A new home

RESIDENTS CORNER

Growing up in small-town Indiana, I was raised on backroads and always dreamed of moving to a big city to make them proud. At 16, I left home to attend a residential high school. Then, I attended Butler University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and completed my PGY1 residency at NorthShore University HealthSystem in the Northern Chicagoland area. During these years, even when I was in a different state, I always managed to be within 4 hours of home. However, when applying for PGY2 programs, I quickly recognized that would not be the case. 

I took distance out of the picture and nervously submitted my rank. I matched at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. During my 600-mile road trip to an unknown city, I blared two songs on repeat: “Half of my Hometown” and “Home and Hometown.” I truly felt like Indiana was my hometown, and what was once Chicago, but now Memphis, was my new home.

A few days after moving to Memphis, I reflected on why I took this leap of faith. 

A personal development challenge, too

To pursue your dreams, you need to make sacrifices while understanding the advantages and disadvantages of your decisions. As a career-driven woman, this was my chance to step outside of my comfort zone and cultivate new roots. 

I would be training at an institution with remarkable core values that coincided with my career interests of medication safety and oncology. There would be ample opportunities to create relationships for my network, and the advancement of the profession. I have goals to take the BCPS exam next spring while reintegrating myself into professional organizations. Based on conservations with the pharmacists at St. Jude, I knew they would support my professional development plans even if they were not directly correlated with my residency program. 

Also, this move would challenge my personal development. I recently detected that I forgot who I was outside of pharmacy school, PGY1 residency, and my family. Slowly, I am rediscovering my hobbies by signing up for a co-ed volleyball team and preparing for my fifth half-marathon. 

My family, friends, fiancé, and future-in-laws have been supportive. Previous preceptors and mentors encouraged this leap of faith, and all of them played an integral part of this move. I am grateful for their support in this unknown journey that is continuously unfolding, a journey that I am cherishing with scenic workouts on along the Mississippi River, and my indulgence of hush puppies and local sweet tea.

Laura Sosinski, PharmD, MBA, is a PGY2 medication safety use and policy pharmacy resident at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. She enjoys playing volleyball, running, cooking family recipes, and spending Saturday mornings at the farmer’s market.