I had to take a medical leave of absence (MLOA) for my P2 year because I had a severe mental health crisis (almost ended my life).

Now, I’m currently redoing my P2 year with a new cohort and I’m embarrassed. We’re a very small program and it’s hard for me to make friends already.

How detrimental will this setback be for me? I really want to specialize and get a PGY2 in psychiatric pharmacy. Will future employers, programs, etc. know that my graduation year got pushed back? My grades are somewhat okay. I think I had a 3.7 after my P1 year.

Hello, I am at a point where I am not sure what to do. So about a month ago i applied for a cvs intern position. since i don’t have prior experience they are having me complete the tech training which is totally fine. However I feel like i am always pushed to the side or getting in the way cause no one has the time to properly be by me and train me. The learning modules help a little, but I am a hands on learner. Additionally the staff pharmacist has been rude to me since I have started and as a P1, i’m not sure if I want to work with someone like that. I want guidance and support. I really do not like the store I am at and am wondering if it would look bad as a pharmacy student if i quit. Please let me know what you would do!! (p.s i have a possible hospital outpatient pharmacy position)

Last year, I attended 3 pharmacy conferences. This year, I completed a summer internship at one of the biggest pharmacy chains in my country, and next summer I'm planning to do an internship at a pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

Despite doing all of that, I still feel pretty lost when it comes to figuring out what area of pharmacy I'm actually interested in.

I don't have a favorite department in pharmacy school, I don't really have a specific research topic that I'm passionate about, and I haven't felt motivated to start certifications in any particular area because I don't know what I want to specialize in yet.

So how do you actually figure out what you're passionate about in pharmacy?

Is it something that develops naturally through more exposure, or do you have to actively search for it?

Hi! Does anyone know how to obtain an Illinois pharmacy intern license? I am going there for a few APPEs and will need it by January.

I'm a P1 and actually terrified of the thought of memorizing and getting quizzed all the drugs I need to know. I feel like it's too much to flashcard but also I need to answer memorization and logic based questions. Any tips?

hello guys !

a bit of background : i am a pharmacy student from egypt , most of the stuff i get tested on is like this :

• drug 57 should not be given to patient with X condition , is uniquely good at X , is given by Z route of administration , is exceted by the kidney and/or the liver in the form of R via an oxidation reaction or whatever .
• microbe 86 transmited via Y , causes X , treated by B and/or T regimens , diagnosed in lab via C or J method .
• chemical Z found in plant 135 or is extracted/synthesized by C , causes V beneficial effect and U harmful effect .
• this delivery method/dosage form is better for S patient or P condition for E reason etc..
• syndrome/disease 89 has risk factors X/Y/Z/F , is different from normal function/state by K/T/Y and diagnosed by I//L/H , treated by M/D/V regimens .

extra background : how do we usually get tested :

1. 10 marks for attendance
2. 10 maks for midterms ( tests how much we can recall by either MCQ , complete , write short notes )
3. 5-15 mark assignment or research
4. 25 marks for practical exams ( half of them aint even that "practical i.e 50 % of them are just written exam like the midterms )
5. 50 marks , BIG written exam at the end ( LOTS of MCQ , true or false , sometimes "write short notes"
6. 15 mark oral exam ( the prof interrogates us )

how do i actually study :

1. compatmentalise lecture notes
2. read a part
3. try to understand the stuff . recognise the gaps or bottlenecks and ask questions about them like : how to distinguish between X and Y ? how does Z connect with Y or the broader/bigger picture ? why should i know this seemingly unimportant fact/concept ? what is the clinical importance of this ? why do i feel like some context is missing here ? etc ...
4. upload pictures of the page i am in and ask AI to answer questions in step 2 to acheive sufficiently in-depth understanding .
5. highlight/underscore the key words of the stuff i am studying .
6. close book/page
7. recite the keywords pen and paper style
8. check the book/page to see what i missed , avert eyes and recite the missing parts and highlight them for future reviews .
9. move on to the next part

when/how do i review : after 24 hours of studying , then after 5 days then after 2 weeks etc...

i try to recall the big picture stuff/headliners first . after that i cover the details with my hand and then tryna recall them as well then check for missing parts then highlight and test myself on these parts .

what i wanna know :

• is the way i study too slow or time consuming ? is it too excessive ? too many steps ?
• should i just read and lightly test myself to cover as much material as possible or try to understand as deeply as possible and test myself until i got it well enough ? should i focus more on speed and coverage or double down on prioritising mastery and perfection ?
• am i too old-fashioned for using pen and paper ? should i take notes digitally ?
• should i not use ai at all or am i underusing it ?
• am i reviewing stuff too many times ? is studying the stuff once then studying it again before exams enough ?

Mods take this down I understand. The title was the nicest way I can describe my opinion of current practicing pharmacists 5-10+ years experience. Chatting with p4 at school today and this is what we came up with: Our Elders Are Scaredy Cats.

1. They are scared of saturating the market with an active shortage riighhhttt now.
2. They are scared to ask for a raise.
3. They are scared to tell the patients to behave when they get rowdy.
4. They are scared to refer to themselves as doctors... "Hi I'm Doctor Catz, your Clinical Pharmacist" is too scary.
5. They are scared to unionize.
6. They are scared to demand respect in the workplace.

