Last Summer

Theresa here! Before I start this post, I just want to say CONGRATS to anyone reading this who started (or will start) med/pharm/dental/nursing/PA/etc. school this year! Good luck on your first year of what I am sure is going to be a wild and exciting journey! 

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If you’re considering going to medical school, but haven’t heard the phrase “Last Summer”, it’s probably about time you put it on the list of “Things Medical Students Won’t Stop Talking About” right next to Step 1 and how unfair the last exam was. For those of you who don’t know, “Last Summer” is the slightly inauspicious term for the more disheartening reality that the time between 1st and 2nd year of med school will literally be your last “free” summer. After 2nd year, you get thrown right into 3rd year, almost without getting a chance to take a breath from the drowning that is studying for a taking Step 1. Sayonara to your summers until you retire from being a doctor!

OK. I’m realizing that this post is kinda on the grim side, so I’ll try and lighten up a bit. (Might be because I just took an exam on GI pathology, but who knows…)

 Puppies are always a good cure for post-exam blues, right?

Even though during your “Last Summer”you technically don’t have to do anything, there’s a unwritten rule that you still should be doing something. Why you may ask? The answer to most reasons why you do anything in med school: landing a residency. When applying, residency programs will often look at what you did during your first and second years, especially in highly competitive programs/specialties like optho or ENT. Likewise, certain programs value some “summer activities” higher than others (e.g. academic residency programs LOVE research). But this doesn’t mean that you must do research if you want to get into a competitive program. Although “Last Summer” activities are important, residencies weigh Step 1, class grades and letters of recommendation much higher. Plus, med school is a long four years — there’s plenty of time to squeeze in some research for those top tier programs if you manage your time well. In any event, there are SO MANY different things you can do in those precious few months between first and second year, so here’s a quick and dirty list of some of the things me and my classmates did this summer!

1. Research. I’ll get this one out of the way now. Probably by far the most popular “Last Summer” thing to do. Most students either do clinical or basic science (“bench”) research. If you’re looking to get a publication/paper out of a project, clinical research is probably the easiest and best way to go. Bench research is notorious for being “slow” in the sense that experiments can take awhile to complete and the data needed to be gathered can be large. So unless you jump on a project right before they decide to submit a paper, it’s unlikely that a couple of months doing bench research will award you a first-author paper. However, having a background in basic science research is a invaluable skill, especially if you go on to do clinical research later. Another plus for research is that there are quite a few programs that offer stipends so you won’t have to eat Ramen every day trying to save money until your loans come in at the beginning of second year. I ended up doing a research program through my school called the “Student Summer Research Program” (I know, super creative title, right?) in which I conducted molecular biology research in a basic science lab. Going through the program was wonderful since we were able to present posters and submit an abstract at the end of the summer (it’s not a paper in Nature, but hey, I got my name on something!). I was also lucky enough to work with a great group of lab mates which made being in the lab (almost) every day of my last summer worthwhile!
2. Travel. Probably the second most common thing to do. A lot of kids in my class did some kind of medical mission trip to an under-served country and also used the time as a vacation too (the affectionate term being “volun-tourism”). It’s for sure a great way to do some community service, practice your rudimentary medical skills and learn about a different culture at the same time. It can get a bit pricey though, especially depending on what country you want to go to. However, always check with your school to see if they offer scholarships or grants for students who wish to volunteer over the summer. The alumni association at my school would give students anywhere from $500-$1000 to fund their trip. It might not be much, but it’s at least a plane ticket. But traveling for the entire summer to go on a mission trip is not the only travel you can (or should) do! If you take anything away from this post, please hear this: take time to go somewhere while you still can. This is your time you’ll have so much free time. It doesn’t have to be as big as going transcontinental. Take a few days and do a small road trip. Set aside a week at some point and just go.
3. Shadowing. Many students, especially those who don’t have any idea what specialty they want to go into, will use the summer to explore the medical field a bit more and spend more time with patients. If you can set it up and have good connections, it can be easy to shadow a doc for a couple months. Sometimes, you can technically work for the doctor’s practice and get a stipend or some form of compensation for spending time there!
4. Tutoring/Teaching. Many schools have summer academic programs for undergraduates or high school kids in their community where med students can sign up to teach classes, most likely science. It’s a great way to stay sharp with a lot of the knowledge you learned during first year, plus it’s hard to find something more rewarding than teaching kids, especially if you can encourage them to pursue a career in medicine! Again, if you find yourself a tutoring program, most will have a form of compensation and/or housing stipend to get you through the summer. You can also tutor for companies, such as Kaplan, in which you can help kids with the MCAT or SAT.
5. Working. Sometimes you just want to make a few bucks to save up for second year expenses. You don’t even have to have a job in the medical field. Just showing that you’re out and doing something is still better than nothing!

