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Proud pharmacist serving her country

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

Heather Pauley had succeeded far b e y o n d ma n y people's dreams. By her early 20s, she was a licensed pharmacist earning a good living in her beloved hometown of Flin Flon. But within her was a calling. To do something different. To do something more. So last fall Pauley joined the Canadian Armed Forces, working for now) as a pharmacist at the army's on-base clinic in Edmonton. 'What appeals to me is the opportunity for such variety in my job, the constant learning, the possibility to travel around Canada and overseas, and the challenge,' says Pauley, now 26. Working in the military is also not just a job but lifestyle.' And a challenging lifestyle at that. Like any other member of the military, Pauley had to undergo 15 intense weeks of basic training this past winter and spring. 'It was quite an adjustment getting used to the military culture and learning all the rules,' she says. 'It's very strict on what you wear, how you can do your hair, how you refer to people and the ranking structure, how and who to salute, how you follow a chain of comma n d , o u name it. A lot of it still e ems a t h e r strange to me, u t everyone is very helpful and I've already come a long way getting used to how things work and being comfortable in this environment.' In training, Pauley was in a platoon with 55 other cadets, all but five of them men. Constantly sleep-deprived, they were prepared for a battlefield they may or may not ever see. There was the grueling physical training. Pauley is unlikely to forget those sweat-filled days of marching 13 kilome t r e s c a r r y i n g a 55-pound rucksack. Weapons training, written exams, simulated emergencies and camping out in the winter were also part of her experience. The goal was not only to toughen Pauley up, but also to foster her leadership skills and those of her fellow cadets. 'It was a very long three and a half months,' Pauley says. Pauley not only survived, but persevered in an environment that broke many before her. Out of the 50-plus members of her platoon, she received the highest marks for field skill and academic performance. 'Now that I'm done, I'll admit that I'm glad I did it,' Pauley says. 'It was a challenge that I'm proud to have accomplished and it gives me a better understanding of the environment that I will now work in.' That environment may be drastically different from her last workplace, but the basics of Pauley's job remain the same. Jonathon Naylor Editor ' 'It was a challenge that proud to have accomplished and it gives me a better understanding of the environment that I will now work 'I like that as a pharmacist I get to help people, teach about new drugs and health conditions, continue learning, problemsolve and work with people,' she says. Those a r e t h e aspects of the pharmaceutical field t h a t appealed to Pauley, who graduated from Hapnot Collegiate in 2004. See 'U' on pg. 12 that I'm accomplished understanding environment in.' Continued from pg. 3 She went to the U n i v e r s i t y o Saskatchewan to earn a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy, graduating in 2010. Pauley moved back to Flin Flon to work at Pharmasave, gaining both experience and a clearer direction of where she saw her life headed. S h e imme n s e l y enjoyed her two and a half years at Pharmasave, which made her decision to leave all the more surprising to some who knew her best. Her mother Kate admits she was certainly taken aback. Then again, it wasn't entirely out of character for Heather. 'She's never been one to shy away from a challenge and so I guess this was the ultimate challenge,' says Kate. Now working at the on-base clinic, Heather has more training to complete before she will be eligible for deployments in an operational field hospital setting _ both wi thin and beyond Canada's borders. 'I don't think I would be looking at being deployed for a few years yet, but if and when that comes I think by then would be ready for it.' she says. 'I think it will be very difficult but it will also be an opportunity for challenge and growth.' Further down the road, Heather can envision herself going back to school to get a pharmaceutical doctorate. She might even try to work as part of a disaster assistance response team. But for now she has a four-year contract to serve her country. And for that her country can be grateful.

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