i'm told to take an year off before i apply...

[panadacoke]

Hey all, I'm a junior majoring in Bio Sci at UC, Irvine. My GPA is 3.69 at this point. However, I have no pharmacy experience. Do you guys think that I should take an year off and volunteer in pharmacy after I graduate? Or should I still apply?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[38ctk]

Hey all, I'm a junior majoring in Bio Sci at UC, Irvine. My GPA is 3.69 at this point. However, I have no pharmacy experience. Do you guys think that I should take an year off and volunteer in pharmacy after I graduate? Or should I still apply?

panadacoke, do you have any other type of experience, such as lab work or clubs that are related to the life sciences?

I was beginning my pharmacy experience when I first entered as a junior. I only worked for about 2 months and my pharmacist was kind enough to write me a letter of recommendation. Although he really liked me, I don't know how good of a recommendation letter he actually wrote for me. When I applied to the University of Washington last year, I didn't get in. Aside from the lack of experience in a pharmacy, my PCAT scores were not very good and I was far from getting my B.S.

When I decided to reapply for pharmacy school this year, I decided in addition to volunteering at a pharmacy, I volunteered at a children's hospital over the summer and volunteered there throughout my senior year. If you start NOW, you may be able to get in some good volunteer experience. although I would suggest putting in additional hours in the summer to get that experience. I ended up writing about the children's hospital experience for my personal statement. I will be going to UW School of Pharmacy this fall

So here is my 2 cents on this. It is not how long you volunteer, or what you have done in your volunteer experience, it is what you get out of it. Although I learned the INs and OUTs of a pharmacy, nothing can compare to the few months that I spent with the children at the hospital.

THIS IS MY OWN STORY and everyone has a different story. I would suggest trying to apply and see where it will lead you. Although it is some money spent on applications, you never know if you might just save yourself an extra year before you are officially a PharmD.

 

[BMBiology]

try to get some experiences now and apply this summer. Pharmacy experience is important but if you have a solid foundation and understand the profession, pharmacy experience can be overlooked.

BTW, who told you to take a year off?

 

[crossurfingers]

I think there's no harm in applying now. I got into pharmacy school with no experience, so it is a chance worth taking.

 

[crazyrice610]

I think there's no harm in applying now. I got into pharmacy school with no experience, so it is a chance worth taking.

I agree too! i think you should take a shot and apply this year. it never hurts. i, too, got into pharm school without any pharm experience. i think it's as long as u can show them u hv dedication to this field and u know where exactly u r heading into.

 

[PharmDeb]

I agree too! i think you should take a shot and apply this year. it never hurts. i, too, got into pharm school without any pharm experience.

I'm so inspired reading these posts!! I'm also concerned about not having Pharm experience. I worked in a hospital for quite a few years, but not in the Pharmacy. Being in a small town where Pharm tech's stay there forever, and openings are rare, I haven't been able to get that experience. My PCAT score and GPA is great, but I've been really concerned about the lack of experience. Thanks for the encouraging input!

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Don't take a year off. I have no pharmacy experience, but the pre-pharmacy advisor at my school of choice (Kentucky) made several helpful suggestions, which I have followed:

1. Read the Pfizer guide to pharmacy careers and find some areas you are interested in.

2. Call different pharmacy practitioners in your area and set up 1/2 to 1 hour informational interviews.

3. Develop a list of questions you have for the person. Do not just go sit in their office and expect them to lead the discussion, although if you are very lucky they may take the lead anyway.

4. After the interview/shadowing is over, go home and write at least one paragraph about your observations, what you learned, etc. These notes will help you when it's time to fill out the application and write your essay, etc.




Some places I have/will go:

Poison Control Center (they are open 24 hours - I was able to sit and observe a shift - very interesting)

Family Health Center - local low-income clinic

Long Term Care pharmacy - consultant services; I'm working with their recruiter, a contact which could come in handy someday.

Independently owned pharmacy - easier to get into than chain stores, IME

Local University pharm residency/clerkship program - another good contact for future; call the residency director

Home Infusion pharmacy - check with home health or visiting nurse service

Pharmacy Benefit Consultant - (licensed RPH) at my university - going to lunch with her next week.

Pharmacy school faculty - my uncle (an MD) knew one of the Kentucky faculty. So I emailed the professor and name dropped and got myself on his calendar. I visited with him in the morning (he's on the adcom!) and spent the whole day with his pediatric pharmacy students, seeing patients, going to case conferences, getting the "real story" first-hand from the students, and then went to his class in the afternoon. If you don't know someone - just pick a professor whose specialty interests you and email him/her. Just make sure you have a true interest and can ask intelligent questions. Otherwise it could turn out badly.


I'm sure other people have ideas as well!