I don’t want to make this post too long, so I’ll end it here with what I think are the top 5 “Last Summer” activities. If you’re just starting med school, don’t worry about this for another couple months and try and focus on getting yourself settled in med school. One thing you MUST do during your last summer is take time for yourself. It takes a lot to get through year 1 and year 2 won’t be any less stressful, so take time to RELAX. Visit friends, go hiking, sit at home and binge-watch Stranger Things (which I totally recommend, btw). It’s your time to do whatever you want, so you do you during you last summer for a very looooooooong time.

Until next time!

❤ Theresa

Pharmacy School Applicant Do’s and Dont’s

Howdy everyone!

Just a few short days ago, PharmCAS released the 2016-2017 Pharmacy School Application! I remember filling out that same application 2 whole years ago, but wow, it feels like the time since then has flown by.

The application itself is long and intimidating, and it’s a school’s first “glance” at who you are. This application and all the information you put on it will be the reason a school extends an invitation to interview, or not. For me, it was practically the most important application I’ve ever filled out in my life, and I wanted to make sure that I made the best impression I possibly could via a series of electronic forms. I wanted to compile a small list of application “Do’s” and “Dont’s” for all the pharmacy school applicants this year and in the future. I’m hoping that this can help someone to get through that vicious application, and score an interview at their dream school!

Don’t leave anything off of your application.

When filling out the “resume” portion of the application, feel free to be yourself here. Are you a member of the local dodgeball team? Put it down. Do you spend time learning how to tap dance? Put it. Do you volunteer at the community’s Little League concession stand? Put it!! None of your accomplishments or extracurricular activities are insignificant. Anything goes here, just as long as it is something you legitimately do. Don’t make anything up here just to make yourself sound interesting. But, I do encourage you to share interesting hobbies and activities here . It makes you a more interesting applicant to the Admissions’ Committee, and it also gives proof that you are as well-rounded of an applicant as they are looking for.

Do think hard about submitting your application as an “Early Decision”.

Early Decision is a serious matter. There might be that dream school out there that you are applying to, and you tell yourself that you will absolutely accept their offer of admission if they choose to give it to you. That is a fine choice for some people, if they are dead set on attending a particular school. I advise you not to cut off all other options, though. If you don’t get selected as an Early Admit for your dream school, you need to have back up options. You are only allowed to pick one school as an Early Decision. You don’t even have to choose an Early Decision school if you don’t want to. Pharmacy school admissions is competitive, and you need to make sure all of your bases are covered. Also worthy of mentioning is, if you do apply for Early Admit, and the school offers you admission, you are bound to attend that school. There is no changing your mind at this point in the game. If, for whatever reason, you apply for Early Decision, the school offers you admission, and you decline it, you are not allowed to apply for any other Pharm D. programs during the current admission cycle – you must wait again until the next year. Take this decision seriously.

Don’t wait until a school’s deadline to submit your full application.

As a matter of fact, try to submit your materials as soon as possible. Sometimes, it takes a while for your transcripts to be processed by PharmCAS. It also may take a while for your references to submit their letters of recommendation. Plus, the earlier you submit your application, the faster you will receive offers to interview.

