Help your friend cheburashka choose a right volunteer experience

[UES Girl]

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I'd like to hear everyone's honest opinion without any sugar coating. Eelo or Farmercyst if you have time, please write down what you think.

I'm going to be applying this summer mid -july or possibly early august. I already have all the typical teaching/tutoring/pharm club and health field volunteering finished. The two weak points of my application are:

- pharm experience ( I have it but I am not sure if I can put it down because the pharmacy I worked at 😕 illegaly fired me due to special circumstances - read pharmacy thread if you want to find out why 😎)

- wholesome leadership type volunteer experience . I have a bit but not too much.


This summer I am going to be taking a couple of my last pre-reqs : statistics and macroeconomics. Nothing hard - 1 class every month and a half. However, I only have time to fully comitt to one other activity - I can either volunteer in a pharmacy full time ( nearly 40 hrs a week - which is what a pharmacy I'd like to volunteer at wants.) Or I can be a mentor to people from underprivilidged backgrounds. Besides being a mentor - I'd be working with them closely all summer and also teaching basic science to them - basic math, bio, chemistry. This program requires also a serious commitment - 30-35 hrs a week.

I don't think I can do all three things together as this year has been really incredibly hard for me and I am exhausted. Personally I am leaning much much more towards mentoring because I myself you can say came from underprivilidged/poor background and I know exactly the obstacles/harshidships people in that environment face. Also I already had a taste of what it's like working in a retail pharmacy and do not think working at another one will be much different. I am just not sure if I can put that pharmacy experience on my application because I got illegaly fired.

I'm going to be applying to 15 + schools if that matters but my top choice will only be schools in CA.

Which activity do you think I should commit too ? I have to make my decision by the end of the weekend.

 

[Weekender]

Although your reasons for wanting to tutor underprivilaged children are compelling, I think if you can't use your earlier pharmacy experience then you really should beef that portion of your application up. I say go for the volunteer work at the pharmacy...I'm pretty sure you would have thought of this but can't you just volunteer or work at some other pharmacy for less hours?? I know lots of ppl who put in minimal work hours at the pharmacy...

 

[DoctorRx1986]

Hey, how are you? Honestly, I think you should simply participate in the extracurricular activity/volunteering activity that you genuinely would enjoy participating in and feel you would make a difference not only for your own application but for the community as well. Considering you claim to have experience working in a retail pharmacy, perhaps you could try something else such as the activity you suggested, teaching the underprivileged biology and chemistry. The decision is up to you, but allow me to make a suggestion...Pharmacy school admissions committees, as well as any other professional schools, like to admit well rounded applicants who have engaged in a variety of extracurricular/community service activities. You already have retail experience under your belt, so why not try something different to spice up your application? Demonstrating participation in more than one field will enhance your application and may teach you some new things or idea about the world around you. So, there you go...something to consider. 👍

 

[Achilleus]

go with whichever one you want to do most. there is obviously a pretty big difference between the two. take a look at what your motives are as well. do you want to do these things to make ur self look better on paper? or do you really and truly want to help people? i'm not trying to sound rude or anything by stating the latter and the former but in establishing your motives first, you will have a clearer picture of which one is right for you. all i have to say is that my friend works with underpriveledged children, teaching english, in San Fran. It's not an easy job and can get extremely frustrating being that these kids are the most behaved and motivated students, many of them coming from a background of violence and poverty. If you decide to go this route... please know what you're getting yourself into becasue too many volunteer tutors/teachers give up on these kids.

Edit: Oh and just to let you know... I got into 3 schools without an ounce of pharmacy experience. It helps but its not critical!!! So don't think a good amount of pharmacy experience is mandatory for getting in. However, it does help and it's something you can use during your interview

 

[chibipinkbunny]

Wow, I read your thread about the whole needle poke thing, and I was very appalled. Here's the website for the California Board of Pharmacy: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/consumers/complaint_info.shtml You really should report this! They take complaints very seriously, and usually follow up on them. I don't know much about workman's comp, but yeah I suppose there are other things you can do. I think you should take it to your local newspaper. When my mom was in her early 20's, this old woman ran into her car in the parking lot. They exchanged information, and then later on the old woman tried to say that my mom ran into her! Then my mom said she would smear her name all over the newspaper, and that it was horrible that an old lady would take advantage of her. The old lady gave in after that ^_^' Anyway, that's horrible that the old lady changed her story.

