This month, we are joined at Happy Druggist on Karl Road by Khoi Dang, a fourth-year pharmacy student from The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy.

Khoi will graduate in May 2022 and will then take the test to become a registered pharmacist. Khoi will be with Kristie and the staff on Karl Road throughout November, so please stop by and meet him while he is in the store in Columbus.

Here is what Khoi tells us about himself:

Hello, my name is Khoi Dang. I am currently a fourth-year pharmacy student at The Ohio State University. This month, I am honored to have my community rotation with Dr. Kristie Holliday at Happy Druggist Pharmacy on Karl Road.

I was born and raised in Vietnam and moved to the US when I was 17-years-old. I, then, completed my senior year of high school in California. After that, I moved to Seattle to complete my bachelor’s degree in Biology, specializing in Cellular and Molecular Development at the University of Washington before coming to The Ohio State University for my four year pharmacy school experience.

While I was studying for my bachelor’s degree, I had an opportunity to work as a pharmacy technician at Rite Aid pharmacy, where I saw a lot of distressed, underserved patients experience the frustration of not getting their medications (whether because of insurance issues or lack of communications from the physician’s office). My mentor at Rite Aid did a very good job at helping patients understand what steps needed to be taken in order to receive the medications. He piqued my interest in pharmacy. After about a year and a half working there, I decided to pursue pharmacy as my career. After five years working at community pharmacy, I am devoted to helping patients any way possible.

My initial career goal was working at Giant Eagle as a community pharmacist (where I am currently an intern). However, after my two hospital rotations at Fairfield Medical Center and Doctor’s Hospital, I saw the importance of pharmacists in hospitals. I also realized that the transition of care after patients are discharged and the disease management when they are at home creates a lot of issues. As a result, I want to bring my experience in community pharmacy and apply that in hospital settings in order to help patients receive the best care possible. In order to do that, I will pursue a PGY1 residency, hopefully in Ohio.

Outside of work and school, I am an introvert. I like spending time relaxing at home, listening to music, playing computer games, or watching anime. I also love playing badminton, so my friends and I are trying to play at lease once or twice a week.