Earlier this summer, I completed a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in New Haven, CT. To say that my path to where I am today has been non-traditional would be an understatement. 

“Congratulations!” my oncology professor beamed at me. A colorful array of emotions flooded my mind as the olive hood went over my head and my professor rested it upon my shoulders. I was finally a pharmacist. I was excited, in disbelief, nervous, and over the moon all at the same time. All my hard work culminated to this moment, and it was time to embark on a journey of new opportunities and challenges!

For many of you reading this right now, you may be experiencing the rigorous rotations of final year, or you may be a few years away from graduating. Either way, the road to your olive-hooding glory is a stressful, yet fulfilling, one. Your final year of pharmacy school is absolutely the year when you will grow the most as a professional, and for those of you already in the midst of your rotations, I would like to share a few helpful words of wisdom with you as you count down the days to that fateful moment!

You never know when or where you will find your passion. For Charlie Broussard, BSPharm, MEd, FAPhA, it was in a sociology class at Memphis State University, back in 1970. “We were discussing the fact that we as a nation had become a ‘throwaway society.’ Basically, we were talking about the people who were referred to as addicts and how they were being ignored by society,” Broussard remembered. “I don’t know what it was, but something inside of me just lit up to start looking into this and start learning about where our throwaway society was in my area.”

His passion ignited, Broussard embarked on a prestigious career in the field of chemical dependency as an educator and counselor. Honored on the state, national, and international levels for his significant contributions to pharmacists in recovery, Broussard has become a beloved faculty member and co-host of the APhA Institute on Alcohol & Drug Dependencies. I had the privilege of watching him in action at the APhA Institute this past June, and it is an honor to include Charlie in our discussions as part of my “Embrace Your Calling” series.