Things/people that bother/annoy me in pharmacy school

[rxlea]

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I don't know how you'd make your own. I bought them.

Well, all the info on them (MOA, dosing, side effects, etc) can be found in an updated drug book. We have the big fat ones at the hospital where I work (in addition to all the clinical pharmacokinetic, therapeutics, infectious disease, etc textbooks that the pharmacists love to have nearby). I mean, theoretically, you could get the info from that drug book, type it into a word, excel, or onenote program, and print out your own index cards. Plus, you would learn the material while you do it. Is that possible? I mean, how much were the cards?

 

[crazybob]

Well, all the info on them (MOA, dosing, side effects, etc) can be found in an updated drug book. We have the big fat ones at the hospital where I work (in addition to all the clinical pharmacokinetic, therapeutics, infectious disease, etc textbooks that the pharmacists love to have nearby). I mean, theoretically, you could get the info from that drug book, type it into a word, excel, or onenote program, and print out your own index cards. Plus, you would learn the material while you do it. Is that possible? I mean, how much were the cards?

The ones I heard about were $32, but they never got here, so we got refunds.

It's better to just make cards with ALL of the information you will need to know. If that amount of information is too much to fit into one card, then you might want to buy one with smaller fonts than your handwriting.

 

[Sparda29]

Well, all the info on them (MOA, dosing, side effects, etc) can be found in an updated drug book. We have the big fat ones at the hospital where I work (in addition to all the clinical pharmacokinetic, therapeutics, infectious disease, etc textbooks that the pharmacists love to have nearby). I mean, theoretically, you could get the info from that drug book, type it into a word, excel, or onenote program, and print out your own index cards. Plus, you would learn the material while you do it. Is that possible? I mean, how much were the cards?

I guess it's possible, but I'd rather not have to dig through the fat drug books for 200 drugs. I think I bought them for $50.

 

[xiphoid2010]

There are iphone apps with the drug cards too, and probably cheaper then the $30-40 paper ones.

 

[rxlea]

I guess it's possible, but I'd rather not have to dig through the fat drug books for 200 drugs. I think I bought them for $50.

Well there is really only the one drug book that has all the info organized concisely. I guess the advantage to making your own would be that you can organize the info the way you want...anyway, the smartphone app sounds like a great idea!

 

[tootoo30]

Well there is really only the one drug book that has all the info organized concisely. I guess the advantage to making your own would be that you can organize the info the way you want...anyway, the smartphone app sounds like a great idea!

Trust me information changes everyday, with the drug cards you don't have those problems cause if anything is updated, you get an updated card. You won't have time to make drug cards taking nine classes with test, quizzes and all the miscellaneous projects they come up with, you will be happy to have those drug cards 🙂

 

[Sparda29]

Trust me information changes everyday, with the drug cards you don't have those problems cause if anything is updated, you get an updated card. You won't have time to make drug cards taking nine classes with test, quizzes and all the miscellaneous projects they come up with, you will be happy to have those drug cards 🙂

I mean, personally, I don't learn jack **** from reading the drug cards, I learn from organizing the information on the drug cards into a table, basically I classify all the drugs based on disease state/mechanism of action and then once that's done, I just memorize the usual dose/dosage forms/major contraindications/ pregnancy index/and counseling points.

 

[Praziquantel86]

Well, all the info on them (MOA, dosing, side effects, etc) can be found in an updated drug book. We have the big fat ones at the hospital where I work (in addition to all the clinical pharmacokinetic, therapeutics, infectious disease, etc textbooks that the pharmacists love to have nearby). I mean, theoretically, you could get the info from that drug book, type it into a word, excel, or onenote program, and print out your own index cards. Plus, you would learn the material while you do it. Is that possible? I mean, how much were the cards?

Unless you're taking a Top Drugs sort of class, the cards aren't worth it. A drug information handbook is nearly as portable (moreso if you get it for a smartphone/iTouch) and much more versatile. Everyone I know who bought drug index cards used them maybe once or twice. If you're the type that likes to have flash cards, just make your own and learn the material while you're doing it.

