officer, etc. Therefore, you will mainly go with the big factors mentioned above.

I'm sure Adcoms will agree that there is an archetype for a lot of essays; people who follow it and then people who specifically try to look edgy by going against it. Just do what feels right. I prefer the latter because it makes things interesting and therefore I am more likely to be remembered.
 
First off, saying you want to help people is not bad. You should want to do precisely that! You shouldn't be getting into a profession in healthcare if you don't want to do that. Everyone knows that professionals in healthcare tend to make a decent living. In fact, the first rule of the professor I had in graduate school is "its not a sin to make money".

But you should also want to be more specific. Being in healthcare is more than just "helping people." I won't define it for you because I think you should do your own research, but I promise you there are more altruistic justifications that simply helping people. If you think the position of the pharmacist is to simply dispense the medications prescribed by the physician with little to no patient contact, think again. You *will* see blood. You *will* see bodily fluids. I am certain that you need to do your homework and decide if the career in pharmacy is for you. Those days are over, and if they aren't over now, they will be when you graduate or soon thereafter.

You should realize what Medication Therapy Management, P3, and a whole host of other things are. You need to realize that pharmacy is RAPIDLY changing from a model of customer service to patient care.

What should my personal statement cover?
Your personal statement shouldnt merely be about your goals of what you want to do, it should also focus on what you bring to the diverse table of pharmacy school and what you aim to accomplish. If you have glaring deficiencies in your application, you should discuss what you have done to better yourself in those areas since receiving those poor grades or poor scores on the PCAT. Its not merely a question of where you have been but where you are going!
 
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Yes the adcoms have heard it a million times, yet that's what they still want to hear. They are selecting future representatives of their school and the profession, and want to see passion. Bonus points if you can make it genuine.
 
I wrote it on my personal statement, but I didnt go to much into detail into it. On the interview when they asked why pharmacy, I never said I wanted to help people... did I do something wrong? I mean there are a lot of different ways of helping people.
 
nycrxdream said:
I wrote it on my personal statement, but I didnt go to much into detail into it. On the interview when they asked why pharmacy, I never said I wanted to help people... did I do something wrong? I mean there are a lot of different ways of helping people.
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No, you did nothing wrong. I have read personal statements entirely about a life changing personal tragedy motivating students to those about a backpacking trip through (insert country/continent) and the things seen and learned and how it shaped their decision. I have also seen some statements which are prose form of their resume and others which spend the bulk trying to rationalize their academic digressions.

Not saying "I want to help people" is not bad. But I will say that in general, being passionate about your future is something you should be - not in words on your statement per se, but that it should shine through your statement. Genuine passion is difficult to fake.

One doesn't become a pharmacist without wanting to help people - it goes without saying. If one is considering a career in pharmacy without that motive in mind, especially after considering the general direction of pharmacy as that of direct patient care, one has poorly chosen the wrong profession.
 
Don't just say you like to help people. It's the most generic, unthoughtful answer imaginable. You can help people being a parking attendant.
 
nycrxdream said:
I wrote it on my personal statement, but I didnt go to much into detail into it. On the interview when they asked why pharmacy, I never said I wanted to help people... did I do something wrong? I mean there are a lot of different ways of helping people.
Click to expand...

Heeehee- I always said I love to INTERACT with people and help them meet their needs. I love to EDUCATE them and make sure that they are able to learn how to take care of themselves. I also said I wanted to be in the health professions - and I outlined how I've explored other ones but they didn't fit. After 6 years of being a tech and still being happy about it I'm sure they think I'm CRAAAAAAZY about pharmacy (which I am).:love:
 
Passion4Sci said:
Heh, I was wondering if anyone would start to think about selling crack on the side or something to count against my statement =p
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Well I thought the simpler way to earn big bucks would be to simply steal the cars, though I admit you wouldn't make it very long as an attendant that way. Would only take a few to earn over 100k per year I bet. :xf:
 
Just be honest. People want to go to pharmacy because of the career opportunity, stable income, well respected profession etc. This question is so generic I don't think they will even ask anymore. Even if they ask the question, it's just a "breaking the ice" type of question before they go into much more important questions to assess your communication skills and to know you better as a person. Most important thing is that you set yourself apart from other students by incoporating personal experience into your response.
 
meteor2 said:
Just be honest. People want to go to pharmacy because of the career opportunity, stable income, well respected profession etc. This question is so generic I don't think they will even ask anymore.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I never got asked that question, a lot of times though people will rephrase it in a form that can provoke a more slightly more interesting and thoughtful answer, such as What do you bring to pharmacy, or How does pharmacy fit with your interests, etc
 
I question this myself when i wrote my personal statement...

Taking an excerpt of my PS: "I want to help people"...understand how to take their medicine safely and effectively.

For your other cliche phrase: I like to work directly with patients..in a pharmacy setting where i can blah blah blah...

See its true.. but not cliche because it is specific.
Goodluck with your PS
-




Timbo said:
If asked why you want to become a pharmacist, do you think it's a bad idea to say "I want to help people". Not only does it sound cliche but it also sounds like you're full of baloney in my opinion. For the most part pharmacist just give drugs that have been prescribed by a physician to a patient right? Sure there is patient consultation and all that, but there are tons of other jobs in healthcare and outside of healthcare that will put you in a better position to help people and really make a difference.

Another one is "I like to work directly with patients". Isn't pharmacy actually one of the healthcare professions that has the least patient contact? If I really wanted patient contact I would be a nurse.

Trying to write my personal statement at the moment, so I'm thinking about this kind of stuff...
Click to expand...
 
pharmBear said:
I question this myself when i wrote my personal statement...

Taking an excerpt of my PS: "I want to help people"...understand how to take their medicine safely and effectively.

For your other cliche phrase: I like to work directly with patients..in a pharmacy setting where i can blah blah blah...

See its true.. but not cliche because it is specific.
Goodluck with your PS
-
Click to expand...

Yes, are these the fabled "action statements" ? Like they all say "show not tell"
 
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