Public Speaking in Pharmacy School

[Softpinkrose]

I'm deciding whether to make a career switch to pharmacy, and was wondering if you guys could give me some advice...

For a long time, I've been fascinated by the subject of pharmacy and would love to have a career in this field. However, the main factor that has kept me away from pharmacy school is the public speaking part. I'm shy, not particularly good at communicating, and get really anxious when I have to make speeches/presentations. I know how important communication skills are as a pharmacist, and I do know that these skills can be learned/improved over time. However, I just don't know how MUCH of a challenge it would be during pharmacy school. All the studying would be stressful enough, and on top of that I would have to go against my natural abilities/face my fears everyday...

I know that pharmacy school has discussions, presentations, oral exams, etc. My question is: how much of this "public speaking" is emphasized in the curriculum and in class grades? For some reason, I can imagine myself communicating okay and doing fine as a future pharmacist. It's just the "forced" classroom structure/requirements/ grading that really stresses me out. Also, I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem, whether it became an issue during pharm school, how you dealt with & overcame it, etc.

I'd be interested in hearing your opinions about going for this career that I'm really interested in, even though I may not have the all the natural skills/abilities for it. I need to decide if I should just give up my dream or go in for a big challenge!

Thanks everyone. 🙂

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[psychoandy]

Oh gosh.

In my first semester of P1, I had a health care writing class where I had to do an oral presentation in front of 30 classmates. That wasn't too bad.

In another class, this was much worse. We had this 1 hour a week "professionalism" class where over a couple weeks, we had to get into groups and make a persuasive argument regarding a controversial topic, like Plan B. I got stuck in a group with 3 girls who didn't want to speak, but did want to do all the work, so I was automatically speaker. My group had to argue that plan B was a good idea, and, uh, yeah.

Normally, I'm decent at speeches. I'm no star orator but I like the attention and usually know my stuff well. going all Elizabeth Dole and not needing to look at the pages. Fast forward to my presentation. I forgot I was supposed to present until the night before, I only read my talking points 3 times, and I get up to the front and realize that there are 120 people staring at me who are going to be analyzing my every word.

Not only did I do horrible on the verbal presentation, since I couldn't go 5 seconds without looking at my paper, but this crazy catholic bible thumper got on my ass when I was talking crap about the religious fundies who thought plan B aborted babies. Needless to say, when I was done, I ran from the hall and chainsmoked for about 20 minutes.

However, this is just my bad personal horrible story. The trick is to get some other idiot (like the 3 girls did to me) to be the frontman, as long as you do the work necessary to get a good grade. Or if you're naturally shy, most people will pick up on it and won't single you out for horrible embarassing punishment. And remember, my pharm curriculum may not be anything like yours. And even if it is...well, it's confidence building. And having face doesn't really appeal to me anymore since I don't really give a crap what the idiots in my class think.

Outside of dumb class projects like above, you don't really do public speaking in class. You might be called into like 5 person groups to discuss something, but everyone will agree with each other and it turns into a huge bull session where you just talk and chill. Nothing in pharmacy is really that polarizing where you're going to get into discussions and argue. No one is going to call you out and ask you questions either, unless you're an dingus and you wear a shirt that says "trust me, i'm a doctor" to the biochem PhD's lecture.

Almost all rotations will require you to present on stuff. Journal clubs, presentations to med students/interns on your floor, etc. While not many people usually attend since they have better things to do, other preceptors might try to pimp you, or ask you questions to test your knowledge, as the med students like to call it. Short of picking easy rotations and not learning anything, there isn't really a way around this, but it's at the end of your pharm school so you should (hopefully) know what you're talking about and how to present in front of a group.

If all of this turns you off, it shouldn't. You need to learn how to be assertive and how to interact with 1 person or 100, regardless of what career you enter.

 

[ZpackSux]

Oh man..public speaking is one of the most exciting things in life...what a natural high to grasp the attention of the entire audience with your wit, humor and knowledge of the subject. I can hear myself talk all day and night long... but I know when to shut up too.

The key to public speaking..besides the natural talent is preparation and the understanding of the subject you're speaking about. I usually try to make it as interactive as it can get. Getting the audience involved helps.

If you're not born with this gift....then fake it. Your audience will never know.
Trust me.

