SNPhA and/or APhA-ASP? What extracurricular activities should I be doing to be the best after P4?

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

Hey all, P1 student looking for some advice! Before I begin, when I say "be the best" in my title, it's just an over exaggeration. I'm, in no way, arrogant or looking to be superior to my class mates. I just want to be the best version of me that I can be, like everyone else here!

So, currently in my 2nd week of P1 year and my only pharmacy experience is 1 year in Retail Pharmacy. I'm looking to HEAVILY boost my experience levels, to an extremely high amount of experience over the next 3 years before rotations start my 4th year. I'm not doing this JUST to make my resume and portfolio look better, I actually want to be everywhere, and I want to be involved with LOTS of people (not students, more like mentors.) Also, I don't want to reach my 3rd year and then start trying to create time in order to make my portfolio and resume look better, I have heard enough about how important some activities are that I'm very willing to start, literally, right now.

One thing I've been debating recently are 2 particular student organizations. I've been hearing a lot of stuff about pharmacy school student organizations, and the two that stood out (in my opinion) were SNPhA and APhA. I'm wondering if I should join both organizations to get all the perks that members get? I don't even know what these perks are, but I hear they're really helpful. Is this a good step to take?

One piece of advice I was given by P3 and P4 students is to "fine a mentor ASAP." And I have no clue how to start, or where to start. How do I do this? What exactly is a "mentor" in this case? Does this have to do with research labs? I definitely plan on applying for research labs for the upcoming summer.

What other things have you guys done that you highly recommend? Tell me everything!

I will definitely ask more about all this at school this week and next but I was looking to get some insight from fellow SDNers who are or have been a part of either of these organizations, or any extracurricular activities that were really helpful. Thanks

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[FinallyOnTrack]

I’ll throw this out there... most organizations you can join and pay money and put them on your CV.. does that make you stand out? No. Because everyone else can and will do that.

What WILL make you stand out is if you held a leadership role within each and maintained a decent GPA.. imagine holding 3 or 4 leadership roles and holding a solid 3.5 GPA.. don’t you think that would look better than someone who signed up for 5 organizations but held no leadership roles and maintained a 4.0?


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[radio frequency]

I would prioritize work over organizations, then try to find a leadership role (small is ok) within the organization of your choice in an area you are passionate about. Any organization is good but APhA is better known. You can always turn a small role into a big role if you like. Then keep at it. Don’t overcommit to the organizations — there are more important parts of school, like your work experience and learning. Balance is important.

 

[PA_dud3]

I'm probably going to join the APhA just for the magazines. I find I never really get much good reading material outside of the forums about the profession.

 

[gwarm01]

I was a SNPhA member and found it to be a positive experience. It was a much smaller group, which made it easier to get voted into a leadership position. It also allowed more opportunity to organize and participate in community outreach. That said, I don't know that my leadership positions in student organizations (I was also secretary for the the nuclear pharmacy group) actually had any effect on finding my first job.

 

[JamesL1585]

You're clearly passionate. I like that! I can say I had a similar dilema to you my first year. I was picking between APhA and SNPhA. I thought SNPhA was the better organization for me (it's primarily focused on people of color), because of it's smaller but very impactful networking effect. Many people you see at SNPhA end up in top positions in industry and you feel the vibrant leadership all around you. It's very refreshing, and nothing short of inspiring. APhA is decent, but there's just too many people, and I think that effects the quality of the experience.

I also did way too much my 1st and 2nd year, which caused me a bit of discomfort. First year is a great year to explorre, so that 2nd year you can cut the fat, and only do things that will add value.

A mentor is someone who basically has done what you want to do, and is awesome enough to teach you how they did it, minus their mistakes! Highly recommend one.

Lastly I will say, I maybe did too much, but it was the best thing for me. In pharmacy school, I was the founding president of SNPhA for my school, and then after graduation I went on to get promoted to manager quickly after graduating pharmacy school, was a finalist for industry fellowships, and started my own company. All of this started in pharmacy school via leadership though. so if you see yourself being impactful, pick the path that works for you!

Hey all, P1 student looking for some advice! Before I begin, when I say "be the best" in my title, it's just an over exaggeration. I'm, in no way, arrogant or looking to be superior to my class mates. I just want to be the best version of me that I can be, like everyone else here!

So, currently in my 2nd week of P1 year and my only pharmacy experience is 1 year in Retail Pharmacy. I'm looking to HEAVILY boost my experience levels, to an extremely high amount of experience over the next 3 years before rotations start my 4th year. I'm not doing this JUST to make my resume and portfolio look better, I actually want to be everywhere, and I want to be involved with LOTS of people (not students, more like mentors.) Also, I don't want to reach my 3rd year and then start trying to create time in order to make my portfolio and resume look better, I have heard enough about how important some activities are that I'm very willing to start, literally, right now.

One thing I've been debating recently are 2 particular student organizations. I've been hearing a lot of stuff about pharmacy school student organizations, and the two that stood out (in my opinion) were SNPhA and APhA. I'm wondering if I should join both organizations to get all the perks that members get? I don't even know what these perks are, but I hear they're really helpful. Is this a good step to take?