Do realize that most schools only give you 2 weeks to accept their offer.

After you attend a school’s interview, the waiting begins. It could take anywhere between 1 day to 1 month to hear back from the school. In any case, the majority of schools will only give you a 2 week time frame, starting from the day they accept you, to accept their offer. This can obviously be a huge problem. You may still have a ton of interviews lined up that you haven’t been to yet once you receive an offer of admission. You may feel slightly anxious that no other schools that you interview at will accept you, and that you might as well accept the school that has. Make the best decision you possibly can. If you feel confident enough to keep going, I advise that you do that. You don’t want to accept an offer of admission to a school that your heart isn’t set on. You won’t end up happy with that decision. I turned down schools left and right after they admitted me, mostly because they weren’t good fits for me regardless, but I’m glad I waited for the right place to come along.

Good luck to all of the pharmacy school applicants this year! I know you will do well!

:)Lauren

 

 

 

For all the Indecisive Students out there…

“There are two types of regrets in this world: things that you do and things that you don’t do. The best way to live life is to only regret the things you’ve done.“– an obviously very exhausted Radiation Oncology physician who wanted to say something profound to a room full of 1st year med students

Hey guys, Theresa here! It’s been awhile, I know, but I thought I’d blog about something that’s been on my mind a lot lately: choosing a specialty. I think this topic isn’t just something that medical students have to deal with, but literally everyone has the dilemma of deciding on a career. It’s a lot of pressure to choose something that you’ll end up doing for the rest of your life.

You’d think that going into professional school, you basically know what you want to do for the rest of your life. And truth be told, some do. When I started medical school less than a year ago, I was 100% sure that I wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon. That didn’t last long, however. As the year has gone on and I’ve had more exposure to other specialties, I can say that I do not know what specialty I’ll apply for in my 4th year. Honestly, I feel like it was easier to decide to become a physician than figure out which kind of physician I want to be.

Deciding on a specialty would be much easier if Ryan Gosling was pressuring you into choosing.

At the same time, as a rising second year, it’s still early enough in my medical education that it’s fine that I haven’t chosen my specialty yet. In fact, many of upperclassmen and residents I have talked to did not make a decision until the end of their first year after they had rotated through the different clerkships and taken some elective rotations. This makes the most sense — deciding only when you have had real exposure to the different specialties out there. And trust me, they are all completely different! I mean, would you want your dermatologist fixing a valve in your heart? Probably not. But both of these specialists all took the same classes in medical school, yet their respective careers and lifestyles are vastly different.

This all being said, there still is a lot of pressure to choose your specialty early, especially if you want to go into some of the more competitive ones like ENT or ophthalmology. Applicants are for these residencies are so competitive that students even remotely interested are encouraged to engage in research and shadowing as early as possible (like 1st year early) in order to have a fighting change of matching.

One of the great things that my school provides for us indecisive students is a program called Careers in Medicine (CiM). The directors of CiM put together programs like “Residency Speed Dating” in addition to specialists panels that correspond to the organ system block we are studying at the moment (for example, for our pulmonary block, the panel consisted of pulmonolgists, critical care internists, anesthesiologists and thoracic surgeons). These programs are wonderful because the physicians don’t try to sugar-coat anything. They will tell you the absolute worst things about their field. Sometimes it can seem harsh to hear things like a doc chose emergency medicine so that he wouldn’t have to deal with a patient for a long time, but it’s something that we need to know as medical students trying to figure out what is best for us and will make us the happiest in the long run. You want to choose a specialty that fits your interest as well as your personality and lifestyle.

I’ll end with this: it’s okay not knowing what you want to do. Go out and explore different things and don’t settle for anything less than what’s best for you. As a physician once said to me, “If you can imagine doing the worst part of your job everyday for a week straight, then that’s the right job for you.”

That’s all for now guys! I’ll probably be MIA for a little bit since I have T-minus 25 days left of school with two quizzes, two tests, an OSCE and a shelf exam all crammed in there. But when I’m all finished up, I’ll post a recap of my first year along with what I’m doing with my “Last Summer” as well as what’s ahead for year two. Until then, thanks for reading!

