Carlota Salazar, a native of Zaragoza, has been one of the winners of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport with the National Awards for the End of degree program of Education University 2011-12, which recognize those who have studied with "greater brilliance" their higher programs of study . Salazar has a degree in Pharmacy and a diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Navarra. For the latter degree program she has won the second prize of 2,650 euros award .

She currently works as a Resident Internal Pharmacist at the Hospital Clínic i Provincial de Barcelona and, on the occasion of the national award , we asked her about her professional career:

First of all, what does it mean to you to have received the award?
Receiving a award is always a satisfaction, especially when there is a great effort behind it. It is a reward for work made over the years. I also hope that it serves as financial aid when making degree program at a professional level, taking into account the competitiveness that we face today in the labor market.

Do you think the effort was worth it?
I think the effort to achieve what we set out to do is a battle won and always worth fighting for. We are better when we work well and we all have great potential to exploit and succeed in what we do, so yes, I would say it was worth it.

Are you happy with the training you received?
Very much, I have very good memories of the years I spent at the University of Navarra, of the professors who gave me class and of the opportunities I was given. I will always remember the words of a pharmacist attachment from St George's Hospital in London, where I did my supervised stays, that the students who received from our university had a very good base.

You have received the award for Human Nutrition and Dietetics, but you did the spanish pharmacy residency program , how do you relate the training of Nutrition with your current work?
The residency program in Hospital Pharmacy includes rotations in different areas and one of them is parenteral nutrition. Fortunately, at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the Pharmacy service is in charge of prescribing parenteral nutrition to those patients who require it, with the close follow-up that this entails. In fact, only a few weeks ago I started my rotation at area and I have 6 months to enjoy it.

How has your double training helped you to get where you are?
The truth is that to do the specialization program in Hospital Pharmacy it would be enough to study the licentiate degree in Pharmacy, as it is the knowledge of that branch that is judged in the exam spanish pharmacy residency program . In my case, I decided to do the double degree because I liked nutrition and I think it is something that can be applied on a daily basis because... who does not eat every day? Eating is easy, but eating well is a Science.

Do you think that studying the Double Degree in Pharmacy and NHD at the University of Navarra has opened the door for you?
The truth is that I have not yet had the opportunity to put it to test, because the civil service examination does not understand universities, only your position in a list that takes into account the score obtained in an exam and a small percentage of the average obtained in the degree program. However, I would venture to say that it is possible that it may serve to open doors for me in the future, since I consider that it is a university that enjoys great prestige at a national and international level.

Where do you want to direct your professional degree program ?
That's a very good question, haha, I ask myself every day. At the moment, every day is a challenge. The fact of rotating through so many different areas in such a short time requires a continuous update , even a change of mentality or approach that entails a lot of effort. However, I do not rule out dedicating myself to the field of nutrition in the future, at least I would like to be able to combine it with the practice of pharmacy.

Do you remember any anecdote from degree program that has marked you?
At staff, my participation in the COE (congress international Oncology for Students), organized by students of the School of Medicine, since it was the first time I made a presentation in Power Point! A few days before the oral communication I was in bed with fever, but when the day came I saved the fever and cough for the presentation, and we were even awarded the award for the best oral communication. The following year two of us pharmacists became part of the committee organizers of this congress.

On a professional level, my supervised stays at St George's Hospital (London) gave me a vision of the clinical pharmacist that I had not had until then. I even interpreted for a Spanish patient who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction at the airport. I remember getting up early in the mornings during his hospital stay to check on him and his family was most grateful to me when he was discharged. I think it was at that moment that I realized that I would go to spanish pharmacy residency program , if only not to close that door on me.

What committee would you give to a student of Pharmacy?
I would encourage them to make the most of their university years, not only the degree program Pharmacy, which is beautiful, but also the opportunities it offers when it comes to participating in courses, conferences, without forgetting sports and leisure. And there is nothing better than a healthy mind to perform at your best. I would also invite you to reflect on your illusions, aspirations and preferences in order to move as soon as possible towards what you see yourself working on in the future.