When entering my final-year of pharmacy school, I was a bit uncertain about where my career was headed, but I was determined to do one thing during rotations—that was to try it all. One of these rotations took me to the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA).

During that rotation month, I had the opportunity to work with other state pharmacy associations, help assist staff with several conferences, and meet with the Tennessee Medical Association to discuss collaborative pharmacy practice. As a business administration major in college, I was able to use some of my business and leadership skills in a way that I did not think would be possible within pharmacy. After being encouraged by some of my mentors, I decided to apply for the Executive Residency that TPA offered at the time. And I got it!

Spoiler alert: I’m about to tell you the real side to being a recent graduate—the side that no one really talks about. This is my story, and my perspective. These are things that I have observed about myself and about my classmates, and what I did to help ease into this new chapter of my life.

Pharmacy school is filled with vast amounts of information to learn and retain until graduation and beyond. This can make it hard to take time for activities that can enrich future pharmacists with experiences not obtainable in the classroom. Professional organizations, leadership positions, and working in pharmacies are great examples of vital out-of-classroom experiences to help students obtain the readiness needed before entering practice. But there is one more activity missing from that list.

The field of pharmacy is advancing and changing, with many new career paths and education for pharmacists beyond the traditional roles. As a PharmD graduate pursuing postgraduate education in the health outcomes field in preparation for a career in academia, I understand how challenging it can be for today’s student pharmacists to decide which career path is right for them.

I will share a bit about my experiences navigating the changing pharmacy landscape, including my journey to date, where I hope to go from here, and how to prepare for a similar career path.

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.