Hardest part of pharmacy school?

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pharmstudent2019

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Currently a pharmacy student... Just curious to see what I should be extra prepared for haha
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The hardest or maybe better to say, most annoying part, was how much busywork there was and all the stuff I had to study that I knew I would never use again. Just unnecessary stress. Too many hoops to jump through.
 
Aside from memorizing things you will never apply in life, prepare to be dealing with and being around various amounts of socially awkward people.
 
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Dealing with the nutty power structure. You pay them and they torture you. I could never reconcile that.

Also, the stress without a support network. If you don't drink or otherwise self medicate yourself, figure something out. I didn't. I just "dealt" with the stress and it almost did me in my P3 year (I also worked 32 hours a week to support myself and my wife...dumb idea in retrospect). Now keep in mind, I literally grew up with crack users for parents...and I consider my time in pharmacy school to be the most traumatic of my life. I used to come home from elementary school and see random dudes laying on the couch, passed out, crack pipe on the table. I actually went into live crack dens to get my car keys after my stepdaddy stole my car for the 40th time. All that **** doesn't even bother me today.

But I sure as **** had nightmares about pharmacy school for a solid 2-3 years after I graduated. But not my bizarre childhood. That's how PTSD that **** can be. I wish I was exaggerating.

It's something pharmacy schools should look at. I'm not alone. A lot of people get overstressed and shut down. I just stopped caring. And I told no less than a dozen classmates and 4 or 5 professors that I just didn't care about school anymore. Nobody thought...oh, hey, maybe this dude is suffering from some crazy anxiety.

Instead, they determined I had behavior problems and force fed me Adderall.



------

tl;dr: Pharmacy school is worse than living in a crack house. If you get stressed out to the point where it affects you, seek help.
 
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I completely agree with WVUPharm2007. The school just does not care about you. You will tell them to their faces what the issues are and the response you will get equates to a " we don't care because it's not good for us." They only think of themselves. There is no communication among departments despite many professors preaching on improving communication skills as it is supposed to be the most important skill when in the profession and these people have zero communication skills. They lecture information faster than you can write at times. They schedule 4 exams in a 7 day span, and expect high averages. If not, just curve it..thanks a lot.

My advice to you is to stop caring about your grades as long as you give it your best shot and you pass or else you will go insane. Also, make sure you have some kind of release such as going to the gym every week, no exceptions.
 
Yeah, what WVU said. My upbringing was a bit traumatic (not as traumatics as WVU), and I also had nightmares about pharmacy school for a good 8 - 10 years after graduating. Just the unrelenting pressure. Classwise....well, nothing by itself was as hard as Organic Chemistry, its just everything together.
 
like others have mentioned, navigating the fiefdoms of academia
 
The hardest part for school, for me at least, is to "wake up and realize what the reality really is"! I was fed all these clinical promises and dreams until I really woke up and realized everything in real-life was not what they told me it would be--and unfortunately, it was a bit late for me at that time (it was toward my graduation). Lucky for me that I worked part-time during school to support my grocery and rent and it was through these channels that I realized the reality of the profession. So please at least work part-time or networking as hard as you can so you can secure a job after graduation. Always have a contingency plan!
Of course like others have said, the stress of tests/hypocritical instructors/coercion to memorize meaningless materials is also in place. I can tell you that it will not get easier, especially after you are licensed and try to make a living, but you'll get better at it...
 
Rockinacoustic said:
On the contrary, school isn't that horrible. Just have an outlet unrelated to pharmacy and your classmates- You'll be pretty miserable if it engulfs you 24x7.
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This. Getting in was the hard part, after that it was pretty chill. I wasn't trying to go for a residency or be on the deans list so I crammed for my tests and enjoyed my days.
 
Medicinal chemistry, hands down. Our administrators and professors are generally friendly and will help you if you were to have troubles. It seems this isn't the case everywhere unfortunately, especially in a healthcare field.
 
Med Chem...probably because our professor could not be understood through his accent. He was a really nice guy though. Overall pharmacy school was pretty easy...hardest part was knowing I'd most likely dislike my profession unless I went pure clinical - fyi that's hard to find without tons of luck and/or residency and a progressive setting
 
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Hardest part IMO is getting used to rotations.

