communication during the interview

[pharmRxn]

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do pharmacy schools expect us to communicate like a pro. during the interview?

 

[wes011]

do pharmacy schools expect us to communicate like a pro. during the interview?

You should be articulate and able to convey responses to questions.

Professional as in a professional speaker? No, but you have to be able to communicate with people.

 

[pharmRxn]

i would like to see feedback from non-native speakers who got accepted.
everyone seem to be communicating like a professional. i don't know if i am able to do that.

 

[MrMeowphers]

you need to communicate clearly during the interviews.

being in the health field is 180 degrees different then being a researcher.

as a researcher you deal with mostly people with the same qualifications as you (generally everyone has a degree in science and understands your lingo). This makes life MUCH easier as you just speak science jargon all day.

in the health field, you work with people from all walks of life, and must be able to communicate well with patients, customers, and clientele.

 

[avuong]

Try your best. Just, Try to express your thoughts as clearly and concisely as possible. You dont need to use high vocabulary or complicated grammar to get a simple point across-- the point that you are a caring, compassionate, and service-oriented individual who would make a perfect fit in the field of pharmacy.

The interview is not about what you say, but rather how you act. Pay attention to your eye contact, body language, facial expressions. Do they project the image of a nervous, frazzled, low self-confidence person, or are they relaxed, empathic, and self-confident.

Thats why you have to "be yourself". Dont get too serious and nervous. A kind-hearted, non-native speaker by far trumps a native speaker who projects a negative image.

You'll be fine. Dont worry about it!

 

[busyizzy]

do pharmacy schools expect us to communicate like a pro. during the interview?

Well, you're applying to professional school, so yes, you should be able to communicate professionally. That's why they require speech class in most pharmacy school prerequisites.

 

[avuong]

busyizzy,
why so serious. plenty of people get into pharmacy school without taking speech 101. Plenty of people also do pharmacy without being native english speakers.

Speaking clearly or not clearly matters naught. It's the attitude that counts, its whether you show kindness and give your heart to your patients.
---
Did you see how Switzerland banned that Islamic cultural architectural structure. Thats bad. Thats an example of racism in action. This thread is going down a slippery slope, whether we support ethnic cleansing or keeping hard-earned jobs in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh5pqt1sM8w

 

[pharm B]

We went from asking if you should be able to effectively communicate during school interviews to talking about Switzerland's ban of minnarets in only 7 posts?

Nice.

 

[gtpederson]

You know who likes minnarets?

Kevin Bacon.

 

[busyizzy]

busyizzy,
why so serious. plenty of people get into pharmacy school without taking speech 101. Plenty of people do pharmacy without being native english speakers as well. Its the attitude that counts, not the pedigree.

Granted, some folks may not speak so clearly or may speak with thick accents or what have you-- thats okay too. That means the field of pharmacy is multi-cultural, and "diverse"; "diversity". THats a good thing, did you know that?

Did you see how Switzerland banned that Islamic cultural whatever. Thats a bad thing. This thread is going down a slippery slope, whether we support ethinic intolerance or keeping hard-earned jobs in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh5pqt1sM8w

First, pharmacy IS a serious field. You mess up, someone can die. That applies to a lot of different careers, but yes, pharmacy is included. If someone can't understand you because your english is so broken - then YES that it a problem!

I've looked into about 30 different schools and their prereqs, and they ALL required speech in their prereqs. Now, I'm not saying that ALL of the US pharm schools do, as this is only from my experience (so perhaps I was wrong in saying most pharm schools require it). But really, please, enlighten me, and tell me which ones do not require it, so I might consider applying, cuz I don't really want to take a speech class spring/summer semester. Anyway, my point in pointing out the speech prereq is that some schools think it's so important to be able to speak clearly that they even require it as a prereq!

I never said I was anti-culture or anti-multi-cultural or anything. "diversity is a good thing, did you know that?" This issue has NOTHING to do with diversity, did YOU know that? Look, just because I said it's important to speak PROFESSIONALLY at an INTERVIEW for a PROFESSIONAL school, it doesn't mean I think native English speakers or people with thick accents should not apply. So, don't start putting words in my mouth. This is NOT about ethnic intolerance. It is ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT. I have met MANY non native English speakers able to communicate clearly and professionally. In fact, I work at a science lab where ALL the postdocs are from out of the country (Indian, Italian, Greek, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese), and they are able to speak perfectly well with me, and I to them. I'm not asking for perfect English when speaking. But speaking clearly, making sure people understand you, and some grammatical understanding of the language - these things are important, at least to me, and they are qualities I would look for in a health care provider.

I just stated the truth: you have to be able to speak well! If you can't convey your thoughts or concerns coherently and clearly, then you will be bad at your job as a pharmacist (unless you're just holed up with zero patient interaction). This means, you need to be able to speak professionally.

And finally I disagree with your statement, "it's okay if you can;t speak clearly." Are you saying that if you mumble to a patient the important things about their medication and they can't understand you because you're not talking clearly - that it's okay??? I can't be the only one that thinks this is ridiculous.