 

[crazybob]

People who say stuff like "Do what?" when the professor calls on them, when they should have been listening. I tried talking to people like this before, and they always make me repeat everything I say. Why don't they ever listen?

 

[nicolemsm]

I give a damn about projects but I don't give a **** about losing 1-2 points here and there, I'm not out to get a perfect grade on projects. For example, the project guidelines said it had to be in Times New Roman 12. Personally, I think Times New Roman is a ****ty font so when editing it, I made it Perpetua 11. This resulted in me getting hounded by my teammates from 11PM-11:59PM (it had to be sent in exactly by 12AM to the professor's e-mail) to change the font to Times new Roman.

hahahah you sir are funny.

times new roman is a crappy font though.. looks so old

Is the gossip really that bad in pharmacy school? So many people mention it on SDN, but when I talked the the pharm students at interview day, it seemed everyone got along well and really emphasized group cohesiveness.

smile in your face, talk behind your back... sounds about right 😉

 

[Sparda29]

hahahah you sir are funny.

times new roman is a crappy font though.. looks so old

Yeah, what I didn't get was, why the **** were they continuously sending me text messages to change the font. Couldn't they have done that themselves?

This is how it went:
TM#1 - Dude, we need to change the font or we're gonna lose points.
Me - Uhh, TNR #12 is butt ugly.
TM#1 - Change the font please, I can't change it since I don't have a computer right now.
Me - I'm going to sleep.
TM#1 - You didn't change the font yet. (How the **** does he know that I didn't change the font if he doesn't have a computer?")

 

[rxlea]

Yeah, what I didn't get was, why the **** were they continuously sending me text messages to change the font. Couldn't they have done that themselves?

This is how it went:
TM#1 - Dude, we need to change the font or we're gonna lose points.
Me - Uhh, TNR #12 is butt ugly.
TM#1 - Change the font please, I can't change it since I don't have a computer right now.
Me - I'm going to sleep.
TM#1 - You didn't change the font yet. (How the **** does he know that I didn't change the font if he doesn't have a computer?")

Maybe he was looking on his phone?

 

[type b pharmD]

just dont go to class

 

[renetto]

Non-IPPE or APPE rotations that this goddamn school made me do this week.

For two straight days I went on a hospital rotation (well, it was more of a "shadow" where I follow a P4 on their rotation for about two hours) and it was the biggest waste of time. The faculty member that walked us around knew nothing about pharmacy other than hospital and was very keen on making me feel like an idiot the whole time. The student I walked around with was even worse, she took me to a bunch of floors and we looked at charts. Pretty much we did everything a doctor would do, except the interesting stuff. We didn't get to look at any patients, any vital stuff, just mother****ing charts. Then the student showed me where all the break rooms are and how she sneaks in bottles and fills them up with Dr Pepper from the break rooms. Don't even get me started when we got to see TPN's being made (which I genuinely think is interesting) and they both ranted about how boring and uninteresting IV stuff is.

Seriously, if I did this my first semester of pharmacy school I would walk away thinking either "I need to change my major to pre-med so I can get into med school, this pharmacy garbage is boring" or "pharmacy isn't going anywhere as a career, I'm transferring somewhere else". But luckily I know a lot better now. You can't let a bunch of bad apples spoil the rest.

 

[renetto]

People like Passion4sci that come across as know it alls that think they are the alpha and omega of everything.


But they eventually meet their demise in their P2 year.

 

[Sparda29]

Non-IPPE or APPE rotations that this goddamn school made me do this week.

For two straight days I went on a hospital rotation (well, it was more of a "shadow" where I follow a P4 on their rotation for about two hours) and it was the biggest waste of time. The faculty member that walked us around knew nothing about pharmacy other than hospital and was very keen on making me feel like an idiot the whole time. The student I walked around with was even worse, she took me to a bunch of floors and we looked at charts. Pretty much we did everything a doctor would do, except the interesting stuff. We didn't get to look at any patients, any vital stuff, just mother****ing charts. Then the student showed me where all the break rooms are and how she sneaks in bottles and fills them up with Dr Pepper from the break rooms. Don't even get me started when we got to see TPN's being made (which I genuinely think is interesting) and they both ranted about how boring and uninteresting IV stuff is.

