Do you have to give oral presentations in pharmacy school?

[Ailiniel]

What is pharmacy school like? Do you have to give oral presentations and how often.

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[EBT12]

This is a skill you should become very comfortable with - giving presentations in class will make you more comfortable with giving presentations to physician, on rounds, etc. later on.

 

[rxlea]

Yes

 

[crazybob]

What is pharmacy school like? Do you have to give oral presentations and how often.

Yes. As often as you volunteer to do before rotations, then it's required.

That speech class I took which was a pre-req helped me quite a bit.

 

[Corpseman]

Sometimes you even have to act like an ass in front of class.

 

[MrsAppleseed]

I can't speak for all schools, but I can comfortably say that you will have to give a few presentations. It isn't a once weekly occurrence or anything, but it happens. There are many schools that require a large, lengthy presentation regarding some topic at some point during classes. Presentation skills are just one of the many things pharmacy schools want to teach you before you have to make them on the regular during rotations.

 

[Pharmgrlnxdor]

Oral presentations were a part of nearly every single class I have had in pharmacy school. With an average of 5-6 classes per semester with 6 semesters worth of classes I figure I will have given nearly 30 oral presentations or more by the time I am done with my P3 year come April of 2013.

 

[bacillus1]

Many schools have some type of a "capstone project" where they have to give a long presentation. In addition to that, almost every rotation I had had me do at least one oral presentation, anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes long. In addition, as part of my residency I have to do an hourlong CE, and I will be teaching a didactic lecture, along with a presentation for almost every rotation once again. If you want to be a pharmacist, presentation skills are a must (after all, in almost all settings you'll be presenting information to people, be it patients or other healthcare providers).

 

[joetrisman]

Many schools have some type of a "capstone project" where they have to give a long presentation. In addition to that, almost every rotation I had had me do at least one oral presentation, anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes long. In addition, as part of my residency I have to do an hourlong CE, and I will be teaching a didactic lecture, along with a presentation for almost every rotation once again. If you want to be a pharmacist, presentation skills are a must (after all, in almost all settings you'll be presenting information to people, be it patients or other healthcare providers).

Harrowing

 

[IndustryPharmD]

Most schools require at least some presentations during class, and definitely during most rotations.

Besides, talking to people IS what most jobs in pharmacy field entail. If you cannot do it, your job options are going to be extremely limited.

 

[rxlea]

Sometimes you even have to act like an ass in front of class.

Lulz that's only at our school that you may literally have to act like an ass (although it would be difficult to act out the non-donkey version of ass). I hated improv so ooooo much first year until I had to pretend to be a dominatrix and whip my classmate on his ass and drag him across the floor. I was popular for a whole week over that.

 

[Sugoi Travis]

Sweet; I love giving presentations!

 

[smercer]

WTH....I thought I just had to count pills and read crappy handwriting.



Seriously though, not only do you need to be able to do presentations, but you must also be good at researching topics and writing logically about them. Here every month 1-2 pharmacists have to write up a section about pharmacy related topics for the pharmacy newsletter. Of course I am sure this is not something you will deal with if you go retail.

 

[dancingallday]

Yes, there will be oral presentations required, so the sooner you get over the fear of doing them, the better off you'll be. Being able to communicate well is very important for a pharmacist, that's the whole idea behind presenting.

Think about it, though: EVERYONE in your class will have to give presentations. You're all in the same boat. So when it comes to doing in-class presentations, you at least have a sympathetic audience!

 

[max xam]

Were they really long presentations, like 5-10 minutes? Or are they like introductory presentations which are short? I have a big fear of public speaking but can communicate really well when I'm talking to someone 1 on 1. Will you fail Pharmacy school if you fail to do a presentation or do bad on a presentation?

 

[EBT12]

Were they really long presentations, like 5-10 minutes? Or are they like introductory presentations which are short? I have a big fear of public speaking but can communicate really well when I'm talking to someone 1 on 1. Will you fail Pharmacy school if you fail to do a presentation or do bad on a presentation?

During school, I routinely had to give presentations that were 30+ minutes in length. Some of the presentations were called journal clubs, where you evaluate specific literature and provide a critique. It was not uncommon to receive challenging questions from faculty members or peers that required you to think through information in front of the audience and provide an answer.

At the school I attended, if you did not complete an assignment of that nature, you would fail the course. You cannot progress (ex. P1 to P2 year) until you remediate the course, which may involve taking the class again that summer or repeating the ENTIRE year (including everything you passed), particularly if you are having issues in more than one class. Doing poorly on a presentation is different; however, there were still minimum standards. Other people will also have a fear of public speaking, but it is expected that you get over it in school. You are obtaining a doctorate level degree - you should be able to effectively communicate before you are done.

 

[dancingallday]

Were they really long presentations, like 5-10 minutes? Or are they like introductory presentations which are short? I have a big fear of public speaking but can communicate really well when I'm talking to someone 1 on 1. Will you fail Pharmacy school if you fail to do a presentation or do bad on a presentation?

5-10 minutes IS a "short" presentation! 😀 30 minutes to an hour would be considered "long".

Do NOT over think this or let it freak you out. You are most definitely not going to be the only one in your class who has phobia of public speaking. From my experience as well as the experiences posted here, it seems that presentations are basically guaranteed in pharmacy school, so you will just need to find a way to handle it. In past public speaking courses, I have practiced in front of a small group of classmates, who then gave me feedback. I've found this to be a confidence-builder before I had to get up in front of the whole entire class.

 

[joetrisman]

Most schools require at least some presentations during class, and definitely during most rotations.

Besides, talking to people IS what most jobs in pharmacy field entail. If you cannot do it, your job options are going to be extremely limited.

To reiterate on this, you really do have to communicate a lot to be successful in pharmacy. I'm an introvert by nature and its been hard to adjust. You have to believe in the process and not try to fight it. In the end, you'll be giving presentations without batting an eye

 

[Sparda29]

Yes, and you will have to present your patients to the medical team every day on rounds.

 

[joetrisman]

Yes, and you will have to present your patients to the medical team every day on rounds.

I never did on my ICU rotation