anyone from wisconsin?

[smooveguy89]

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I'm thinking about pursuing a career as a pharmacist, i want to go to a pharmacy school not to far from home, just wondering what are the best schools i should consider that are close. i know concordia university wisconsin has a new school but there new so im not to confident about them.

 

[Sophomore]

I am new to SDN (first post) and I am from WI. With your situation it sounds like you are still in high school. I am in a similar situation and have an interest in Pharmacy. After visiting the website of Concordia University Wisconsin, I conclude that they have a Pre-Pharmacy Program. This is basically a program that satisfies the requirements to enter a Pharmacy school, but this program itself does not give you a Doctor of Pharmacy, or PharmD degree. I believe that the only school in WI that offers a PharmD program is UW-Madison. You do not declare Pre-Pharmacy as a major, most people will declare something related such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, psychology, or neuroscience. Many students are able to attain the pre-reqs in 2 years and then apply for a pharmacy school, but it is better to finish your bachelors degree and then apply for pharmacy school. If you have interest in UW-Madison, then you should check out their website and the pre-reqs for their PharmD Program.

Cheers!

 

[MJayHart]

I'm not from Wisco, but I'll probably spend most of my life there... Anyway, CUW does have a pharmacy school that will award the PharmD degree. Their first class matriculated just a few months ago. I interviewed there last Friday and was extremely impressed with the whole program. Although their students will have research opportunities, CUW's focus is primarily on teaching people to become practitioner pharmacists who will stay in Wisconsin after graduation. If you're more into research and you want to stay in Wisco, then you're probably going to want to look at UW-Madison. Very few schools can compete with their research credentials.

 

[DrBioChem]

You may want to consider Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science College of Pharmacy. I am a founding member of the faculty, I live in Kenosha, WI, and I have never posted on one of these forums (and probably will not post again). RFUMS COP is just over the border (< 15 mi) and many of our experiential education sites are located in Southeastern Wisconsin, places like Aurora Health and Froedert Hospital. With nearly 100 years experience educating healthcare professionals, Rosalind Franklin will feature a small class size (65) and an interprofessional approach to Pharmacy education. Our students will take classes with medical students, physician assistant students, podiatric medicine students, physical therapy students just to name a few. As a graduate, you will be comfortable working with and communicating with these professionals because you learned from, with and about them while you were a student. You can learn more by asking questions at http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=772976.

Rosalind Franklin University College of Pharmacy has applied for but has not received "pre-candidate" status from the ACPE, see the web site (http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/collegeofpharmacy/) for more details.

 

[Sophomore]

Anyway, CUW does have a pharmacy school that will award the PharmD degree. Their first class matriculated just a few months ago. I interviewed there last Friday and was extremely impressed with the whole program. Although their students will have research opportunities, CUW's focus is primarily on teaching people to become practitioner pharmacists who will stay in Wisconsin after graduation.

Looks like I'm wrong. I hope to hear more from you as to how the application goes and if you get in how you like the school.

 

[erhrph]

It is true that Concordia will give you a concentrated training in Retail Pharmacy, much more so than U.W. The skills learned in Concordia will obviously make you a more prefered employee in the Retail market. U.W. gives you the opportunity to decide on a clinical role. You are better trained to transfer to drug manufacturing, research, hospital etc. There are advantages and dissadvantages to all levels of pharmacy. Comparing Hospital/Clinic vs retail:

Pros Retail

You are in a profit enviornment. Your wages usually are much higher along with earned bonuses. Your wage will increase continuously in the industry. In general, the more money your pharmacy generates, the more money you will earn. You will see a lot of patients and product identification, drug dose/interaction, triplicate checks for errors increases job satisfaction and security for the patients.

Cons Retail:
Working in small stand alone pharmacies increases your risk of getting robbed as compared to a pharmacy located within a larger store. Small pharmacies generally don't have the technology that larger more profitable pharmacies have.

You can find yourself becoming "Hyper-Busy", meaning that if you will have a tough time working unless you are a multi-tasker.

Pros Hospital

You are in a secure enviornment working at a steady pace in a clinical setting. You will spend more time on the soap, and will be less rushed than retail.

Cons Hospital

You generally see he same staff every day. There are new patients, but not nearly as many as retail. You generally don't earn as much money as retail.

 

[neumega]

I'm from WI and no one has mentioned the University of Minnesota. I find that it's close enough that I can come home on the weekends but far enough away that I'm not exposed to the same things I was exposed to everyday when I worked in a local pharmacy. The University of Minnesota has strong roots in MTM and pharmaceutical care if that interests you; otherwise it can prepare you for whatever type of practice you choose - research, residency, clinical, academia, etc.

I would caution against new schools, simply because depending on which area of practice you choose (i.e. anything other than retail); the name of the school you went to matters, or will start to matter very shortly if it doesn't already.

Personally, if you don't choose Minnesota I would say UW-Madison (definitely if you have the stats but you should apply anyway) and Rosalind Franklin > CUW. Rosalind Franklin already has a pretty decent medical school from what I hear, not to mention a host of other health science programs and that definitely gives them an edge over other newer schools. CUW has...physical therapy?

 

[KARM12]

Many students from WI also attend Midwestern - CCP. Downers Grove, IL is <2hrs drive to Milwaukee.

 

[happygolucky2]

erhrph from Greenfield - You are obviously not very well-educated about work in the pharmacy or PharmD programs.

Concordia gives you both hospital and community (nobody says "retail" anymore) setting experience through rotations - as early as P1 fall semester. I just finished my IPPE2 rotations. IPPE1 in fall I was at Froedtert hospital for an entire week and IPPE2 at St. Luke's Aurora Hospital for an entire week. I did community settings (one week a piece as well). If you want to go into hospital pharmacy, you will likely need to do a residency and apply, just like everyone else (all over again).

 

[PharmDizzle]

I'm from the Wisconsin-Illinois border and just got accepted into UW-Madison. If I were you I would definitely shoot for UW over Concordia or RF. They have a strong preference for in-state residents, which makes your chances of getting in pretty good, not to mention the fact that they are an excellent a well-known and well-respected pharmacy school. A lot of their graduates go into retail, so you would be prepared for that route if you so choose. The other two schools mentioned above are not well-established pharmacy programs so I would keep away, especially given the increasing competition for pharmacy jobs. Just my opinion though 🙂

 

[lauradiddle]

There's also a new UIC satellite campus just across the border in Rockford.