The two hardest things in the world for me are being on time (I'm always 2-3 minutes late, I usually walk thru the door at the time I'm supposed to be there, but the first place I head to is the cafeteria to grab a coffee and a bagel so after that I'm like 10 minutes late.) The other hardest thing for me is dressing up in "professional clothes", I ****ing hate wearing button down shirts, ties, and anything other than jeans.
 
Pharmacy school was boring, that was the hardest thing for me. There were some good classes, but a lot of it was just really not interesting for me. But I got through it, and I have never regretted giving four years of my life to pharmacy school. It got me where I wanted to get, that's what counts. 🙂
 
I didn't mind the actual school part of pharmacy school (sometimes classes were boring, sometimes completely irrelevant but it didn't bother me too much). The worst part of school was getting through some of the IPPEs and APPEs. Not all of them, just the ones that really sucked. I didn't like my retail IPPE because it was basically 3 weeks of cashiering but in retrospect that wasn't so bad because at least I had something to do. Really didn't like the ones where the preceptor was completely uninterested in me and I was just trying to kill 8 hours for however many weeks. Just keep reminding yourself it's only for a limited time period and then it will be over.
 
The hardest part of pharmacy school for me were the student loans....and I was still in better shape than most kids graduating today.
 
For me, it was to maintain the best possible combination of academic achievements and internship experience possible. If one or the other, it would be relatively easy. But keeping a 3.8 GPA while working both a retail and hospital internship made it rough. Waking up at 7, work and study until 11 every night, 7 days a week, 4 years of it. Dating my wife, who was my classmate at the time, did soften the edges when times got tough. But you might not want to date a classmate in case it doesn't work out.

Just like studying hard during K-12, during undergrad, hard work gets you ahead. There are hard classes and easy classes, different ones for different people. But it all boils down to having a sound plan on how to achieve your goals, and then have the conviction to do whatever it takes to follow through.
 
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The hardest part was working a lot of hours while trying to also do well in school. Some days I would work from 7:30 a.m to 12 then drive to school and attend classes from 1 to 5 and then back to the pharmacy from 6 to 9 p.m. The whole experience did toughen me up and I am pretty sure I would not have gotten my current job if I had not worked so much. It paid off at the end.

I must admit I was pretty brainwashed about this clinical pharmacy crap professors kept on telling us. I didn't really figure out until my 3rd year.
 
Dreamer716 said:
How did you guys find time to study?
Click to expand...

Sacrificies and time management. Eg, if there are an hour between lectures, I study instead of chilling, studied while doing the 1 hr daily workout. Ate a quick dinner afterwards, and studied at Barnes and Nobel until they closed at 11PM. Worked the internships every weekend, then studied after work.

Yes, i missed out when other students went to malls, parties, games, vacations, but my future wife stayed with me and did the same. When its time to count the chips, it paid off just like we had planned.
 
Dreamer716 said:
How did you guys find time to study?
Click to expand...

Here's what worked for me:
  • If lectures are recorded, skip them and watch them at double-speed instead.
  • Start studying days to a week before exams.
  • Find a study partner/group that will count on your presence (think of a gym buddy). If you can't explain a concept to them, then you don't know it.
 
xiphoid2010 said:
For me, it was to maintain the best possible combination of academic achievements and internship experience possible. If one or the other, it would be relatively easy. But keeping a 3.8 GPA while working both a retail and hospital internship made it rough. Waking up at 7, work and study until 11 every night, 7 days a week, 4 years of it. Dating my wife, who was my classmate at the time, did soften the edges when times got tough. But you might not want to date a classmate in case it doesn't work out.

Just like studying hard during K-12, during undergrad, hard work gets you ahead. There are hard classes and easy classes, different ones for different people. But it all boils down to having a sound plan on how to achieve your goals, and then have the conviction to do whatever it takes to follow through.
Click to expand...

tl;dr

I'm on adderall bro.
 