❤ Theresa

On the Art of Studying

Hello everyone!

First I want to apologize for being MIA for well over a month! I had fallen into a false sense of “I’ve got this whole med school thing down” and then BAM we switched into a new block of courses which dumped clinical and laboratory work on top of our lectures. and my studying habits had to change yet again. With that being said, I thought I’d make this post about studying and what resources I have found over the past few months. Some of these I use, some I don’t. It’s all about finding what works best for you! So here’s a in-no-way comprehensive list of study tips! Just a note, some of these are med-school specific, in terms of question banks and board-prep materials, but I’ll try to keep it general too!Find a good note-taking program. This is #1 for a reason. The heaviest part of school (no matter your field of study) is going to be lectures and taking notes. And what worked for you in college will most likely not work for you in professional school. For instance, I used to print out PPT slides and directly take notes on those print-outs. But in med school, there are just too many lectures to validate killing that many trees. Additionally, professional schools in general are increasingly incorporating more and more technology into how they teach (as well as in clinical practice), so it’s a good idea to get used to using a computer all the time. Instead, I highly suggest finding a computer program where you can take notes. Some kids go very basic and take notes on Word or directly annotate through PowerPoint or Adobe Reader. I personally use OneNote, especially since I have a Surface where I can type and/or use a stylus to highlight and it lets you easily organize your lectures into “notebooks”. Similarly, many iPad or Mac users have found the app Notability to be a great tool as well. At the very least, by using a computer program, you will get really, really good at typing quickly and if professional school doesn’t work out, you could always become a stenographer.

1. Anki. If you like flashcards, this is the program for you! Similarly to the whole “wasting paper-embrace tech” notion, you would have a slew of flashcards for all the info you’re learning, so you might as well computerize it! The very simple and easy program is completely free as an app on your computer or android phone (sorry iPhone people, you have to pay for the phone app). But it’s more than just a back and front card. You can easily format the card (or “notes” in Anki language) with different fonts, copy paste images onto the cards, tag the cards with keywords, etc. The “decks” of cards are searchable and the program also creates a study-plan for you. But maybe the best part is that each deck is a file that you can share with your classmates. That way, if you are too lazy to make cards on your own (like me) you can just wait for your altruistic friends to share them with the class!
2. Take breaks. This is probably not a new study tip for anyone, but it’s always worth repeating. I’m sure most of us have looked up from our notes after studying for an hour and realized that nothing is sinking in anymore and you have to re-read the same bullet-point a few times before you think you got the concept. Many studies have shown that taking short breaks between studying helps you retain the information better because your brain has time to process and store more of the information you just reviewed. For me, I usually spend about an hour studying then take a half-hour or so break and watch a TV show, cook a meal or basically anything that will get my mind off studying.
3. Outside Review Material. Ok so here is where it’s gonna get a bit more med school specific, so if you’re not interested in med school, go ahead and skip over this, I won’t be upset! I have only recently started using more outside resources for reviewing, mainly because I was nervous that the stuff my school was teaching me would not be the same as other sources. In reality, they are really similar since the main goal of my school as well as these resources are to prepare kids to do the best on Step 1 at the end of 2nd year. First Aid is a must as it will be the book you will use (at the very least) to prep for Step 1. Pathoma is a set of videos that go hand-in-hand with a book that wonderfully explains pathology and histology topics. Netter’s Flashcards and the app Essential Anatomy are beyond great for learning anatomy and quizzing yourself on structures. For physiology, many kids use BRS Physiology and say it really helps explain some difficult concepts (I haven’t used it yet, but I should try it). One of my favorite resources is called Sketchy Micro which is a series of videos that teach you all of the important concepts microbiology and pharmacology. it’s very thorough as well since each bacteria, virus and drug has their own video. Basically, the Sketchy writers make up these ridiculous stories that they draw out throughout the video that are wonderful memory devices. For instance, the video on ß-lactam antibiotics was centered around a Star Wars theme with Penicillin G represented as “Princess Ella” with “G” shaped hair buns along with ivy around her neck to signify it’s given intravenously (IV). It’s so dumb, but no joke, it works. If it wasn’t for the sketchy videos, I probably would not have passed our virus/fungi/bacteria unit. As for question banks, the best one’s I have found so far are UWorld and PreTest. The NBME also puts out old questions that are very useful when studying for Shelf exams. And if you want to shell out a few hundred dollars, there are some more comprehensive review programs/websites like Firecracker or Picmonic. Most of the subscription resources, however, have free trial periods so if you try it and realize it doesn’t work for you, you didn’t waste the money (especially since we’re all poor students in a lot of debt).
4. Write it out. Writing things out and transferring things in your mind to something physical by writing it out does wonders for helping me remember something. Adding different colors and drawing pictures/tables really helps with memorization as well. I would suggest using a whiteboard or chalkboard, since they you have such a wide space to write on and it’s (obviously) reusable. I love my school for the fact that there are a number of small classrooms that are rarely ever being used, so it’s very easy to commandeer one the day before an exam.
5. Teach it out. If you have the opportunity to teach someone about a concept, it immensely helps you both learn and understand the concept. Think about it: when you teach someone something, you have to fully understand the material and then figure out a way to convey it clearly to your audience. Even if it’s just another student or a family member, teaching makes it stick!

