Academic Probation

[Gunter]

Alright, I'm at lowest point of my life right now. Fall semester of last year I fell 3 classes, Pharmacotherapy, pathophysiology, and kinetics due to my stupidity. Re-evaluated on what I really wanted to do and came back spring semester. I manage to pass all my classes, at one point I started to make A's and B's in most of my exams and try to appeal to take therapy and patho in summer session I and kinetic as an online course that allows 15 weeks, which to me is completely doable. The dean told me that my grades were not good enough to handle the summer. Basically my appeal was denied, I personally was confidence about being able to handle the summer.

Now that it has come to this, my main problem is finding a job when I'm done with school and here are my plans for the year that I'm in probation:

1. Do really well on the classes that I have deficiencies on as well as knock out all my elective courses for fall semester, which leaves me with nothing to do for the upcoming spring semester.
2. I plan on being active in organizations starting fall semester and hopefully land myself on an officer position when I run for it during spring of next year. I have been wanting to be treasurer for a while.
3. I currently work and plan on working more hours as well as volunteer during my spring semester.

Here is my concern:
- The humiliation is tremendous, not even sure how I will face my classmates or know how they will look at me to even consider me for an officer position.

Has anyone been in my position or know someone who has been in my position to truly know what's going on and has made it through? Based on my personal experience, most students I see going on probation just ended up not making it. The humiliation is tremendous and the pressure of everyone looking at you can make things extremely hard to study cognitively so they either drop out or failed out. Any tips on getting through this, such as add more to my plan or how to handle the peer pressure? My goal is to be a pharmacist. I made a major mistake and I'm looking for redemption.

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[anewmanx]

You need to change your perspective.

How old are you? I'm 31 and I'm just now starting to attend University. Let that sink in, I'm 31 and I have no usable college credits.

So you're facing a tough spot, so what? You made it this far, and if you have to slow down to make it further then you slow down.

One thing I learned in the military is when you have a goal, you need to set out saying you are going to accomplish it. Your belief that you will accomplish it is not based on circumstances, abilities, or anything external. Your belief that you will accomplish it is an attitude. In a bus full of 25 people and 1 bottle of water, that is MY bottle of water. That's the attitude you need.

Buck up, realize that your colleges have nothing to do with your future. NOTHING. Even if it took you 10 years to finish due to taking breaks, establishing your personal life, clearing your head, etc... you will still make more money in ten years than most people make in a lifetime.

Take time, examine what got you to this point, make a game plan, and start with a fresh perspective. Perspective is the difference between life and death in a survival situation. How is college any different?

When I was in training in the military I shattered the bones in my right arm. I had a green break, like my bones were sugar cane being pressed sideways. My UCL disconnected, ripping a piece of bone out with it, I severely damaged my ulnar nerve, and my bone marrow leaked out into the surrounding tissue. My attitude was so set in accomplishing my task that a military doctor had to force me into early retirement. I was still trying to do pushups on a partially paralyzed and partially connected limb. The rest of the time it just hung there.

That's the kind of attitude that wins any task.

 

[mustang sally]

There was more then one student that I went to school with who failed one (or more) classes. I never really knew if they were on academic probation or not, and honestly, I never really cared. Guess what? They all ended up graduating and becoming pharmacists eventually.

I think you just have to push forward and do your best if this is what you want to do in life. If you want to run for treasurer, go for it! Everyone fails at something in life; it's whether or not you pick yourself up again that matters.

 

[Dalteparin]

I think parts 1 and 3 of your plan sound fine. For part 2, there's nothing wrong with being an officer in a student organization, but some schools require officers of student organizations to be in good academic standing. I would double-check with your school before proceeding with this one. As mustang sally said, your fellow students probably don't know that you're on academic probation; however, if you are elected to an office in a student organization and then are told you can't serve because of your grades, all the other students will find out and it will be extremely humiliating for you. I do want to reiterate that right now, your fellow classmates most likely don't have any idea what your grades are. At graduation, I noticed a friend who'd I'd always thought of as studious wasn't wearing Rho Chi cords. I asked her why not and she admitted that she didn't get in; at one point during our 2nd year she'd been flunking 3 classes! I never would have known that if she hadn't told me.

