Alumni Spotlight: Tejal Patel

Supervising staff pharmacist at a compounding pharmacy

Major & Concentration:

B.S. in Biological Sciences: Cell and Developmental Biology, 2014

Doctorate in Pharmacy from California North State University 

What are you doing now?

I'm currently working as a supervising staff pharmacist at a compounding pharmacy specializing in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. 

What were you involved with at Cal State Fullerton?

I was involved in a research lab and SUCCESS. 

How did you choose your career and what role did CSU Fullerton play in finding your career? 

I always knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field. After shadowing multiple professionals in the industry, I was sure I wanted to be actively present in the community and enjoyed patient interaction. I felt that pharmacy was the perfect fit for me. We are one of the most accessible healthcare professionals to patients and that's what appealed most to me. I don't think that there could have been a better program to have prepared me for my current career. I think the biggest take away from the curriculum and being a biology major at CSUF was to really learn and understand concepts rather than to simply memorize the information. Also, the major itself required classes which were dense and oftentimes had to be taken during the same semester; this forced me to use my time wisely and efficiently. Developing effective time management skills not only helped me in graduate school, but also in my career today. 

What are the pros and cons of your career?

Pros:

Pharmacy is a growing field and continues to expand, allowing for more job opportunities in specialty fields such as industry, ambulatory care, retail/independent pharmacy, and long term care facilities. 

Under the Senate Bill No 493, Advance Practice Pharmacists are now given provider status and allows pharmacists to expand their scope of practice by being able to order and interpret drug-therapy tests, as well as collaborate with other healthcare providers in the evaluation and management of diseases.

Work life balance is also great in pharmacy, especially working as a floater pharmacist or per diem pharmacist, which allows for a more flexible schedule. 

Cons:

The field is becoming quite competitive and saturated, due to the number of schools and graduates increasing every year.

What was your work/life balance like at Cal State Fullerton and what is it like now?

The biology curriculum required a lot of hours of studying and commitment for me. There is really no way of sugar coating the work you have to put in; however, I was lucky enough to have met some pretty amazing people who shared the same academic goals as myself, so that made life a little easier and more fun. After graduation, my work/life balance improved significantly. I currently work Monday-Friday 9am-5pm with weekends off. 

What advice would you give current CSUF Biology students?

My advice to incoming, current, or graduating biology students would be to embrace challenges. There were a number of times where I just felt like giving up - but don't! If you really love what you're learning and you see yourself wanting to go into the healthcare field, don't give up. Nothing worth-it comes easy!  However, if you're at a point where you're questioning your passion for the major, that's when it's important to take a step back and re-evaluate. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going in a different direction! One thing I've learned throughout undergrad and grad school is, as cliche as it sounds, you really gotta love what you do.