Rho Chi?

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gottem

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Hi I received a letter recently about acceptance into rho chi, this is my second year second semester of pharmacy school. I wanted to know if anyone has been apart of this and what does it entail? Also once you're in are you forever in? (My GPA is dropping for sure this semester :laugh:)
Thanks😎
 
gottem said:
Hi I received a letter recently about acceptance into rho chi, this is my second year second semester of pharmacy school. I wanted to know if anyone has been apart of this and what does it entail? Also once you're in are you forever in? (My GPA is dropping for sure this semester :laugh:)
Thanks😎
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I am a former prez of my school's Rho Chi.

I think each chapter performs different things. In my chapter, most of us were already in other clubs/orgs so we did not do that much. More a honor.

We did do a community service project and tutoring.

Once in, you are in. My GPA dropped too!!
 
gottem said:
Hi I received a letter recently about acceptance into rho chi, this is my second year second semester of pharmacy school. I wanted to know if anyone has been apart of this and what does it entail? Also once you're in are you forever in? (My GPA is dropping for sure this semester :laugh:)
Thanks😎
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It depends on the school chapter. The top 20% of the pharmacy class are offered this honor and why having it looks good on your CV.

We did annual "P2 survival guide" -- basically an 1 hour lunch time lecture/Q&A with handout to out the the new P2 students prepare for the up coming shock and awe. We also invited professors and clinical pharmacists to for few lunch & learns.

The group is really about academic excellence. And the members in our chapters trended towards the nerdy and the competitive.
 
Leadership is one of those traits that can't be measured by GPA.

It seems to me that the high achievers of Rho Chi still end up working for the members of Phi Lambda Sigma (the Pharmacy Leadership Society).

High grades can only get you so far in life...
 
297point1 said:
Leadership is one of those traits that can't be measured by GPA.

It seems to me that the high achievers of Rho Chi still end up working for the members of Phi Lambda Sigma (the Pharmacy Leadership Society).

High grades can only get you so far in life...
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That's why I'm in both PLS and Rho Chi......
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I avoided all of my classmates and wasn't a member of anything. It hasn't hurt me a bit.
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Yep! The enjoyment out of being able to go in and help my coworkers out when they have a rough shift or a backlog of work is far more rewarding (personally and professionally) than listening to some students talk about how important they are. WVUpharm has a great template for how to get through pharmacy school that I am following, and this is a major part of it.

I love the dirty looks some people give me when they find out i'm not involved in anything (usually the same people who are just "members" of organizations) . It is going to be rewarding after school ends to have the tables turned on people who thought it was more important to attend all these luncheons -- like that would help them become better job candidates in the end.

Clearly, post graduation, employers are going to hire someone membership in leadership organizations over someone who has demonstrated leadership experience in the workplace. :meanie:

WVU, do people who hire for residencies actually buy into all that crap? If so, thats another reason not to do a residency. (If they believe having your name on some list means a lot))


Disclaimer: not talking about people who lead organizations, i do believe their experience will probably help them, but for anyone who is just a member and attending solely for the free food, there are far greater uses of your time if you're looking to resume pad. What I find to be hilarious is people who are like "yeah i have to attend x and y, so i dont have time to work -- and then when i ask them what they are doing in all those student org meetings, they just tell me "well I attended and sat there and listened (got a free lunch), so that will look great on my resume" . Hah!! Last job i was hired for, the manager asked me if there were any extracurriculars or anything like that that I had left off my resume -- I told him a few (from undergrad) but not many and that I decided not to list them - he told me that my past work experience was all he really cared about.
 
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eightball said:
sour grapes if you cant reach them....
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I met a dude from Korea that was one of the best Starcraft player in the world. I think he's a dork. It's only sour grapes if you envy them. Now if he tried to parlay his Starcraft skills into posturing like he's better than me...then I have a problem. And he might claim its because of "sour grapes."

Same thing kinda goes with Rho Chi.
 
297point1 said:
Leadership is one of those traits that can't be measured by GPA.

It seems to me that the high achievers of Rho Chi still end up working for the members of Phi Lambda Sigma (the Pharmacy Leadership Society).

High grades can only get you so far in life...
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I thought Rho Chi is an honor society and not a leadership society. Why are you comparing the two for the sake of leadership? One could also argue that academic excellence is something that can't be measured by how good of a leader you are, and what good are your sound leadership skills if you do not have the knowledge base?