 

[PharmD2MD]

Public speaking is something that is pretty common in a lot of programs, not just pharmacy. I think you should try to overcome your fear. It'll hold you back from a lot of opportunities, not just pharmacy. Take a public speaking class or join a toastmasters club. Lots of people have this fear, and lots of people get over it.

 

[twester]

I used to run away from any situation that required public speaking. In the process, I wasted a lot of time. I'm no Toastmaster, but with practice and preparation, prepared presentations (LOL) are not difficult. And extemporaneous speaking gets easier with constant practice. It's an important part of pharmacy - whether counseling a patient or giving that giant seminar presentation.

I'm shy too. If I can do it anyone can.

 

[ZpackSux]

and please....don't read the presentation..nor memorize it word by word. Break the presentation into segments..and tell a story. Catch your audience off guard... tell them the drug in presentation is better than Viagra...

 

[psychoandy]

and please....don't read the presentation..nor memorize it word by word. Break the presentation into segments..and tell a story. Catch your audience off guard... tell them the drug in presentation is better than Viagra...

It's amazing how many college students these days can't do a 5-10 minute presentation without reading off the paper and sounding like a robot. I expect that in a high school speech class, but in a presumably graduate level environment?

Excuse me, I think I need to take my geritol and yell at some kids to get off my damn lawn.

 

[ZpackSux]

It's amazing how many college students these days can't do a 5-10 minute presentation without reading off the paper and sounding like a robot. I expect that in a high school speech class, but in a presumably graduate level environment?

Excuse me, I think I need to take my geritol and yell at some kids to get off my damn lawn.

better take 2 geritols. Try liquid..may help with constipation.

 

[dgroulx]

At UF, you give Power Point presentations ad nauseum. Your performance is graded. As long as you don't read your slides, you'll get a good grade. They made us do all these presentations so we would be prepared for rotations. I do several presentations for each rotation and now I'm talking to strangers, not just fellow classmates.

When I first took public speaking before pharmacy school, I was extremely nervous with every speech. It got a little better each year of pharmacy school. Now, it doesn't phase me at all. The more you do it, the more confident you will become.

 

[bananaface]

Moving to pre-pharmacy as this is a career choice question. 🙂

 

[Sunfeet]

I'm deciding whether to make a career switch to pharmacy, and was wondering if you guys could give me some advice...

For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by the subject of pharmacy and would love to have a career in this field. However, the main factor that has kept me away from pharmacy school is the public speaking part. I’m shy, not particularly good at communicating, and get really anxious when I have to make speeches/presentations. I know how important communication skills are as a pharmacist, and I do know that these skills can be learned/improved over time. However, I just don’t know how MUCH of a challenge it would be during pharmacy school. All the studying would be stressful enough, and on top of that I would have to go against my natural abilities/face my fears everyday...

I know that pharmacy school has discussions, presentations, oral exams, etc. My question is: how much of this “public speaking” is emphasized in the curriculum and in class grades? For some reason, I can imagine myself communicating okay and doing fine as a future pharmacist. It’s just the “forced” classroom structure/requirements/ grading that really stresses me out. Also, I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem, whether it became an issue during pharm school, how you dealt with & overcame it, etc.

I'd be interested in hearing your opinions about going for this career that I'm really interested in, even though I may not have the all the natural skills/abilities for it. I need to decide if I should just give up my dream or go in for a big challenge!

Thanks everyone. 🙂

I have the same problem. When I'm on the spot, my mind goes blank... and I always end up reading off my paper. Yeah, not good. But I'm still in high school.

 

[sublime86]

I think you should go for it. I was a shy kid my whole life, and I'm still shy. I get nervuos during role call, ok? That's how shy I can be sometimes. But like everyone else has said, the more you do it, the better you get at it. I took public speaking twice in undergrad, and it really helped me (one was 1 cc and the other was 3 cc). They key is to know what you are talking about.

Pharmacy is totally worth having to face your fear of public speaking. It'll not only help you with speaking in front of an audience, but also in other important areas such as job interviews (and you have to do those no matter what career you choose). I have to give a presentation in a few hours, and over a year ago I would have been freaking out. But I'm not worried about it right now. Granted I'll be nervous at the start of class, and when I step up in front of the class, and right before I open my mouth, but once you get going, it's fun. And then its over before you know it. Trust me, it's totally worth it.