How Adversity Builds Authority

What does it take to keep going when life keeps getting harder?

In this deeply moving episode of Success in Doses, Saley sits down with Dr. Brigitte Ouabo, oncology pharmacist, educator, mentor, and founder of The Rookie Pharmacist, for a powerful conversation about resilience, faith, purpose, and turning adversity into authority.

Dr. Ouabo shares her incredible story of immigrating alone to the United States at 18, navigating housing insecurity, surviving unimaginable hardship, becoming a single mother, and still refusing to give up on her dream of becoming a pharmacist.

This episode is for anyone who feels uncertain, delayed, discouraged, or afraid to start. Brigitte reminds us that success is rarely linear, and sometimes the path that takes longer builds the strongest person.

Follow the Rookie Pharmacist across all platforms at @therookiepharmacist and therookiepharmacist.com

Thank you for supporting the show. Follow @successindosespod

career advancement, negotiation skills, pharmacists, personal development, confidence, asking for what you want, mindset shifts, professional growth, self-advocacy, boldness

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Success in Doses. I'm your host, Saleh. This podcast is about the real journeys behind meaningful careers, the pivots, the risks, the moments of doubt, and the lessons that shape who we become. Each episode, I sit down with people who are building impactful lives and careers, and we break down the experiences that help them get there. Because success rarely happens overnight, it happens in doses. Let's dive in on becoming on purpose. Today's conversation is gonna be candid, it's gonna be honest, and it's gonna be based on lived experiences about turning adversity into authority. This discussion is about resilience, personal evolution, and how life experiences shape credible, purpose-driven leadership and other ways. And I I really curated people that I wanted to have conversations with as I thought about topics. And I could not have thought of a better person to engage in this conversation today than the one and only Dr. Bridget Uwabo. Now, for some of you, you're like, Doctor Who? Let me start with the proper, proper propa introduction. Dr. Bridget Uwabo is an advanced practice pharmacist, oncology specialist educator, leader dedicated to advancing patient care, mentoring future pharmacists, and advocating for the profession of pharmacy. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Turo University, California, where she also completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency in collaboration with Golden Gate Pharmacy. She holds a Master of Public Health and Global Health from Loma Linda University and a Bachelor's of Science and Health Sciences from California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Wabo currently serves as an oncology pharmacist at Martinez Health Center Infusion Clinic and as an inpatient and clinical pharmacist at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, where she practices across multiple specialties, including infectious disease, critical care, transitions of care, and ambulatory care. She manages pharmacist-run clinics for diabetes, hypertension, and anemia and provides evidence-based recommendations to optimize patient care. Passionate educator, Dr. Owabo, is an adjunct clinical faculty member at Toura University, California College of Pharmacy, precepting pharmacy students and clinical practice and designing meaningful rotation experiences. She is also the founder of the Rookie Pharmacist, a platform providing mentorship, resources, and real-world insight to help pharmacy students and new practitioners thrive on rotation and their careers. Her professional leadership includes serving as president of the Diablo Society, health system pharmacist, holding committee roles within the California Society of Health System Pharmacists, and advocating for legislative policies that expand pharmacist scope of practice. She's earned certificate in hematology, oncology, pharmacy, diabetes care, immunization delivery, and teaching, and is recognized for her expertise in medication safety and clinical decision making. Dr. Wabu's journey from immigrating alone to the United States at the age of 18 to becoming a pharmacist, mentor, and leader is a testament to perseverance, purpose, and service, qualities she seeks to inspire in the next generation of pharmacists. If you're sitting down, get a pot your seat. Please welcome to the pod, Dr. Uabbo, the rookie pharmacist that I just thought it's so clever to pick the name Rookie Pharmacist. Because as you can see from her introduction, she's a lot of things. Rookie is not one of them. And I love that because it's a direct testament to her sense of humor, which, if you follow her online, it is on full display for everybody to see. Welcome to the pod, Bridget.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

Oh my God, that was a mouthful of an introduction.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

But it is so much. It is absolutely earned. I was just talking with my sister about why it is that our bios make us uncomfortable, but it's objective data because I promise you, none of these things you listed happened in your sleep. They're actually live experiences. Thank you. Like you actually had to lose sleep to get some of these things. And I think we we should all practice like being comfortable when people are reading about us and what we've done. But it continues to be something like I just have to be really, really mindful of. I feel like this last paragraph of your bio, when I read it, I knew that this is where we needed to begin. Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation. Start with us with how are you feeling when at 18 years old you are at the airport about to part ways with your family to come to America? Like what is going through your mind and what are you feeling at that moment?