As long as you're aware of what got you into this mess and can avoid those traps in the future, you can dig yourself out of this hole. You sound like a self-aware individual, and that's one of the most important qualities to have in a situation like this. Good luck!

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Here is my concern:
- The humiliation is tremendous, not even sure how I will face my classmates or know how they will look at me to even consider me for an officer position.

Has anyone been in my position or know someone who has been in my position to truly know what's going on and has made it through? Based on my personal experience, most students I see going on probation just ended up not making it. The humiliation is tremendous and the pressure of everyone looking at you can make things extremely hard to study cognitively so they either drop out or failed out. Any tips on getting through this, such as add more to my plan or how to handle the peer pressure? My goal is to be a pharmacist. I made a major mistake and I'm looking for redemption.

I had problems with my school. I didn't actually fail or get anything lower than a C on any classes based purely on actual results, but I "failed" a class due to not following directions as they thought I should have. I *completely* forgot to retake a test and nobody told me about it until mid-May. I got an "F" on a test I couldn't really study for but made up for it with high scores on other tests. Apparently, you had to retake tests you failed, so my earned 78% turned into an "F" through the magic of academia. I got held back right before rotations. I wasn't really humiliated, though. I just shrugged it off and enjoyed the 6 month vacation.

After looking back, I'm pretty sure I was just suffering from anxiety and depression and stopped giving a **** about school because I didn't have an outlet for stress relief at the time other than humor (my posts at that time on SDN were legendary). Naturally, the school thought I was some sort of deviant and made me go to the school shrink. I had to get a psych evaluation, IQ test, personality test, the whole nine. After telling them I just don't care as much as I used to, they assumed I must obviously have ADD and force fed me amphetamines until I graduated (you bet I got blood work). Some stress relief, working less, and, like, Paxil probably would have been better..but, hey, they know what's best for me....pffft.

I just look back at that time period 7-8 years later and laugh. I actually got put on amphetamines because I was shutting down from the stress of school +32 hours/week of work. What the holy hell is wrong with those people? I stopped taking the Adderall right after graduating and I'm doing perfectly fine now.

But what did I learn that I can pass on to you?

Forget about classmates, forget about the school...just jump through the hoops and graduate. That's all that matters. Graduate. A few months in the real world and you'll forget about school, your classmates, and especially the professors. None of the **** you are doing actually matter once you get that piece of paper. I gained nothing from that time period except depression, anxiety, and a healthy hatred of the WVU School of Pharmacy that I'm slowly getting over...except for one thing...a piece of paper hat says I cntake the NAPLEX. And that's your focus. You getting that piece of paper. Just do the work and ignore the noise.

 

[Gunter]

Thanks for the input guys! @Dalteparin, once I pass all my classes in the fall, I will be out of probation, which allows me to run for officer position when election starts in the spring semester. I'm definitely disappointed, but I will make it through and shrug it off as you said WVUPharm2007.

 

[BMBiology]

Thanks for the input guys! @Dalteparin, once I pass all my classes in the fall, I will be out of probation, which allows me to run for officer position when election starts in the spring semester. I'm definitely disappointed, but I will make it through and shrug it off as you said WVUPharm2007.

just curious, why do you care about running for officer position?

 

[Gunter]

Just something extra that I like to do outside of school related work. Also, it will make my CV look alot better and give me something to talk about during an interview to help improve my chance of getting a job.

 

[BMBiology]

Just something extra that I like to do outside of school related work. Also, it will make my CV look alot better and give me something to talk about during an interview to help improve my chance of getting a job.

Honestly, no one really cares. It is about your work experiences. It seems like you are already struggling. Stay focus on school and graduate. Work as much as you can.

Assuming you have student loans, if you do not graduate your life is pretty close to being ruined. Don't screw this up.

 

[molyhelp]

just curious, why do you care about running for officer position?

Just something extra that I like to do outside of school related work. Also, it will make my CV look alot better and give me something to talk about during an interview to help improve my chance of getting a job.

