ASHP mid year is now free

[deleted562805]

In addition to the pharmacy job market tanking, ASHP has decided to make Mid year free. The question is will they promise residents by their second year a job? Probably no.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Isn't it virtual?

 

[deleted562805]

Isn't it virtual?

Yeah, it is virtual

 

[steveysmith54]

not completely free. Need to be a member ASHP..

 

[JustFillIt]

I have been a pharmacist for a while now and I still have no idea what mid year is and what is accomplished there. I remember when I was in school this being a big deal and I completely tuned out every time it was mentioned

 

[Dred Pirate]

I have been a pharmacist for a while now and I still have no idea what mid year is and what is accomplished there. I remember when I was in school this being a big deal and I completely tuned out every time it was mentioned

I went because it was a paid vacation. I got a few CE's, sold my residency, drank a few hurricanes, hung out with some friends on Bourbon street. I would never pay to go.

If it is virtual who is going to pay? ASHP is gonna take a huge hit financially from this.

 

[BC_89]

My ignorance will show and perhaps midyear is more helpful than I currently imagine (not including this virtual event though) but how exactly does someone still in student status set themselves "apart" from other students? My understanding in trying to set yourself apart comes in these categories (Not my strong area of understanding how midyear works but this is what catches my radar):

1. Intern and work experience
2. Community service and other activities
3. Extra unique qualities (second language perhaps?)

I suppose what I am really curious about is how can anyone possibly go through that many CVs / LOIs on each potential person when so many students are already on the same level as far as school / pharmacy experience goes? Isn't it typically 20,000+ people every year? Is their a screening process? Is it just "hey I put my name out there, guess I'll just wait" then go chill at the hotel lounge?

I just cant really grasp how effective it is (again, it might actually be worth it for certain people idk)

 

[Marzapan]

If it is virtual who is going to pay? ASHP is gonna take a huge hit financially from this.

Exhibitors and pharmacists. It's only free for students techs and residents.

 

[mentos]

This is ASHP midyear in a nutshell.

You pay to go to a crowded convention, you know like those job fairs where they hand out free pens and junk that you throw away later. Starry eyed pharmacy students have high hopes of landing a residency or getting hired for their unicorn position. They're dressed to impress like they're on Wall St or something. Hundreds of students flock to each booth like it's black Friday in hopes of getting that one imaginary residency. They waste time going on 20 interviews and make a dumb poster no one cares about. Meanwhile pharmacists whose companies paid for them to be there sit in the back of the CEs playing on their phones until they give you the pass code for the CE credit.

At night, you get to go to Universal Studios after hours which is the only cool part. That's basically where your fees go. The park is only open to the pharmacy students and midyear participants, which it's no different than when the park is open to the public. It's still an hour+ wait to ride on Harry Potter cause there's so many damn pharmacy students there.

If it's virtual, then there is no point. No SWAG (stuff we all get) and no amusement park? No thanks.

 

[confettiflyer]

My last ASHP I was with friends, drunk as hell, wandering the Vegas strip.

I ended up with a Shake Weight from Walgreens and a $400 bill from a restaurant/bar at the Cosmopolitan for champagne & popcorn.

 

[deleted562805]

This is ASHP midyear in a nutshell.

You pay to go to a crowded convention, you know like those job fairs where they hand out free pens and junk that you throw away later. Starry eyed pharmacy students have high hopes of landing a residency or getting hired for their unicorn position. They're dressed to impress like they're on Wall St or something. Hundreds of students flock to each booth like it's black Friday in hopes of getting that one imaginary residency. They waste time going on 20 interviews and make a dumb poster no one cares about. Meanwhile pharmacists whose companies paid for them to be there sit in the back of the CEs playing on their phones until they give you the pass code for the CE credit.

At night, you get to go to Universal Studios after hours which is the only cool part. That's basically where your fees go. The park is only open to the pharmacy students and midyear participants, which it's no different than when the park is open to the public. It's still an hour+ wait to ride on Harry Potter cause there's so many damn pharmacy students there.

If it's virtual, then there is no point. No SWAG (stuff we all get) and no amusement park? No thanks.