Seriously, if I did this my first semester of pharmacy school I would walk away thinking either "I need to change my major to pre-med so I can get into med school, this pharmacy garbage is boring" or "pharmacy isn't going anywhere as a career, I'm transferring somewhere else". But luckily I know a lot better now. You can't let a bunch of bad apples spoil the rest.

Making IVs is some boring ass ****. Well, maybe it's being graded on my procedure in the hood that makes me hate making IVs. Honestly, is there any scientific evidence that having my hand a little bit outside the hood is going to cause problems in making IVs?

Wouldn't it work just as good if I just stick the needle into the stock bottle without pulling the plunger back? It's seems like the way they are teaching us to do IVs is the boring and hard way.

 

[type b pharmD]

Making IVs is some boring ass ****. Well, maybe it's being graded on my procedure in the hood that makes me hate making IVs. Honestly, is there any scientific evidence that having my hand a little bit outside the hood is going to cause problems in making IVs?

Wouldn't it work just as good if I just stick the needle into the stock bottle without pulling the plunger back? It's seems like the way they are teaching us to do IVs is the boring and hard way.

They taught us a lot of unnecessary things too, seemed like their technique was a lot slower than what happens in the workplace.

 

[Sparda29]

Yeah, the only comfortable way I can work with a hood is if I am sitting down, or if I increase the amount of allowed height on the hood.

 

[Praziquantel86]

Making IVs is some boring ass ****. Well, maybe it's being graded on my procedure in the hood that makes me hate making IVs. Honestly, is there any scientific evidence that having my hand a little bit outside the hood is going to cause problems in making IVs?

Maybe so, maybe not. It's not that hard to move your hands three inches forward.

Wouldn't it work just as good if I just stick the needle into the stock bottle without pulling the plunger back? It's seems like the way they are teaching us to do IVs is the boring and hard way.

No, actually it wouldn't. Try removing an amp of bicarb without pulling the plunger back beforehand and you'll see why.

 

[rxlea]

I love making IVs, esp the interesting ones like ambisome, Gammaguard SD, epidurals, etc. Chemotherapy is tons of fun, too, because they all have to be diluted/reconstituted and prepared a certain way. Then there are the research meds and bladder meds like BCG and Mitomycin. Also, chemoembolizations, immune globulin, tacrolimus, peritoneal chemos, intrathechal meds, silver nitrate solution, alum irrigations, cocaine compounding...the list goes on and on. So, I promise you guys, it WILL get better 🙂

 

[Sparda29]

No, actually it wouldn't. Try removing an amp of bicarb without pulling the plunger back beforehand and you'll see why.

Hmm, you're right. Just tried it, I think it's something to do with air pressure that doesn't allow it to work, right?

 

[crazybob]

I love making IVs, esp the interesting ones like ambisome, Gammaguard SD, epidurals, etc. Chemotherapy is tons of fun, too, because they all have to be diluted/reconstituted and prepared a certain way. Then there are the research meds and bladder meds like BCG and Mitomycin. Also, chemoembolizations, immune globulin, tacrolimus, peritoneal chemos, intrathechal meds, silver nitrate solution, alum irrigations, cocaine compounding...the list goes on and on. So, I promise you guys, it WILL get better 🙂

Depends on your school, your living situations, your social situations with friends and classmates, etc.

But really, from what I hear, things just get more difficult, but it just seems normal since everything is hard.

 

[KARM12]

Non-IPPE or APPE rotations that this goddamn school made me do this week.

For two straight days I went on a hospital rotation (well, it was more of a "shadow" where I follow a P4 on their rotation for about two hours) and it was the biggest waste of time. The faculty member that walked us around knew nothing about pharmacy other than hospital and was very keen on making me feel like an idiot the whole time. The student I walked around with was even worse, she took me to a bunch of floors and we looked at charts. Pretty much we did everything a doctor would do, except the interesting stuff. We didn't get to look at any patients, any vital stuff, just mother****ing charts. Then the student showed me where all the break rooms are and how she sneaks in bottles and fills them up with Dr Pepper from the break rooms. Don't even get me started when we got to see TPN's being made (which I genuinely think is interesting) and they both ranted about how boring and uninteresting IV stuff is.