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Oh my god. Let's see. There were a mix of emotions. Sure. I'm the oldest of four children. Okay. And at the time I was 18, my youngest sister was six years old. And there is what 12 years difference between us?

unknown 5:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

I was like her second mom. Absolutely. Even to this day, when I think about her waving back at me on my way to the airport, I still have tears in my eyes because I couldn't fathom to tell her I was leaving forever. Because I was leaving forever. Uh-huh. I knew when I was gonna come back to visit or whatnot. And we were so close. So I told her I was going to the university and I'll be back soon. And that ride leaving, because we had to drive to the bigger city to the airport. And thinking about my immigration journey, the beginning of it, I always think about me parting from my sister at home.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

And driving to the bigger city in the airport. And she's waving, knowing I'm coming back in two, three weeks or whatever, and I'm waving back knowing that I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

And that was the sad moment, the saddest moment of separating with my baby. I wasn't so sad about leaving my mom or my dad or my other brothers. I knew they were gonna be okay. So at the airport, it was my mother and my father and my uncles, those who lived in the city. It was like this big tribe seeing me after the and everyone was giving me all sorts of advice. So at that point, it was getting exciting. It was my first time on the plane, by the way. My first time out of my little city that I grew up in. Yeah. I had just got it from high school, and college was gonna be in the United States. It was bittersweet. I still remember who was at the airport. I still remember thinking, how is it gonna be like on the plane? How does it look like? How is it gonna be on the other side? And that part was very exciting. And yeah, and I've always felt like an adventurous person. So that was very exciting. And I knew I was coming to be with my mother's little sister. Gotcha. So I was also excited about that. And I remember landing Los Angeles and her picking me up. I remember the big streets and how clean they were. Yeah. I remember my first American meal. It was just all very exciting. And that first week was out of this world. It was heaven. But reality really hit when I called my mother to tell her that I had arrived. And we had to go back. Back then there were no WhatsApp or I do. So we had to go buy a phone card. It was a five dollar card. And it was over in five minutes. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Five dollars can only buy. I can relate to this. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

That's when I knew I wasn't gonna talk to my mother for a long time because I didn't have five dollars.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

And how how many times a week can I spare five dollars for just five minutes? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

And just you know, looking ahead, it was another six months before I could talk to anyone. We didn't have a landline.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

My mom had a neighbor. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

You have to set up appointments. Yeah. So the hardest part was realizing that being in the United States meant being away from my family.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

And there were times where I had to talk with my aunt where you're only here temporarily. This is only a transition. You're gonna have to be on your own soon. Six months later, I was on my own, if I was ready or not. I was angry at her at the time for kicking me out. But looking back now, I think it was one of the best things, you know, that's ever happened to me. How?

SPEAKER_00 9:11

How is it? Is that I want I want to pause there for a second because that sounds like that was a painful experience that happened at that time, right? Like that's family, that's your mom's sibling. Like you expect a certain level of protection and holding and guidance from there, but when that becomes the source of your first taste of reality emotionally, that can really kind of dredge up a lot of things. So in that moment, I'm sure gratitude is not what you were feeling then.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Yeah, I was feeling anger, I was feeling how I I've barely started school, yeah, I don't have a job, I'm not even allowed to work, mind you, on a student visa. That's right. In the United States. That's right. How are you expecting me to survive out there? I was angry about that. So, yes, I was angry, but I I have a mother who taught me that when anyone does anything good, positive to you, that's the only thing you should always remember. Yeah, and just had not been for her, working on your paperwork for your student visa so that you could get the visa. You would not have been here, right? And that's the other thing you always have to remember when you think about your aunt. And I'm sure she did what she thought best for her. She's married, she has children, and you don't know what was going on in the background with her husband. We don't know what was going on. So that's true. I'm sure she could have she did what was best for her at the time, but uh I was angry. But that led to a series of events that me being out on the street, staying with train strangers. Yeah, but yeah, you know, I was staying in weird places, but yeah, but the reason I say it's the best thing that's happened to me because it forced me to find the solution to my situation.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