I have never understood why pharmacy residency is operated like this and having students spend $400-800 for a plane ticket. Medical residency programs visit the schools and for PA, you just apply to any list of residency programs and if you have questions, you email

 

[deleted562805]

My ignorance will show and perhaps midyear is more helpful than I currently imagine (not including this virtual event though) but how exactly does someone still in student status set themselves "apart" from other students? My understanding in trying to set yourself apart comes in these categories (Not my strong area of understanding how midyear works but this is what catches my radar):

1. Intern and work experience
2. Community service and other activities
3. Extra unique qualities (second language perhaps?)

I suppose what I am really curious about is how can anyone possibly go through that many CVs / LOIs on each potential person when so many students are already on the same level as far as school / pharmacy experience goes? Isn't it typically 20,000+ people every year? Is their a screening process? Is it just "hey I put my name out there, guess I'll just wait" then go chill at the hotel lounge?

I just cant really grasp how effective it is (again, it might actually be worth it for certain people idk)

Also don’t forget Rho Chi, gpa and a “life changing”research poster. Those are factors. Almost everyone that matched in my class was Rh Chi. The students that were older but had leadership experience like even SGA were unmatched

 

[mentos]

I have never understood why pharmacy residency is operated like this and having students spend $400-800 for a plane ticket. Medical residency programs visit the schools and for PA, you just apply to any list of residency programs and if you have questions, you email

The people in hiring positions are there for the food and entertainment. They don't care if students have to pay themselves.

 

[JustFillIt]

This is ASHP midyear in a nutshell.

You pay to go to a crowded convention, you know like those job fairs where they hand out free pens and junk that you throw away later. Starry eyed pharmacy students have high hopes of landing a residency or getting hired for their unicorn position. They're dressed to impress like they're on Wall St or something. Hundreds of students flock to each booth like it's black Friday in hopes of getting that one imaginary residency. They waste time going on 20 interviews and make a dumb poster no one cares about. Meanwhile pharmacists whose companies paid for them to be there sit in the back of the CEs playing on their phones until they give you the pass code for the CE credit.

At night, you get to go to Universal Studios after hours which is the only cool part. That's basically where your fees go. The park is only open to the pharmacy students and midyear participants, which it's no different than when the park is open to the public. It's still an hour+ wait to ride on Harry Potter cause there's so many damn pharmacy students there.

If it's virtual, then there is no point. No SWAG (stuff we all get) and no amusement park? No thanks.

The most important thing here is that I learned what “SWAG” stands for. Until
Now I have used this term, and heard others use it, but I never knew there was a meaning to it.

 

[aqb]

Presented a poster no one cared about, but got piss drunk with my preceptor where I had to carry him back to his hotel room while avoid being seen by my classmates. He was throwing up the whole way, being aggressive with everyone.

Finally got to his hotel where he went onto the wrong floor, into the wrong room where a cleaning lady was (no idea why she was cleaning that late), rolled around on both beds ruining the bed sheets, fumbled around inside the bathroom and closet, before me and a friend had
to forcibly pull him out, repeatedly apologizing to the cleaning lady all while she was calling security.

He fell backwards on the way out, hit his head on the wall, and left a hole.

Pharmacy school was the best.

 

[mentos]

Presented a poster no one cared about, but got piss drunk with my preceptor where I had to carry him back to his hotel room while avoid being seen by my classmates. He was throwing up the whole way, being aggressive with everyone.

Finally got to his hotel where he went onto the wrong floor, into the wrong room where a cleaning lady was (no idea why she was cleaning that late), rolled around on both beds ruining the bed sheets, fumbled around inside the bathroom and closet, before me and a friend had
to forcibly pull him out, repeatedly apologizing to the cleaning lady all while she was calling security.

He fell backwards on the way out, hit his head on the wall, and left a hole.

Pharmacy school was the best.

Hope you guys left her a tip!

 

[Dred Pirate]

Exhibitors and pharmacists. It's only free for students techs and residents.