Those are the big hitters for me! What about you guys? Have any study tips that have worked really well for you or resources that have helped you master material? Share them below! Just remember that what works for me or someone else, may not work for you. Half the battle is figuring out how you learn and which methods help you remember the best.

Until next time!

❤ Theresa

The Case for the Gap Year(s)

So you are undergrad and you really want to go to med school or pharmacy school or dental school or any other health care professional school. You’ve wanted to go for years. Maybe it has been your dream career since you were a child when you learned how to put on a band-aid. You volunteer; you do research; you participate in every extra-curricular activity possible; you shadow docs; you have a 4.0; you’ve done well on the standardized entrance exam. You’re essentially ready to apply and go straight to med/pharm/dental school right when you finish college. Here’s my advice:

Don’t.

It might sound odd– why should you not go straight from undergrad to professional school? You’ve basically done everything a student should do to get in. And you would be right; you would have a great chance of getting in. I’m making the case of taking some time off not for the school’s sake, but for your sake.

I took off one year between undergrad and med school (typically called a gap year). Going into college, I had every intention of graduating May 2014 and starting med school later that summer. But, when it came time to take my MCAT and apply near the end of my junior year, I decided I wasn’t ready. Not that I needed to boost my application in terms of grades or activities nor did I feel unprepared for taking the MCAT. It just didn’t feel like the right time to apply. I was not mentally ready for the life-changing experience that is med school.

For my gap year, I worked at a private orthopedic practice and learned more about health care and how it actually works than I could have ever learned through shadowing and volunteering alone. Here are some of the biggest things I learned and experienced by taking a year off:

1. How to deal with patients: This is probably the best reason for taking a gap year. Working in a busy practice, I saw and/or talked to anywhere from 50 to 100 different people every day– the good and the bad . No joke. In med school thus far, I’ve interacted with about five. And I really won’t start getting a lot of patient interaction until my third year when clinical rotations start. Even if you are a “people person” dealing with patients is a skill that only takes time to develop. I cannot even imagine how I would act when I start clinicals in a couple years without knowing how to interact with people!
2. Burnout prevention: Simply put, you get a break from doing school work for a year (or more)! Who wouldn’t like a break from undergrad studies and the huge amount of information you must dump into brain in professional school. Also, you have 4 more years of school plus 3-10 years of residency/fellowship by which time you’ll be in your early thirties. Don’t you want to spend a year with friends and family in the prime of your life and have some FUN?!
3. Maturity and growth: I’ll try not to be cliche here, but taking a year off really helps you to grow as a person and as an adult. College is the first time you are away from your parents, but you really don’t have the chance to develop much adult-responsibilities during this time. Without going into to much detail, but taking a gap year truly helped me become an adult. Even in the first week of school, I could easily pick out those who went straight in from school as opposed to those who took some time off, mainly based on maturity. Don’t get me wrong, these students will be great doctors, but it’s a difficult transition from college to working life and even harder to go from college to professional school.
4. Health care can be awful: Probably the most disappointing thing you learn working in health care is that there are so many annoying, political/regulatory aspects of the field that you just aren’t exposed to as an undergrad or even med student. Insurance companies control so much how care is delivered. Billing/coding, electronic medical records and other technological aspects of medicine are fraught with their own complications. Doctors can be very particular about who they want to see and how they want to see patients which can cause tension between members of the staff and, sometimes, even other practices/hospitals. I think that this is something that all pre-professional students should really get a feel for before entering school because if you can’t deal with these aspects of health care, then you will most definitely hate your career choice.

There are so many more benefits from taking time off that I just can’t include here because the post would be way to long! Additionally, my experiences are only limited to the fact that I decided to work in private practice. But there are countless other things you can do during your gap year(s), so look for another post for some suggestions on what you can do instead of going straight into school! Even if you are still completely set on going straight in to school (which is okay if you do!) just take time to consider all of your options!

❤ Theresa

10 Things I Learned in My First Semester of Med School

I’ve FINALLY finished my first semester of med school– only 3.5 semesters left before I get my MD! I know I have a long road ahead of me, but it’s always nice to celebrate even the smallest milestones when you’re in professional school. So taking a page out of Lauren’s book, I’m going to do a short post on things that I’ve learned these last four months that I wish I knew before going into med school.

1. You have to completely change your studying habits.

I had a pretty decent formula for studying in undergrad: glance over my notes for an hour or so, then I was good. I definitely cannot get away with that in med school. There is just too much information being thrown at you. Now I can’t say what is the best way to study in med school because it’s really what you find out what works best for you. But keep an eye out for an upcoming post about different studying techniques!

2. Budgeting is not easy.

If you don’t know, generally, a med student takes out loans to not only pay tuition, but also living expenses. Basically, you get about $10,000 at the beginning of the semester to pay for rent, transportation, food, etc. It seems like a lot of money, but it goes FAST. You have to be very careful when spending so that you have enough money to pay for rent in December along with Christmas presents.

3. Intimidation and competition start early.

One of the reasons I was excited to go to my particular med school was the fact that it wasn’t known to have a competitive atmosphere. But I should’ve know that med school being med school, the “gunners” would make themselves known. And how early it was– like first week early. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being competitive (I think you have to in order to get into med school) and if you like being around those that outwardly exude intimidation that’s great! But if you’re more like me and are more internally competitive, make sure you find others in your class that have the same attitude.

4. Studying for exams will consume your entire day (or days).

Everyone knows that med students have to memorize a lot of information, especially in the first two years (if not, see #1 on this list). Now this may depend on how your school’s curriculum is set up, but in my school, we pretty much take one large class. This means that every two weeks or so, we have a huge exam that is akin to taking five final exams at once. I’m not even joking here– most cover info from about 30-one hour lectures. For my last test before break (bacteria and antibiotics), we were given three full days to study. It might seem like a lot, but it’s not. I studied about 18 hours each of those three days and I still didn’t feel as prepared as I had for finals in undergrad!

5. You will (accidentally) find ways to talk about medical stuff you’ve learned in almost every conversation you have.

Because med school consumes your life now, it’s just so easy to bring up something you’ve learned into a conversation. Now this would be okay around other people in med school, but be careful when you’re talking to non-med school folk! Your fun comment about what kind of diarrhea-causing bacteria your friend can pick up from eating the meal in front of them may not be as interesting to them as it is to you.

