Share your thoughts on ASHP Midyear 2018

[ornithoptor]

Today is officially the last day, but most have left yesterday or today. It seems more people participated in PPS than in the past. For those who did attend the ASHP, what are your thoughts?

Is this what you think you can do without? Do you think you get great value out of? Did you get chance to meet prospecting employer, or learned a great deal of residency?

Lets hear what you have to say.



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[Seriously Serious]

It is what you make of it. If you're going to fly in for <2 days, sleep through most of the seminars/showcases in the morning... then you are wasting your time. Attend every seminar that you find interesting, attend every residency showcase, and participate in the PPS. I learned a lot through the seminars, I networked either by myself or through introductions made by my colleagues/professors. Attend the professional poster presentations, especially for programs that you are interested in. I handed out business cards even if no one asked for them. I found hidden gem residencies that I would not have met if I was soul searching through google. Definitely worth it.

 

[njac]

I stayed home to hold down the fort. (Plus I already went to 3 conferences this fall)

But everything I followed on twitter looked pretty solid- great EM and ID programming.


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[WI-->TN]

The programming this year had really good content. The layout of midyear was really convenient. I was able to hop between PPS interviews, poster presentations, and CEs very easily. It was also a great time to network and meet up with old friends. Very successful midyear! Now I need 5 days off to recover.

 

[ornithoptor]

Well, there got to be more than three people who attend the Mid-year meeting.
I will go ahead with my thoughts and see if this will stimulate any responds.

I have been coming to the ASHP Mid-year for many times. One thing I have observed this year is that students in general are not as sharp as in the past. There is a reduced level of brightness and sharpness I saw in their eyes compared to the previous years. In fact, most people look common; if I were not a pharmacist, I would have thought this is a sales people gathering. I saw many people with suits that does not fit them, I also see the dullness. I do not feel the same degree of hungry, determination, ambition, eager to please from previous year. Of course, I have seen some quality people, but it feel percentage seemed have changed.

That said, I did ask a few employers and residency sponsors about what they think regarding the level of quality they see in students. A few of them conducted 40+ interviews through PPS. The shared thoughts are great schools still produce quality students, but they now also see the overall decline in quality for the general student population. So many candidate with lesser qualifications are applying spots everywhere.

Basically there is a diluting factor that is dragging down the profession. it was not very obvious in the past, but more significant this year. The explanation is that residents candidates in the past usually have genuine passions and desires to work in the clinical setting, and willing to sacrifice the time and labor to follow this career path. Now, even people who have no clinical desire wish to obtain residency to escape the retail lives. They probably figure, one more year of time investment will net them a cushy job for live. Plus, hospital pay will likely outpace retail setting base on supply and demand. (we pay our staff $50 to $70+ an hour. Take that Walgreens and your wage reductions)

Clinical Acute care residency must weed out unqualified candidate to prevent saturation at clinical level. The eagerness of residency without clinical qualification open doors for ambulatory residencies from retailers. Perhaps one day, people who work for retail must have a ambulatory residency. Imagine that.

I saw a few people been asking about industry in the pharmacy forum. it seems this trend is moving toward industry sector as well.

I would love to hear any dissenting opinions.

 

[JWNGeorge]

Well, there got to be more than three people who attend the Mid-year meeting.
I will go ahead with my thoughts and see if this will stimulate any responds.

I have been coming to the ASHP Mid-year for many times. One thing I have observed this year is that students in general are not as sharp as in the past. There is a reduced level of brightness and sharpness I saw in their eyes compared to the previous years. In fact, most people look common; if I were not a pharmacist, I would have thought this is a sales people gathering. I saw many people with suits that does not fit them, I also see the dullness. I do not feel the same degree of hungry, determination, ambition, eager to please from previous year. Of course, I have seen some quality people, but it feel percentage seemed have changed.

That said, I did ask a few employers and residency sponsors about what they think regarding the level of quality they see in students. A few of them conducted 40+ interviews through PPS. The shared thoughts are great schools still produce quality students, but they now also see the overall decline in quality for the general student population. So many candidate with lesser qualifications are applying spots everywhere.

Basically there is a diluting factor that is dragging down the profession. it was not very obvious in the past, but more significant this year. The explanation is that residents candidates in the past usually have genuine passions and desires to work in the clinical setting, and willing to sacrifice the time and labor to follow this career path. Now, even people who have no clinical desire wish to obtain residency to escape the retail lives. They probably figure, one more year of time investment will net them a cushy job for live. Plus, hospital pay will likely outpace retail setting base on supply and demand. (we pay our staff $50 to $70+ an hour. Take that Walgreens and your wage reductions)

Clinical Acute care residency must weed out unqualified candidate to prevent saturation at clinical level. The eagerness of residency without clinical qualification open doors for ambulatory residencies from retailers. Perhaps one day, people who work for retail must have a ambulatory residency. Imagine that.

I saw a few people been asking about industry in the pharmacy forum. it seems this trend is moving toward industry sector as well.

I would love to hear any dissenting opinions.

It's only dilution if the programs choose underqualified candidates. Every dog walker could come to the conference and apply, but it wouldn't affect the end result.

That said, your comment about someone's suit not fitting well comes off poorly. Between traveling to Midyear, getting lodging, paying the fees, registering for PPS, etc. a student could be $2,000+ in the hole. Not every student can afford a nice suit.

 

[ornithoptor]

That said, your comment about someone's suit not fitting well comes off poorly. Between traveling to Midyear, getting lodging, paying the fees, registering for PPS, etc. a student could be $2,000+ in the hole. Not every student can afford a nice suit.

By no mean I am trying to make fun of someone's attire. It is completely understood how much students can afford. I only have one suit in my closet myself which I been wearing that for many job interviews. There is nothing wrong wearing something simple and cheap. Heck, I got my on sale for $250.

That said, each person who invested $2,000 to go to the meeting should make their investment count. If you have invested heavily in the event, you need to make sure you can seal and deliver the deal. Trust me, I have interview plenty of candidate; perfect hair and cloth won't get you the job. However, something stand out negatively will hurt your chance.

I agree with you 100%, poor student deserve some slacks. However, when you are competing with 30 other students for a single spot. It is all about how you measure up against your competition.