I meant rhetorically - who is going to pay? Why would any RPh pay to go? and what are the exhibitors going to get out of a virtual fair? nada

 

[Dred Pirate]

My ignorance will show and perhaps midyear is more helpful than I currently imagine (not including this virtual event though) but how exactly does someone still in student status set themselves "apart" from other students? My understanding in trying to set yourself apart comes in these categories (Not my strong area of understanding how midyear works but this is what catches my radar):

1. Intern and work experience
2. Community service and other activities
3. Extra unique qualities (second language perhaps?)

I suppose what I am really curious about is how can anyone possibly go through that many CVs / LOIs on each potential person when so many students are already on the same level as far as school / pharmacy experience goes? Isn't it typically 20,000+ people every year? Is their a screening process? Is it just "hey I put my name out there, guess I'll just wait" then go chill at the hotel lounge?

I just cant really grasp how effective it is (again, it might actually be worth it for certain people idk)

From a program director's point of view - I think the showcase is more about selling my program to the students than the other way around. Don't give me your CV at the showcase, it is gonna go right in the trash. I will take a business card as a reminder thou.

All programs are vastly different, but we get about 250 applicants for 4 spots. We have a scoring tool and sort of run it like the NCAA selection committee. The top certain number are auto invites, the bottom so many are automatic dq's and we talk about the middle. If I remember you from midyear, and you are in the middle group, it might help as a tiebreaker if you left a positive impression. Honestly I remember about 10 or so people from midyear, and maybe end up talking about 4 in this process.

Again, mainly we use it as a tool to drive business to our program, and well, ya, find a way to get drunk on the company's dime.

 

[Marzapan]

I meant rhetorically - who is going to pay? Why would any RPh pay to go? and what are the exhibitors going to get out of a virtual fair? nada

1. Residency programs will be willing to pay because a lot of them need advertising/publicity to draw candidates (especially true for the 'residency is just cheap labor' conspiracy theorists - if residency is cheap labor and a lack of residents means you have to spend more to hire full time pharmacists at 2-3x the pay, then why NOT invest a few thousand dollars in advertising to maintain your pipeline of cheap labor?)

2. Exhibitors will pay because this is actually an even better venue for exhibitors to advertise their products - a centralized online website that everyone will click through, rather than a tiny booth in a massive exhibit hall that 90% of attendees likely wouldn't even notice. One venue gives you a captive audience. The other does not.

3. Many companies have use-it-or-lose-it rules when it comes to conferences/travel/ professional development. If you are normally given a budget for December and don't spend it, guess what will happen come the next budget cycle? It'll be de-listed as an expense.

4. Relatively speaking, ASHP is probably cheaper for programs/exhibitors than in years past. Just making up numbers here, but if it normally costs $2000 for a booth and now it costs $1500 for a virtual booth, then that is technically still "cheaper" than what you would have ended up paying otherwise.

 

[mustang sally]

Too bad it isn't free for me. Thought about registering but it was still close to $600 (since I don't have a membership). For a virtual conference...um, no thanks. But a good deal for those who can get it.

 

[Dred Pirate]

1. Residency programs will be willing to pay because a lot of them need advertising/publicity to draw candidates (especially true for the 'residency is just cheap labor' conspiracy theorists - if residency is cheap labor and a lack of residents means you have to spend more to hire full time pharmacists at 2-3x the pay, then why NOT invest a few thousand dollars in advertising to maintain your pipeline of cheap labor?)

2. Exhibitors will pay because this is actually an even better venue for exhibitors to advertise their products - a centralized online website that everyone will click through, rather than a tiny booth in a massive exhibit hall that 90% of attendees likely wouldn't even notice. One venue gives you a captive audience. The other does not.

3. Many companies have use-it-or-lose-it rules when it comes to conferences/travel/ professional development. If you are normally given a budget for December and don't spend it, guess what will happen come the next budget cycle? It'll be de-listed as an expense.

4. Relatively speaking, ASHP is probably cheaper for programs/exhibitors than in years past. Just making up numbers here, but if it normally costs $2000 for a booth and now it costs $1500 for a virtual booth, then that is technically still "cheaper" than what you would have ended up paying otherwise.

interesting view - maybe you are right, but I would fall under #3 - we are allowed to carry over our funds (they come from precepting) - so that just means an additional trip (or a more expensive one) next year