Current PharmD Student, Need Academic Advice

[GPharm19]

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Ok, I really need some advice and help from current students. I've been on SDN for the past 3 years, taking in all the stories and highs/lows of trying to apply to pharmacy school. I spent so much money on pre-req coursework after getting a Bachelors in history, but I'd worked in a pharmacy since my senior year in high school. This past year, I took my PCAT, spent over $1k on applications and I finally got in. I didn't get in my top choice, but I didn't want to try again next year, when I got accepted into another school.

So here I am. I just finished my first semester. And I'm literally dying and barely keeing my head above water. I was so confident going in, but I had the hardest time making good grades that I even thought I should quit, b/c maybe I wasn't cut out for this. Luckily I didn't fail any courses, but I made all C's. Just barely(70 is a C, and my final grades were 70, 72, etc.). I think my GPA is around a 2.4.

I have 2 concerns right now. One, I want to do a residency. I thought about running for some positions in clubs to increase my chances, but now Im realizing that if I have low grades on my transcript, all the positions in the world won't matter. I didn't do any clubs this semester, well I did pledge a fraternity, but the only thing that kept me busy with that was the rush period. However, I feel that if I can't handle the coursework with no clubs at all, it is NOT a good idea to even think about joining anything until I get my GPA up. Second concern, what kind of pharmacist could I be, taking care of patients in a residency program or giving medical advice in a retail setting, if Im not grasping and retaining the imperative info needed in the classroom? This is my biggest concern. I want to be a knowledgeable pharmacist. The only thing I aced really this semester were the top 200 tests. ONly b/c I've worked as a pharm tech for years.

I need to know what I can do to study better when school starts back up next week for the spring. I've tried doing study groups and studying on my own. The study groups weren't very beneficial b/c I was either in a group where I surpassed the subjects they were covering or I was in a group where I was behind and they surpassed me in what they were going over(Like they were on step 5, and Im struggling to understand step 1). Studying on my own wasn't very effective. I tried to write out every lecture by hand to help memorize it, but that takes forever. If any of you have been there, can you tell me what study strategy worked for you? If you formed a study group, how did you organize it to be most effective for you and everyone else? Did you make outlines after every lecture, like daily as soon as class was over? did you write out your notes or make an outline on your computer?

Any study Tips will be appreciated! I really need to turn things around before its too late. It's not like undergrad, and I'm in class M-F, 8:30-4:30. It's an entirely different ball game. In undergrad, I used to only be sleep deprived during finals week. But now Im mentally exhausted by the end of each day. I don't want to say what school I go to...just in case any of my classmates are lurking on these forums 🙁

 

[radio frequency]

I had some rough semesters and really do remember feeling this stressed. I don't have a lot of advice, but do your very best to learn the important material you will need to be a safe practitioner, and then also try to memorize the stuff they'll ding you on on tests. I studied all the time it felt like, but did outlines when it was possible.

Things I found out in school: The biggest takeaway I found from school is that it's important to take time for yourself. If you don't yet, I'd highly recommend joining a gym or exercising daily. It's good for your mental health and will make you feel better which will help you do better. I'd avoid those leadership positions even with good grades; they are a time suck and definitively not worth it. I actually found that not going to lectures was more beneficial than going often as it freed up a lot of time and I could study them at home faster (not sure this is even an option where you are). Reviewing with others is sometimes beneficial, but not always. A lot of finding what works for you will be trial and error, and you may have to retool with each professor. It's not easy; mostly due to quantity (and sometimes quality) of material and time constraints...and honestly, much of the material is so incredibly dry and dull.

It's important that you keep caring whether you will be a safe practitioner. Many do not care, and this is their downfall in the working world. Good luck.

 

[tnva92]

I have to say in my case I actually aced all my classes (also a P1 here), but not to be bragging, it involved lots of work. In my opinion, my learning habits since undergrad are still working for me. Technically, I re-wrote all my notes from lectures by hand (typing on computer doesn't work as well for me), did study guides if teachers gave them, worked through previous years exams. I tried to start doing those as soon as I can, everyday for a few hours I must say. I turned down study group invites since I know they are not working for me. Though I have to say I might have to reevaluate that in the future.

Also I agree with the previous post about not going to all of the classes. Unless they gave quizzes everyday, I skipped lots of the classes, especially the morning ones since I'm not a morning person. I tried to sleep more now since they (teachers) kept telling you sleep is important to retain info blah blah. I went through the recorded lecture later, paused and took notes that otherwise I might miss since some teachers went through stuff rather quickly. I knew some people attended all lectures and still rewatched them all later then told me they still didn't do well. Well I don't know whether they just exaggerated it or not.

Besides school, I work as pharmacy intern at Walgreens, never worked there before so I'm still learning the rope which make me stress constantly since I don't know how to solve things (INSURANCE!) quickly with the constant flow of customers and phone calls. I also joined a couple of clubs but is actually involved in only one in which I basically helped organize a blood drive at my school. It didn't take much out of my time I don't think, and I will try to keep it that way in the future. Other that all that, I don't do much of anything else, no hanging out with friend or what not since I just moved to the current city, and I'm not too social. On top of it all I'm just too exhausted to do much else.

My best advice I have for you is to try studying for may be 2-3 hours daily. Spend 1hr on each subject, just going over the lecture. Double your time if needed the week before the exams. Also, try not to think much about the exams themselves, try telling yourself that "you know this stuff, you went over it before," that might help alleviate your stress. I definitely tried that this past semester, otherwise my head will explode from the constant stress.

 

[Twentytwelve2]

It is quite simple. I got it down to a formula.

Start with the first lecture and review it. Then review it again. Then review it a third time. Once you can recall each slide from memory, you can move onto the next lecture.

