Starting any graduate program can be intimidating for many students. Students can cruise through and get their degree without really getting the most out of their respective programs. Each pharmacy school will have their strengths and weaknesses that can ultimately define how you will practice as a pharmacist. It is up to you as the student to decide whether or not you want to take advantage of all the opportunities available.

How to Make the Most of Pharmacy School

Example:

  • Student A at the #1 ranked Pharmacy School in the United States (University of San Francisco) could be a mediocre or even below par pharmacist if they do not have passion or care about the field of pharmacy. They could just go through school, study, take exams, keep to themselves, and graduate.
  • Student B may attend #10 ranked Pharmacy School in the nation but attends pharmacy conferences, holds multiple internships, conducts research studies, participates in pharmacy organizations, student organizations, volunteers their time to help the community, and networks with classmates, professors, and other pharmacists along the way. This is the type of future pharmacists that are the leaders of the field and that are likely to contribute the most to the profession. These students are the ones that made the most of pharmacy school.

As you can see there are many ways to approach graduate school or pharmacy school. You need to ask yourself what are your goals and career goals. If you know earlier in your pharmacy school career it will be beneficial. This will allow you to utilize the school and resources to reach for that goal.

During my 3rd-4th year of Pharmacy School I started to learn my passion was in pharmacy informatics. This was back in 2011-2012 and pharmacy informatics was still in its early stages. I started to network with people in this area of pharmacy and began my own survey to learn about hospital and community pharmacy software systems and how they helped improve patient care. I presented my project at the ASHP Midyear conference in New Orleans at the end of 2011.

That year I also applied for pharmacy residencies that were developed for informatics. Unfortunately, my hard work did not pay off and I did not match. It has taught me the importance of making the most of pharmacy school. I developed relationships with professors and pharmacists who were specialized in informatics. Once you graduate those resources are not as accessible as they used to be.

What is your passion?

I also learned a valuable lesson that failure is not the end of the world. I picked myself up and started working in Long Term Care pharmacy and inpatient hospital pharmacy to start out my career. Now after 2.5 years of working as a pharmacist, I have become too complacent. I need to go back to the passion that was in me during pharmacy school and try again to get into the field of informatics. To get there I will seek out more projects at work to build my resume and experience. I will also pursue BCPS certification and possible some IT related certifications. It will also be a good idea to start rebuilding the relationships I had with pharmacists who work in this field.

Have you ever failed? What did you learn from it?

I hope the recommendations above will help guide, motivate, and inspire you to achieve your goals. Follow my blog for more tips and advice on finances and being a pharmacist. What are your experiences? Please comment below and share your thoughts.