Plzz Help....Problem solving situation

[getinpharmd]

Hello,
I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for only a month. Pharmacist there is the only one I know who can provide a reference for me. She agreed to do it for me!! The university does not participate in PharmCAS.
It has only 3 questions on the form. She is stuck with one which is below.
Comment on the applicant’s ability to problem-solve (e.g., in life- or work-related situations, not mathematical calculations).
She told me to give her an example ASAP for this, so she can write... I cant remember any problem solving situation in my life...Can you plz give me an example of this situation ...so that I can see if I have done something similar in past..what can be considered problem solving situations? Please Help.

Thank you.

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[LostTexan]

Hello,
I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for only a month. Pharmacist there is the only one I know who can provide a reference for me. She agreed to do it for me!! The university does not participate in PharmCAS.
It has only 3 questions on the form. She is stuck with one which is below.
Comment on the applicant’s ability to problem-solve (e.g., in life- or work-related situations, not mathematical calculations).
She told me to give her an example ASAP for this, so she can write... I cant remember any problem solving situation in my life...Can you plz give me an example of this situation ...so that I can see if I have done something similar in past..what can be considered problem solving situations? Please Help.

Thank you.

Have you held any leadership roles in the community? If so, you've probably had something 'go wrong' that you had to help fix.

Also, what about problems that you have in the pharmacy? (Ex.. insurance problems like prior authorizations or drugs not being covered. This is an everyday problem that you've probably experienced. You can discuss how you fix the problem by proactively calling the insurance agency or seeing if a similar drug is covered. You can discuss your communication skills with the patient as well. This option is probably weak but if you're desperate you could try it.

I think it will be a stronger letter if you can use a situation that you had to resolve while you were in a leadership capacity or other volunteer situation.

 

[WhiteSnows]

Have you every had any conflict in your life? Your parents? insurance company? phone bill? girlfriend? workplace? Pick the one that will benefit you the most. Like you used to have a problem with your boss, how did you solve for it?

 

[HaleyRX]

Have you taken large semester loads at school and had to develop excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills? Just sit down with a piece of paper and think about the toughest, most challenging times of your life and you're bound to find something.
One of the pharmacists I work with told me she thinks my ability to "think on my feet" and handle problem situations is good because of the way I deal with upset guests and quickly resolve problem situations in the pharmacy (i.e, "we don't have enough, but I will make sure we can loan you some since you are out" or "we're out of stock but I called the pharmacy down the road")
Certainly you have had some type of problem solving experiences..even from outside jobs..

 

[ValeRx]

Wow... just wow. This question is obviously going to be a major problem for you. Why? Because your problem solving abilities are in question. As stated above, it's a situation in which you step back, examine the problem, contemplate various plans of action, analyze those plans, select the plan which you believe is the best, carry out the plan. The ability to problem solve is something you need individually. You won't always have someone to give you your answers.

Why don't you tell your pharmacist that this in itself was a problem-solving situation and your solution was to come on SDN and ask other people what an example of a situation of problem-solving and analytical thinking might be.

 

[calisoca]

Go with something like:

"Well first I isolate the variables and get X on one side of the equation while always using 'Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally'. Then I combine like-terms. Then I Solve for X, and if dividing or multiplying by a negative number, I flip the inequalities sign."

 

[calisoca]

Why don't you tell your pharmacist that this in itself was a problem-solving situation and your solution was to come on SDN and ask other people what an example of a situation of problem-solving and analytical thinking might be.

Hahaha.

+5

 

[triumphbr]

Hello,
I have been volunteering at a pharmacy for only a month. Pharmacist there is the only one I know who can provide a reference for me. She agreed to do it for me!! The university does not participate in PharmCAS.
It has only 3 questions on the form. She is stuck with one which is below.
Comment on the applicant’s ability to problem-solve (e.g., in life- or work-related situations, not mathematical calculations).
She told me to give her an example ASAP for this, so she can write... I cant remember any problem solving situation in my life...Can you plz give me an example of this situation ...so that I can see if I have done something similar in past..what can be considered problem solving situations? Please Help.

Thank you.

Maybe you could refer her to this post... It is a problem.... and this seems to be an example of how you are handling it.

Problem solved.... maybe not the best example to use though.

just sit down and think... hell maybe you had a flat tire and no jack to get the wheel off the ground with or something. Stop trying to think of something spectacular and just think of a problem you solved and explain your thinking behind the solution you came up with.

... and I would avoid "I got online and asked what to do on a forum." as an answer.