I had the opportunity to job shadow Tera Stock at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Tera is the Clinical Pharmacy Manager at the hospital and is also in charge of the residency program at Saint Francis, as well. On a day to day basis she oversees the pharmacy's management and actions. To prepare for this job, she got her Doctorate of Pharmacy at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. This was a six year program where she graduated as a certified pharmacist. She also specializes and is board certified in Pharmacotherapy (BCPS) and Ambulatory Care (BCACP). 

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          I spent two days with Tera at the hospital from 7:30am until about 3:30pm. These were two long, but fun days. I was at the hospital by that time each day to join in on the morning huddle. This is the time when third and first shift changes so they regroup and speak about what happened during the night shift in the pharmacy. 

          My first day I spent most of it with a Pharmacist named Joshua and he was only two years out of college. He shed the light to me on how important doing a residency is before working in a hospital. This will be seven years in total before having a stable job. Joshua was working in the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute (CJRI) department today although he rotates between assignments each day. Following Joshua along was fun because he was younger and newer to the field. I was able to get a feel for what my first few years, and pharmacy school, will be like.

          On my second day I was able to tag along with a Pharmacist named Sheila and take part in the rounds the care staff does in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).  This took about two hours to visit, speak with, and go over care plans, for about thirty or more patients. Sheila was in charge of going over each patient's current medication and suggesting for medication changes if their condition got worse or better. Watching Sheila verify and approve medications and know as much as she did about them was eye opening. I will be like this within several years. 

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          Overall, job shadowing Tera, Joshua, and Sheila was an incredible experience to see exactly what my dream job is. They all opened up to me about the not so fun responsibilities and also the perks of the job. I have no doubt that I want to be a Pharmacist and pursue my PharmD at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.