Photo by:  Stephanie Hall

A white lab coat, rubber gloves and a name tag counting pills in the back of your local drug store. At first, the thought of being a pharmacist sounds like a lonely and monotonous job. However, looking deeper into the career field, a pharmacist is so much more.

Wednesday night, the Graduate Education and Medical Science Club, GEMS, hosted a special event prompting a visit from Kim Hutchison and Kim Robison. Hutchison, Advisor of Pre-Pharmacy and Recruitment, and Robison, a fourth-year pharmacy student, visited from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (SSPPS). Hutchison and Robison came not only to promote their institution, but also to inform students interested in pharmacy and medical sciences of the opportunities becoming a pharmacist holds.

Pharmacists have their own doctorate program, Doctor of Pharmacy or PharmD. A PharmD is deeply involved with teaching patients and colleagues about all things medicine, from types and usages to correct dosage. Heavily involved in research and development of new medicines, pharmacists are one of the most trusted and ethical professions in the world, as well as one of the highest paying jobs for women. There is an ever-growing need for pharmacists, and openings continue to appear each day.

Dr. George Gromke, faculty member, GEMS advisor and Medical Sciences Advisor, brought SSPPS.

“I’ve noticed a lot more students interested in health sciences coming to me lately,” Gromke said.

This triggered his idea to bring more information and resources to students through reaching out to professionals like Hutchison and SSPPS.

“I feel that out here on the Western Slope, we are more isolated compared to those on the Front Range who have much more direct access to the opportunities out there,” Gromke said.

Gromke’s goal is to get as many schools as possible to visit and provide information to students interested in medical sciences and provide a web page as well.

Hutchison also noted that SSPPS strives to have classes with at least half of the students being Colorado residents.

“We have actually seen a decline in pharmacy students from Colorado recently,” Hutchison said.

With each class size of 160 students, the drive to have half Colorado residents is lacking with only 74 in the recently accepted class.

More visits and information about the SSPPS can be found through contacting Dr. Gromke or members of the GEMS club at CMU GEMS on Facebook.