Seriously, if I did this my first semester of pharmacy school I would walk away thinking either "I need to change my major to pre-med so I can get into med school, this pharmacy garbage is boring" or "pharmacy isn't going anywhere as a career, I'm transferring somewhere else". But luckily I know a lot better now. You can't let a bunch of bad apples spoil the rest.

Techs usually make the IVs... The pharmacist has to check them and that, yes, is boring. Our TPNs are made by scanning a label and having the machine make it...that too a pharmacist has to check and is again boring.

 

[diastole]

I can't the be the only one who thinks pharmacy school is reasonably easy. I'm a P1 at an accelerated school and it is supposed to get harder next year. But how hard can it be? If 90% of the student body passes with a 90% on the exams, it can't be too hard or those numbers wouldn't be so high. We start kinetics next week. Hopefully, it will be challenging and make me stress a bit. I slack too much if I think the exams will be easy.

 

[Praziquantel86]

I love making IVs, esp the interesting ones like ambisome, Gammaguard SD, epidurals, etc. Chemotherapy is tons of fun, too, because they all have to be diluted/reconstituted and prepared a certain way. Then there are the research meds and bladder meds like BCG and Mitomycin. Also, chemoembolizations, immune globulin, tacrolimus, peritoneal chemos, intrathechal meds, silver nitrate solution, alum irrigations, cocaine compounding...the list goes on and on. So, I promise you guys, it WILL get better 🙂

How long have you been making IVs? I cringe every time I see an AmBisome, because I know my arm's going to fall asleep after 45 minutes of shaking 19 vials. Throw one of those on top of a busy day in the angio lab, and you've got one angry intern.

For the most part, I enjoy making IVs though. Much better than counting by fives.

Hmm, you're right. Just tried it, I think it's something to do with air pressure that doesn't allow it to work, right?

Yup. A vial is a closed system, and any volume removed has to be replaced. You can get away with the smaller volumes, but once you get around 4-5mL, it's too much of a pain in the neck and impossible to measure anything with accuracy.

 

[renetto]

Techs usually make the IVs... The pharmacist has to check them and that, yes, is boring. Our TPNs are made by scanning a label and having the machine make it...that too a pharmacist has to check and is again boring.

I've done some shadowing at a pharmacy in West Texas where the pharmacists make the IVs. I guess it all depends on where you work.

 

[nicolemsm]

Yeah, the only comfortable way I can work with a hood is if I am sitting down, or if I increase the amount of allowed height on the hood.

When I shadowed an indie compound pharmacist, they were making morphin IV drips and it seemed pretty cool, the only thing I didn't enjoy being in the room was how loud the HEPA filters were and how thin the air was... My lung were screaming for freedom.

 

[rxlea]

How long have you been making IVs? I cringe every time I see an AmBisome, because I know my arm's going to fall asleep after 45 minutes of shaking 19 vials. Throw one of those on top of a busy day in the angio lab, and you've got one angry intern.

For the most part, I enjoy making IVs though. Much better than counting by fives.



Yup. A vial is a closed system, and any volume removed has to be replaced. You can get away with the smaller volumes, but once you get around 4-5mL, it's too much of a pain in the neck and impossible to measure anything with accuracy.

3 years. You don't have to shake the ambisome that long. If you shake it for 30 seconds immediately after you shoot the 12 mls of SW in, it reconstitutes rather quickly. I will do two at a time. 🙂 try it! Then just let them sit for about 15 minutes and then shake another 10 seconds before you draw them up.

Pharmacists make IVs where I work, too. They do all the OR compounding.

 

[njac]

You have to be careful that the Ambisome doesn't foam up though.

CroFab is a real bitch though. Can't shake it and it takes forever to dissolve anyway. In the ED we'd just hand out the vials so you would have 8 people swirling for 15 minutes.