D1CE K said:
tl;dr

I'm on adderall bro.
Click to expand...
I'm honestly a bit surprised at all the talks of self medicating and having PTSD from pharmacy school. Pharmacy school might be a bit rough when you are shoot for all A's, but it's not as hard as Med School. One might dream about a midterm or final during school, but certainly shouldn't be having nightmares after graduation.

I happen to remember it, and even the crazy 80 hr/week residency, with fondness, because these were well defined challenges with clear goals, rules and competition. If anything, I saw during my internship how the madness of the walgreens/CVS was stressing out the pharmacists. Compare to that, studying at Barns and Nobel, with a tall cup of delicious coffee, take a break by chatting with my wife to be, was practically cozy.
 
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xiphoid2010 said:
If anything, I saw during my internship how the madness of the walgreens/CVS was stressing out the pharmacists.
Click to expand...

Actually the hardest part is realizing I made a horible career decision. Having worked so many hours I got a chance to experience retail pharmacy that my classmates did not get to experience. I knew I would be a miserable retail pharmacist and I vow never to return.
 
Dreamer716 said:
How did you guys find time to study?
Click to expand...
I was at work every day at 6:30 - worked or went to class until 6:00 pm (and 6:30-3 every other weekend)- studied for an hour or two between classes - beers with buds after work - then a little studying before bed.

I worked 30+ hours a week, had a 4.0 going into my last semester - I really thought pharmacy school was easier than my undegrad - but I learned a lot at work, was one of those who if I went to class, I absorbed everything and didn't need to spend a lot of time studying.
 
Doing unnecessary projects, and cramming last-min-materials by professors...
 
xiphoid2010 said:
I'm honestly a bit surprised at all the talks of self medicating and having PTSD from pharmacy school. Pharmacy school might be a bit rough when you are shoot for all A's, but it's not as hard as Med School. One might dream about a midterm or final during school, but certainly shouldn't be having nightmares after graduation.
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mr I Have No Psychological Problems or Hangups.

As it is, I haven't had a nightmare about pharmacy school for years, but no after hanging out on this thread, I had a nightmare last night about being back in school, in the DORMS no less....in my dream I had decided to go back for my Pharm D. Bleh.....some intense experiences stay with a person throughout their entire life, and pharmacy school is one of those.
 
xiphoid2010 said:
I'm honestly a bit surprised at all the talks of self medicating and having PTSD from pharmacy school. Pharmacy school might be a bit rough when you are shoot for all A's, but it's not as hard as Med School. One might dream about a midterm or final during school, but certainly shouldn't be having nightmares after graduation.

I happen to remember it, and even the crazy 80 hr/week residency, with fondness, because these were well defined challenges with clear goals, rules and competition. If anything, I saw during my internship how the madness of the walgreens/CVS was stressing out the pharmacists. Compare to that, studying at Barns and Nobel, with a tall cup of delicious coffee, take a break by chatting with my wife to be, was practically cozy.
Click to expand...

I really envy you Mr.Have-It-All !!!
Some people, like me, got it rough man!!
 
PharmdA07 said:
I really envy you Mr.Have-It-All !!!
Some people, like me, got it rough man!!
Click to expand...

I probably had it rougher than most of my class. The difference is how challenge of pharmacy school is viewed: for the competitive type, studying/working 80 hr a week isn't a traumatic experience, but a time when we brought our A game and hence a time of fond memories. I get that many people don't enjoy school and the competition, they just wanted to be handed a diploma. But even then, it's a drag and something they like to complain about. But having PTSD like symptoms for years afterwards? That's gota be exaggerating it a bit.
 
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Medicinal Chem and BioPharmacy. Rote learning is just not my thing. Had nightmares worrying about the exams and passing the course. It's all behind me now.
 
I also thought pharmacy school was easier than undergrad. My GPA went up after I started even though I worked 30-40 hours a week most of school.

Hardest part would probably be rotations you don't like and don't learn anything on or being free labor. My first rotation right now is like this and it's giving me a pretty bad impression of the next year. All of my other ones are supposed to be awesome but it's hard to think about those at the moment.
 
xiphoid2010 said:
I probably had it rougher than most of my class. The difference is how challenge of pharmacy school is viewed: for the competitive type, studying/working 80 hr a week isn't a traumatic experience, but a time when we brought our A game and hence a time of fond memories. I get that many people don't enjoy school and the competition, they just wanted to be handed a diploma. But even then, it's a drag and something they like to complain about. But having PTSD like symptoms for years afterwards? That's gota be exaggerating it a bit.
Click to expand...