6. Non-med school distractions are a MUST.

I should’ve put this as #1 on the list, but having stuff to do that isn’t med school is the only way to keep you sane and not constantly worry about school and your future. For me, I make sure that I keep a few hours a day for me time. I do whatever I want during those few, precious hours. Whether it be watching a movie, cooking a good meal, chatting with friends or finding a little adventure in the city, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have outside interests and hobbies

7. Living off-campus is not as common (and not as easy) as I thought.

Going into med school I was given the option of living in on-campus dorms or finding my own place off-campus. I naively thought that most students (well-into their twenties) would not want to live on-campus in small dorms like they did in undergrad. Boy was I wrong! Probably about 80% of my class lives in the dorms with most of the commuters living at home with parents to save money. I found that I’m an anomaly living about a half-hour drive away from campus. I see why people deal with the small dorms, though. I find myself being incredibly lazy and not going to campus to do extracurricular things. Additionally, because I can watch my lectures at home online, I only physically go to school about once a week. BUT, if I had to do it over again, I still wouldn’t live on campus (just maybe a bit closer).

8. Boards are brought up CONSTANTLY.

In med school, you take Step 1 of your boards at the end of your second year. I thought that I had at least a year until professors and students started talking about preparing for Step 1. The first week, our dean of student affairs suggested we purchase the prep book First Aid for the USMLE. Phrases like “high yield” and “you’ll need to know this for the boards” are brought up at least once a lecture and numerous times during review sessions. I know boards are extremely important, especially in landing a good residency, but it would be nice if they didn’t pile on the stress so quickly.

9. Never take the phrase “this won’t be on the exam” to be truth.

I don’t really need to explain this. My advice is simple: KNOW EVERYTHING.

10. You forget what it took to get here and why you wanted to be a doctor to begin with.

This is probably the hardest thing I’ve learned this semester. It can be hard to keep the big picture in mind most days. Just try and remind yourself every few days or so just for motivation sake!

❤ Theresa

What They Don’t Tell You About Pharmacy School: Semester 1

Hi guys!

I am halfway through my finals at this point. Only three more to go next week! As my semester is winding down, I thought I’d share the things that they don’t tell you to expect when you come to pharmacy school (at least during the first semester). I’ll be honest – a lot of the things that I’ve experienced, I did not expect to be doing. Maybe this insight will help someone to prepare a little better than I did coming in to professional school!

• Let’s start with the very beginning of the semester. Pharmacy school is not cheap. You’ve seen how much tuition is, you know about how much money you need to live for 4 months, but none of it really sinks in until you actually sign the loan papers. I can’t exactly describe the nausea that accompanies signing these loans, but it feels like a combination of the following: going to the doctor and they tell you that you need to get 7 immunizations before you leave + that feeling you get when you are going up the incline of a roller coaster and you decide you no longer want to ride anymore + when you are excited that you only have to get one textbook for the semester, but that book only comes in hard cover and it totals around $450. Anyways, you get the picture — its nauseating.
• No one bothered to mention that every single test was going to be taken on computer. Using a special software. That uses very extreme measure to ensure that cheating is not an option, ever.
• Part of a pharmacist’s job is to counsel patients on medication use. We see this, occasionally, in our local drug stores. But when you are in pharmacy school, the professors somehow convince you that every single patient needs to be counseled for every single medication that they pick up (even if said patient has been taking this medication for 20+ years). Yes, its good to develop counseling skills, but we hardly ever see counseling in the frequency that they tell us its going to happen. Either way, when I arrived to pharmacy school, I was unaware that we were going to have to counsel. In really authentic, creepy, sterile fake doctor’s examination rooms. In front of your professors. To a fake patient. Who knows more about the medication than you do. And asks questions that they know you can’t answer. All while being video taped for your viewing pleasure later on. And yes this is all for a grade. No pressure. Get used to the awkward and nauseating experience that is a counseling assessment.
• I have now used placebo versions of every single inhaler known to man. Please, do not bother to ask me how to use any of these. I have already forgotten.
• Yes you still need to buy a stethoscope even though you aren’t in medical school. And yes you have to take people’s blood pressure and take their pulse and take entire physical examination courses, because, why not? And no, I did not sign up for this! I don’t want to have to touch people!
• Little did I know, that during our one hour lunch breaks, we are still expected to sit in on professional lecture series almost every single day. Yes, it is too much to ask to just eat lunch in peace at a table in the cafeteria every once in a while. Instead, we have classes for 5-6 hours every day, then they essentially want us to sit in an “unofficial” class for our only break of the day.
• Our class is not very big. But, even so, when we want to contribute something in class, we have to hit a microphone button that is at our seat so our voice is projected over the loud speaker. If this wasn’t bad enough, a camera at the front of the room zooms in on your face for the entire duration that you are talking. I don’t participate in class very much.
• And the last, most important thing that they don’t tell you about coming to pharmacy school is: abandon all your old study habits. They hardly every work. I was a Chemistry major in my undergraduate college. I foolishly thought I had mastered the fine art of studying. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I had to find a new way to study, and fast. My grades couldn’t keep taking hits from the bad exam scores I was getting. I can say that, at this point, I have found something that works. But it is very time consuming. I will not go in to my future semesters assuming this technique will work. But I can say I am more prepared to try and adapt to each of my classes now.