Not trying to defend Rho Chi or anything but I usually feel like people should view it as an honor society and that's it, whether you are in it or not, the world doesn't end, and yes it doesn't make a difference as to helping you advance in life. But it is still a recognition nonetheless.
Much talk in pharmacy when it comes to Rho Chi usually centers around "so who cares?" and try to undermine the recognition, and it usually comes across as contempt or envy. I honestly do not see that attitude with medical school's AOA. Attitude is one of the things that slows recognition of our profession and that's why it's gonna take a while.....😳
 
RX CARE said:
I thought Rho Chi is an honor society and not a leadership society. Why are you comparing the two for the sake of leadership?
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I did no such thing.

It takes two different skill sets for people to get into Rho Chi and PLS.
- One recognizes GPA- nothing more, nothing less.
- One recognizes leadership, and membership is determined by peer recognition.

Some people possess both skill sets, and bully for them.

One of the major players in healthcare today (think leader of Fortune 500 Company) graduated from my alma mater, and the running joke among the old timers on faculty is that you'd never have predicted his future success if you looked at his grades.

Grades are only one piece of the puzzle. If grades were all that mattered, then admissions committees would have a much easier job- just accept the the applicants with the highest GPAs and PCATs, and forget everything else.
 
297point1 said:
I did no such thing.

It takes two different skill sets for people to get into Rho Chi and PLS.
- One recognizes GPA- nothing more, nothing less.
- One recognizes leadership, and membership is determined by peer recognition.

Some people possess both skill sets, and bully for them.

One of the major players in healthcare today (think leader of Fortune 500 Company) graduated from my alma mater, and the running joke among the old timers on faculty is that you'd never have predicted his future success if you looked at his grades.

Grades are only one piece of the puzzle. If grades were all that mattered, then admissions committees would have a much easier job- just accept the the applicants with the highest GPAs and PCATs, and forget everything else.
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Nobody is saying that grades are everything, just as getting C's don't made someone a guarenteed success. Rho chi is by large an honor society.

Being one really says that you are not mentally handicapped and more importantly -- you weren't a slacker during school (unless you were a cheater that never got caught of course).

It's the latter quality that people really want. Being a slacker usually isn't a good predictor of future success. 😉

Now that doesn't mean people who aren't Rho Chi are slackers. They might have 40 hour job + 5 kids while attending school. But when you are talking about people with roughly the same work/time committement...

---

Edit: But to further add to the topic. What matters the most to employers on the CV are the work experience. You hold down a good internship or 2 at a place that's well known, and you have a great letter of recommendation coming from there, and you didn't do badly in school -- bam, you are golden. That trumps any Rho Chi, officer XYZ any day of the week. Why? Because nothing beats actual proof that you have what it takes to work successfully.
 
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xiphoid2010 said:
Nobody is saying that grades are everything, just as getting C's don't made someone a guarenteed success. Rho chi is by large an honor society.

Being one really says that you are not mentally handicapped and more importantly -- you weren't a slacker during school (unless you were a cheater that never got caught of course).

It's the latter quality that people really want. Being a slacker usually isn't a good predictor of future success. 😉
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Some people think that. Especially in academia. And some people (and its not just me) use the "hire the B student" philosophy. The theory is that people that get As are too easily controlled by the persuit of maintaining their image and are far too willing to jump through hoops in the name of the facade of prestige. I don't trust A students...seriously...too many are are ruthless, stab you in the back types...and I don't like having them around. Not saying they all are...but they are the LAST types of people I want to work with. I'd rather work with a lazy ass I can trust than a person who tracks all of my mistakes behind my back for "later purposes". This is also one of the downfalls of hospital pharmacy. There are waaaaaaaay too many douchebags that work in that setting relative to retail.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Some people think that. Especially in academia. And some people (and its not just me) use the "hire the B student" philosophy. The theory is that people that get As are too easily controlled by the persuit of maintaining their image and are far too willing to jump through hoops in the name of the facade of prestige. I don't trust A students...seriously...too many are are ruthless, stab you in the back types...and I don't like having them around. Not saying they all are...but they are the LAST types of people I want to work with. I'd rather work with a lazy ass I can trust than a person who tracks all of my mistakes behind my back for "later purposes". This is also one of the downfalls of hospital pharmacy. There are waaaaaaaay too many douchebags that work in that setting relative to retail.
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Yes, I always knew the guy who took more than the allotted number of years to graduate or the folks who got C's or worse in school were the real superstars!!!!
 
RX CARE said:
I honestly do not see that attitude with medical school's AOA. Attitude is one of the things that slows recognition of our profession and that's why it's gonna take a while.....😳
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Yea, I also find the disparity in attitudes about academics in pharmacy vs medicine. People tend to place a lot of emphasis in AOA (medical honor society). Those members usually end up in the E-ROAD/ADORE specialties.