I sat there comfortably in my aunt's house and being in a comfortable home. Maybe I would not have had the grit that I have today. 100%. I would not have fought as hard as I did to be where I am today. Maybe the rookie pharmacist wouldn't be here today. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

And and and I that's why I say it cannot be be overstated. And I think I think that when you are a survivor, we move quickly, right? Like um, yeah, you think, okay, I need to just understand what's going on because I need to go into problem-solving mode quickly, and because this can't be where I stay too long, I have things to do, I have people that depend on me, I need to figure it out quickly. When we are good with that, either because life forces it on you or a parent the way they raised you, like in your situation, it sounds like it's a skill you had to build in real time for survival. I don't know how good of a job we do sitting back to reflect on really and saying that, like, you know, my ability to stay calm when people are screaming at me is a direct result of the fact that this and this happened to me before, right? Like you people people just say, Great, great job dealing with that. Wow, I'm so proud of you for overcoming that. And you, you're just thinking, like, what other choice did I have?

SPEAKER_02 12:42

I heard someone say one time that you don't really know how strong you are until you have until you have to be.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

It's a real truth. And and I think your journey continues to be super fascinating to me because you've been so brave and so transparent in sharing on the rookie pharmacist the fact that you've had this very winding road of a journey. But I I want you to take us through a little bit about you go from having to figure out, go from housing insecurity to I'm going to go to pharmacy school.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

I think pharmacy school was the target from the very beginning.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

How awesome is that?

SPEAKER_02 13:23

My auntie that received me here was a pharmacist, and she helped me get my first job as a pharmacy clerk.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

And that's where looking at what pharmacist did.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

I already knew even when I was applying for my visa that that's what I was going to do because that's what my auntie did.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

The I think the real question is, and my mom has asked me that question herself.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Why didn't you give up?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Absolutely. It's a it's a very valid question because we'd love to know when at this point of reflection now, because that's where that's where you are. To be able to look back on being put out by your aunt to say, I'm grateful, that's that's the gift of reflection. Because in that moment, anger, right? There were a lot of other emotions, but gratitude was not one. But the gift of reflection is like we can sit back and think and say, Yeah, that was not, that was not gonna be my first choice. But based on where I am today, I would categorize that experience differently. And and so to your mother's point, from from this privilege point that you have been so blessed to have now, what can you identify as that thing that really kept you going and not giving up?

SPEAKER_02 14:52

I think the thing that kept me going was the weight of responsibility.

unknown 14:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

For in the beginning, it was my little sister back home. It was my brothers that I was responsible for because I saw my mother rack up loans for the visa application fees, for my air ticket, for tuition here when I didn't have any. And I knew I was responsible for helping her pay all of that back.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

I knew I was responsible for putting my brothers, my sister, through high school and college. And then eventually along the way, I had children. I had two boys. I almost gave up after I got my bachelor's degree, after I got my master's degree, I got a job as a health educator um in Los Angeles County. It wasn't paying much, but I felt like, okay, I came to the United States to pursue my education, and I think a master's degree is that. Yeah, you've done that. When I graduated with my master's degree, I was seven months pregnant with Brees, my oldest.

unknown 15:51

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

And and when he was born, we were buying a house. His dad and I, my husband and I at a time, and things were very hard financially. I I felt like with the the job that I had, there was no security. The job that he had, there was no security. And in my reflection, I sat back and thought, I know pharmacy is gonna give me that security. I know a doctorate degree will do that. And I know I have a baby now. I know it's been 12 years since I've left Cameroon. But I don't think I'm done. I think because of this little creature I'm holding in my hands, I want to be able to take care of him 100%.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Being financially comfortable. And not only that, by me doing that, I would set the baseline.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

Him and his sibling to come. My parents always told me they can take anything from you. But they can never take what's in your brain, they can never take your mind. I knew about the wars and the instabilities. My parents always taught me it's what you have in your brain that is gonna sustain you and allow you to start over no matter what part of the world you find yourself in.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

And I believe that, and that's what kept me going on top of responsibility, is knowing that education is absolutely important, especially for a girl child. Yes. Yes. Where I know for a fact that if I hadn't left Cameroon, I was gonna get married right out of high school and and have kids and become a housewife. Because my dad had already done way more than most men had done in our in our in our area. Sending a girl through high school when she had two brothers.