 

[exiangwsu]

i also did not do well for my first quarter. I have very bad memory and need to review the material constantly. I improved for my final and my grade average is still a C+ or B-. I am also going through some self-doubt about the school right now.

 

[pms_testosterone]

- Read the lectures several times.
- Invent patient cases then try to answer them. You will remember the material if you have to recall it and use it in different contexts.
- Flashcards (but they're very time-intensive, so only use them for key material).

 

[CMUchicka]

i also did not do well for my first quarter. I have very bad memory and need to review the material constantly. I improved for my final and my grade average is still a C+ or B-. I am also going through some self-doubt about the school right now.

Aren't you going to 4 year school? I had same issue in my first quarter but i feel like its because i am in 3 year program and things are super fast. I am still exploring different studying methods. I must say though i only have issue with classes where they require hard core memorizing ( i.e,. immunology), i have done quite well in others ( i.e.pharmaceutics, other drug related classes)

 

[GPharm19]

- Read the lectures several times.
- Invent patient cases then try to answer them. You will remember the material if you have to recall it and use it in different contexts.
- Flashcards (but they're very time-intensive, so only use them for key material).

Thank you!! I love that idea of creating patient cases. That might help me remember symptoms . I did attempt notecards, but there was so much material, it got so overwhelming(like our lectures are 150-200 slides each each day). However, I like the idea of narrowing it down to only key material, and not everything. I'm going to try these tips out

 

[GPharm19]

Also I agree with the previous post about not going to all of the classes. Unless they gave quizzes everyday, I skipped lots of the classes, especially the morning ones since I'm not a morning person. I tried to sleep more now since they (teachers) kept telling you sleep is important to retain info blah blah. I went through the recorded lecture later, paused and took notes that otherwise I might miss since some teachers went through stuff rather quickly. I knew some people attended all lectures and still rewatched them all later then told me they still didn't do well. Well I don't know whether they just exaggerated it or not.

Besides school, I work as pharmacy intern at Walgreens, never worked there before so I'm still learning the rope which make me stress constantly since I don't know how to solve things (INSURANCE!) quickly with the constant flow of customers and phone calls. I also joined a couple of clubs but is actually involved in only one in which I basically helped organize a blood drive at my school. It didn't take much out of my time I don't think, and I will try to keep it that way in the future. Other that all that, I don't do much of anything else, no hanging out with friend or what not since I just moved to the current city, and I'm not too social. On top of it all I'm just too exhausted to do much else.

My best advice I have for you is to try studying for may be 2-3 hours daily. Spend 1hr on each subject, just going over the lecture. Double your time if needed the week before the exams. Also, try not to think much about the exams themselves, try telling yourself that "you know this stuff, you went over it before," that might help alleviate your stress. I definitely tried that this past semester, otherwise my head will explode from the constant stress.

Thanks! Im not too social either. Im hours away from home in a new city as well. And its hard to be that way in pharmacy because they're always pushing you to either join clubs, do community activities, and go to all the pharmacy conferences. That is my new plan, I'm going to try to spend an hour on each subject daily.

As far as not going to class, I'm still kind of iffy about that. Sometimes I think it would be good and give me more time to study, but I think some of our teachers have gotten hip to people skipping and will give short pop quizzes or extra credit on the fly just for being in class. I think this actually helped me get to a C in one of my classes honestly. And also, sometimes they'll tell us slides we don't need to know for the exam, and tell us what type of questions to expect (on the exam) as they're lecturing. This has also saved me at times. And I even had one professor who would post a lecture, but when he lectured in class, he would add an extra slide or two for us to know, which he would never post online(obviously done at the detriment of those who didn't show up). So since I struggle, I think it would be worse not getting those extra bonuses by showing up. Thanks for the advice!

 

[GPharm19]

I had some rough semesters and really do remember feeling this stressed. I don't have a lot of advice, but do your very best to learn the important material you will need to be a safe practitioner, and then also try to memorize the stuff they'll ding you on on tests. I studied all the time it felt like, but did outlines when it was possible.

Things I found out in school: The biggest takeaway I found from school is that it's important to take time for yourself. If you don't yet, I'd highly recommend joining a gym or exercising daily. It's good for your mental health and will make you feel better which will help you do better. I'd avoid those leadership positions even with good grades; they are a time suck and definitively not worth it. I actually found that not going to lectures was more beneficial than going often as it freed up a lot of time and I could study them at home faster (not sure this is even an option where you are). Reviewing with others is sometimes beneficial, but not always. A lot of finding what works for you will be trial and error, and you may have to retool with each professor. It's not easy; mostly due to quantity (and sometimes quality) of material and time constraints...and honestly, much of the material is so incredibly dry and dull.

It's important that you keep caring whether you will be a safe practitioner. Many do not care, and this is their downfall in the working world. Good luck.

Its really hard to even think about taking time for yourself. I actually just joined a gym, right after classes ended for break. So Im going to see if that helps me mentally. I can also prob bring my notes, so I don't feel like Im wasting time. And I want to be a safe practitioner, and thats why I care about just getting by or just having a passing grade. I've had the advantage of working with some great and smart pharmacists that knew their stuff as if they were MDs. I don't want to be anything short of that, so I know I need to do better. It's definitely a trial and error, so I'm going to try to fine tune my study habits with the advice the other posters here just gave me. Thanks!

 

[GPharm19]

i also did not do well for my first quarter. I have very bad memory and need to review the material constantly. I improved for my final and my grade average is still a C+ or B-. I am also going through some self-doubt about the school right now.

I feel your pain 🙁. I think we need to have an anonymous support group for people like us for encouragement and study tips =)

 

[yungnaira]

I ended up going to the gym as well. It was good stress relief.