I've asked about 15 different pharmacies, all privately owned, if I could volunteer or shadow but none of them have said yes. How else am I supposed to get Pharmacy experience and rec from a Pharmacist? I've also tried a few hospitals. Any advice?
-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
Problems with Pharmacy experience
Started by propanenight
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Ask each pharmacist if they know pharmacists who would let you shadow. Utilizing connections is sometimes the easiest way to do things in pharmacy.
Keep trying! LOL.
You say you've tried a few hospitals - Can you expound on that a bit?
A last-ditch effort could be getting your C.PhT certification and license and go at it from that side... but basically, you might need to re-think your strategy and approach to the indys, perhaps... how are you going about it? How're you approaching these people? Are you going in during lulls (if such a thing exists in those pharmacies) or at the peak business hour? Etc...
Rome wasn't built in a day and your career won't be either. Avoid the hallmark trait of this generation and try to have some patience.
You can always try emailing faculty to see if you can volunteer/shadow. Faculty members tend to be involved in some sort of clinic or outreach program which could possibly use your help.
You could go to a local pharmacy association meeting and find out any opportunities from there. Here in Southern California, there are a bunch of *City Name* Pharmacists Associations. They hold events and meetings regularly.
You could go to a local pharmacy association meeting and find out any opportunities from there. Here in Southern California, there are a bunch of *City Name* Pharmacists Associations. They hold events and meetings regularly.
A lot of independent pharmacies in fact do not like to have newbies around them. Really, what they are looking for is a capable, seasoned worker who will stick with them for years. Not a pre-pharmacy student who might be off within a year. This is the hard reality I've learned in several months. But, I think there's still a way such as volunteering in a BIG pharmacy like in the hospital. You should definitely utilize your connection. I went to a pre-pharmacy club at my school and that's how got the volunteering spot back when I was in school. Without that connection, I wouldn't have been able to vonlunteer there. Ask around other pre-pharm people as you will find a lot of new connections and opportunities. Best of luck!
We've got the same thing here. Your state should have some kind of Pharmacy Association with chapters on a local level. It's definitely a great chance to meet people and mention that you're looking for someone to shadow.