I couldn’t possibly list everything that came as a surprise to me in pharmacy school. I will be sure to share similar posts as each semester comes to a close.

That’s all for now!

:)Lauren

Med School by the “Numbers”

Hey guys, Theresa here!

For my second blog post, I thought I’d try my hand at making an infographic (which are really fun to make, btw)! I decided to do a little summary on kind of the “numbers” med schools look for in applicants. I put numbers in quotation marks because these just include MCAT, GPA, etc. but in no way do these make up your entire application. When I was a pre-med, I used these figures to set goals in terms of my academic credentials. That being said, a good med school applicant is way more than a few numbers. I know many students who got into med school with a “below-average” MCAT or GPA. Conversely, I know many students as well that didn’t get in with an excellent MCAT score and a 4.0. Good “numbers” might get you an interview, but the rest of your app will get you admitted. Med schools (and every other health care professional school) looks for well-rounded individuals, of whom they can tell really want to go into this profession. Schools want students with vibrant experiences who show real passion for health care. Of course, each school looks for something different in applicants, so it is vital to do research on schools and see if you would be a good fit or, more importantly, if they are a good fit for you.

So don’t let these numbers scare you! Use it as a guide or motivation to keep going. I know being a pre-med is super stressful, but it is all worth it when you get that first acceptance!

For those already in med school reading this, I hope this infographic makes you feel proud! In 2014, only 41% of applicants actually got in. Med school can make you feel really dumb sometimes, but just remember you wouldn’t be in the 41% if you weren’t awesome and smart!

Theresa ❤

 

Welcome!

Hi Readers! Welcome!

First things first — introductions.

My name is Lauren and I am a first year pharmacy student, studying in Virginia. I love Disney World, cheetah print, and anything related to the Royal Family. I’m a Pinterest junkie and a chicken nugget addict.

My name is Theresa and I’m a first year med student in New Jersey. I love sports and anything Harry Potter. I am a book hoarder (I buy books faster than I can read them) and a foodie (although not one of those people who instagram’s every meal they eat).

So what is the point of this blog?

We want to share with you what it’s really like being a professional student — no details will be spared. Get ready for the good, the bad, and the absolute worst.

You can read all of the books in the world and talk to people already in health care about what it’s like to be in professional school, but you really don’t know what you’re getting into until you get there. We are both currently nearing the end of our first semesters and we have learned quite a bit. We want to share with you all some things that we wish we knew going into school so you’ll be as prepared as you can be for the daunting challenge that is health professionals school.

But this blog isn’t all about brutal honesty. We want to share with you the valuable lessons that we are learning in school, keep everyone up to date on the ever-changing world of healthcare, give our first hand advice, and most importantly, reveal how to stay sane through it all.

Stay tuned!

:)Lauren & Theresa