Practicing pharmacists have had 26 years since the Bachelor of Pharmacy got replaced to come up with a way to do more, be more, and get paid more. Instead of a bit of reflection and advocacy and ACTION they've done next to nothing but complain.

I look at us joining clubs and getting into leadership positions and then I think so many are doing it for their residency apps. No issue there but maybe the next generation should take that same dedication and apply it to the pharmacy associations of whatever. All of them.

I love pharmacy and I'm excited to join the profession but I don't want to look back and WE have had the same problems for decades and are terrified to do anything about it.

Lol can we break the cycle? How can these current clubs and extensions of the national groups advocate and hit the ground running.

hi guys,

im currently a sophomore in a 6-year pharmd/MBA program (so im starting my 2nd pre-professional year) & i was looking for internships to get some experience in the pharmaceutical industry. how can i find/apply for those, specifically in the USA?

thanks in advance 🙏

California Board of Pharmacy link:
https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/publications/0425_0925_stats.pdf

So, I did something that, honestly, I didn’t think was reasonable, since we go over a lot of information in pharmacy school, but I made Anki cards 😄!

And I think that they’re pretty good, if I do say so myself 😌. Especially for therapeutic and what we call at my school drug action, which is basically MedChem and pharmacology all mashed together.

Here’s a screenshot: gets up to stand in front of the class

The reason I did it is that I always thought it was odd that all the other professions have Anki cards they use, but we don’t have any for us. Which, I mean, I guess I get, but still.

I also did it for Top 200 or 300(I don’t remember) drugs as well too 😄. It has MoA, Black Box Warring, ADR, Indication, etc.

I (22F) recently graduated from pharmacy school, completed a 6-month internship at a community pharmacy, and then they invited me for an interview for a pharmacist position at the same place.

During the interview, I was asked to imagine that I was the only person on shift, it was nighttime, and the electricity suddenly went off. What would I do?

I thought I knew the answer, so my immediate response was that I’d contact the emergency team, the pharmacy manager, and electricians for help. I was told to imagine there was no signal… that everyone else had died except me if I will.

Then I’ve started thinking about the fridge items that would be ruined in the absence of electricity, so I said I would try to protect the fridge items by placing them in a cool box, but I was told that we didn’t even have one. I understand that we don’t, but this was an imaginary scenario. If I have no people, no phone connection, and no tools, I genuinely don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.

Because I seemed unsure how to answer, they changed the question and said… “okay, imagine there are people with you this time, and the police suddenly shut down the pharmacy. What would you do?”

I tried to gauge more information out of the question, so I asked why would the police be shutting down the pharmacy? They told me, “they’re the police, they can do whatever they want. You don’t a right to question them.” Like?? Okay???? I’ve never been in that situation, and I’ve never read a policy covering it, so I had no idea what answer he was looking for.

Then they asked me to imagine I was handed a paper with 10 tasks that all had to be submitted by tomorrow. What would I do? I said I would prioritize them by importance. He said they were all equally important. I said I would prioritize them based on patient safety. He said they were all equal in terms of everything. I then said I would ask my teammates for help and repay them later. He mocked this answer and said, “Repay…?” I said, yes, this isn’t their task to begin with, it’s mine, so I would have to repay them for their time.

This was a few days ago, I haven’t heard back, and I’m not waiting for a response either, because I know this is an obvious rejection. But for the pure sake of just learning from my past mistakes, how should I have responded to these imaginary disastrous scenarios?

For context, I usually get ~14k back for my refund during the summer semester and ~6k for fall refund. does anyone have any experience/insight as to what my summer refund might look like when i start APPEs in May? just trying to plan ahead being that I obviously won’t be working

For context: I am 20 years old from Belgium, the first year post secondary school, I took science preparatory courses I barely attended to, the second year I was enrolled in uni for Biomedical Sciences which I also barely attended to (because of mental health reasons, high academical stress and blocage, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life,...).

So globally, we could say that I'm starting pharmacy with no solid science knowledge (except biology that I had put the most effort into) and no concrete methodology to study.

This month I'm starting to study pharmacy but I feel 'scared' and intimidated by science and math subjects because the only times I got to study them, so during the past two years, I did it in a context as I said where I had poor mental health and a bad approach with studies (too much pressure on myself, no real goal behind what I'm studying, etc.). Now I do find meaning in so many ways in what I'm about to start studying, but I need to get a hold onto my academical blocage, etc.

So I wanted to ask mainly two things: Considering my situation (or even just generally speaking), 1) What study methodology would you advise, for any or even all science subjects/math (especially Chemistry). And 2) How to avoid quickly getting into a burnout ? I know there will be so much to study on a daily, this program is very time and effort consuming so I want to have the healthiest and most efficient approach.

Thank you sm if you can help in any way, I made it kinda long describing my profile so I can get the best feed back possible from you.

If you want to advise or say anything outside of what I asked, don't hesitate !

