Finale: ‘To be a pilgrim’

As a hopeful graduate entering into the Pharmacy world, everything is exciting yet daunting to me. Four years of university education has provided me with fundamental knowledge to practise and this is indeed a strength worth highlighting in all healthcare professionals: we are experts in our fields and we are very good at providing information support to our patients. However, we are not as good as picking up cues in accommodating patients’ emotional needs in health. By studying Health Psychology I found the ‘human’ in me again, just as I was studying literature and arts in school. I found satisfaction in discovering a hidden strength of empathy in me and I felt empowered to have an extended knowledge of human behaviours. Working in a world of deprived resources (healthcare being one of the major fields) it is so easy to lose the patience to listen. Talking ‘patient-centred care’ is all very well but having the scientific evidence to support the benefits can reinforce the importance and responsibilities in seeing patients as people, not just a piece of case study. 

I’d like to liken the journey to become a pharmacist to a pilgrimage. It is indeed a long journey to embark on and daunting as it is I am equipped to face the working world. The journey itself is as important as the destination, as I am now able to have self-dialogues in order to think and reflect on the way.