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From plumber to pharmacist: a long journey by Heather Murphy Public Relations Most MUSC students find it impossible to work a full-time job while going to school. For Cole Shelley, will receive his pharmacy degree today, it was a challenge. Dr. Cole Shelley “Before I decided to apply to school, I worked for eight years as a plumber and saved a good bit of money with school in mind,” Shelley said. “While MUSC recommends that we don’t work a full-time position while in school, I felt I needed to. I still had bills to pay and life to live.” Shelley’s work ethic speaks for itself. While employed at Eckerd’s during the first three years of pharmacy school, Shelley spent his time enduring and excelling at the rigorous training in the College of Pharmacy. His trick for memorizing hundreds upon hundreds of medications and uses? “When I studied, I focused on a class of medications, then another class until I learned all of the classes. Then I’d work on learning each individual medication,” he said. “It was very helpful to work from the outside in.” Shelley, familiar with MUSC because his mother received her nursing degree here, decided that even though he was already 29 years old, it was never too late to go back and pursue something you really would like to do.  “At times it was easy to get discouraged or become overwhelmed, but you retain a lot more information than you think you will. The rewards for hard work also come sooner than you think,” Shelley said. “It helped me tremendously to know how supportive my family was as well.” Shelley went into pharmacy out of a desire to become an active participant in patient education  “A pharmacist has a great capacity to monitor a patient’s care after he or she leaves the hospital or doctor’s office. I believe it’s important for patients to find a pharmacist they like and continue to see them for all of their medications,” he said. “A problem arises when patients skip from pharmacy to pharmacy filling different prescriptions. By staying with one pharmacist, drug interactions and adverse reactions can be prevented and compliance can be monitored.” “Cole is an incredibly nice guy,” said Steve Brown, assistant dean of students at the College of Pharmacy. “His classmates and faculty think very highly of him. He was one of those students who just stood out. He had a near flawless academic record and he progressed through the program rather effortlessly.” Shelley, always up for a challenge, admires the stamina of pharmacists, who  constantly strive to stay abreast of new medications, new uses, and new literature in the ever-changing practice of modern medicine. Shelley’s immediate plans involve positions at Walgreen’s and Waccamaw Community Hospital in his native Murrell’s Inlet, S.C. And as for his plumbing days, Shelley reserves that skill for his family. “However, the rates are going up on May 16,” he chuckled. I couldn’t have made it through MUSC without: Sabrina, my best friend; my family; Krispy Kreme; caffeine; and my bicycle (no parking woes!).                                         —Dr. Cole Shelley   Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.