SPEAKER_03 17:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

And then sending her to the United States when she had a brother. Like everyone was like, what the heck? He should be the one going, not her. So there were there were all of these stereotypes. Yeah. Just have to be, you know. Yeah, yeah. And really, I think it has a lot to do with my upbringing. Yes. Doing education. Yes. Um, it has to do with the responsibilities that I had for my family and for my children.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

And and and so having to be a role model. And looking back, you know, it didn't last forever with my kids' dad and I. And he passed away five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Bridget.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

Raising Brice and Michael alone now. So I'm I tell myself, imagine if I hadn't gone to school I am so sorry for your loss and an income.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

How would I raise these kids? It's a real thing. My husband, I know, his mom lost their dad. Uh his youngest sibling was not even one year old, and they were six of them.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

Hardest thing that can happen to a child.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

And his he always says that his mother's career, her education is what helped keep them from becoming destitute. He's had so much, and he always talks about it. He's like, I'm not in the way of what you are doing because I know how important it is. I want to know that no matter what happened, you guys are going to be okay. Right. And I I don't think that a lot of men think that way because they really do believe that they are African men. They think they're in indestructible, but it happens more often than not where the man that is the primary income is out of the picture and the woman is left having to figure it out. And if that woman does not have a situation of her own, it changes that family's life tremendously. Yeah. You're you're talking about real stuff here that I think like uh young women may not necessarily think about when choosing a partner and deciding what they want their role or to be in a partnership of any kind, but it it's real. And I think coming from coming from Africa, when you are a girl who are acutely aware of the fact that you are you are viewed inferior, like you are you are second in every measure by society, right? And if you're lucky, you get parents that drill it in your head. Like, let me tell you something about gender, the world, the larger world out there, they only care that you can do it or you cannot do it. So education, skill, trade, knowing how to do what you do and do it well as a woman, the importance cannot be overstated.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Yeah, and that's why I never tell my story without mentioning my mother. Yeah. Because she's the one that said, Over my dead body, my daughter is not getting married. Over my dead body, my daughter is not not getting an education. And but I'm not being for that, I don't know where I would be. Yeah, I don't know where I would be um today. And speaking, and this is a message very important for for women, whether you're in Africa or in America, yeah, and no matter whether your husband, no matter if your husband's wealthy or not, yeah, always have to have your to build on your own God-given natural skills and make something out of it. I always talk about going through pharmacy school as a single mother.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

Like my kid's father passed away. I was five years ago. I was already a pharmacist then, but we divorced when I was starting pharmacy school because he was against that.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

So my first semester of pharmacy school, I'm studying pharmacokinetics while fighting in court for divorce and child custody and all of that.

SPEAKER_01 21:47

Wow, Bridget.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

And that's why my mom always, I don't, why didn't you stop? Because you yeah, again, at that point, my mom said, 'I'm with you. Oh, I will my mom retired early.' She was a high school principal. Retired early because at the time the excuse for my husband was who's going to wash the kids if you go to pharmacy school? My mom said, I got you. I'm coming. I'm coming to wash the kids. Yeah. My mom retired earlier than she was supposed to and moved over here to help me wash the kids. That still wasn't enough.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

It's excuses that are always going to come first before the real reason. Some men really do have a problem with a woman that wants to advance. Because in my head, your advancement was a win for your household. And it's a very important thing.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

And I don't know how that was working out in his mind.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

But so with the immigration challenges, with um single motherhood, and then now raising children. Two boys, two boys alone.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

I think what has kept me going is wanting to be a role model for them. Wanting to show them that you just have to keep moving forward, that your challenges are not detours. Do you know? They're actually the source of it.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

But that's profound. That's really profound.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

I myself have told I've wondered, I'm 45 now. Am I not too old to do this or to do that? But I think that all those challenges, all those 16 years it took me to go through pharmacy school instead of eight, I'm exactly on time for what those experiences were preparing me for. Absolutely. Right? I'm just right on time because everything I've gone through is what have shaped the ideas that I've implemented in my life.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

And it absolutely does.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

So that is my hope, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

It absolutely does.