 

[avuong]

izzy,
#1. Try UIC, OSU, and Thomas Jefferson.
.

okay, yes, pharmacy is serious. It's not all seriousness though, it's about compassion. Its about how well you relate to your patients, no matter how well you speak. 80% of human communication is conveyed through body language and gesture.

-
deleted part on racism,
sorry, I dont want tempers to flare.
Please close thread.

Thank you.
--

PharmB,
thank you for your concern but I wont need to interview for a long time.

 

[297point1]

izzy,
#1. Try UIC, OSU, and Thomas Jefferson.

It might be worth pointing out that while OSU and Jefferson do not have public speaking classes as requirements, they require higher TOEFL scores (OSU: 577 paper score, equal to a 90-91 iBT score; Jefferson 87 iBT score) than the usual standard iBT score of 80 used by most schools.

And as for UIC, they do require a public speaking class:

Speech Communication - minimum of 2 semester hours

To fulfill this requirement, an applicant may complete a public speaking course or an interpersonal communication course. Freshman courses which combine composition and speech may be eligible to be used to fulfill this requirement, but approval from the UIC Office of Student Affairs must be given.
​

http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/codewra...ospective_students/prepharmacy_coursework.php


I'll defer to busyizzy for the rest of your post.

 

[pharm B]

Asking you to communicate effectively in an interview is not an example of racism. Remove all the fluff above, and you'll find that it's probably expected that you're able to do this, regardless of background. Hopefully you don't play the race/foreign card this quickly during your interview.

 

[avuong]

For the record, PharmB, I didnt mean to say that asking one to communicate effectively in an interview was racism, necessarily. Of course, thats a normal expectation, to expect one to at least be minimally competent during an interview.

What I meant was that we shouldnt get so wrapped up and so serious in that demand. I misinterpreted busyizzy's comment, naturally assuming that demanding a foreign-born student to speak proper english was a sign of latent, underlying racism.

This is actually not racism. There is a fine line between normal expectations, and having above normal expectations with malicious intention. We have not crossed that line, and I apologize for making it seem like we have crossed that line.

again, thread can be closed.
THank you.

 

[pharmRxn]

i am sure all of you can communicate coherently but looking at the way Touro conduct its interview how is it possible for a non-native English speaker to compete with the native speakers during the interview?
this is unfair for us if Touro pays close attention only to our verbal and writing skills during the interview.

 

[phathead]

Well you said you consul patients, so you shouldn't have to worry about much now should you?

 

[PharmacyNut]

They look for confidence and maturity. You don't have to be a "great" communicator; you just have to be true to yourself. However, that doesn't mean you can't prepare. If you don't, some of your responses might sound ignorant or uneducated, which can definitely hurt your chances of admission. Of course, there's no right or wrong answer to interview questions but you should know how to defend/support your responses. Rule of thumb: Avoid being shallow.

 

[pharmRxn]

Well you said you consul patients, so you shouldn't have to worry about much now should you?

i wish.
pharmacy schools have very few seats and we have to compete in order to get accepted. i just finished watching a video clip from youtube and her answers to interview questions are close to perfect. i will continue to learn as much as i can about the health care industry and i hope i get at least 1 acceptance.

 

[pharmRxn]

Well you said you consul patients, so you shouldn't have to worry about much now should you?

and it is very easy to communicate with patients. i communicate with pharmacists, physicians, and interns regularly and they understand me very well. i am concerned about the way i say things or maybe i am over reacting.

 

[PharmacyNut]

i wish.
pharmacy schools have very few seats and we have to compete in order to get accepted. i just finished watching a video clip from youtube and her answers to interview questions are close to perfect. i will continue to learn as much as i can about the health care industry and i hope i get at least 1 acceptance.

Honestly, you should stop being so insecure about your communication skills. Make a list of common questions and write your responses to them. One stipulation though: DON'T memorize them word-for-word. There's evidence out there that says that writing improves your speaking skills. Try to fit in some reading in there too, such as topics in healthcare etc (I use NIH and CBS Health). So, after you write your response to questions, practice in the shower or behind a mirror. I mean, if you want it badly, you'll do anything to get it? Don't worry about everyone else. Be your own person.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

For the record, PharmB, I didnt mean to say that asking one to communicate effectively in an interview was racism, necessarily. Of course, thats a normal expectation, to expect one to at least be minimally competent during an interview.

What I meant was that we shouldnt get so wrapped up and so serious in that demand. I misinterpreted busyizzy's comment, naturally assuming that demanding a foreign-born student to speak proper english was a sign of latent, underlying racism.

This is actually not racism. There is a fine line between normal expectations, and having above normal expectations with malicious intention. We have not crossed that line, and I apologize for making it seem like we have crossed that line.

again, thread can be closed.
THank you.

LOL I was going to comment earlier that I agreed with you about the slippery slope because there was a thread like this a while back that the moderator actually locked because the discussion got so offensive.

I don't think either one of you conducted yourself in a derogatory way so I guess that's why it is left open.

These types of issues are pretty delicate so it is hard to have a discussion that doesn't become emotionally charged.

