Linton native Chelsea Kelsch is completing a five-week rotation at Linton Drug as part of her final year as a pharmacy student at North Dakota State University, Fargo.

She is doing rotations at pharmacies that focus on different aspects of medications and a variety of populations. Prior to her work in Linton, Kelsch received experience at a larger store, Thrifty White Drug in Mandan, and Meritcare Medical Center in Fargo where she dispensed medications for psychiatric patients.

From next week through the end of April she will work in six other pharmacy environments—Innovis Hospital in Fargo (advanced hospital medication dispensing), Target Pharmacy in Vadnais Heights, Minn. (advanced community), MeritCare Children’s Hospital in Fargo (pediatrics), Family HealthCare Pharmacy in Fargo (indigent care), St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck (adult medicine) and the Hospice of the Red River Valley in Fargo (medications for terminally ill patients near the end of life).

Kelsch entered the pharmacy program at NDSU after studying for two years at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minn., with a pre-med focus.

“I wanted to go into a medical field but hadn’t decided which one,” Kelsch said.

She spent a summer working at Linton Drug to see if being a pharmacist appealed to her.

“The medical aspect of pharmacy interested me, so, thanks in part to working with Dallas Lang and his staff at Linton Drug, I went into pharmacy at NDSU,” Kelsch explained.

Pharmacy is a six-year program, and she will graduate in May of 2009 in a class of 82 students.

Kelsch likes the challenge of putting to use the continued changes in the pharmaceutical industry as new and better medications are developed and more can be done for more people and illnesses.

“I am enjoying the different working environments, and it helps me decide what type of pharmacy best suits me,” Kelsch said.

So far, she has found that she enjoys the retail aspect of pharmacies but also is interested in the hospital pharmacy setting.

“I like retail because it is fast-paced, and there is a lot of patient contact,” she said. “You work with patients on a more personal level, answering their questions and visiting with them.”

Kelsch said she has enjoyed her rotation at Linton Drug.

“Dallas is very professional and a good businessman,” Kelsch said. “He wants me to learn, and he has challenged me, which I appreciate a lot.”

Lang took her to the Strasburg Care Center to review the patients’ medication administration records.

“All of the extra things I have had the chance to do at Linton Drug have been helpful to me,” Kelsch said.

Kelsch said she has also enjoyed working with the Linton Drug staff and seeing all of the familiar faces from the Linton area.

Family

Kelsch is the daughter of Marilyn Kelsch of Linton and Gerry Kelsch of Bismarck, and she has one brother, Jon, who is also a student at NDSU.

Her grandparents are John and Snooks Kelsch of Linton and Lydia Roehrich of Strasburg and the late Egidi Roehrich.

She graduated from Linton High School in 2003.

Kelsch and Thomas Law-ler, also a 2003 LHS graduate, are engaged to be married. Their wedding is set for September 13 at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Strasburg.

Thomas, a graduate of the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, is employed by Dakota Refrigeration in Fargo. He is the son of Michael Lawler and Sandra Lawler, both of Linton.

“We both want to stay in North Dakota,” Kelsch said. “We may go out of state initially, but eventually we want to come back to North Dakota to raise our family. We also would like to be close to our families, so Bismarck would probably be the ideal location.”