One piece of advice I was given by P3 and P4 students is to "fine a mentor ASAP." And I have no clue how to start, or where to start. How do I do this? What exactly is a "mentor" in this case? Does this have to do with research labs? I definitely plan on applying for research labs for the upcoming summer.

What other things have you guys done that you highly recommend? Tell me everything!

I will definitely ask more about all this at school this week and next but I was looking to get some insight from fellow SDNers who are or have been a part of either of these organizations, or any extracurricular activities that were really helpful. Thanks

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I’ll throw this out there... most organizations you can join and pay money and put them on your CV.. does that make you stand out? No. Because everyone else can and will do that.

What WILL make you stand out is if you held a leadership role within each and maintained a decent GPA.. imagine holding 3 or 4 leadership roles and holding a solid 3.5 GPA.. don’t you think that would look better than someone who signed up for 5 organizations but held no leadership roles and maintained a 4.0?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hmm...definitely would rather 4-5 leadership roles and a 3.5, but am I expected to assume a leadership role in any organization throughout my first year? Also, speaking of leadership roles, we're holding our class elections soon. Do those look good as well? I highly doubt I'd make president or vice but maybe a small chance I can make one of the smaller office roles.

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I would prioritize work over organizations, then try to find a leadership role (small is ok) within the organization of your choice in an area you are passionate about. Any organization is good but APhA is better known. You can always turn a small role into a big role if you like. Then keep at it. Don’t overcommit to the organizations — there are more important parts of school, like your work experience and learning. Balance is important.

I'm actually very worried about this school-extracurricular activities-life balance, so I'm working 1-2 times a month (thank god for my manager understanding,) and I will join 2 organizations at most this semester. I agree with you 100%. It's all about time management and prioritizing, two if which I'm very weak at starting my 2nd week of P1. >.<

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

I was a SNPhA member and found it to be a positive experience. It was a much smaller group, which made it easier to get voted into a leadership position. It also allowed more opportunity to organize and participate in community outreach. That said, I don't know that my leadership positions in student organizations (I was also secretary for the the nuclear pharmacy group) actually had any effect on finding my first job.

That's pretty much what I heard about SNPhA, it's smaller than other groups and also very helpful, with many perks, including opportunity outreach, like you said. Nuclear pharmacy group sounds awesome! My end goal is actually <currently> nuclear pharmacy. I have never shadowed or even been in a nuclear pharmacist's work environment, but for some reason it sounds appeasing to me. And I actually don't think we have a "nuclear pharmacy group" at our school. Did you end up going into nuclear pharmacy as your first job?

 

[TheOnlinePharmacist]

You're clearly passionate. I like that! I can say I had a similar dilema to you my first year. I was picking between APhA and SNPhA. I thought SNPhA was the better organization for me (it's primarily focused on people of color), because of it's smaller but very impactful networking effect. Many people you see at SNPhA end up in top positions in industry and you feel the vibrant leadership all around you. It's very refreshing, and nothing short of inspiring. APhA is decent, but there's just too many people, and I think that effects the quality of the experience.

I also did way too much my 1st and 2nd year, which caused me a bit of discomfort. First year is a great year to explorre, so that 2nd year you can cut the fat, and only do things that will add value.

A mentor is someone who basically has done what you want to do, and is awesome enough to teach you how they did it, minus their mistakes! Highly recommend one.

Lastly I will say, I maybe did too much, but it was the best thing for me. In pharmacy school, I was the founding president of SNPhA for my school, and then after graduation I went on to get promoted to manager quickly after graduating pharmacy school, was a finalist for industry fellowships, and started my own company. All of this started in pharmacy school via leadership though. so if you see yourself being impactful, pick the path that works for you!

Haha, thanks! That's exactly my dilemma, but I think I've resolved it for the time being. I joined SNPhA earlier today! The president was really nice to me, and the other members standing with him knew my name and everything, it was really cool! I doubt I will be signing up for APhA my first semester, I will most likely just stick to SNPhA for now, until I get my schedule and priorities straight. Did you end up joining both or just SNPhA?

I really want to explore a lot my first year but I'm really stressed out, as orientation leaders scared us telling us 54% of the last class failed Patho and/or biochem. Being held back a year is something that will ruin my morale and absolutely destroy my reputation, so I don't want to do much this first semester at least, first year at most. I don't get these orientation leaders though, between me and you. They scare us with course fail percentages and then tell us to be as involved as possible. Beats me.

How do I even start looking for a mentor? The only mentor-like-figure I can think of is my pharmacy manager at Walgreens but I really don't want to do community pharmacy at all after pharmacy school, so I don't think that'd be a good call. Can a mentor be one of my professors? What route did you take for finding a mentor?

That is really outstanding, I envy you. That is definitely my long term plan. I plan on moving up the ladder in whatever organization I choose to stick to, which is just looking like SNPhA for now. And my end goal is to start my own company, one day in the unforeseen future, haha.