SPEAKER_02 24:05

Yeah. That the the every time at work I have the anytime there's an uncertainty or something I have to look up that I don't do, I turn that into an opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Teach somebody else that I had to learn. Yeah. Because we graduate from pharmacy school personally. The reason I thought about the Ricky pharmacist was that when I graduated from pharmacy school, having done rotations and residency, I thought I was ready. Oh yeah. And you get this question or from your doctor, and you're like, what the heck? I don't know. What? Yeah, like, okay, what are you talking about? Start from the beginning. And that happened not once a day, 10 times a day. Yeah. So I started to have up all these questions. I had to look up and I thought, you know what? Someone out there needs to learn what I just learned. And I just started sharing it. And I think that's how after years of thinking about it, the rookie pharmacist was finally, finally came to life.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

I love it. And it's it's my favorite thing to come across on Instagram. Because so I'm gonna tell you a few things that makes the rookie pharmacist one of my favorite IG accounts. Number one, number one, everybody, everybody in my circle knows. I said I'm never dancing online. No one told me that, and it's not even that I'm a bad dancer. Like if I decided to dance, I would do it. I would kill it. I would kill it because I would probably not even dance to these American. I will dance to like, like, I would be, I would be taking it and opening people's horizons to sounds that they don't like have a whole idea in my head. But I've said so many times, like I'm not gonna dance online, that now it's it just seems like if I do it, it's like, are you clout chasing why I do it?

SPEAKER_02 26:02

I think the rookie pharmacist for me is not only about teaching and sharing my experiences, yeah, it's a form of praise. I love that for because I know deep down inside that a girl like me was not supposed to be here and to be doing what I'm doing. And again, my mother has always taught me that when God blesses you with something, you have to show him or her, because God may be a woman, if you ask me, yeah, that you are thankful. Yes, uh, you are happy, and that's how God blesses you with more. Yeah, for people praise by singing and dancing and praying. For me, dancing on social media is really praising God for allowing me to get here, yeah. Showing him that I'm really happy about that, I'm really enjoying being that, and I hope he just allows me to continue to do it. So it's a form of praise.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

I love it. I don't feel like there is a production. I feel like you sit down, you think about how I can send my message in the most effective way, and wherever that takes you, that's exactly how we get it. And sometimes you're in the IV room, sometimes you're at your desk, sometimes you're just out and about, sometimes you're dancing in a parking lot with other people. And I love how the content doesn't have this one way of how it looks, but the messaging is super consistent because you are constantly out to make sure that at the end of the 30, 45, one minute we pick up one new thing that we've learned. Or you I've seen you do this other thing too that that I think is really cool. You challenge the way we think about norms and norms. You've challenged our thinking at times and and say, like, what would you do? Or and you you toss our questions, you toss our challenges. I I love it as an account and I recommend it to new learners as an account that they should follow because I think that it's it's so noisy online. Yes, it is so noisy online, and I think that I've put in a lot of work and energy into like curating my timeline, but I have to do it like every three to six months because I start seeing some things that I'm just like could not care less about this. I don't want to see this. Like, I you gotta go.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

You know what? And sometimes it's the noisiest things that get the more most attention. It is. You must have felt this, like you start, you feel like your content is so valuable. It is important, but it's the content of that doesn't make sense to you that gets the most attention.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah, the things that get traction, the things that so for me, for example, I'm always thinking value. Like I'm I'm thinking like whatever I'm about to post, I want it to add value to it's supposed to be what is it teaching whoever's reading this. Yes, the value-based content gets very little traction. I'm encouraged by the one person that sends a DM and says, No one ever told me this. I mean, it's enough because in my head, I think about like a thousand views, and I'm like, I've never spoken in a room full of a thousand people. Exactly. Yes, and we don't think about it that way.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

I'm like, yeah, because if that's a thousand people walk into this room and watch this podcast, like what I'm like, this is nuts, right?

SPEAKER_00 29:40

So I think I admire your courage, your authenticity, and I really appreciate the transparency with which you share. I didn't go to pharmacy school through 29, but I didn't have kids. Like, I didn't have all those things. Mine, it was my health challenges that delayed everything for me in life. I was much older. I couldn't relate to my classmates. I had been through too much in life to still care about going out to party and drink a bit. Like I liked coming home and studying and being at home. So that made relating to my classmates really challenging. But as I've gone to more conferences and I meet people that come from other countries and start over, people that are in pharmacy school going through divorce, people that are in pharmacy school going through rehab, that are in domestic violence situation. I start to have big appreciation for people and voices like you that are open and sharing the challenges of how I got here. Because my hope is that that woman or that man sees your story and you talking about applied once and I applied again, and then I had to repeat, and then I had it took me 16 years. Like, I hope that you recognize the power in sharing that and what it can do for someone else. And you talk about the fact that it's it's about praising God, and I think that that's the blessing. I think that you doing that is how you give back to another person that is uncertain, that is in a household, they're sitting trying to study, and they are living with a partner that is not supportive of them going to pharmacy school and they'll see your post and they'll realize, like, I can do this. That's the hope.