Like I said, I had nightmares for a few years about being in school. Living under a sense of impending doom for 5 straight years sucks. That and what the school did to me sort of compounds things. The first three years weren't that bad. It was the bull**** and feeling of helplessness of the other 2 that got me. I was depressed, filled with anxiety, and they were generally the worst years of my life. I'm so much better now in the "real world." I can thankfully look back and laugh at it all now that my mind is clear and my stress levels are lower. But at the time, I could have used some Paxil or something.

Also, we all went to different schools. So ymmv.
 
Dreamer716 said:
How did you guys find time to study?
Click to expand...

I don't particularly care about academic achievement since getting As does not translate to future success in life. I did half of these and still maintain a decent GPA. But, if I want to get all As, this is what I'd do.
  • Review the material before you sleep. Every night, 1-1&1/2 hours before I sleep, I review all the material that is going to be covered on any upcoming quiz or exam. Research shows that if you study right before you sleep, you'll have a greater retention rate.
  • Read the books for the class at least 3 times. I read the textbook/s for the class at least 3 times. Each time, I find more important things to highlight or underline. Reading the book just once doesn't store all the information in your long term memory (only some geniuses can do that). When you read the book more than once, you don't risk skimming over anything and you retain important details, whether it's history, English, or Cs, this should be your rule.
  • Know your basics. I can't stress how important it is to have a strong base, or else you fall behind not only in the class, but several classes behind. You might think that those basics aren't that important, but if you know your basics then the difficult topics won't be that bad.
  • Record and transcribe your lectures. I record mostly all the lectures, listen to it as soon as possible, and write down almost everything the professor has said. My logic is that your professor is the one who makes the exams. If you have in writing his or her entire lecture, you now know what he or she stressed, what is important to them, what wording they'll use, and a lot of other hints that one doesn't usually catch during the lecture.
  • Go to class. Try not to skip class. (Reason above^)
  • Practice math problems out of many books. For math classes, don't do problems just out of one book. Do every single problem out of 3-4 books, and ask your TA about any problems you don't understand. Also, don't look at the solution manual too often. Attempt math problems 8+ times, and then if you absolutely have no idea how to do it, check the solutions.
  • Start studying before the semester/quarter begins. In either case you have 1-3 weeks of break. Instead of JUST partying (by the emphasis on just I'm implying to have fun too), study for your classes before they even begin. Get ahead at least half the course outline.
  • Find a place where your most productive studying takes place. For me, it's usually places where other students are studying too. I feel focused to a higher degree when people around me are focused as well. Not everyone is like that. I have a friend you doesn't like studying outside at all, she feels most productive while studying at home. Find your place.
  • Do many sample exams. 5 days before any exam, go online and find as many midterms you can about that subject matter from many universities.
  • Study more than one subject a day. Don't spend the entire day studying one subject. Keep switching every 3-4 hours.
  • Exercise at least 1 hour a day. When you exercise, blood rushes to your brain and you gain a ton of knowledge in your next study session faster than before.
  • Make friends with most of your class. They will be a huge support during study sessions, problem sets, and it's always fun to have friends studying with you.
  • When you're studying, be happy. Genuinely feel thankful and excited that you have the opportunity to gain all that wonderful knowledge from that magnificent book and from that amazing professor. Enjoy every moment that you have to learn something new. You'll truly thrive then.
  • Eat healthy. If you're up till 2 am studying, skip eating a chocolate bar or drinking a red bull. These products will only make you slower in the long run. Eat a fruit, cereal, or something else healthy whenever you have the urge to eat some processed foods to gain back some energy. Also, eat fish. The DHA is great for your brain. Another thing, don't diet. Your brain can't work if it's starving.
  • Desire it. If you really want A's, then no curve in the world can prevent you from getting them. If you desire it enough, it'll take over your mind, body, brain until it'll be all that you think about. And statistics show that successful people think about their goals most of the time.
  • Work hard, but enjoy your college experience too. Unless you're planning on going to Harvard Medical or Law, have some fun every week. Visit the beach, go to the mountains, throw a party.
  • Read the syllabus and visit your prof during office hours to figure out exactly how to get an A: This one was the Secret Sauce for me. Common wisdom is: do all of the reading, go to class, study and you'll get good grades. You'll find that this approach is not optimal for every class. Some classes you should focus mainly on the reading, others you can all but ignore the reading, others still you should put nearly all of your effort into the essays. The prof won't directly tell you this though, the clues will be in the syllabus or freely given to you just by asking. View all of this information as your roadmap from day 1 for each course, don't just mindlessly follow the other steps.
  • Start studying a week before your exams. Start writing your essays a week before they are due: The alternative is the night before like most people. Doing it at a reasonable pace for a week and simply reviewing the night before is far more productive. Also less stressful.
  • Relax
 