About the experience you should obtain during summer. Honestly I didn't have any pharmacy experience before I applied. If I'm not mistaken, a good deal of the P1's at UCSF did not have any pharmacy experience prior to starting pharmacy school. I'm working in retail now, and there's a limited amount of stuff you can learn as a tech. I'm working one day a week for eight hours. Is that possible for you? Working in a pharmacy is only relevant if you can explain how it has impacted your views of health care, and patient care. Lol, when I didn't get the pharmacy shadowing position at UC Berkeley my mom laughed and said that maybe it was best. She joked that after seeing and experiencing the boredom of a tech, I may not have wanted to be a pharmacist anymore 😛 Anyway, be sure to emphasize how you would like change in the health care field. The ideal situation would be to go with the leadership experience, and work/shadow once a week in the pharmacy. By teaching these children, what will you be learning yourself? I taught ballet for several years to children, and there was sooooo much that I learned. I learned about how to deal with cultural differences, learning disabilities, discipline, and emotional problems. I emphasized this on my application. Surprising enough, one of the adcoms had remembered me as the girl who taught ballet 😛 If I were you I would probably spend more time doing the tutoring. You could apply to be a pharmacy clerk at a Walgreens, Longs, etc. That way you might be able to get in a few hours a week. I'm not sure why the pharmacy that you want to volunteer at wants you to commit to a full 40 hours a week. Since you're a volunteer they should be happy with anything they get 😛 Hope this helped some! Good luck to you in all your future endeavors. I know you've had it rough for the past couple of months 🙁

 

[Happy Hounds]

What about doing the mentor thing and working as a CPhT for 10 hrs per week?

 

[tharper14]

Sounds like you'll have an awful lot of time on your hands with only two classes. I would get a job as a pharm tech... that was going to be my plan if I didn't get in. You can work part time and do whatever ec you would like to do... I don't think it matters what you do. The important thing is to be able to learn something from the experience and communicate that to the adcoms. I'm still volunteering at a pharmacy even after I've been accepted because (1) I love it and (2) I learn something everytime I go there. The pharmacists all knew I was applying to pharm school and they would teach me something about some kind of med everytime I came in. And now, well they are teaching me even more! I know you said you volunteered in a retail pharmacy... what about a hospital pharmacy? I'm sure SF has some huge hospitals that have some specialized pharmacy departments. I think labrat said he got pharm experience in the infectious diseases department of a hospital pharmacy... how awesome is that! Just an idea...

Whatever ec you plan on doing, just make sure you're passionate about it. My husband is in the military so it was easy for me to choose an ec... helping military families. It was something that I did because it was important to me... I didn't care that it was something that would impress the adcoms. I would have done it regardless of whether I was applying to pharm school or not and I still do. So if helping underprivledged people is something that is important to you then go for it. Just don't burn yourself out. 30-35 hrs a week is way too much of a commitment. Hell, I don't give more than 10 hrs a week to volunteering and ec's.

Hope this helps.

 

[Farmercyst]

Many different ways to go about it. I personally would enjoy the tutoring, but that's just me. I got in with 0 pharmacy experience, so it's not an absolute must.
Having said that, given that you had a pharmacy job, and now you don't, it may be good to get back in just to show you're willing to hop right back into the fire, even under adversity. If this incident makes it to your personal statement (I haven't decided the benefits/drawbacks of that one yet) I'd be willing to bet they'll want more details at interview time. I know I would. Showing that you hopped right back into pharmacy would show resilience if nothing else.
Another possibility: Are you involved in any honor societies? Do they do service? If so, find a service project that you'd be interested in, do that. Show's you're a scholar an you're involved.
Or come up with your own, organize it, and implement it. Then you get leadership points to boot.

(I do agree about reporting the incident to the BOP and following up on it. That's just as real-life as "would you turn your friend in for cheating" or any other moral/eithical question you could be asked at an interview. Makes that question a gimme.)

 

[kemist]

Even if you tutor starving kids with leprosy, UCSF will not accept you. Arrogance is hurting your application, not grades or volunteer experience.

 

[azPharmD2B]

However, I only have time to fully comitt to one other activity - I can either volunteer in a pharmacy full time ( nearly 40 hrs a week - which is what a pharmacy I'd like to volunteer at wants.)

Volunteer 40 hours a week? Are you joking? That's not volunterring that is slavery, lol. Every hospital around my area will let people volunteer in as little as 4 hour incriments. Who cares what they want. You're volunteering, they should be thankful you're helping, not making demands of you. Tell them you can do 4 hours 2 days a week and that's it.

