When Krista first talked with us at The Happy PharmD, she had a very negative outlook on her career in pharmacy.

I hated going to work. I felt like I was in a rut that I was never going to get out of. I was miserable.

She thought she would likely be doing the same thing, day in and day out, until she retired. She expressed to me, too, that she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to be a pharmacist anymore. But she didn’t know what do to or how to make a change.

I was bored, complacent, and stagnant. I thought I had made the worst career choice of my life.

After working with us, I asked her where she felt like she was at today.

Her voice changed. I could hear her smiling through the phone. She went on to tell us about her huge career shift from retail to her new path of entrepreneurship and pharmacogenomics.

I am more positive. I completed a huge self-assessment and ultimately decided to quit my job. I used MTM opportunities to get out of retail. I’m conducting MTM encounters at pharmacies and physician offices.  I’m a little scared of the entrepreneurship effort during this pandemic, but I know I successfully got out of my comfort zone.

Knowing that there could be a financial difference in her pay, she told us that she found ways to cut back on spending as she found herself often buying material items as a way self-medicate.

Now, I am MTM-certified, I am enrolled in a Master’s program related to pharmacogenomics, and I’ve signed on with a pharmacogenomics company. I want to learn everything I can about pharmacogenomics because I know it will change the way we deliver healthcare.  

I asked her how she felt about having made this huge shift in her career and mindset.

I am motivated. I am alive again. I am just…happy.

What would Krista tell someone who was considering coaching?

When I signed up for coaching, I didn’t expect it to be so introspective. I thought it would be superficial.

She went on to describe that for someone to make the most of coaching, they will need to expect a lot of self-reflection, which can be challenging.

As pharmacists, we are perfectionists. It is hard for us to acknowledge that we might make mistakes in life. Coaching changes you. The coach guides you but you are putting in the work. Coaching teaches you to do what you really want to do and not what you believe other people want you to do.

I asked Krista if there was anything else she wanted to share.

I would have never thought I’d be where I am today. When I see family and friends, they tell me that my face is completely different. My family dynamic is different; there is no state of agitation in the house since I made the change. I can pick my girls from school and be there more now for my family.

Krista’s hard work certainly paid off.