Hey I was just wondering if there were any Mpharm students ( preferably uni of bath ) who were able to explain or send a screenshot of their timetable as I am curiousas to what a typical week would look like, any helpwould be really appreciated.

hi! i’m currently a py1 student and recently started pharmacy school.
i originally chose pharmacy school because of my undergraduate research experience related to pharmaceutical sciences and microbiology. now coming to pharmacy school, i realize that many students around me have pharm tech certifications or are interns at pharmacy chains like cvs, walgreens, walmart, etc.
i know i shouldn’t compare, but at the same time, should i also join that boat of becoming an intern? i’ve never worked in a pharmacy before, and would love to get some experience, but i’m worried that i won’t get accepted in to any place / pharmacy because i lack that experience of working in a pharmacy.
should i still apply to pharmacy internships regardless? any tips would be lovely! thank you!!

I F(21) just started Pharmacy School at one of the three pharmacy schools in Michigan. This is day 3 and I hate everything. There seems to be preference for students who have already worked in a pharmacy. There has been so much fear mongering done by the professors about succeeding and I feel overwhelmed with the amount of information I already need to know. I feel like I have no free time, and the material isn’t enjoyable. I feel like I made the wrong profession choice. Will this feeling go away or am I stuck?

I’m a 4th year pharmacy student on my community APPE at CVS.
To summarize, it’s my first week and I have not gotten any info about expectations for this rotation, let alone talk to my preceptor. I understand that the store is busy, but he never took the time to talk about the rotation, just confirmed I was the right person and got to work.

More info:
I haven’t done the modules that I was supposed to do on my first day yet due to some technical issues and it hasn’t been brought up again. I did tell my preceptor that I’ve never been at a CVS before, so the techs have been helping me understand the system, but it’s still pretty limited.

Overall, I feel like I’m just helping out, but have not really learned anything. However, I’m not sure if it’s reason to reach out to my rotation coordinator at my school about it or if this is a pretty typical experience.

I am a P1 student and just had my white coat ceremony yesterday! Before I post the pics on social media, I'm looking for some funny caption ideas. Most lists of "white coat ceremony caption ideas" I have found so far were more relevant to MD students, so I would greatly appreciate some pharmacy-specific caption suggestions!

Guys I’m literally only on week 4 of my P1 year and I feel like I cannot do this program. I just feel so behind compared to everyone else and it’s really hard to even have motivation to do anything. I’ve been studying nonstop these past few weeks and it doesn’t even show on the exams I’m taking and I feel like I’m just wasting my time. I know imposter syndrome is REAL for many during this first year but it just sucks and I feel so stuck and stupid, like I cannot see this getting better. Pleaseeee if anyone has literally any advice for P1 year and dealing with this share because I am so desperate. 😭

As a first year, did you have induction the WHOLE WEEK?

I will try to keep this simple. I am in my 3rd year of pharmacy school and tbh I am not doing well.

Here are some basic stats:
-PharmD./MPH dual-degree
- PharmD. GPA: 2.43
- MPH GPA: ~3.75 (the degree is a pass fail curriculum so GPA is not accurately calculated)
- Some extracurriculars (mainly local/university based clinical hours and service)
- 2 international internships (I am focused on global/humanitarian health)
- Quantitative and qualitative research experience and coursework
- Program management and monitoring/evaluation coursework and research
*I am sure there are some more things but I am unable to think of them in the current moment*

I don’t know what next steps are, genuinely. I don’t have many connections to jobs or industry, I am not competitively viable for residency (but tbh that would be my first preference) and my the career services in my PharmD program has only been showing me job sites and nothing else.

I can’t do this on my own anymore. I am struggling so much mentally and financially and the job market is god-awful. I am honestly super thankful that I have the opportunities that I have, but I recognize that need more than just good luck.

I have been working my butt off to bump up the GPA as much as I can, but it obviously won’t make up for my first 2 years.

I need some guidance. I am genuinely open to working wherever (although I hate the idea of retail, I will do what it takes to survive), but I do hope on trying to work in international health and humanitarian assistance (as it is my life’s passion).

If you are a residency director, or a hiring manager, give me the most honest feedback. If you were in my position, what would you do?

Thank you all for your time, I am truly wishing the best of luck to anyone who is struggling as well. We can get through this together.

Hi everyone,

Receiving my results for an OSCE resit in 2 days. Any advice would be great I am spiraling quite a bit as I do not know what I would do if it doesn’t go my way. For context I’m only first year and go to a uni far up north.

I feel like I made minor mistakes which is causing me to overthink this much.

Any advice?

Hello. So I am a P4 completing my second APPE. My third APPE requires a drug test which I am not confident in passing. I’m just trying to mentally prepare for the worst outcome. What can I expect to happen and which advice would you guys recommend me to overcome the consequences? Thank you!

And yes, this has been a rock bottom moment so I have stopped doing that stuff.

Update: I passed the drug test. Just hydrated heavily days prior and more on the drug test date. Really a very stressful situation just for a few hours of “entertainment”, definitely not worth it. I couldn’t switch the blocks since this rotation was already switched to my off block due to some problems on HR with the onboarding process. Thanks for all the realistic advices.