Rho Chi doesn't have as much as an emphasis. Is that wrong or right? I don't know.
 
Pharmacy Kid said:
Yea, I also find the disparity in attitudes about academics in pharmacy vs medicine. People tend to place a lot of emphasis in AOA (medical honor society). Those members usually end up in the E-ROAD/ADORE specialties.

Rho Chi doesn't have as much as an emphasis. Is that wrong or right? I don't know.
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true to an extent....I think less folks try as hard in pharmacy school except the ones that are going for residencies....


I know alot of folks in my class just tried to pass....C=PharmD....only equation you really need to know....:laugh:
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
This is also one of the downfalls of hospital pharmacy. There are waaaaaaaay too many douchebags that work in that setting relative to retail.
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Personally, I just think that we retail people don't even have time to point fingers at each other. Me and my partner are so stressed out that we don't have time to do that. Add that to the fact that you have more pharmacists working together in the hospital setting.
 
Priapism321 said:
Yes, I always knew the guy who took more than the allotted number of years to graduate or the folks who got C's or worse in school were the real superstars!!!!
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Mother****er, I said I am more apt to trust the "B" students. Nobody said anything about "C" students, falling a year behind, or being a "superstar". Did they forget to teach you how to read in your fancy f'ing residency?
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Some people think that. Especially in academia. And some people (and its not just me) use the "hire the B student" philosophy. The theory is that people that get As are too easily controlled by the persuit of maintaining their image and are far too willing to jump through hoops in the name of the facade of prestige. I don't trust A students...seriously...too many are are ruthless, stab you in the back types...and I don't like having them around. Not saying they all are...but they are the LAST types of people I want to work with. I'd rather work with a lazy ass I can trust than a person who tracks all of my mistakes behind my back for "later purposes". This is also one of the downfalls of hospital pharmacy. There are waaaaaaaay too many douchebags that work in that setting relative to retail.
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That would pass over someone like me, who is laid back and knows how to balance school/work and fun. (Of course, some of these people are "naturally" smart too). Unfortunately, there aren't many pharmacy students like that and you can tell when you look at the people in Rho Chi at my school. There are 5 "back of the room students" and we pride ourselves on being happy and having fun more than our grades. Grades don't determine success and happiness in life, and I think more people need to realize this.
 
I used to sit in the second row and read the school paper. My not-so-subtle way of telling them that "teaching" me something by just reading me powerpoint slides was a waste of my time whenever they made it mandatory attendence.
 
So I'm gonna leech off this thread:

I already paid my Rho Chi dues, but I just got nominated for PLS. Is there a benefit in doing both Rho Chi and PLS? It seems like a lot of money.
 
bacillus1 said:
So I'm gonna leech off this thread:

I already paid my Rho Chi dues, but I just got nominated for PLS. Is there a benefit in doing both Rho Chi and PLS? It seems like a lot of money.
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It depends on what you want to do when you grow up. I joined both, but just because I plan on pursuing post grad training of some kind. If you already have a job lined out and know where you're going and don't want to spend the money, don't.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I used to sit in the second row and read the school paper. My not-so-subtle way of telling them that "teaching" me something by just reading me powerpoint slides was a waste of my time whenever they made it mandatory attendence.
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I wish I had thought of that in school. I can read to myself a lot faster than they can read to me.
 
cycloketocaine said:
It depends on what you want to do when you grow up. I joined both, but just because I plan on pursuing post grad training of some kind. If you already have a job lined out and know where you're going and don't want to spend the money, don't.
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I'm thinking about a residency so I guess I'll join both.
 
Bringing this one back.

I just got invited to join Rho Chi, but I kind of feel like the $100 dues could be better spent on a couple week's groceries. Is there any benefit to joining this, especially for someone who's probably not doing a residency?
 
homeslice said:
Bringing this one back.

I just got invited to join Rho Chi, but I kind of feel like the $100 dues could be better spent on a couple week's groceries. Is there any benefit to joining this, especially for someone who's probably not doing a residency?
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You get a nice fancy pin with your initials engraved on the back, some cords you wear to graduation, a certificate, and recognition in academic circles. :laugh:

It might help a little bit with the job search later on now that the market is more saturated but honestly I'm not sure if I would count on it. Eh at the very least, something to carry on your CV.
 
At WVU, they had to pay a fee to join and were then expected to tutor other students. I have no idea why anyone ever joins the club. Well, I do, but at the same time, I don't...

If you want to do a residency, I'd join up. Those people love things that are on paper.
 
homeslice said:
Bringing this one back.

I just got invited to join Rho Chi, but I kind of feel like the $100 dues could be better spent on a couple week's groceries. Is there any benefit to joining this, especially for someone who's probably not doing a residency?
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I don't know if there's really any benefit if you're not going to do a residency.

