American Pharmacists Month ft Dr. Sarah Parnapy Jawaid

Hi friends,

It’s been a while since I’ve posted but my rotation this month has kept me busy! BUT I have been loving every minute of it. With that being said, did you know October is American Pharmacist Month?

All of October is filled with celebrating pharmacists and shedding light on what the profession is all about. I have not had a chance to share anything about this profession I love yet, so I thought the best way to end this month would be to give you some insight on the profession by interviewing a pharmacist. Today I will be sharing a short blog post about one of my favorite pharmacists! I hope y’all enjoy.

Dr. Sarah Parnapy Jawaid is an Associate Professor for the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Albany College of Pharmacy and completed a Community Pharmacy Residency program following graduation. She is a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association and has received many awards and honors such as the Distinguished Young Pharmacists Award for the Virginia Pharmacists Association, and the coveted Golden Apple Award which is selected by the students at the pharmacy school for the teacher of the year!

Dr. Parnapy was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my curious questions!

1. What made you want to be a pharmacist?

• I have always known that I wanted to be able to help people. Growing up, I went to the community pharmacy a lot with my mom to get medication for myself, sister or grandmother. The pharmacist was ALWAYS willing to spend time talking with my mom about the medication. He always made sure that she knew how to use the medications correctly before she left the pharmacy. I was impressed with the amount of time that he spent with my mom.

2. How did you get into the world of Academia and teaching the next generation of pharmacists?

• During my community pharmacy residency, I had various opportunities to teach and I fell in love with it. I felt like I had the best of both worlds being able to educate patients, caregivers and healthcare providers while educating student pharmacists. I feel that I can share the knowledge and experiences that I have with students so they can further help patients.

3. How do you balance being a pharmacist, wife, and mom?

(If you know me, you know this is something I always worry about with my future and I trusted Dr. Parnapy to give it to me straight)

• It is a balance for sure! Being in academia provides me the flexibility to be a wife and mom. Being organized is important to balancing my personal and professional lives. I strive to always put my family first.

4. What topic in pharmacy are you most passionate about and why?

• There are so many areas that I am passionate about, but my biggest one is providing patient education and communication. It is imperative that the community knows that we are a trusted health care provider and that we, as pharmacists, can provide them with patient education. We need to be able to take the knowledge that we know and communicate it in a way that is understandable to patients and caregivers.

Dr. Parnapy is one of my favorite people I have had the pleasure of meeting during pharmacy school. She has always been there to listen, or to let me just sit in her office if I needed a moment to breathe after a long day. I am so glad the future of pharmacy has someone like her to rely on.

Students need people to teach them more than just the knowledge you will be tested on and Dr. Parnapy is an expert on showing us that sometimes all it takes to impact a patient’s life is a little kindness, compassion, and patience.