The document discusses the author's interest in becoming a pharmacist. Some key points include: - The author has always been interested in math and science and finds pharmacy appealing due to interacting with patients and working in a residential setting. - The author's academic credentials including GPA and PCAT scores make them a strong candidate for pharmacy school. - The duties of a pharmacist including filling prescriptions, counseling patients, and administrative tasks align with the author's skills and interests. - Research on the career confirms pharmacy is a good fit due to investigative, conventional, and social personality traits matching the typical pharmacist profile.

1. PHARMACY Zoe Ayers

2. INTRODUCTION - WHY I WANT TO
BE A PHARMACIST
o I have always liked math and sciences from a young age.
o In middle school I start looking at going into the medical field;
however, I quickly realized that I did not like blood and could not
make it through medical school.
o I started looking at other health care professions and quickly
realized that pharmacy would be a good fit for me.
o After doing research over the years there are many of things I really
like about the pharmacy profession including: pharmacist are on their
feet and moving throughout the day, pharmacist talk to patients and
help them to better understand their medications, pharmacies are
usually found in residential areas so I can work near where I live.
o The more I find out about pharmacy, the more I can see myself as a
pharmacist in the future!

3. HISTORY
o In ancient societies, most all societies had some sort of “medicine
man” or person who made potions and helped to heal people.
o While pharmacy schools had existed in Europe for years the
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy was the first pharmacy school in
America, founded in 1825.
o In 1852 the American Pharmaceutical Association was founded in
order to lump together all of the different people acting as
Pharmacists and help to standardize the field.
o During the Industrial revolution, pharmacy made new strides and the
mass production of medicine began
o Over time medicines have become more advanced and the majority
of pharmacies have also made the transition from primarily
compounding their own medicines and potions to distributing mass
produced medications.

4. JOB DUTIES
o Fill prescriptions
o Check for drug interactions
o Council patients on medication use and side effects
o Advise patients on general health topics
o Give flu shots and other vaccinations
o Fill out Insurance forms as needed
o Oversee pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns
o Various administrative tasks
o Teach other health care providers about proper prescription use and
interactions

5. PHARMACY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH
CAROLINA
o Presbyterian College – Clinton, SC
o South Carolina College of Pharmacy
o University of South Carolina – Columbia, SC
o Medical University of South Carolina – Charleston, SC
o These two pharmacy schools use to be tied together as one
school, but in the past few weeks they have announced that
they are splitting into two independent pharmacy schools,
starting with the class of 2020 (students entering this coming
fall).

6. PHARMACY SCHOOL ADMISSION
STATISTICS
o South Carolina College of Pharmacy
o Minimum GPA – 2.5
o Average GPA – 3.6
o Average PCAT – 68th percentile
*note that because these schools have yet to admit independent classes since their
separation, all the admission statistics are still listed as one school
o Presbyterian College
o Minimum GPA – 2.5 (2.75 on prerequisites)
o PCAT – prefer higher than 50th percentile

7. MY PCAT AND GPA
o Verbal Ability – 33rd percentile
o Biology – 79th percentile
o Reading Comprehension – 75th
percentile
o Quantitative Ability – 95th percentile
o Chemistry – 76th percentile
o COMPOSITE – 81st percentile
o GPA – 3.82
Based on my scores and
the averages seen on
the previous slides, I
am a strong candidate
for pharmacy school,
with the exception of
my verbal ability score,
which I intend to
overcome during my
pharmacy school
Interviews.

8. RELEVANT COURSEWORK I HAVE
TAKEN FOR PHARMACY SCHOOL
o CH 1010/1011
o CH 1020/1021
o AP Physics
o AP Calculus
o AP Statistics
o BIOL 1030/1050
o BIOL 1040/1060
o MICR 3050
o AP English
o HON 2210 (Literature)
o COMM 2500
o ECON 2110
o PSYCH 2010
o BIOL 2220/2221/2230/2231
o REL 1020
* These are some of the courses I have taken to meet the prerequisite requirements for all
the pharmacy schools in South Carolina

9. GROWTH POTENTIAL & SALARY
RANGE
o Average Salary $116, 670 per year
o Growth Potential 14% (which is about as fast as average)
o Entry Level Education – PharmD

10. O*NET INTEREST PROFILER
My Results
o Conventional
o Social
o Investigative
Top results for
Pharmacists
o Investigative
o Conventional
o Social

11. O*NET INTEREST PROFILER
EXPLAINED
o My top three interests according to the O*Net Interest Profiler were
the same three as those of the typical pharmacist. This confirms that
pharmacy is probably a good fit for me, career wise.
o Investigative – Jobs that fit into this category frequently involve
extensive amounts of thinking and working with ideas.
o Conventional – Jobs that fit into this category frequently involve
following procedures and routines, usually with a clear line of
authority to follow.
o Social – Jobs that fit into this category frequently involve
communicating with people, either working with them or helping
them.

12. SPECIFIC SKILLS I POSSES THAT
WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD FIT FOR
PHARMACY
o I enjoy interacting with people and I have good interpersonal skills.
This is important in talking to others working in the pharmacy and in
counseling patients.
o I am strong in the sciences and chemistry. I would be able to learn
how and why various drugs react the way they do.
o I am very precise in my work. This is very important when making
sure to fill prescriptions correctly, including the correct medicine, the
correct strength of the medicine, and the correct number of pills.
o I am a good leader. This is important when it comes to leading your
team, whether they include pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns,
or cashiers.

13. CONCLUSIONS
o I am a good fit for pharmacy school and the pharmacy profession
because I have done extensive research over the past 5+ years. I
have also spent some time shadowing in a pharmacy and I could see
myself working in this role. While the O*Net Profiler should not make
or break a career choice, it was great reassurance that I was planning
to go into a career that fit my personality and interests. One
important step in becoming a pharmacist is being admitted to
pharmacy school. Based on my academics up to this point as well as
my PCAT scores, I should be able to be admitted to pharmacy school.
When looking at this profession as a whole, the further education I
will need, the job duties, as well as personalities and interests, I
believe that pharmacy is a great fit for me as my future career.