SPEAKER_02 31:32

That's really the point. That's right of all of this. That is the whole point of all of this. And people think to be a leader or to have authority in some field, need the big degrees, yeah, the uh you know, confirmation from other people, yeah. I think in many cases, what gives you that authority is your experiences. Yes, ma'am. In that case, your experience gives you the credibility. Yes, because when a single mother reaches out to me and says, You inspired me, I've been thinking about going to pharmacy school, I didn't think I could do it. But because of your story, yeah, I think I'm gonna do it. I think I'm gonna try. So it's not because I was a big pharmacist with big degrees or big whatever, but it's because my experiences were relatable to hers. And that's what gives me that leadership authority with this particular person. It does. It's not, you don't need to lead everybody. Yeah. For me, leading is making a difference, and to make a difference, it doesn't have to be a million people. If it's five, ten people, like for you, if it's your residency applicants that end up matching and going to programs that they love and graduate and become great pharmaces because of the little impact that you had. It's I always think about Oprah Winfrey. Yeah, she grew up in poverty, she grew up experiencing all kinds of trauma, and then she became who she is because she developed a platform that valued vulnerability, yeah, experiences because that was her own challenge. So she turned her adversities and challenges into her platform because of what she's been through. Not because she was Dr. Oprah, but because of her experiences. And guess what? But we have our own experiences, everybody has their own set of experiences that they can channel into something helpful. I think that's what makes the difference between the leader and the knot. Everybody has some form of challenge, not everybody reflects on it.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

The same a hundred percent. And guess what, Bridget? You're doing the same thing, you're building a powerful platform based on just the fact that you made a decision to be resilient no matter what the obstacle ahead is. I cannot tell you how inspired I am by that. And and also, I think it's also the the courage. Yeah, I think this is where the me first part of creating has become very important. Why did I create this? I created this with the intent that it's going to be valuable and useful out there. That's why I created it. But if if I take that I'm creating it because I think that other people are going to love it and find value in it, then the likes and the views will absolutely have a negative impact on me mentally. But the self first in my creative journey has been very good at keeping it still enjoyable and very healthy, in that I put it out because that's what I felt like I wanted to do and I enjoy doing that. I'd like you to think about the person that is in a place of uncertainty. Um, in actuality, they don't know if they'll make it through pharmacy school, they don't know if they'll make it through residency, that they are going to get a position in phase two. What is your advice to keep them encouraged and going?

SPEAKER_02 35:18

There's so many layers to that question. There's the uncertainty layer what you do if you don't feel you're gonna succeed. Yeah. And then I think another layer is is that really what I want to do? Is that really what I want to jump in? I'm gonna start with a brief background on the Ricky pharmacist. When I started working as a pharmacist, I I was already realizing what I don't know. I remember a professor of mine teaching me about the four stages of learning. Yeah. One of them was the first stage was unconscious incompetence. You don't even know what you don't know. And then the second stage is unconscious competence. You know what I know. Yeah. I think that's where I was when I started pharmacy school. When I started working. Okay, now I think I know what I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:17

And then the third stage is the stage where you know what you don't know, you're learning it, you can do it, but you're doing it slowly and cautiously. And then the final stage is unconscious competence. It's like you know it so well, you can do it with your eyes closed, which I don't think any of us should ever get to in no, not in healthcare, ma'am. But knowing what you don't know, there's a stage of your life where you don't know what you don't know. And the way to know what you don't know is to jump in.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:49

To get started. So if you know, if you have a feeling deep down inside that maybe I should go to pharmacy school, maybe residency is gonna be good for me, maybe this, maybe that, that maybe it's already a seed that you do want to do it. Yeah, if anything's buzzing in your heart as uncertainty, yeah, it's your spirit telling you that that's what you need. Listen to it. And the next thing is to just get started because people wait to be ready, yeah, sure, to have the money, to get married, for the kids to grow up. And one thing life has taught me is that life, life, things change. If you have a theme that I would be 45 and single and widowed, I would have never believed you.