 

[UES Girl]

Everyone except for Kemist thank you for your feedback. I have decided to comitt to the mentoring but maybe find another pharmacy that would let me volunteer 3-4 hours on the weekend. The pharmacy I want to vlunteer at is really nice, middle of downtown SF but they are super busy that's why they wanted a nearly full-time commitment. Thanks for your feedback though- it really helped.👍👍👍

😍

 

[trailrider400]

hey! On one hand I think you should do what your passionate about. But if you don't have a positive pharmacy experience you can list on your app you should focus on that. Volunteering at a pharmacy is great because you are killing two birds with one stone. You are getting volunteer hours which they love and pharmacy experience which is almost a must unless your application is really great. Not to mention in my case I get away with 3 or 4 hours a week volunteering which isn't bad and you'd be surprise how much they appreciate your help. Try to do both. If not its ultimately up to you. Decide how strong you think your application is. But like you said some more pharmacy experience wouldn't hurt.

 

[mrblah]

Definitely do something you are compassionate about, and make sure you can convey to the interview panel what you learned about yourself, and why you think that experience will make you a successful pharmacist. As long as you can do that, you can choose any EC you like.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

I'll help you by proofreading your PS if need be.

 

[PharmDstudent]

I'll help you by proofreading your PS if need be.

Cheb, I'll help too if you need it.

I would do the mentoring thing without a doubt.
I think your previous pharmacy experience should be enough. You could volunteer a few hours on the weekends to show that you're still keeping up within the pharmacy community.

If you haven't contacted the Board of Pharmacy about what happened at your last job, I would do so ASAP.
In pharmacy, as you know, there are laws to follow and ethical standards that pharmacists need to comply with. When the Board of Pharmacy gets a complaint like what happened at your last job, they will investigate. You may be part of something bigger when it's all said and done, but that will show your commitment to the profession, your compassion towards other people who may be confronted with a similar situation in the future, and your capacity to deal with difficult situations that need to be resolved.

Good Luck!

 

[medicalCPA]

Cheburashka,
I liked your old avatar better.

 

[UES Girl]

Cheb, I'll help too if you need it.

I would do the mentoring thing without a doubt.
I think your previous pharmacy experience should be enough. You could volunteer a few hours on the weekends to show that you're still keeping up within the pharmacy community.

If you haven't contacted the Board of Pharmacy about what happened at your last job, I would do so ASAP.
In pharmacy, as you know, there are laws to follow and ethical standards that pharmacists need to comply with. When the Board of Pharmacy gets a complaint like what happened at your last job, they will investigate. You may be part of something bigger when it's all said and done, but that will show your commitment to the profession, your compassion towards other people who may be confronted with a similar situation in the future, and your capacity to deal with difficult situations that need to be resolved.

Good Luck!

PharmDstudent and Expressmail, thank you guys for your offers - I am sooo touched. I think it's very sweet of you to offer - and if you do not mind i'll take you up on this offer in the summer if you'll have time. 😍😍

I am taking care of the pharmacy indident, I called everywhere I needed right after the incident happen thanks to your advice and just received letters and papers I need to fill out. I'm going to fill them out within the next couple days and send them in.

Medicalpa, why do you like my old avatar better ? I look a lot more like Angelina than like Cheburashka.

 

[medicalCPA]

Medicalpa, why do you like my old avatar better ? I look a lot more like Angelina than like Cheburashka.

The old one was cute and cuddly, even though I don't know what Cheburashka is. Also, if flashing sigs gave rXcmoney seizures and erections, I (like you) seriously wonder what your sexy avatar will do to him. I think you changed your avatar just to find out.

 

[miked123]

I think cheburashka is polish vodka that you drink with apple juice

 

[UES Girl]

I think cheburashka is polish vodka that you drink with apple juice

This is who Cheburashka is - a cute cuddly little guy.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=G9ZRcgRm4ds[/youtube]

 

[rxlea]

Bump. LOVE the video

Since everyone was wondering 😉

 

[PharmOl]

Brought back a lot of memories. I cried a little. A lot.

 

[rxlea]

Brought back a lot of memories. I cried a little. A lot.

Awwwwwww 🙂 It really is a cute video. And BTW, I got the thing you sent me in the mail. You realllly didn't have to do that. It was so very sweet of you and it totally made my day!!! Thank you!!! 🙂

 

[Passion4Sci]

Wow, necro!

 

[rxlea]

Wow, necro!

Yeah- but this necro is special.

 

[Project2015]

😍

So that's the story and pronunciation.

 

[PharmOl]

Awwwwwww 🙂 It really is a cute video. And BTW, I got the thing you sent me in the mail. You realllly didn't have to do that. It was so very sweet of you and it totally made my day!!! Thank you!!! 🙂

Ok, let's make this thread even more sappy ; )

 

[ExpressMaiL]

LoL, I didn't see the date of the first post until halfway through the thread. How was your 1st year?

 

[pharm B]

Yeah- but this necro is special.

Sure, that's what they alllll say. 🙄