“Patient care comes first.” This mantra reminds me of why I do what I do when work gets overwhelming or monotonous. Patient care is my driving force for being the best pharmacist I can be each day. My goal, as a part of a patient’s health care team, is to help them understand their medications and empower them to take control of their health. This may mean focusing on motivational interviewing to help a patient find his “why” to begin his tobacco cessation journey. It could be spending time reviewing a patient’s medications with her caregiver and physician before setting her up on a monthly pill packaging program to help her remember to take her medicine. Or maybe it’s checking in on exercise and diet goals for a patient in my diabetes management program. No matter the patient, I strive to go beyond the basic needs of counseling on a new medication to improve their health and wellbeing.Interests: preventive health care, disease state management, experiential education for student pharmacists