 

[Smilescali]

Don't take a year off. I have no pharmacy experience, but the pre-pharmacy advisor at my school of choice (Kentucky) made several helpful suggestions, which I have followed:

1. Read the Pfizer guide to pharmacy careers and find some areas you are interested in.

2. Call different pharmacy practitioners in your area and set up 1/2 to 1 hour informational interviews.

3. Develop a list of questions you have for the person. Do not just go sit in their office and expect them to lead the discussion, although if you are very lucky they may take the lead anyway.

4. After the interview/shadowing is over, go home and write at least one paragraph about your observations, what you learned, etc. These notes will help you when it's time to fill out the application and write your essay, etc.




Some places I have/will go:

Poison Control Center (they are open 24 hours - I was able to sit and observe a shift - very interesting)

Family Health Center - local low-income clinic

Long Term Care pharmacy - consultant services; I'm working with their recruiter, a contact which could come in handy someday.

Independently owned pharmacy - easier to get into than chain stores, IME

Local University pharm residency/clerkship program - another good contact for future; call the residency director

Home Infusion pharmacy - check with home health or visiting nurse service

Pharmacy Benefit Consultant - (licensed RPH) at my university - going to lunch with her next week.

Pharmacy school faculty - my uncle (an MD) knew one of the Kentucky faculty. So I emailed the professor and name dropped and got myself on his calendar. I visited with him in the morning (he's on the adcom!) and spent the whole day with his pediatric pharmacy students, seeing patients, going to case conferences, getting the "real story" first-hand from the students, and then went to his class in the afternoon. If you don't know someone - just pick a professor whose specialty interests you and email him/her. Just make sure you have a true interest and can ask intelligent questions. Otherwise it could turn out badly.


I'm sure other people have ideas as well!

Thanks for the great advice regarding where to "shadow" and volunteer to get some pharmacy experience. I never thought about some of those avenues.

 

[panadacoke]

It was my academic advisor told me to wait for an year. Anyways,thanks for all these encouraging replies.=)

 

[BMBiology]

It was my academic advisor told me to wait for an year. Anyways,thanks for all these encouraging replies.=)

I also graduated from UC Irvine. Is Minh that one that told you to wait for a year?

 

[TrojanAnteater]

panadacoke, i'm another that has no formal pharmacy experience (just shadowing and going into the pharmacy whenever I have questions), and also graduated from UC Irvine no less. You're in good shape where you are... nice GPA... as soon as possible, just go to your local pharmacy and ask if you can hang out for a couple hours a few different days just so you can say you've seen what it is at least a community pharmacist does. Even better if you can go to a community pharmacy, then a hospital, and maybe even other settings for pharmacists and spend a couple hours at each one you can say you've checked out a bunch of diff. areas of pharmacy (like smilescali said), and an interviewer would be impressed with that.

Where do you plan to apply, and what's your top choice?

 

[BMBiology]

I graduated from UCI with 2 majors and 1 minor. I screwed up my 1st 2 years of college but for the last 3 years I had a 3.67 GPA with over 20 units per quarter. I talked to the academic advisor at UCI and she told me my chance is slim. I applied anyways and I was granted an interview to UCSD, UCSF, UOP, Western and USC. Academica advisors can be very informative but sometimes I wonder if their primarily concern is the students or the school stats. I think with a 3.6+ gpa from a respected university, you are in a good position. I interviewed students before and it doesnt matter too much that they didnt have any experience as long as they really understand the profession and have some general ideas what they want to do.

 

[kellia]

i wouldn't take any time off, unless YOU feel that you need to... i think you are in good shape, just try to shadow a pharmacist if you can find the time. i did not have any pharmacy experience, but i did have experience (brief) as a lab tech. i think any type of experience in a health related field will show your interest in the profession, whether paid or not. if you feel that you are ready to start a pharmacy program, GO FOR IT!!!!!!!

 

[panadacoke]

I'm planning to apply for UOP, USC and UCSF.
I'm wondering if anyone from the schools above had interviewed any non-native speaker. (cuz I'm one!!!)

 

[NYCillini]

by the sound of it, I think we're kinda missing the boat on this one.....

The reason why pharm schools like to see previous experience is not to "pay your dues" but to know that YOU KNOW what you are getting in to (after all, how do you know if pharmacy is a field that you would truly love unless you are very familar with it?) and to show the desire to learn and be educated. I find that experience is an awesome teacher. I myself have taken 2 years away from academia so I could work full time. In that 2 years I have gained a wealth of knowledge about the whole healthcare field . I have learned things that pharmacy schools don't make a point of, have difficulty sending the message home, or plain just won't tell you (every industry has some dirt).

So yes....you can probably get into pharm school without experience but definately expect some surprises when you graduate.