Momus said:
I don't particularly care about academic achievement since getting As does not translate to future success in life. I did half of these and still maintain a decent GPA. But, if I want to get all As, this is what I'd do.
  • Review the material before you sleep. Every night, 1-1&1/2 hours before I sleep, I review all the material that is going to be covered on any upcoming quiz or exam. Research shows that if you study right before you sleep, you'll have a greater retention rate.
  • Read the books for the class at least 3 times. I read the textbook/s for the class at least 3 times. Each time, I find more important things to highlight or underline. Reading the book just once doesn't store all the information in your long term memory (only some geniuses can do that). When you read the book more than once, you don't risk skimming over anything and you retain important details, whether it's history, English, or Cs, this should be your rule.
  • Know your basics. I can't stress how important it is to have a strong base, or else you fall behind not only in the class, but several classes behind. You might think that those basics aren't that important, but if you know your basics then the difficult topics won't be that bad.
  • Record and transcribe your lectures. I record mostly all the lectures, listen to it as soon as possible, and write down almost everything the professor has said. My logic is that your professor is the one who makes the exams. If you have in writing his or her entire lecture, you now know what he or she stressed, what is important to them, what wording they'll use, and a lot of other hints that one doesn't usually catch during the lecture.
  • Go to class. Try not to skip class. (Reason above^)
  • Practice math problems out of many books. For math classes, don't do problems just out of one book. Do every single problem out of 3-4 books, and ask your TA about any problems you don't understand. Also, don't look at the solution manual too often. Attempt math problems 8+ times, and then if you absolutely have no idea how to do it, check the solutions.
  • Start studying before the semester/quarter begins. In either case you have 1-3 weeks of break. Instead of JUST partying (by the emphasis on just I'm implying to have fun too), study for your classes before they even begin. Get ahead at least half the course outline.
  • Find a place where your most productive studying takes place. For me, it's usually places where other students are studying too. I feel focused to a higher degree when people around me are focused as well. Not everyone is like that. I have a friend you doesn't like studying outside at all, she feels most productive while studying at home. Find your place.
  • Do many sample exams. 5 days before any exam, go online and find as many midterms you can about that subject matter from many universities.
  • Study more than one subject a day. Don't spend the entire day studying one subject. Keep switching every 3-4 hours.
  • Exercise at least 1 hour a day. When you exercise, blood rushes to your brain and you gain a ton of knowledge in your next study session faster than before.
  • Make friends with most of your class. They will be a huge support during study sessions, problem sets, and it's always fun to have friends studying with you.
  • When you're studying, be happy. Genuinely feel thankful and excited that you have the opportunity to gain all that wonderful knowledge from that magnificent book and from that amazing professor. Enjoy every moment that you have to learn something new. You'll truly thrive then.
  • Eat healthy. If you're up till 2 am studying, skip eating a chocolate bar or drinking a red bull. These products will only make you slower in the long run. Eat a fruit, cereal, or something else healthy whenever you have the urge to eat some processed foods to gain back some energy. Also, eat fish. The DHA is great for your brain. Another thing, don't diet. Your brain can't work if it's starving.
  • Desire it. If you really want A's, then no curve in the world can prevent you from getting them. If you desire it enough, it'll take over your mind, body, brain until it'll be all that you think about. And statistics show that successful people think about their goals most of the time.
  • Work hard, but enjoy your college experience too. Unless you're planning on going to Harvard Medical or Law, have some fun every week. Visit the beach, go to the mountains, throw a party.
  • Read the syllabus and visit your prof during office hours to figure out exactly how to get an A: This one was the Secret Sauce for me. Common wisdom is: do all of the reading, go to class, study and you'll get good grades. You'll find that this approach is not optimal for every class. Some classes you should focus mainly on the reading, others you can all but ignore the reading, others still you should put nearly all of your effort into the essays. The prof won't directly tell you this though, the clues will be in the syllabus or freely given to you just by asking. View all of this information as your roadmap from day 1 for each course, don't just mindlessly follow the other steps.
  • Start studying a week before your exams. Start writing your essays a week before they are due: The alternative is the night before like most people. Doing it at a reasonable pace for a week and simply reviewing the night before is far more productive. Also less stressful.
  • Relax
Click to expand...

