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KRISTEN PETERSON

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About

Kristen is a Clinical Oncology Pharmacist based in the US.

Connect with her on her socials:

Instagram: @kristenpetes

Favorite Inspirational Quote: "Somewhere, there is a past you overflowing with so much pride looking at how far you've come"

KRISTEN'S PHARMACY STORY

I knew I wanted to get into the health care field when I was in high school. My world completely changed when I was a junior in high school, as my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and my father had a stroke. As the oldest child in the family, I took it upon myself to take care of both of my parents along with my two younger siblings. I attended all of the appointments with my parents and learned the importance of medication education on the impact of patient care. I found myself excited to learn about each of the medications my parents were taking, from how to best administer and store the medications to adverse effects that may be seen with each medication. This involved everything from learning about chemotherapy for my mother to enoxaparin and warfarin for my father. I realized from my research on these medications that in some situations, we were not getting optimal education on the medications they were receiving. This sparked my interest for wanting to provide the very best care to patients and make sure that they were optimally educated on any medication they were receiving. This led me to the field of pharmacy, as I learned that pharmacists are truly medication experts. I wanted to be extremely knowledgeable but also approachable, so that patients would be open with me about their concerns and fears, and would also feel comfortable asking me any questions.

During my senior year of high school and two years of undergraduate school (2010-2013), I worked at a small, independently-owned pharmacy to learn more about the field of pharmacy. The pharmacy manager spent so much time going above and beyond for his patients and was forward-thinking enough to install a non-sterile compounding facility within the pharmacy in 2011. I thought it was the coolest thing to make flavored treats with medication in them for pets or help medication taste better for children. At this pharmacy, I learned a lot of my patient care and education skills, and it made me love the field of pharmacy even more.

I completed two years of pre-pharmacy undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa, took the PCAT during the fall of my sophomore year of college in 2012, and got into the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2013. I am truly lucky to have trained in Iowa, as I learned that it is a very progressive state for the profession of pharmacy. I worked at a retail pharmacy all throughout pharmacy school and I would not trade that experience for anything. However, I knew I would pursue residency once we had our Oncology Therapeutics course during my P2 year. During this time, I became passionate about understanding cancer (especially with my personal connection to the disease) and the medications used for it. I love that it is a field that is constantly evolving and changing, and am lucky to be a Clinical Oncology Pharmacist today!

kinjal shah

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About

Kinjal is a Final Year (P4) Pharmacy student based in USA.

Connect with her on her socials:

Instagram: @kinjaphetamine

KINJAL'S PHARMACY STORY

When I first began my journey as a pre-pharmacy student 8 years ago. I only knew about retail and hospital pharmacists. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue pharmacy completely. Since then, after learning about the roles of pharmacists in many different aspects of pharmacy, I have fallen in love with the profession. I have interacted with pharmacists in many different roles ranging from specialty, managed care, ambulatory care, pharmaceutical industry and informatics, other non-traditional. I continued my journey to apply to pharmacy school while getting experience at a local grocery store chain as a pharmacy technician. During my time there, I saw all that my pharmacists did and was amazed with their relationships they had with their patient. They provided medication counseling, performed medication therapy management, optimized patient adherence, gave immunizations and safe medication taking. As a pharmacy intern, I have been able to counsel, recommend therapy and optimize patient care through different avenues. Throughout my pharmacy school journey, I have become very involved in student organizations on the chapter, state and national levels including the American Pharmacists Association, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. My involvement has allowed me to network with many pharmacists and gain knowledge about the different roles and the kind of impact a pharmacist can have in healthcare. Many of my favorite memories of pharmacy school were being involved with the organizations and connecting with other likeminded students.

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