What shocked you most during your first ward round as a pharmacy intern?

Pharmacy
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We spend years buried in textbooks learning about adverse drug reactions, interactions, compliance, and treatment guidelines. Everything feels structured and straightforward on paper.

But the first time you step into the ICU or OPD, reality hits differently. Patients don’t always follow the “ideal case” in our books. Comorbidities overlap, drug lists are long and confusing, and sometimes it’s not about science alone, it’s all about listening, empathy, and teamwork.

:pushpin: That’s when you realize pharmacy isn’t just about dispensing medicines. It’s about bridging theory with real human lives, ensuring drug safety, improving compliance, and making care truly patient-centered.

:backhand_index_pointing_right: What was your first big “reality check” moment in the wards? Did a particular case or patient interaction change the way you saw your role as a pharmacist?

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Well, I was surprised to see how the pattern of prescription. No I’m not talking about how they prescribe it’s about what brand they prescribe. The more expensive the hospital the more expensive branded drugs they will prescribe.

More commision more money.

At a point they don’t care if the patient’s burden is increasing, there’s always those expensive multivitamins, pantoprazole combinations etc just to increase the amount of sales and usage of medicines.

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This is so true, hospital’s don’t really think about the economic burden of the patient, now-a-days hospitals have become a new form of business.