The next time I see a pharmacy student asking for ways to study, please feel in your heart that I am going to answer with the exact quote from your writing....word for word.
Thank you very much for your advice.
 
Momus said:
I don't particularly care about academic achievement since getting As does not translate to future success in life. I did half of these and still maintain a decent GPA. But, if I want to get all As, this is what I'd do.
  • Review the material before you sleep. Every night, 1-1&1/2 hours before I sleep, I review all the material that is going to be covered on any upcoming quiz or exam. Research shows that if you study right before you sleep, you'll have a greater retention rate.
  • Read the books for the class at least 3 times. I read the textbook/s for the class at least 3 times. Each time, I find more important things to highlight or underline. Reading the book just once doesn't store all the information in your long term memory (only some geniuses can do that). When you read the book more than once, you don't risk skimming over anything and you retain important details, whether it's history, English, or Cs, this should be your rule.
  • Know your basics. I can't stress how important it is to have a strong base, or else you fall behind not only in the class, but several classes behind. You might think that those basics aren't that important, but if you know your basics then the difficult topics won't be that bad.
  • Record and transcribe your lectures. I record mostly all the lectures, listen to it as soon as possible, and write down almost everything the professor has said. My logic is that your professor is the one who makes the exams. If you have in writing his or her entire lecture, you now know what he or she stressed, what is important to them, what wording they'll use, and a lot of other hints that one doesn't usually catch during the lecture.
  • Go to class. Try not to skip class. (Reason above^)
  • Practice math problems out of many books. For math classes, don't do problems just out of one book. Do every single problem out of 3-4 books, and ask your TA about any problems you don't understand. Also, don't look at the solution manual too often. Attempt math problems 8+ times, and then if you absolutely have no idea how to do it, check the solutions.
  • Start studying before the semester/quarter begins. In either case you have 1-3 weeks of break. Instead of JUST partying (by the emphasis on just I'm implying to have fun too), study for your classes before they even begin. Get ahead at least half the course outline.
  • Find a place where your most productive studying takes place. For me, it's usually places where other students are studying too. I feel focused to a higher degree when people around me are focused as well. Not everyone is like that. I have a friend you doesn't like studying outside at all, she feels most productive while studying at home. Find your place.
  • Do many sample exams. 5 days before any exam, go online and find as many midterms you can about that subject matter from many universities.
  • Study more than one subject a day. Don't spend the entire day studying one subject. Keep switching every 3-4 hours.
  • Exercise at least 1 hour a day. When you exercise, blood rushes to your brain and you gain a ton of knowledge in your next study session faster than before.
  • Make friends with most of your class. They will be a huge support during study sessions, problem sets, and it's always fun to have friends studying with you.
  • When you're studying, be happy. Genuinely feel thankful and excited that you have the opportunity to gain all that wonderful knowledge from that magnificent book and from that amazing professor. Enjoy every moment that you have to learn something new. You'll truly thrive then.
  • Eat healthy. If you're up till 2 am studying, skip eating a chocolate bar or drinking a red bull. These products will only make you slower in the long run. Eat a fruit, cereal, or something else healthy whenever you have the urge to eat some processed foods to gain back some energy. Also, eat fish. The DHA is great for your brain. Another thing, don't diet. Your brain can't work if it's starving.
  • Desire it. If you really want A's, then no curve in the world can prevent you from getting them. If you desire it enough, it'll take over your mind, body, brain until it'll be all that you think about. And statistics show that successful people think about their goals most of the time.
  • Work hard, but enjoy your college experience too. Unless you're planning on going to Harvard Medical or Law, have some fun every week. Visit the beach, go to the mountains, throw a party.
  • Read the syllabus and visit your prof during office hours to figure out exactly how to get an A: This one was the Secret Sauce for me. Common wisdom is: do all of the reading, go to class, study and you'll get good grades. You'll find that this approach is not optimal for every class. Some classes you should focus mainly on the reading, others you can all but ignore the reading, others still you should put nearly all of your effort into the essays. The prof won't directly tell you this though, the clues will be in the syllabus or freely given to you just by asking. View all of this information as your roadmap from day 1 for each course, don't just mindlessly follow the other steps.
  • Start studying a week before your exams. Start writing your essays a week before they are due: The alternative is the night before like most people. Doing it at a reasonable pace for a week and simply reviewing the night before is far more productive. Also less stressful.
  • Relax
Click to expand...
I support most of this. However, studies have shown that memory retention correlates with blood glucose. You DO want to eat healthy most of the time, but I recommend eating candy while studying.

