Welcome to our series on the plethora of careers in pharmacy. Dr. Quinn Kelly ’18 is owner and pharmacist of Kelly's Pharmacy, which has locations south of Albany in Delmar, Greenville and Coxsackie.
You chose a career in community pharmacy, running an independent retail operation. How did you choose this area of pharmacy?
My dad's a pharmacist. He graduated from ACPHS back in 1979. He worked for several pharmacy chains. And then eventually, we decided to open our first location in Greenville.
Two months after opening, I started at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. And then the rest is kind of history. I’ve been here since 2018.
What do you like about independent pharmacy?
I love independent pharmacy, one, because I own the store. I just wanted to own my own business – in anything. It just so happens to be that my dad's a pharmacist, and I was able to make it through pharmacy school, which is why I'm a pharmacist now.
But the most important thing is, I love the career path because I just love people. Sometimes it can be a little demanding, but it's still the most rewarding job that I could could possibly have.
What is your work like as an independent pharmacy owner? What are your responsibilities?
As a small business owner, you must wear many hats if you are to be successful. Specifically for pharmacy owners, we (myself, my dad and my wife) are pharmacists, we are our HR department, we are the buyers, merchandisers, marketing department and even maintenance, grounds and landscaping department for the buildings we own in Greenville & Delmar. The list goes on and on.
Basically, any job that is available at a pharmacy, a pharmacy owner wears that hat. Fortunately for Kelly's Pharmacy, we have the best team of technicians and pharmacists, which allows us to lighten our workload. In pharmacy, the old phrase "further together" is 100% true. You can be the best pharmacist and pharmacy owner but if you do not surround yourself with top talent, then your success will be limited.
With chain stores dominating, it’s different to run an independent pharmacy today than it was when your family started. Is independent pharmacy still a good career for a young pharmacist?
If you can secure a job working for an independent pharmacy, it’s a great career path. Working in an independent pharmacy, you have a much more intimate relationship with the patients. You become an integral part of the community.
It is also very demanding. As the owner, you have to be able to make sacrifices to be in this job. But we are still alive and well and fighting the good fight.
What kind of pharmacist would be best suited for this environment?
Someone who loves patients. If you are a people person and you like talking to the public and you like problem solving, then you're perfect.
If you don't like interacting with patients, it might not be the best career path.
What recommendations do you have for a pharmacy student trying to find the right path out of all their career options today?
The most important thing for a potential pharmacy student is, if you don't know what you want to do, use your rotations to test things out. Challenge yourself throughout rotations. Go to every possible career path you could think of and use them as a free job interview to see if it's something that you would want.
You'll eventually find your path. But your rotations are a way to kind of get a good idea as to how you would feel about a certain career path.