 

[gwarm01]

That's pretty much what I heard about SNPhA, it's smaller than other groups and also very helpful, with many perks, including opportunity outreach, like you said. Nuclear pharmacy group sounds awesome! My end goal is actually <currently> nuclear pharmacy. I have never shadowed or even been in a nuclear pharmacist's work environment, but for some reason it sounds appeasing to me. And I actually don't think we have a "nuclear pharmacy group" at our school. Did you end up going into nuclear pharmacy as your first job?

Nope. That was the plan, but I graduated during a big molybdenum shortage that closed a lot of labs. I had even gone through all of the courses and internship to become an authorized user, but life doesn't always work out as you plan. I ended up going clinical and transitioning to informatics.

 

[TheBlaah]

Nuclear pharmacy group sounds awesome! My end goal is actually <currently> nuclear pharmacy. I have never shadowed or even been in a nuclear pharmacist's work environment, but for some reason it sounds appeasing to me. And I actually don't think we have a "nuclear pharmacy group" at our school. Did you end up going into nuclear pharmacy as your first job?

I'm going to have to agree that nuclear pharmacy positions have been on the decline in recent years due to the closing of labs and improved diagnostic procedures. The scarcity of jobs and lack of job security should be major deterrents for you if the fact that nuclear pharmacy is pretty much exclusively night shift doesn't do it already.

As for student organizations, I didn't think any student organization was of much help in terms of job seeking. Sure, I had joined them and placed them on my resume, but I could have easily not joined as said that I did and I'm sure nobody would have blinked twice at it. The only real reason to join is to network with your classmates and guest speakers and learn whatever they have to speak about.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Employers put very little weight on organization membership or offices held. Holding an office does help to show that you aren't anti-social, but that is about it. Nobody learns great organizational skills or anything from being SNPHA or APHA officer, and everybody hiring knows that.

I would recommend joining both for the benefits you will get as a pharmacy student, discount prices to conventions, meeting upper level class members who can give you old notes/tests/tips, the social benefits outside of the classroom.

 

[JamesL1585]

I disagre with this. I started solving problems as a SNPhA president, and now, I solve really big problems, building upon what I did then. I guess for the typical member, maybe you're right, but if you get into organizational leadership, and you actually want to make impact, then you can learn useful skills (like I have) that are good for later on. I guess it's also important to say that I did a public health fellowship right after being president, to implement what I learned even more though.

Employers put very little weight on organization membership or offices held. Holding an office does help to show that you aren't anti-social, but that is about it. Nobody learns great organizational skills or anything from being SNPHA or APHA officer, and everybody hiring knows that.

I would recommend joining both for the benefits you will get as a pharmacy student, discount prices to conventions, meeting upper level class members who can give you old notes/tests/tips, the social benefits outside of the classroom.

 

[JamesL1585]

I joined both, but never did anything with APhA, only SNPhA.

Yea, focus on school first, do what you can in organizational stuff, if you want to do leadership, do more, as you get further along (would be my best advice). I went all in on leadership, and forgot the importance of school, and it stressed me out way more than the average student. It's worth it now, but then, i was pretty conflicted lol.

It happens naturally. You meet a pharmacist, or otherwise that you just click with, they do something you like, and you ask them more questions, maybe you meet for coffee, or keep the relationship going after you move on from however you originally met them. It's typically very organic. You'll know when you find them.

For instance, for me I went to pharmacy legislative day, and there was a lady on our team when we were talking to legislatures, and she was all cool and clam, I'd be talking with legislators about our profession, she liked what she heard, next thing you know she's inviting me to her hospital (she was the director of pharmacy at a top university hospital), and inviting me to her home for dinner to meet her husband who was in venture capital. Several years later we're still in touch, and she's a powerful woman. It's always been organic, how we met, and it was worth keeping in touch from both of our perspecives.

Haha, thanks! That's exactly my dilemma, but I think I've resolved it for the time being. I joined SNPhA earlier today! The president was really nice to me, and the other members standing with him knew my name and everything, it was really cool! I doubt I will be signing up for APhA my first semester, I will most likely just stick to SNPhA for now, until I get my schedule and priorities straight. Did you end up joining both or just SNPhA?

I really want to explore a lot my first year but I'm really stressed out, as orientation leaders scared us telling us 54% of the last class failed Patho and/or biochem. Being held back a year is something that will ruin my morale and absolutely destroy my reputation, so I don't want to do much this first semester at least, first year at most. I don't get these orientation leaders though, between me and you. They scare us with course fail percentages and then tell us to be as involved as possible. Beats me.

How do I even start looking for a mentor? The only mentor-like-figure I can think of is my pharmacy manager at Walgreens but I really don't want to do community pharmacy at all after pharmacy school, so I don't think that'd be a good call. Can a mentor be one of my professors? What route did you take for finding a mentor?

That is really outstanding, I envy you. That is definitely my long term plan. I plan on moving up the ladder in whatever organization I choose to stick to, which is just looking like SNPhA for now. And my end goal is to start my own company, one day in the unforeseen future, haha.