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P4 Spotlight: Haley Hubbard

 

Haley Hubbard, from Simpsonville, S.C., is on track to earn her PharmD in May.

Here’s more about Haley–

Why did you decide to become a pharmacist?

I love drugs, which out of context is an odd thing to say, but I decided to become a pharmacist as I have a genuine love and passion for working in the medical field and I love organic chemistry.

I grew up saying, “I want to be a doctor,” and I job-shadowed a family member who practiced medicine. I was sixteen years old at the time. Long story short, the elderly patient receiving the peripheral nerve block prior to surgery began to cry and yelp in pain, and that was enough for 16-year-old Haley before I was out cold on the floor.

I remember being disheartened and discouraged that I couldn’t “stomach” working in the medical field (it also never stopped being mentioned during family meet-ups), but I was still determined to pursue my dream of working in the healthcare field.

This is where pharmacy came in (although now I want to go into infectious disease and emergency medicine, which are not for the faint of heart).

Has the pandemic affected your decision to go into healthcare? How so?

The COVID-19 pandemic is substantial. It is going to affect many aspects of our daily lives and will haunt us for a few months. It has not affected my decision to go into healthcare, because this is what I am here for. I want to go out and be on the front lines of the action and provide the most up-to-date and appropriate evidence-based drug recommendations for the care of these patients that are the most sick.

What do you plan to do when you earn your PharmD?

I am very fortunate to have accepted a residency (PGY1) position at Self Regional in Greenwood, S.C., and am starting at the end of June. I am more than excited to jump into my future career opportunities, and to be on the front lines for the care of the patients affected by the COVID-19.

What has been your favorite part of PC School of Pharmacy?

The relationships that I have conjured from being at PCSP.

Especially meeting Beth Foster.

Beth and I have been on a long journey together – from giving each other vaccinations for our immunization certification P1 year (where I spurted blood from my arm in front of our whole class – thanks, Genetics), working tirelessly together during our didactic curriculum, studying for long hours, working together on the PCSP Honor Council, pushing one another to improve, coping and supporting one another during the stresses of pharmacy school, competing in the state-level clinical skills competition two years in a row, growing together during our longitudinal APPE rotations at Self Regional, to competing nationally at the ASHP Midyear meeting in Las Vegas, and lastly – both of us being early-committed to Self Regional’s Pharmacy Residency Program as their first pharmacy PGY1 residents – I am so grateful to have met her and am so grateful to work with her even further in the future.

She and I both worked extremely hard during pharmacy school to be in the top of our classes and were even given the honor of being student marshals during the Class of 2019’s doctoral hooding ceremony last year, and soon it’ll be our turn.

While this may seem to be long-winded and a laundry list of things we have done while at PCSP, it is important to note that this experience further tied our bond and shows that two very different individuals with various backgrounds and experiences can work together to be an effective student-pharmacist team. With my unconventionally large-winged eyeliner and with her purple-colored-everything, it shows that at the end of the day – everyone is able to push aside their differences to work together to keep the one most important thing in mind: the patient. This has been my favorite part of being at PCSP.

What makes PC School of Pharmacy unique?

PCSP has a down-to-earth approach to everything, a home-like environment, an open-door policy, and everyone on campus is passionate about teaching future pharmacists and providing the most useful information to guide us towards the best patient care. Also, Deanie Kane is amazing.

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