Imagine having an exam in biostatistics, an exam in pharmacokinetics, and an essay due for health care ethics all in one week. Now imagine having a science project, a parent–teacher conference, and a piano recital in the very same week. That is the level of stress student pharmacists who are also parents must deal with for 4 years. That is, if we are not also interested in doing research, obtaining a leadership position, or participating in extracurricular activities on campus, which would be in addition to the list.

Starting at a new school is never easy, and pharmacy school is no exception. With a new school comes new challenges, opportunities, friendships, and information overload. From the beginning you jump into a heavy courseload and need to balance that with learning about all of the organizations and opportunities your school has to offer. All of this can be overwhelming, and you may feel as though you don’t have time for anything else.

Having the courage to change is the first step. However, change is difficult, and getting to that first step can be a challenge for both us and our patients. Throughout our first year in pharmacy school, we were both impacted by a concept we learned about called motivational interviewing.