To Original Poster:
I am relaying words from a wise pharmacist who hired many pharmacists: Concerning the importance of being active in organization that may increase your chance of getting job at community pharmacy:
BMBiology was correct:
Honestly, no one really cares. It is about your work experiences.

Let me explain that in other words: If you go to my interview and announce that you got Academic Probation and still think about running for Treasurer Officer position, I would wonder about your ability to focus on your most important goal at the most crucial time.
+++++++++++++++++
Also, WVUPharm2007 wrote very wisely about your worry about classmate:
You wrote: ."......The humiliation is tremendous and the pressure of everyone looking at you can make things extremely hard to study cognitively........"
I agree with the answer from WVUPharm2007:
"Forget about classmates, forget about the school...just jump through the hoops and graduate. That's all that matters."

Let's think about that for a few moments:
Failing pharmacy classes is common. You can expect about 1 of 5 students failed school and did not even graduate.

We embraced our failed friends and did everything to help friends when they reached about for help. We had a motto in my circle:
"I love you no matter what"
We always say that to any friends that failed and they reported feeling better hearing that magical phrase.
So, let me say that to you loud and clear:
"I love you no matter what"

Remember, we are in the profession to help and heal the sick. If your friend looked down on you when you failed, that's not a good friend who deserves you. Why?
We can fairly equate a sick patient as a failed student.
If your friend looked down on you when you are sick, would that be a good friend?
With that same heart,
if you friend looked down on you when fail classes, would that be a good friend?
If your friend did look down on you, you have my support to leave such friend and find new classmate to build new bond.

With that said, I come from a circle where we support and nurture failed friends. All of us did because the school supported us to help each other. I have reason to believe many classmates around you are good human beings who will help you if you simply trust us to be brave and reach out to ask them for help. You will be surprised to find that most of them do not know you need help or how you score (until you tell them you are struggling).

Also, you want to think about what you would do if you really fail pharmacy school:
If you leave pharmacy school now, how much do you expect to save a month after expenses? 500 dollars? 1000 dollars?

How much is your loan right now? How long will it take to pay off the loan with non-pharmacist earning?
10 years? 20 years?
See how big the battle is?
Is being a Treasurer Officer worth it?
If you win the spot as Treasurer Officer and then you commit so much time into that club and you fail again, would you quit being Treasurer Officer?
Would quitting be the action that you feel uneasy about?

Let me share with you what I would do: Even if I feel torn, if I begin to fail classes, I will quit all activities that cost me time. I will re-focus my time into improving my studying skills. Hopefully, by re-focusing my time when I just started to fail classes, I may recover on time and pass pharmacy school.

Have you spent enough time on sharpening studying skill?
You memorized all TOP 200 medications? (because you will need those meds again and again).
You know how to relax quickly and efficiently?
The list of being a master student is long...There are books that will teach us to be better student, actually, "Becoming a master student" would be my goal. I still want to read that book again (ISBN10: 1-111-82753-2)

In summary,

You wrote:"..here are my plans for the year that I'm in probation........Any tips on getting through this............."
My answer: With existing probation in my life in pharmacy school, I will minimize work, survive by student loan, maximize studying, minimize interference including but not limited to minimizing activities in organizations...Why? Simple. I am in probation. I have probation to focus on. Any time I have, I will spend on studying and build a circle of friends that I know will support me mentally when I am down.

If you already struggle in pharmacy school to the point of suffering the agonizing Academic Probation, you Action Plan is now:
Rule 1: Maximize studying only. Minimize any activity that interfere with studying only.
Rule 2: If you have any doubt, read rule number 1 out loud for 100 times.

If you plan to survive in pharmacy school, please think of school like battle fight and you are a soldier.

Good luck.

 

[Gunter]

@molyhelp, Your words were very inspirational, I just bought the 14th ed. book (used one are pretty cheap on Amazon). I will take 15 credit hours next semester and that will complete the classes that I need to re mediate in as well as all my electives. I will place less time into organizations and I will maximize my study time as recommended. Maybe with the extra time that I have I will contribute to an organization that I'm currently in. Spring semester, I will have nothing to do besides work more hours. I plan on doing some volunteering work at a clinic as well. Thanks, you guys have been very supportive and helpful.

