Goat caretaker turns to pharmacy school

Auburn, N.Y., native James Thurston grew up on a hobby farm surrounded by animals, but knew from his sophomore year in high school that he wanted a career in pharmacy.

“My favorite animals were goats and so I took care of them, getting up early and wrangling them,” he said. “Getting up so early in the morning taught me the value of hard work.

“The reason I chose pharmacy, though, is that it uniquely looks at patients for more than their disease states. It looks at their lifestyle and other factors, and you don’t get that in many professions,” he said.

When Thurston, who most often goes by Jimmy — but has been kidded by his uncles who sometimes call him Jimbo — started looking at pharmacy schools, Binghamton was the first that popped up, he said. “I came and saw the building when it was first finished, so I knew where I wanted to go. Binghamton was the only place I applied to. I put all my eggs in one basket.”

He went to Auburn Community College, then SUNY Broome Community College, to complete his prerequisites, graduating from SUNY Broome with an associate degree in liberal arts with a focus in math and science.

“It has been very welcoming here. Staff and faculty are very helpful and classes aren’t too big, so being on a first-name basis makes getting help a lot easier,” he said. “I graduated from high school with about 86 kids, so it’s nice to get that here as well, too. I’ve acclimated here.”

Yet, Thurston also stands out from the crowd a bit, with his pink hair and bow tie, which is perhaps a bit unusual for someone his age. “It’s a nice little switch-up,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with a classic tie, but I like to put my own little twist on it.

“I also wear a pin every day so I get a lot of comments on that,” he added.

The day of the interview for this profile, Thurston wore a pink grand piano pin. He has a lot of molecule and pharmacy pins, he said, but also goes to a lot of music festivals where he finds pins for his favorite bands. “I have close to 100 pins and keep them on my pin board,” he said. “It’s an essential part of my character. When I worked at a community pharmacy for a time, customers would ask ‘What pin do you have on today?’

“I needed the pharmacy pin when I knew I was coming here, and almost bought one early, but didn’t want to chance bad luck!”

He’s also a cat lover who can’t have a cat in his apartment, so with his free time, he’s teaching himself to play the piano and taking care of his houseplants. “I have a shelf just covered in vines, and several cacti and some general house plants — about 30 of them. They’re pretty much everywhere they can fit,” he said.

Thurston also works at UHS Wilson Medical Center as a pharmacy tech, running medications to floors, and recently started IV training. “They have a program with the school where, once you get your intern license, you can get trained,” he said. “It helps students with experiences and it helps UHS with people to work shifts. The intern license comes from the school, but it broadens the scope of what I can do.”

As a first-year student, Thurston has completed CPR training, and will earn his immunization certification as well. He was a bit nervous before the immunization practice in the Skills Lab, he said. “But Dr. [Sara] Lynch eased my nerves. It’s one of those things where you don’t want to go too fast, but also don’t want to be slow,” he said. “We did online modules in our skills course, and then an in-person setting when we got a shot and gave some shots, two intramuscular and one subcutaneous.”

And, since he’s a first-year student, he’s also still considering what pharmacy path he might take. “I’ve actually worked in both in- and outpatient settings and now I’m leaning toward inpatient, but I don’t want to close many doors,” he said.

Until he has to decide, he’ll continue involving himself in student organizations and working as a pharmacy tech. He’s a member of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP) and plans on getting more involved. “I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew!” he said.

One thing he is set on, though: escaping cold weather. “I’ve vacationed in the Midwest and generally like it out there, so I’m counting down the New York winters until I’m through. I’m looking forward to not having to shovel my car out … and going to Colorado during spring break!”