Things you wish you knew as a P1...
 

I'm a non-traditional student recently accepted to pharmacy school - I have a biology background, but have not gone through the typical pre-pharmacy curriculum. I'm a little nervous to attend, and am wondering if those of you who have survived the first year of pharmacy school could offer insight and advice to rising P1s. Were there things that surprised you or didn't meet your expectations? Things that you wish you would have done differently? Things that you wished you would have known upon entering your first year of pharmacy school?

Thanks!

Through connections, I got notes from the P2's + notes from classmates + spending hours & hours to make study guides = a big waste of time. Your school might be different from mine, but I've found out the best way to study is staring at the powerpoints until you suck them all in. And btw, keep your grades to yourself.
Good luck :)

I'm only a p2 now so don't have much to say in retrospect, but I found that it's not really like anyone said it would be. Some people will say pharmacy school is hard, some won't. Some will say to manage your time even better than in undergrad. It's different for everyone and they'll give you advice based on what they personally struggled with. You already know better than anyone what your weaknesses are. Start with those and take it from there.

Whatever the case may be, I think one piece of advice is pretty much universal. Go into it with an open mind. Take advantage of every opportunity even if you are very sure you want to be a community pharmacist or you want a residency ect. There are a lot of ways to be involved and to get experience in whatever part of the field that interests you. Might as well make the most of your time in school:thumbup:

I was correct in assuming that 80% of pharmacy school was useless.

I might even say 90%

Nah.... 95% ! :laugh:

This.

If you're at all interested in hospital, apply for a hospital job ASAP (preferrably summer before P1 if your state allows you to be an intern then) and keep applying constantly if you can't get one. Always follow up on your applications.

This is huge. Beyond getting the opportunity to develop primary literature, getting an intern spot at a hospital is one of the major rarities during pharm school (in my experience).

Hit on all the cute girls BEFORE they get boyfriends.

If youre a desciple of SDN RX forum then you should already have the wisdom beyond P4.

This.

95% of your knowledge is learned on the job.

What if the OP is something other than a straight man?

The title is things you (reader) wish you knew as a P1.

I'm proud of your statement :D

I'm female, AND married. Double whammy!

Thank you for this piece of advice. I am interested in hospital, so I will keep that in mind! :thumbup:

Balance is everything. Find a happy medium for much of your life. Get involved, but don't let it interfere with school. You don't have to take every single opportunity offered in and outside of school (there will be many opportunities); just take the best ones and commit to those. Don't work too much if it gets in the way of your learning, but having a job is good.

I also completely agree with the poster who said to keep your grades to yourself. There is nothing more annoying than people who complain in front of others about getting A-s when the rest of the class barely passed an exam. Additionally, if you are at the low end of the spectrum, people might assume you aren't bright if you share your grades with them. Just be classy and keep that information private, like it should be.

If you're going to a state school, you're basically sheep. Go with the flow, and DON'T get on anybody's bad side, especially the faculty. It's all politics if you don't have anything lined up after graduation, and if you criticize the wrong person, well I quote my dean who didn't appreciate some comments; "If you want to practice in this state, don't be surprised if your employer doesn't hire you."

Care to elaborate? :eek:

Get to know the people in the P2 class and ask them to share their notes, study guides, old exam etc. Look for an internship earlier. I have a feeling this are going to be more scarce as pharmacy schools open in every corner. Find your happy medium between personal life and school.

I'd rather not go into details, but what I've noticed from my first year of pharmacy school is that state schools employ faculty that graduated the program when the requirements to get in we're not as competitive. Those that went into teaching knew they would be taking a pay cut, so there's no guarantee they were even the brightest in their class. Some of these individuals have ego issues and it makes me wonder if they did it just to get called Doctor. So today, when you get classes that are collectively more competitive and intelligent than the previous year, it becomes difficult to control the mass when they speak up about a faculty member's incompetence; which is why you see them using threats as a means to control the situation. It's pathetic and it makes me curious as to why over half the individuals we interviewed this year were much much older than our class. These are things I've seen at my school; it's how I've interpreted them and by no means reflect other programs

Ah, I see. I do knot what you mean. When it comes to any professional programs and perhaps it's more indicative in intense science/professional healthcare fields, there's always a bit of ego. :thumbdown

Sounds school specific. Most of our faculty are from somewhere else.