 

[Gunter]

Sorry for necroing this thread guys, going through the forum really makes me worry about the job outlook later on. I won't graduate in the next three years, is it worth it to go through with this? I'm looking at around 64k debt right now.

 

[oldstock]

Sorry for necroing this thread guys, going through the forum really makes me worry about the job outlook later on. I won't graduate in the next three years, is it worth it to go through with this? I'm looking at around 64k debt right now.

you should check out this thread,

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-gathering-storm-is-looming-over-the-horizon.1037635/

As more and more new pharmacist graduates being pumped out by more and more schools, avg pharmacy wage / salary has no where to go up but down and the competition is tougher every year (i.e. you would not be safe even you already have a job) for at least the next 10 years imho. If you willing to work, network hard, accept any pharmacy job offer / shift, relocate, etc. then I think you will be fine at finding some jobs after graduation. Many have said here that very soon, the pharmacy scene is going to be like the law scene. If you can't accept that prospect and have better alternatives, I guess you should go for the alternatives.

 

[BidingMyTime]

I graduated back when the degree was a 5-year BS. I had several "6 year" and even a couple of "7 year" students graduate in my class. And people who started in my class, who didn't get to graduate with the class (but were on track to graduate the next year.) It's not unheard of, its nothing to be ashamed of. It sounds like have fixed your problems and are back on track. I will add, my class set the dubious record of having the highest percentage ever flunk out of first year at my school (~50%)......these were students who could have returned on probation, but decided to cut their losses and didn't return. I have never had an employer ask to see my transcript, once you have your degree & license, nobody will care how long it took you to get through school.

 

[Gunter]

@BidingMyTime, thank-you, that makes me feels alot better and more confident about moving forward.

 

[oldstock]

rereading your original post, I think you need to be aware of the fact that your school make it easy for you to remedy your failed courses. The schools I got accepted to, for entire 4 years of their PharmD programs, you cannot failed a total of 2 classes (let alone 3) in the same semester or from different semesters without being suspended or dismissed. And there is no summer to retake anything. You fail a class, you have to wait a year to retake it.

My point is that, at other schools people in the same situation as yours would have got kicked out from pharmacy school. So you should be grateful for that second chance and forget about humiliation or worrying about anyone or anything else, just graduate and get your license !!

GL !!

Alright, I'm at lowest point of my life right now. Fall semester of last year I fell 3 classes, Pharmacotherapy, pathophysiology, and kinetics due to my stupidity. Re-evaluated on what I really wanted to do and came back spring semester. I manage to pass all my classes, at one point I started to make A's and B's in most of my exams and try to appeal to take therapy and patho in summer session I and kinetic as an online course that allows 15 weeks, which to me is completely doable. The dean told me that my grades were not good enough to handle the summer. Basically my appeal was denied, I personally was confidence about being able to handle the summer.

Now that it has come to this, my main problem is finding a job when I'm done with school and here are my plans for the year that I'm in probation:

1. Do really well on the classes that I have deficiencies on as well as knock out all my elective courses for fall semester, which leaves me with nothing to do for the upcoming spring semester.
2. I plan on being active in organizations starting fall semester and hopefully land myself on an officer position when I run for it during spring of next year. I have been wanting to be treasurer for a while.
3. I currently work and plan on working more hours as well as volunteer during my spring semester.

Here is my concern:
- The humiliation is tremendous, not even sure how I will face my classmates or know how they will look at me to even consider me for an officer position.

Has anyone been in my position or know someone who has been in my position to truly know what's going on and has made it through? Based on my personal experience, most students I see going on probation just ended up not making it. The humiliation is tremendous and the pressure of everyone looking at you can make things extremely hard to study cognitively so they either drop out or failed out. Any tips on getting through this, such as add more to my plan or how to handle the peer pressure? My goal is to be a pharmacist. I made a major mistake and I'm looking for redemption.

 

[Gunter]

As I'm going through to write my CV and putting down the time for my experiences and etc...it's not possible for me to hide that I was in probation. Oh well, as I'm going through this, I realized no one cares about students who were in probation, but how they deal with it. I just have to be honest about it and what I did about it in the interview. Thanks all.