I guess it could look good on a CV, though there has been discussion on here about how a high GPA is "frowned upon" by some, so maybe not.
 
I was invited to join Rho Chi in school and I had to respectfully decline. I'm more of the loner type so joining the "nerd" clan was not for me. I'd say do whatever feels right to you, be the pharmacist/person that you want to be and stop worrying about what others say that you should be.
 
I joined Rho Chi and many other groups. With this job market, I say unless you are 100% sure you are guarantee a job offer upon graduation (some people with connections have those) I would join as many groups as possible to make that CV stand out. If you are offer a job upon graduation already then fine don't join anything...you are set anyways. LOL...
 
SHC1984 said:
I joined Rho Chi and many other groups. With this job market, I say unless you are 100% sure you are guarantee a job offer upon graduation (some people with connections have those) I would join as many groups as possible to make that CV stand out. If you are offer a job upon graduation already then fine don't join anything...you are set anyways. LOL...
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Don't just join, become active in a few groups. I've had people at my PGY2 interviews ask me about my experiences in my student groups, and I'm sure they would have been able to tell if I was lying. Students who list 6 organizations with no leadership positions scare me- what were you doing? Did you actually do anything for the projects in the groups or just go for lunches?
 
If you aren't planning on doing a residency, it doesn't matter as much.
But it doesn't hurt to have an honor society membership on your CV when you apply for jobs.
 
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SHC1984 said:
I joined Rho Chi and many other groups. With this job market, I say unless you are 100% sure you are guarantee a job offer upon graduation (some people with connections have those) I would join as many groups as possible to make that CV stand out. If you are offer a job upon graduation already then fine don't join anything...you are set anyways. LOL...
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^ prime example of just about every negative stereotype that has anything to do with pharmacy
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Mother****er, I said I am more apt to trust the "B" students. Nobody said anything about "C" students, falling a year behind, or being a "superstar". Did they forget to teach you how to read in your fancy f'ing residency?
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Hey...Don't knock the "C" student who fell a year behind...you never know what kind of situation caused their path to be more difficult...I am currently a "C" student who is a year behind but I'll put my last dollar that I have more clinical knowledge that 90% of your "A" students and more real world pharmacy work experience/knowledge than 99.9% of them and I know I will make a much better pharmacist than 100% of them. The bottom line is that there is no way to judge a person's chance of success on paper...work experience is key as well as the ability to communicate...memorizing Dipiro and the slides isnt going to get you very far if you cant communicate very well...good pharmacists have a large range of GPAs as do poor pharmacists...the only way to accurately predict a person's abilities is to get to know the person not the CV, transcript, etc...
 
It really is not a big deal and means little in the real world...but it was nice to have the honor so I accepted it and paid up......

I became the president because I got to set up my school's chapter and got to make some excellent contacts by being on student governement.....

Helped me get several PT jobs.....👍
 
J DUB said:
It really is not a big deal and means little in the real world...but it was nice to have the honor so I accepted it and paid up......

I became the president because I got to set up my school's chapter and got to make some excellent contacts by being on student governement.....

Helped me get several PT jobs.....👍
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It's definitely an experience especially if your in the leadership position. Who knew being in a club was so much work until your actually in charge. :laugh:
 
From what I gather, Rho Chi chapters are generally pretty light on their activities. As a small organization, they don't have a lot of manpower to handle large community-oriented volunteering. Compounding this is the fact that many of their members are already active in other organizations, so that further siphons the membership base available to do work.

At our school, Rho Chi focuses primarily on tutoring P1 students before some of their exams. A few of us have also helped proctor sterile compounding labs, and our student members (in addition to PLS members) have the option of being part of the interview panels as part of the admissions process for the incoming pharmacy class. In general, though, we're a pretty quiet organization. There are a few ideas that I have in mind for a Rho Chi chapter, but most of the heavy-duty volunteer activities in our school are handled by SSHP, SNPhA, and APhA.

As for the question of membership: Personally, I do not see a drawback towards joining Rho Chi. I view it as a feather to add to your cap. Although a well-rounded resume will require more than just Rho Chi membership, I think that having Rho Chi would nicely accentuate the academic side of a resume. This is not to say that students lacking Rho Chi membership lack academic acumen; rather, having Rho Chi on your resume increases the chance of this being noticed.

Unless you have an intense disdain for some aspect of your Rho Chi chapter, I would join simply because it isn't going to harm your resume. And, as J DUB and PharMed have alluded to, you may gain some leadership experience depending on how much work you want to put into it.

--Garfield3d
 
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