For the February version of the 2T1 features, this month will be a special feature. Instead of one student, two students have been selected to be interviewed for this month. The first student to be interviewed in Duresameen Zahoor.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and what were you doing before pharmacy school?
I was born in Scarborough, but I spent most of my life in Maple. It’s a suburban area, so its quiet and peaceful. Before coming here, I did my undergrad in chemistry at Ryerson. I really liked chemistry because it wasn’t a lot less memorizing compared to other science branches and I did a lot of cool experiments. I consider myself to be a pretty typical girl who can be a bit of a workaholic, but I like to joke around and have a good time.
Outside of studying, what do you like to do for fun?
A lot of my down time is spent working at my part-time community pharmacy job. It keeps me super busy and it’s a great opportunity to use the stuff we learn in school. Aside from work, I spend a lot of time with my huge extended family. I have like twenty something first cousins and a lot of them live nearby so there’s a lot of events and stuff always going on. When I have the chance, I like to exercise in my home gym or at Hart house where I will usually follow a High Interval Intensity training routine. These workouts are short, but they are good for building endurance. Also, I recently got Disney+ and I’ve been binge watching The Simpsons. This show is a classic and it is amazing that this show has been airing for 30 years now. It really brings back childhood memories!
What kind of music do you like?
To be honest, if you go through my Spotify playlist, there’s a bit of every genre. I have a lot of pop and I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift. I went to one of her concerts in 2018. It was a cool experience because each song had its own theatrical performance with a unique theme. She changed costumes a lot and her music was super dramatic, which is what I love about her. Her music always gets me pumped! I also like Ed Sheeran and I grew up listening to a lot of Disney music so I’m a huge fan of that. Furthermore, because I grew up with three brothers, I have grown to appreciate rap and hip-hop songs.
What are you most proud of or your biggest achievement?
I would say my progress in school, from getting into pharmacy school, then surviving it so far and every little accomplishment along the way. At work, when you help someone out, being able to use our acquired knowledge and skills to improve that person’s life, even if it was minor issue is rewarding for me. People are usually grateful for our help navigating the complicated health care system and it really makes me feel that the work I am doing is fulfilling. I don’t think there’s one single accomplishment; it is those little day to day things.
What is something that you really want to do but haven’t done it yet?
Backpacking around Japan would be my ideal post-graduation trip. The Japanese culture is very different from our Canadian culture. I admire cutesy anime stuff and I want to try conveyor belt sushi. I have seen a lot of stuff about Japanese culture online, so I really want to go there and see what it’s like in real life.
With the beginning of the new decade (2020-2029), what were your most memorable experiences in the last decade (2010-2019)?
In this last decade, most of my memorable experiences are from starting pharmacy and travelling. I am a huge adventure seeker and my favourite trip so far was my trip to Europe. It was a quick trip to 10 countries within 3 weeks, but I am glad I got to see a lot of beautiful viewpoints. My most memorable time of pharmacy was O-week. The activities were cool like tree top and second city. Plus, I met people who have basically carried me through pharmacy and I’m really thankful for that.
You probably heard in the news about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It has created a lot of discomfort and panic in the general population. However, it appears that as pharmacists we are the most accessible healthcare providers and I was thinking: In your opinion, what role do you think pharmacists should play in dealing with infectious diseases outbreaks?
In community pharmacies, it is frustrating because of the barrage of questions about masks and hand sanitizers and the back orders on these products. The media has overexaggerated the risks to people and generated a public fear. However, there are so many other infectious diseases and the risk of coronavirus is low. A lot the people that I see coming to ask about the Coronavirus are young and healthy. They don’t believe that influenza affects nor kills people; they just never have seen it. Being the most accessible healthcare workers, pharmacists can discuss the risks with the patient and help them look at the bigger picture. That’s what pharmacists do best; having these discussions to reassure patients. Making the comparison between other infectious diseases and the Coronavirus really helps, because I do not believe it is worth living in fear.
What do you think the future of pharmacy should be?
I can imagine technology playing a much bigger role. Like instead of a fax machine there would be a way to do it through the computer system that’s encrypted and secure. I am excited for the day when pharmacies in Ontario can access the electronic medical record. Then, we would have more accurate information to provide better care. It will take a while, especially in Ontario where there is such a large population.
I was once asked by the security guard at my previous building if pharmacists would be replaced by robots because he had read that online. I was caught off guard, but I feel like the general public does not know what a community pharmacist does and can do for them. There’s so much that happens behind the counter. The advancements in technology such as pill counting devices or other ‘robots’ will reduce the technical aspects and make our workflow smoother. There’s so much critical thinking required they cannot be replaced because we know that we are way more than pill counters.
Photo Credits: Michelle Yee
Interviewer: William Nguyen 2T1 Monograph Rep
Notes
Coronavirus in this context, specifically refers to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and not the family of viruses known as Coronaviruses which includes the Common Cold but also the ones for SARS and MERS and the 2019-nCoV. Officially called COV-19 by WHO.
Data is accurate as of 29 January 2020
