There’s more to being a pharmacist than counting pills into a bottle, says Dylan Gannon of Shaler.
Pharmacists do things like checking drug interactions to confirm it’s safe for a customer to be taking a new medication with ones they’re already on. And they make sure prescriptions are being used properly, with refills not being requested late or early.
“A lot of that happens behind the scenes,” Gannon said. “It’s good we’re able to do that and make it look easy because it means we’re doing a good job.”
Gannon, 24, is the fifth generation of his family to take up the profession.
He follows a paternal path begun by his great-great-grandfather, Paul Irwin, who ran a store with his two sons in Langhorne, north of Philadelphia; his great-grandfather, James Irwin II, who also served in the Navy during World War II; his grandfather, James Gannon Sr., who mostly worked in hospitals; and his father, Timothy Gannon, who over his career worked for Thrift Drug, CVS, Eckerd, Rite Aid and, currently, Giant Eagle.
A 2020 Central Catholic graduate, Dylan Gannon graduated from Duquesne University’s School of Pharmacy in May. He’s working for Giant Eagle, where he has worked as an intern for three years.
Gannon took the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination in June and got word June 30 that he had passed, which allows him to practice as a pharmacist.
“I’m extremely happy for him,” his father said. “He likes to help people and he always has. It’s a perfect fit for him.”
Timothy Gannon grew up in Holland, Pa., also near Philadelphia. It was Duquesne’s pharmacy school that brought him to Pittsburgh, and he graduated from the school in 1997.
“I used to go to work with my dad at the hospital. That’s why I decided to be a pharmacist,” he said.
Dylan Gannon’s mom, Lisa, also is a pharmacist, graduating from Duquesne herself in 1995 and now working for CVS Caremark. His parents met in 1996 while working at a Thrift Drug store in West View and married in 1997.
“It felt surreal seeing him up there in his cap and gown,” his father said. “We’re very proud of him.”
Dylan Gannon said he was considering his career options when he decided as a 17-year-old high school junior to be a pharmacist. Hearing his father speak at a career day at his school sealed it for him.
“It was a change of pace from the other things I was considering. The patient care aspect is pretty rewarding, just knowing you were able to impact someone’s life, even if it’s just helping them understand how to take a prescription or the side effects they could experience and when they should seek further help,” he said. “It’s rewarding to be able to aid in someone’s daily life and make it just a little bit better.”
Growing up, he said he also noticed how everyone knew his dad as a community pharmacist and the bonds he had formed from taking care of patients.
“Everywhere we’d go, everyone knew him,” he said. “He was friends with everybody. It’s cool to have that impact in the community and be able to help so many people.”
Dylan Gannon is the only one of his parents’ four sons — two older, one younger than him — to carry on the pharmacist legacy. But he said his parents tried to talk him out of it because pharmacy school, a six-year program, is not easy.
“I feel like once I started working in a pharmacy, I just set my mind to it. I wanted to do this for my career,” he said. “I feel like once I got into it and saw how much I like it, they were OK.
“They were trying to protect me from having to go through the rigors of pharmacy school. It was rewarding to go through such a hard program.”
He said it feels rewarding to continue his family’s legacy.
“I know my grandfather and grandmother definitely would have been a big fan of it,” he said. “I’m just glad to finally be at the point where I can say I did make it and am able to keep the tradition alive.”