By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director
Class of 2024 Spotlights
BALTIMORE – After working for several years as a community pharmacist in her home country of Jamaica, Jodi-Ann Gayle decided to expand her career potential by earning a Pharm.D. degree in the United States.
Gayle, who had friends and family in the area, centered her pharmacy school search around Maryland, and she was quickly drawn to Notre Dame of Maryland University as the best option to continue her educational journey.
The personalized support provided by professors in the School of Pharmacy was particularly important to Gayle as she gave birth to her first child midway through the program. The help and flexibility demonstrated by both her professors and her peers allowed Gayle to continue to excel as she balanced her major academic and personal responsibilities.
After graduating from Notre Dame on May 22, Gayle will begin a first-year residency program at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington D.C. Learn more about her NDMU experience below:
What was your educational background prior to attending Notre Dame, and what inspired your move to America?
I grew up in Jamaica, and I completed a bachelor’s program in pharmacy there. I was considering other options in the sciences at the time, including biochemistry and medicine, but I felt like pharmacy was the best option for me. I decided to pursue some volunteer hours at a hospital close to my home, and I loved that experience. After graduation, I worked in the community setting as a pharmacist for a little over five years.
After a while, I just wanted more for my career – I wanted to excel. My job started to become routine, and I felt as if I wasn’t utilizing a lot of what I learned in school. I began to explore my options, including entering industry pharmacy, and I decided that obtaining a Pharm.D. degree was the best option for me. At the time, we had just launched a Pharm.D. program in Jamaica, but it wasn’t accredited yet, so I decided to venture to the United States where I could enroll in an accredited program.
I chose Maryland because I have friends and family here, and after discovering Notre Dame I got in touch with Lawrence Shattuck, the former director of admissions here. We had a conversation about me wanting to pursue the Pharm.D., and he thought that I would be a great candidate based on my background. I did the interview, and it was pretty successful. It aligned with what I wanted for myself career goal-wise, and I accepted the offer to enroll here.
What influenced your decision to pursue a career in healthcare?
I just always loved being able to help other people. I feel like you have to have a certain personality to enter into healthcare. Having that compassion, being aware of different patient’s backgrounds, and having that understanding that we’re ultimately all people is what drove me into the field.
What was your overall experience like as a student here at Notre Dame? Do you feel that the School of Pharmacy set you up for success after graduation?
The level of patience and understanding that I have received from my professors, both in and outside of the education component, is what set me up for success. Everyone will have different personal situations that they will have to manage during the program, and having such strong support from them is what helped me get to this point. That’s one thing that I’ll always speak about if anyone mentions Notre Dame – the professors and how understanding they are.
I became a mother during the program. Being a new mom and being enrolled in a Pharm.D. program are two things that don’t usually go together. It comes with its challenges. My professors being able to understand that there are days where I might need to be more flexible, including sometimes attending class online, was very helpful. If I did not have that understanding, I would have probably had to stay back a year or even decide to not pursue the program any further.
In terms of classes, the smaller class sizes really facilitated my learning in a way that I don’t think would have been possible in a larger group. Being able to approach my professors, and getting a timely, respectful response, was very important to me. They always try to give you helpful feedback.
How have you been able to balance becoming a new mother with your school work?
I had to sacrifice a full eight hours sleep. I valued naps, because those power naps are what got me through the particularly difficult days. I just tried to stay focused on what I want to accomplish career-wise. Before my child wakes up in the morning is when I got most of my studying done. That’s how I was able to maintain my grades. She was also there studying with me a lot of the time.
I had support from my classmates – they were very helpful – and my family was very helpful as well. It’s a mixture of everything that allowed me to manage being a parent while pursuing my Pharm.D.
How did your fourth-year Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences help you grow as a pharmacist?
The experiences that I had during my APPEs were invaluable. Being able to transfer what I learned in my classes to real life patients will play a key role in my future success. I was also able to speak with different preceptors about their professional path and what their current practice setting looks like. They assisted me so much during the residency application process, whether it was reviewing my curriculum vitae (CV), assisting me with interview questions, or letting me know about great institutions to apply to.
Were there any challenges that you faced as an international student? How were you able to overcome them?
For me, the financial resources were always going to be a big issue because, as an international student, you don’t qualify for federal loans. You have to think about higher interest rates, you have to think about institutions where you can actually get tuition assistance. For international students interested in the program, it’s important to scope out where you can get your resources for tuition early on in the process. For me recently, I had to figure out where to obtain a work permit. It’s important to take care of these things early – don’t wait until right before you need them. The School of Pharmacy has a designated student officer for international students. They were a good resource for me. I would just tell people to do their research and use the help that’s available.
What are your current plans for after graduation? Do you have a residency lined up?
My goal is to become a clinical pharmacist specializing in oncology. There are only two programs in Maryland that offer a Postgraduate Year Two (PGY-2) program in oncology. One of those is Johns Hopkins, which is one of the locations where I did my APPEs. I learned that if you are able to match at a first year residency program in any one of the locations within their health system, the process for a year two application would be easier. You can commit early to a year two.
That’s how I shortlisted most of the sites that I applied for, and I was able to match at Johns Hopkins’ Sibley Memorial Hospital down in Washington D.C. They have a very good oncology program there. I will be able to gain the required first year knowledge there, but it will also set me up very well for a second year at Johns Hopkins, hopefully here in Baltimore.
What are your long term career goals? Do you plan to go back to Jamaica after residency?
I would love to go back to Jamaica right away, but the answer is not right now. There is so much growth around Baltimore with different pharmacy specialties available. We don’t really specialize in oncology pharmacy in Jamaica. My family is also here – I got married, and I have a baby here, so this is where I will stay. Maybe when I retire I can return home.
Is there a message you’d like to share with pharmacy students who are still working their way through the program?
It’s not a cliché when people say that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The program is challenging and it can be tiring, but it’s important to focus on your long-term goals rather than the short-term stressors. You’re not on an island. Seek out the help of your professors and the other students in the program – don’t just deal with the stress by yourself. That was key for me, and that’s what I would pass on to any student. We all made it here, so we know how to get the grades. We just need to push ourselves together so we can all reach our end goals.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
