“What led me to consider pharmacy as a career was a career survey we had to take in high school,” Investigational Drug Service Clinical Pharmacist Specialist Sierra Richard recalled. “Pharmacist was my number one choice.”
This single survey changed the course of Richard’s life, shaping the reality for her future career in pharmacy.
Richard was looking for a summer job, and her mom helped secure her an interview with a position at her local pharmacy, which was hiring for someone to help at the cash register and to cover employee vacations.
“She talked to the pharmacist of a family friend,” Richard said. “And he was like, ‘We’ll interview her.’ So I got off school one day, [and] she’s like, ‘You have an interview with the pharmacy tomorrow.’
Richard ultimately got the job as a Pharmacy Technician at Puxico Drugs, and she enjoyed the patient interaction that came with her position. In high school, she also loved chemistry and teaching, and she knew that she wanted to attend pharmacy school after obtaining her undergraduate degree.
Undergraduate and pharmacy school years
Richard aspired to attend the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy, which did not require a bachelor’s degree for admission. This allowed her to complete two years of undergraduate education and then directly apply for the PharmD program. So, Richard majored in biology and chemistry at the Arkansas State University Honors College, and she focused on completing the classes required for pharmacy school.
However, after those two years had passed, she was gearing up to take her PCAT — the Pharmacy College Admission Test — when her advisor cautioned her against applying.
“She says, ‘You’re taking it too early, I don’t think you’re gonna do well,’” Richard said. “And I had done well in my classes, so I’m not sure exactly where that came from.”
However, this did not deter Richard, and her advisor’s words compelled her to reach out to her mentor, Arkansas State University Associate Professor of Chemistry Allyn Ontko, who gave her the encouragement and support she needed. Ontko’s assistance with organic chemistry, a class Richard had not yet taken, was especially beneficial.
“I told him that interaction, [and] he said, ‘No, you’re gonna pass it, you’re gonna do great,’” Richard said. “So he helped me and gave me some advice on what type of study materials I should use.”
Richard scored in the 89th percentile on the PCAT and soon got to work on her pharmacy school application. She only applied to one school — the UMKC School of Pharmacy — which she was fortunate enough to have been accepted to during her first cycle.
Upon receiving her score, Richard recalled the quick turnaround of immediately submitting her application that day and interviewing at the end of that week. Additionally, before her admission to the UMKC School of Pharmacy, she took a couple summer classes to finish some of the undergrad requirements she was missing.
Before she knew it, Richard was enrolled in pharmacy school, beginning her journey to her PharmD degree. Describing her experience as “very difficult” and “challenging,” Richard was required to take a variety of classes that culminated in pharmacotherapy, which was considered the “big class” where students applied their knowledge to patients. As the class progressed, the cases would get progressively more complex.
“The second year of pharmacy school was the hardest at UMKC, for sure,” Richard said. “It was just a lot of classes, and you’re learning how to manage everything. On top of that, it’s really common for pharmacy students to get a job outside of doing your work at school.”
Richard also worked at a women’s and children’s hospital, where she fell in love with taking care of pediatric patients. Her experience working with children started her down the path of becoming a board certified pediatric pharmacist, and she would eventually specialize in care of pediatric patients.
The pharmacy curriculum was structured with the first three years being mostly spent in the classroom, and the last year was focused on experiential learning. This included going to a physical practice site, such as a community or independent pharmacy, as well as hospitals, where students would practice ambulatory care.
After completing her PharmD, Richard pursued a residency program at Texas Children’s Medical Center.
“Let me tell you, nothing can quite prepare you to be a resident,” Richard noted. “Residency is a brutal situation — it’s a lot of long hours, it’s a lot of studying outside of just working with patients. And it’s a lot of growth as well, which is the exciting part.”
Furthermore, Richard obtained a teaching certificate through her residency program and was able to do a rotation in investigational drug service.
“When I took that rotation, I really didn’t know much about it at all — I knew it existed, and I knew that it helped with research, but that was about the extent of my knowledge,” Richard said. “And I wanted to learn more, which is why I asked to do that rotation. But that’s what really set me up for the career path that I am on now, [which] was doing the residency and getting that pediatric experience in Investigational Drug service.”
On Richard’s last day of her residency, she interviewed for a position at University of Missouri Health Care. Getting to return to where she first started was “very exciting” for her first job, she added.
“It was a very surreal moment, because I looked up to them so much as a student,” Richard said. “And so for them to be interviewing me as a colleague to possibly bring onto the team as a pharmacist was pretty crazy.”
Richard described her experiences building rapport with the hospital team, noting that physicians would call her to patients’ bedside, knowing the value she brought to the team. She had built this trust over time as she answered doctors’ questions, showed up to code blue announcements and gave physicians extra care and support.
Additionally, Richard had the opportunity to mentor students, which was a big, “full circle” moment. Specifically, she was able to support residents through situations she recalled struggling through during her residency, such as during difficult, code blue situations.
“Some of the studies that we’re working on now are absolutely life changing if they work, and so seeing that we’re able to give a little bit of hope to families that haven’t had hope before is really exciting,” Richard said.
The creation of Happy Pharm Life
In 2021, Richard established Happy Pharm Life, her own personal brand aimed at preventing pharmacist burnout and “creating a life as a pharmacist that they love.” She noticed that there was a lack of pharmacists on Youtube, especially those in a hospital role.
As she began posting on Youtube and Instagram, Richard initially created content related to the clinic aspects of pharmacy. However, working two jobs turned into an “eat, sleep, pharmacy” 80-hour workweek, leading to more burnout. So, she transitioned out of creating clinical content and began to focus on researching the burnout aspects of pharmacy, including resiliency, well-being and eating habits.
“I do vlogs just kind of show the behind the scenes like what does it actually look like to be a pharmacist, what’s the day to day, and I don’t sugarcoat it,” Richard said. “I tell people when I’m having this was a difficult day or when it was a great day. I’m fortunate to have more great days than difficult days in my job. I do really enjoy it.”
Richard also recently started a video podcast where she dives into informative pharmacy content, speaking on the statistics surrounding burnout in healthcare and the evidence-based interventions that can be used to combat burnout.
Richard hopes to continue building on Happy Pharm Life, which includes writing advice about the pharmacy profession and her own personal journey, as well as an upcoming project that is still in the works.
“It’s going to be something that hopefully changes a lot of lives, and something I’m very passionate about and wish existed whenever I was going through those transitions,” Richard added.
