Graduation day at Rutgers provided another 'hAPPE' moment for Karishma Patel and her mother.
By Karishma P Patel, PharmD
As I stepped up behind my fellow Patel classmate, I could see her head slightly turn as she glanced over into the crowd to smile at her family. Then suddenly she was gone, halfway across the stage.
What’s that thumping sound? Why are my hands so sweaty? My heart was fluttering and pounding in my chest as I stepped up onto the stage and handed my little flashcard over to the dean of student affairs. “Karishma P Patel, PharmD,” it read. I looked at the two feet outlines on the ground right in front of the “hooders” (the professors we had elected to bestow us with the honor of our doctoral hoods). Hmm, must be a 7 or 8 feet walk to the center stage. I can do this. Deep breath in This is it. This is my moment.
It had been exactly 18 days since the final day of my final rotation! What did I even do in those 18 days? I wish I could tell you, but honestly, I did not realize graduation had arrived until that final moment, the moment when I walked onto the stage as “Karishma P Patel, student pharmacist” and walked off with diploma in hand and a beaming smile as “Karishma P Patel, PharmD.”
I am sure many of you have guessed it (especially those who texted me saying “Did you write this!?”), but here I am! Though I have gone by “Ami” these past 12 months, my real name is Karishma P Patel. I am a recent PharmD graduate from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.
Thank you for following me on my “journey to hAPPEness” this past year. For me, writing is my outlet (along with running) and you were invited to read into some of my deepest thoughts and share in my confusions, pitfalls, accomplishments, and “hAPPE” moments. I genuinely hope that at the very least, one sentence has resonated with you and made you realize you are not alone in this long, fulfilling journey to graduation.
Life as a newly minted new practitioner
When I entered the 6-year Rutgers University pharmacy program after high school, I had never envisioned my life to unfold the way it did. From surviving organic chemistry and solving patient cases in oncology to my first internship and final rotation, the journey to become a pharmacist has been thrilling and unexpected. The best part is, the journey is not over!
Post-grad is filled with studying for the impending NAPLEX and pestering the state board of pharmacy to grant you your ATT. It is filled with trying to figure out how, if at all, you can reciprocate your home state practice license to your future home state. While figuring this out and getting your finances in order, you are also trying to say goodbye to your closest friends who are heading off on their own adventures. It was a whirlwind after graduation and wow, does it go by fast. So, I tell myself, slow down. Slow down, and it will all fall into place. In the blink of an eye 6 years flew by, so I have no doubt that the next 2 years for me or my peers will pass in a split second, as well. The best thing to do now is just to enjoy every moment of the experience with those around me!
Good luck and thank you
To my fellow 2019 graduates, congratulations on one of your many, many lifetime achievements. To my successors, wear the title “student pharmacist” with pride and enjoy every student pharmacist second. To Leah Stowers, PharmD, Paul Swinger, PharmD, Stephanie Gartrell, PharmD, Anjoli Punjabi, PharmD, and Sarah Haley, PharmD: thank you for being my Preceptor Feedback writers and for all your incredible advice and guidance. And finally, to Tom English, editor of Student Pharmacist: thank you for always being patient with me around article deadline day. You rock, TE!
Forever a student pharmacist at heart,
Karishma