SPEAKER_03 37:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

To our listeners today, don't wait for the right whatever you're waiting for, just get started.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Listen to your heart because what's buzzing in your spirit is actually what you want to do. They're just a bunch of excuses that you use to delay that. So realize that that's what your spirit wants, that's what you want.

SPEAKER_03 38:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:12

And get started now. And getting starting doesn't getting started doesn't mean go apply to residency or go apply to pharmacy school right now or go take that class right now. It means reaching out to Sally or reaching out or reaching out, just starting the conversation. In starting, no matter what that looks like.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

You have to take the first step to know what the next step is going to be.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

And the next step might even be maybe that's not residency, it was not what I wanted. Maybe it was fellowship. Yeah. It was, you know, something else, whatever it was. But you have to make a step. You do have to get started. Yeah. No matter what that looks like.

SPEAKER_01 38:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

And and even me today at this point, I have so many ideas, so many dreams. I don't know where to get there. But the Ricky Pharmacist and the networking I've gone through, and because of it, I'm so far ahead than where I was six years ago when I started.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

I love that. Love that for you.

SPEAKER_02 39:19

Someone out there needs you to get up and go do what you're thinking about doing.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Yes. I love that. Yeah. Because it elevates the level of urgency one step further beyond just me, me, me. But how does me making this decision or connecting with people that can help me sort out how to make the next decision confidently, safely, and boldly, how does that unlock something else for the other person, the other people in my life, right? Like, could this unlock the opportunity that creates that security I'm craving for my family, that stability I'm craving for my family, that self-confidence, self-worth identity that I want for myself. But to your point, I love this. Like you're just like the next step. You can't find out what the next step is if you never take the first step. Girl, that belongs on a t-shirt. That belongs in a t-shirt. I love that saying in so many different ways. Yeah, but it's different people. But that that's such a simple way of what you're saying. It's like you're unclear about what's in the future. And the only way you know that is if you make a move. You have to make a move to find out what's waiting on the other side of that. Um, I I can't thank you enough. I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me. I really appreciate your time. I appreciate your candor. I expected it. I expected that you were gonna come and be real and serve it up. I expected it. I appreciate you sharing so deeply and intimately with me. Thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for your so now that it's just us, this episode was so powerful for me. We like to think that difficult things and challenging things only happen to us. The reason why I love hearing other people's stories and the journeys and what they've been through and gone through for the success we see them as today, is so that someone else hears that story and they are inspired by it. Bridget is my favorite person because she has such an infectious smile, first of all. As soon as she smiles, that makes you happy immediately. And you smile right back, right? But Bridget's light and her positivity and energy, like it's palpable. So when you see someone like that and you hear the story you heard today, housing insecurity, not having enough people believing in her immediate circle to be able to become a pharmacist. It's taking her over a decade to become a pharmacist. Have becoming starting pharmacy school as a young mom, going through divorce as a pharmacy student. These are not challenges that are unique to Bridget. Bridget is not first. Bridget's probably not going to be the last person to overcome this. But she decided to become resilient in the face of all these obstacles. She decided to rise to the occasion and meet these moments face on and head on to overcome them. And I think she said something today that was very powerful. She dances and she smiles as a way of praise for all of the journey and the things that she's gone through. So as you listen to the episode today, I hope that the takeaway is that anything is possible. And she even dropped a little gem in there for us. You don't know what your next step is until you take your first step forward. I appreciate you choosing us every Monday morning as your picker-upper and positive message to start your week. And I appreciate the loyalty and the listenership. Review this podcast so that others may be able to discover it. Rate the podcast. Let me know what you think about this episode. Or should we bring Bridget back for a more in-depth conversation about something else? I'm open and welcome. I'm open and welcoming to all of these ideas. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate the support. Have a wonderful week. Okay, bye. If this episode gave you something to think about, something to hold on to, or even something to act on, I want to ask you for one more thing. Take a moment to rate and review the podcast. It feels really small, but it's actually one of the biggest ways you can support this show. It helps more people find these conversations and become part of this community we're building right here on Success and Dosing.