Hello! I'm a P2 pharmacy student in the US.
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The 100 Best Jobs
At #3
Pharmacist
Overall Score: 8.2 | Median Salary $113,390
With excellent job prospects and a solid average salary, the pharmacist profession nabs the No. 3 spot on our list. Possessors of a Pharm.D can anticipate nearly 70,000 available jobs this decade—the brunt in physician offices, outpatient care centers, and nursing homes.
Dear Infectious Disease Therapeutics,
You’re interesting. But also difficult, time-consuming, and demanding.
I’m not sure it’s reasonable for you to make me memorize all these classes of antibiotics and their spectrum of activity against the oh so many microorganisms. I am but a mere mortal!
But you’re also really cool. A bacteria needs PABA to make folic acid? Let’s make a PABA-look-alike to confuse the bacteria and deprive itself of folate. (aka, Sulfonamides <3)
And etc. x 1000000 other drugs
Yes, you’re awesome. I just wish I had a superhuman brain to absorb your greatness.
You Should Not Go to Pharmacy School if…
- You are not fascinated by how a human body works. This is the basis for healthcare. From physiology, to pathophysiology, to pharmacology… it’s about the human body!
- You hate chemistry. By the time I graduate, I will have taken at least 32 credits of chemistry courses/chemistry labs. Many drugs are chemical compounds, so learning how they work is a big part of the curriculum. There is no way around it.
- You are not willing to sacrifice. You’re putting in at least 6-8 years of hard work before you can actually start your career. Talk about delayed gratification! If you’re the kid who would take one marshmallow immediately instead of 2 marshmallows later, pharmacy might drive you crazy. I think the secret is accepting that the journey is the reward (which seems bizarre because it’s a hard journey). But there’s a sense of satisfaction and self-fulfillment that can only come from hard work and perseverance.
- You do not like people. Your patients are people. Your healthcare colleagues are people.
- You give up easily. Pharmacy school is all about resilience. Even if you’re studying for 10-12 hours a day for multiple days, you can still do very poorly on an exam. And you have to accept it, pick your ego back up, and just try to improve on the next one. Hard work does not always equate to success; and that’s okay! Next time! It’s one out of many, and you’ll win in the long run.
Sorry for the slightly unexpected hiatus. I had to block myself from Tumblr (along with other social media) because I realized this spring semester was kicking my butt. I don’t think anyone ever conveyed just how hard the P2 spring semester was, or perhaps I was in denial.
My life for the past few months has been a blur. A sleep-deprived blur. I vaguely remember chemical structures, treatment algorithms, antibiotic spectrums, and pharmacokinetic calculations…
Right now I’m on spring break so I’ll be updating more. Gosh it feels good to be reunited with Tumblr.
Many (if not, majority) of students do an internship during school, in addition to the rotations. It helps to connect what you learn in class to a real-life setting. I recommend trying it out! If you find that it’s too much, you can communicate your concern with your manager to work out a good schedule. Your managers will most likely understand because they’ve been a pharmacy student once upon a time.
I recommend giving it a try and see how it goes. Only you can determine whether it enhances your education or adds to the stressful workload. Good luck!
How will the Affordable Care Act affect you?
The Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, was officially passed in 2010, but will not be fully put into place until 2014. There has been a ton of information about this act that has been made available, but we wanted to provide you with the top 6 elements of the act and how they affect you personally:
Summary of Benefits and CoverageHealth insurance plans are now required to provide you with an easy to understand summary about your specific health plan’s benefits and coverage information.
Why You Care: Healthcare can be super confusing. We’ve all been there…it’s your first day of work, you have mountains of paperwork to fill out, and on top of it all, you need to select an insurance plan right away. Oh, and they all look pretty darned similar. With this new requirement, a lot of the confusion will be totally eliminated.
Preventative CareCertain preventative services are now covered. These include services such as blood pressure screenings, cholesterol screenings, depression screenings, HIV screenings for high risk adults, diet consultations for at risk adults, certain STD screenings for at risk adults, folic acid supplements for women who are pregnant, and mammograms for women over 40.
Why You Care: Prevention is, very often, the best medicine. It’s great to be able to take advantage of important preventative care and services that were previously super expensive or difficult to access.
Pre-Existing conditionsHealth insurance companies can no longer deny healthcare coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Why You Care: People who want to purchase health insurance, either on their own or through their employer, should be able to afford to do so.
Appealing Health Plan DecisionsConsumers now have the right to appeal health insurance plan decisions, particularly when a claim has been denied. You will also now have the right to information from your insurance carrier such as the reason your claim was denied.
Why You Care: Power to the people! You will now have the opportunity to take more control of your health, and no longer be entirely at the mercy of the insurance companies.
Patients Bill of RightsThese include allowing young people under the age of 26 to remain on their parent’s insurance plan, eliminating the lifetime limits on coverage, eliminating arbitrary cancellation of coverage due to honest mistakes, forcing insurance companies to justify any truly egregious premium increases year over year, and eliminates insurance company barriers to emergency care.
Why You Care: Power to the people again! A clear set of rights for consumers and expectations from insurance companies is a truly great thing.Tax Credits for Small Employers
Small businesses (fewer than 25 employees) and non profits will receive some tax credits (up to 50%) for purchasing insurance for their employees.
Why You Care: Health insurance is expensive. Any little bit of help is great for businesses as they continue to grow.
Birth ControlThe Affordable Care Act allows for many types of birth control to be covered without co pays or deductibles. Depending on the type of health insurance plan you have, this benefit either has already kicked in, or will be kicking in by 2014. It should be noted that this is not for every type of birth control on the market. Health plans are allowed to limit free coverage to some generic drugs/devices. To find out if your specific birth control is covered, go to your health insurance company’s website or call the member services 800 number located on the back of your insurance card.
Why You Care: Birth control can be super expensive. In some cases, this can mean more than $800 back in your pocket!
Mental HealthThe Affordable Care Act now requires that mental health services be part of the “essential benefits package” that must be covered by certain plans. This is great news for people who depend on these services.
Why You Care: This is a great benefit for people who require mental health care. It should be noted, however, that many mental health professionals do not take insurance of any type. This means that there may still be costs relating to this type of care.
First Semester Reflection
I really can’t believe I finished my first semester of pharmacy school and am about to start another. (January 2nd! Ugh!) Just a year ago I was on the roller coaster of applications and interviews. To be honest… I think school is a little bit less stressful than trying to get in. Getting in is the…
Great advice from a fellow pharmacy student :)
Wrapping Up Fall Semester
Hi everyone. I know it’s been a long time, but I had banned myself from Tumblr during the semester (the ends I take to curb my inevitable procrastination).
How did P2 fall end for me? It could’ve gone a lot better in terms of grades, but I am thankful that I am done.
Here’s a reflection of my classes:
Hurricane Sandy
I didn’t have classes or exams this week because of Hurricane Sandy. And while that seems like an unexpected fall break, my heart breaks for all the families whose homes are completely destroyed, the people living in the freezing cold without electricity, and the ones wandering from shelter to shelter.
Thankfully, my on-campus apartment was in good condition so I hosted a few friends who were evacuated during this week.
This storm put everything in perspective for me. Yes, exams are stressful - and memorizing pathways and chemical structures can be overwhelming. But what is that in comparison to knowing you have to rebuild your home, not knowing if your family is okay because cell phones do not work, or not having access to clean water/food/electricity?
God bless all the people who volunteered and worked during the storm, without missing a beat, and also to all the resilient people who will work to rebuild our communities.
