A few days ago, we introduced you to Rich Downs, one of our student pharmacists from The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy. Rich is with us for the month of July, as is fellow student Asim Hussain. In this posting, we’d like to tell you a bit more about Asim.

Here is what Asim would like you to know about himself:

Howdy, my name is Asim Hussain and I am currently working as a pharmacy intern at Plain City Druggist. I also work as a pharmacy technician at Riverside Medical Center. I enjoy working in the field of pharmacy and have been studying to become a pharmacist at THE Ohio State College of Pharmacy for the past 3 years. I decided to attend OSU because they have a well-known and established pharmacy program.

I was born and raised in the Dallas, Texas area and fate brought me to Columbus in 2012 for school. My mother and father are originally from Pakistan and migrated to the United States in 1979. Growing up, I enjoyed playing sports and spending time with family and friends. I would much rather be doing something outside rather than sitting on the couch. The feeling of grass (or preferably sand) beneath my feet is calming and pleasant. My most recent adventure was hanging out with some sea turtles while scuba diving with my brothers.

Early on, I had a great appreciation for the human body. I think it is very fascinating how the body works, from our hearts beating non-stop to seeing nearly impossible feats performed by athletes and gymnasts.

I also live to help people. The most fulfilling thing in life (to me) is helping people and seeing them smile in return.

After thinking about what I could do to marry these two aspects of my life, helping people and a fascination with the workings of the body, I decided upon pursuing a career in pharmacy. While practicing pharmacy, I am privileged to study the human body and be on the front lines of caring for people’s health.

Upon graduation, I plan to return to Texas, because that is where all of my family resides, including my two-year-old niece whose name is Iman. In addition to Iman, my mother, father, and 4 siblings (2 sisters, 2 brothers; I am number 4) reside there.

I plan to pursue a career in both hospital pharmacy and community pharmacy. I enjoy both settings equally right now. Each setting calls on different skills learned in school and I want to maintain both skill sets. I will practice both types for a time until I have to focus on other things (a family, which is not anywhere in the near future; I need to find a lady first!). I also hope to find ways to give back to the profession by allowing students to shadow me and offer small scholarships to deserving students interested in careers involving healthcare.

I like working at a pharmacy like Plain City Druggist, because I enjoy direct interaction with the people in a community. The pharmacy is the front lines of healthcare for the general population and has a huge impact on the community itself. I like seeing people regularly and getting to know them beyond just their medication list. I think the pharmacist has a huge impact on how a patient experiences a particular disease.

God, Family, Friends. That is the best way to sum up what I care about the most. If you have any other questions or would like to know more about me, please feel free to ask! I wouldn’t mind sitting down and talking over a cup of coffee!