I totally agree with your comment above. I think on one hand... we defend ourselves because there are truly intolerant people in this world, but on the other hand sometimes there are legitimate concerns, and maybe they just come out the wrong way or something?

My family is Spanish/Portuguese/and Italian, so even though I am a native speaker, I have many relatives who struggled with English as a second language. I also grew up in a very internationally diverse part of the country (my school is in the top 5 most diverse colleges in US News). The only issue that I have when it comes to language is that it seems sort of insulting to people from other countries who work their butts off to learn a language well when other individuals hardly try. This obviously doesn't apply to anyone here... but in certain areas you can pretty much get away with not knowing any English at all so there is really no incentive to learn. I guess this worries some people because they're afraid that one day they will not be able to find work or get by simply with knowing English only. This has been an issue in Europe for a long time, where many people are fluent in 2-3 or more languages, but it is a new concept here that some people aren't used to I suppose. I know for a fact that in Miami most jobs require you to be bilingual to even apply... and some jobs require Spanish, but English is optional. I could find work okay because I know a bit of Spanish and people usually assume I speak it wonderfully because of my name, but my boyfriend would never be able to find work. LOL

So I guess my point I am trying to make is that with stuff like this there is a lot of gray matter and points of view that are usually not intending to be malicious in anyway. Unfortunately there are blatantly racist or even unknowingly racist people who just aren't exposed to the issues from both sides. I think this is why cultural training and diversity is becoming so important in the health professions.

 

[PharmacyNut]

A foreign-born candidate should be held to the same standards as a native-born candidate. I rest my case. If you made it this far, that is no question.

Note: I'm the child of immigrant parents from Armenia.

 

[pharmRxn]

LOL I was going to comment earlier that I agreed with you about the slippery slope because there was a thread like this a while back that the moderator actually locked because the discussion got so offensive.

I don't think either one of you conducted yourself in a derogatory way so I guess that's why it is left open.

These types of issues are pretty delicate so it is hard to have a discussion that doesn't become emotionally charged.

I totally agree with your comment above. I think on one hand... we defend ourselves because there are truly intolerant people in this world, but on the other hand sometimes there are legitimate concerns, and maybe they just come out the wrong way or something?

My family is Spanish/Portuguese/and Italian, so even though I am a native speaker, I have many relatives who struggled with English as a second language. I also grew up in a very internationally diverse part of the country (my school is in the top 5 most diverse colleges in US News). The only issue that I have when it comes to language is that it seems sort of insulting to people from other countries who work their butts off to learn a language well when other individuals hardly try. This obviously doesn't apply to anyone here... but in certain areas you can pretty much get away with not knowing any English at all so there is really no incentive to learn. I guess this worries some people because they're afraid that one day they will not be able to find work or get by simply with knowing English only. This has been an issue in Europe for a long time, where many people are fluent in 2-3 or more languages, but it is a new concept here that some people aren't used to I suppose. I know for a fact that in Miami most jobs require you to be bilingual to even apply... and some jobs require Spanish, but English is optional. I could find work okay because I know a bit of Spanish and people usually assume I speak it wonderfully because of my name, but my boyfriend would never be able to find work. LOL

So I guess my point I am trying to make is that with stuff like this there is a lot of gray matter and points of view that are usually not intending to be malicious in anyway. Unfortunately there are blatantly racist or even unknowingly racist people who just aren't exposed to the issues from both sides. I think this is why cultural training and diversity is becoming so important in the health professions.

now i am concerned about the females in the profession. the last time i checked, females are better than males in the English language and males are better in math and science. i think it will balance out.

 

[docss26]

now i am concerned about the females in the profession. the last time i checked, females are better than males in the English language and males are better in math and science. i think it will balance out.

lol rule one, don't generalize.

 

[Tinkerbell22]

now i am concerned about the females in the profession. the last time i checked, females are better than males in the English language and males are better in math and science. i think it will balance out.

I actually do much better in math and science than I do in verbal and written communications. I always thought it might be in my head because I had to try so much harder to write papers in my writing intensive courses than I did to study a calculus or biology textbook and take an exam. But then I took the PCAT and scored in the 90's on biology, chemistry, and reading, and in the 80's on the verbal. I think it just depends on the person.

 

[yappy]

I have never had a pharmacy interview; however, it doesnt seem like it will be much different from a regular job interview. Just think about some answers to common questions you know they will ask. This is not a technical interview. Its about why you want to be a pharmacist. Your goal is to make them believe in you and hopefully persuade them to admit you. Can you get someone excited about your goals? if so you're halfway there.

 

[Moni526]

I kind of feel like the point of an interview is to see what kind of PERSON you are, and not necessarily what kind of STUDENT you are. They have your files to see what kind of student you are...

 

[docss26]

I kind of feel like the point of an interview is to see what kind of PERSON you are, and not necessarily what kind of STUDENT you are. They have your files to see what kind of student you are...

This is true! I have interviewed with people that look excellent on paper, but in person they were hardly sociable and lacked the communication skills pharmacists need.