1. Your story matters (even when you don’t love everything about it)
2. Someone somewhere needs to hear it because you didn’t experience that hurt, disappointment, loss, failure, etc. for just you. It was so you could be an example to someone else.

Story:

Ryce:

Tell us your story and how you came to choose pharmacy as a career.

Linh:

I was born in Vietnam and moved to the US just before I turned 1 year old.  Since my family members were immigrants, my parents spoke absolutely zero English.  Growing up, my loving parents and grandparents did their best to aid in my education.  My parents worked 8+ hour shifts, took English classes at a local church before my brother and I were in school, and still made time to raise us.  I remember my mom and dad staying up late at night to complete their English homework; seeing them work so hard showed me the true meaning of resilience.  By the time I was in kindergarten, they learned enough English and were able to help me complete my daily homework.  My mom made it a priority for us to read every day and did spelling quizzes for us during car rides.  All the while my grandma kept saying to me “I wanted your mother to become a doctor, she didn’t, so it’s up to you now”.  Needleless to say, my parents refused for our language barrier to stop us from succeeding in life and my grandma pushed me to reach my fullest potential.

As I entered school, I was exposed to different subjects, but science and anything medical related was what fascinated me the most; from the stars in the galaxy, to the human anatomy. After exposures to many different medical professionals, I knew by 4^th grade that I wanted to provide the best patient care through a career in pharmacy (I even have my 4^th grade autobiography to prove it!).  From this point on, I began to work toward this goal.  My focus in school was to expose myself to as many science and health related courses as possible to further prepare myself for my future career.

By the time I was a junior in high school, I somehow received information on a 6-week summer Career Explorer’s Program coordinated by Midwestern University and Walgreens; so of course, I had to apply! I got accepted and fell in love with Midwestern and pharmacy all over again.  Then, as a senior in high school, I applied and was accepted into the 6-year Dual Acceptance Program with Midwestern University and Elmhurst College. And the rest was history! I was on my way to fulfilling my lifelong goal of becoming a pharmacist. Without my parents, grandparents, brothers, sister-in-law, and best friend, I definitely would not be where I am today.  They were and always will be my number one fans.

Obstacles:

Ryce:

What are some of the biggest obstacles you had to face to get to where you are?

Linh:

While in pharmacy school, I knew that the retail route was not where I wanted to head. My school was very big on completing a residency, so I engrained it in my mind that I would complete 4 years of pharmacy school, do a residency for 1-2 years and work in a hospital as a clinical pharmacist. This is where I would be able to use my clinical knowledge and provide the best care to my patients. Definitely not the reality of my career right now! During my 4^th year, I applied for residency in Phase I in hopes to make my dream come true.

On March 20^th, 2018 at 6:59am, I got an email stating “We regret to inform you that you did not match to a position…” I literally thought my life was over and was so disappointed in myself. I cried every single day for a week. My mom and best friend told me not to give up, so I re-gathered my thoughts and applied for Phase II of Match. Then on April 12^th, 2018 at 6:53am… “We regret to inform you that you did not match to a position.” I cried again. I regathered myself once more and decided to participate in the “Scramble” phase. I emailed countless residency directors, went on several interviews, and got absolutely nowhere.

By graduation time, I accepted the fact that I wouldn’t be completing a residency that year.  The big problem was that I had no job prospects at that time and no retail experience. I felt like I let all my patients down. I put my head down and decided to focus on getting licensed and figure things out from there.

Ryce:

You had to deal with the disappointment of not matching while preparing for graduation. How did you feel during this time and how did you find the strength to overcome this challenge?

Linh:

I think my biggest feeling at the time was disappointment in myself and embarrassment. I was mad at myself because I kept questioning why? Why didn’t they want me? Why didn’t I do more while I was in school? Why was I already failing in my profession? Why am I not able to help my patients? I started to reach out to other instagramers online and asked about their experience (you [Ryce] being one of them!). I got close to so many people who were complete strangers yet still connected with my journey. Thankfully, all of their advice and the support from my family and best friend got me out of the dark headspace I was in. I was not going to let not matching to a residency take away what I worked so hard for.

Ryce:

That’s an awesome attitude to have. I’m still so proud of you for being proactive about getting advice to help you through that time. What did you decide to do once you were content with where you were?

Linh:

I began looking into pharmacy careers outside of retail and hospital and that’s when I realized how much I loved being a technician at a long term-care pharmacy while I was in school. So why wouldn’t I love being a long-term care pharmacist?! I immediately reached out to my previous long-term care boss and was fortunate enough that she had one opening. I came in for an interview and I was offered the job on the spot. I can confidently say that not matching was such a blessing in disguise! This career in long-term care has been the best ride I’ve ever taken, and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Action:

Ryce:

A job on the spot is always a blessing! I remember when you told me. I couldn’t stop smiling! Despite having such an awesome experience after not matching, what did you learn about making peace or dealing with obstacles/ failures?

Linh:

I made peace by realizing I shouldn’t be asking “why?”. Instead I asked myself, what now? How do I grow? How do I make best of the situation? How do I still help others like I intended my career path to be? I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason, and what is meant to be, will be. I stopped beating myself up for not matching into a residency and knew that I did everything I was supposed to. This is when I realized that I already found my passion. My passion was right in front of me. It was long-term care.

Ryce:

Knowing now that your passion was right in front of you, how would you say going through the match process helped you in your journey?

Linh:

The rejection definitely challenged me both mentally and emotionally. I was so drained being rejected a whopping 3 times from what I thought was my future. This obstacle really allowed me to test my limits and made me so much stronger. I fought through the negative thoughts and entered what would be the start of a beautiful and fulfilling career. But without this rejection, I wouldn’t be where I am today nor, would I have realized how much my patient’s in the long-term care setting mean to me.

Ryce:

Given all that you’ve experienced, what advice would you give to someone going through the match or pursuing a career in pharmacy?

Linh:

The biggest advice I would give is to explore. Explore your options in pharmacy or whatever career you are in. There are plenty of paths to travel with any degree, so do not let the norm deter you from that. Remember why you started this journey and hold on to that passion forever. Eventually you’ll figure it out.

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Purpose:

Ryce:

Thank you for sharing your experience! What’s next for you?

Linh:

Right now, I am extremely happy with my position but still have a burning desire for more. Not only do I want to be able to provide the best care to my patients, I want to be able to lead a team of pharmacists to do so. My goal is to continue to work hard and pour my heart and soul into this amazing profession and see where it takes me. I’m trusting the process and know that I’ll end up where I am supposed to be!

Ryce:

After learning more about what you’ve been through, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that it will happen (not without some challenges, of course). In the process of practicing and working on the next set of goals, how are you using your story to encourage others?

Linh:

Being honest and open about my story. There really is no easy way to tell others that you thought you “failed” so to speak, especially when you worked so hard and have high expectations for yourself. With any obstacle, you will have this feeling of disappointment and even feeling so lost. But in my mind, it’s how you react to those situations. It is how you take the downfall and turn it into a learning experience. Always remember that your journey is yours and only yours. Don’t compare it to others, there’s only ONE YOU! You’ll go through twists and turns, loops and bumps; but there is always a door of opportunity waiting for you. Just keep pushing through and use your “why” as the motivation to get to the light at the what seems like a “never ending dark tunnel”.

Linh’s Faves!!