This is based on psych studies where they compared memory tests of groups who had lemonade with different sweeteners first. The evolutionary explanation is that because the fight/flight response increases blood sugar, by having enhanced memory during sympathetic nervous system activity we were better able to recall why our lives were in danger and not do it again.

Also, I used lecture recordings successfully without transcribing them. I found them to be helpful when used to review and revise my notes before each exam, but I made sure to put everything in my own words. That way I could be more concise and make sure I understood the ideas rather than just memorizing phrases about ideas I didn't entirely grasp. However, I had classmates who did it your way successfully, so to each their own.
 
Momus said:
I don't particularly care about academic achievement since getting As does not translate to future success in life. I did half of these and still maintain a decent GPA. But, if I want to get all As, this is what I'd do.
Click to expand...


  • That is excellent advice! Thank you for writing that out.
 
I think what scared me the most was the debt! I had no money for school. Was the first in my family to go to college. And it was a lot to worry about back then cause I had no one fall back on. In long run though I think it taught me the lesson to be smart about money!
 
I found that P1 was the hardest year for me. But I quickly acclimated and found a studying habit that works for me. P2 is when you start taking all the therapeutic class, so make sure you keep up with the work, otherwise, it will pile up real fast. I have some old mediation charts/tables. If you like, just PM me 🙂
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Dealing with the nutty power structure. You pay them and they torture you. I could never reconcile that.

Also, the stress without a support network. If you don't drink or otherwise self medicate yourself, figure something out. I didn't. I just "dealt" with the stress and it almost did me in my P3 year (I also worked 32 hours a week to support myself and my wife...dumb idea in retrospect). Now keep in mind, I literally grew up with crack users for parents...and I consider my time in pharmacy school to be the most traumatic of my life. I used to come home from elementary school and see random dudes laying on the couch, passed out, crack pipe on the table. I actually went into live crack dens to get my car keys after my stepdaddy stole my car for the 40th time. All that **** doesn't even bother me today.

But I sure as **** had nightmares about pharmacy school for a solid 2-3 years after I graduated. But not my bizarre childhood. That's how PTSD that **** can be. I wish I was exaggerating.

It's something pharmacy schools should look at. I'm not alone. A lot of people get overstressed and shut down. I just stopped caring. And I told no less than a dozen classmates and 4 or 5 professors that I just didn't care about school anymore. Nobody thought...oh, hey, maybe this dude is suffering from some crazy anxiety.

Instead, they determined I had behavior problems and force fed me Adderall.



------

tl;dr: Pharmacy school is worse than living in a crack house. If you get stressed out to the point where it affects you, seek help.
Click to expand...
Dang man, Respect ✊
 
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