If I was in the hood, I would roll it. So I'd be working on whatever else was going on and roll it into the hood, it would hit the back and roll back to me and I'd bump it towards the back again. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[rxlea]

You have to be careful that the Ambisome doesn't foam up though.

CroFab is a real bitch though. Can't shake it and it takes forever to dissolve anyway. In the ED we'd just hand out the vials so you would have 8 people swirling for 15 minutes.

If I was in the hood, I would roll it. So I'd be working on whatever else was going on and roll it into the hood, it would hit the back and roll back to me and I'd bump it towards the back again. Rinse. Repeat.

The foam settles down when you let it sit. The one chemo I hate is abraxane because that crap is like a cake and you can't shake it. It takes almost half an hour just to reconstitute.

 

[PharMed2016]

I can't the be the only one who thinks pharmacy school is reasonably easy. I'm a P1 at an accelerated school and it is supposed to get harder next year. But how hard can it be? If 90% of the student body passes with a 90% on the exams, it can't be too hard or those numbers wouldn't be so high. We start kinetics next week. Hopefully, it will be challenging and make me stress a bit. I slack too much if I think the exams will be easy.

I had that until recently... now I think I might be about to get my first B/C. Haven't been able to concentrate much in class because I just got murdered in our OTC course... with all the questions that I am going to get wrong on this exam from one professor 👎 (First part intro of our therapeutics sequence).

 

[crazybob]

I can't the be the only one who thinks pharmacy school is reasonably easy. I'm a P1 at an accelerated school and it is supposed to get harder next year. But how hard can it be? If 90% of the student body passes with a 90% on the exams, it can't be too hard or those numbers wouldn't be so high. We start kinetics next week. Hopefully, it will be challenging and make me stress a bit. I slack too much if I think the exams will be easy.

you might have a lot of smart people who are motivated in your class. do you personally find it to be relatively easy?

 

[Praziquantel86]

CroFab is a real bitch though. Can't shake it and it takes forever to dissolve anyway. In the ED we'd just hand out the vials so you would have 8 people swirling for 15 minutes.

If I was in the hood, I would roll it. So I'd be working on whatever else was going on and roll it into the hood, it would hit the back and roll back to me and I'd bump it towards the back again. Rinse. Repeat.

One of the benefits of living in Western New York...no rattlesnakes, and therefore, no CroFab. Rolling isn't a bad idea though, maybe I'll give it a try next time I get a stat order for Cubicin.

If you have any suggestions for drawing up Lantus syringes for a hospital filled with people who have been exclusively fed chicken wings and fried dough their whole lives, I'm all ears.

 

[rxlea]

One of the benefits of living in Western New York...no rattlesnakes, and therefore, no CroFab. Rolling isn't a bad idea though, maybe I'll give it a try next time I get a stat order for Cubicin.

Rolling definitely works...

If you have any suggestions for drawing up Lantus syringes for a hospital filled with people who have been exclusively fed chicken wings and fried dough their whole lives, I'm all ears.

Make the nurses do it! We don't draw up any insulin unless it is for a regular insuling drip.

 

[Praziquantel86]

Rolling definitely works...


Make the nurses do it! We don't draw up any insulin unless it is for a regular insuling drip.

We've had issues in the past with significant overdoses (re: 100-fold), so it falls on pharmacy. I prefer it that way, just wish it wasn't such a pain in the neck.

 

[renetto]

Just to make sure I'm not going crazy....if you saw a prescription for Rheumatrex twice daily, would you call the doctor to clarify that or not?

 

[rxlea]

We've had issues in the past with significant overdoses (re: 100-fold), so it falls on pharmacy. I prefer it that way, just wish it wasn't such a pain in the neck.

Ouch. Sux. We have "insulin checks" where nurses have to verify the doses for each other and see what they drew up. But yeah, I guess it is better to have the burden and know what is going on rather than have someone get hurt :/

 

[eeyore spice]

We've had issues in the past with significant overdoses (re: 100-fold), so it falls on pharmacy. I prefer it that way, just wish it wasn't such a pain in the neck.

....How do you 100x OD insulin? Not that I doubt nurses are capable of being that ******ed, but..."Hrm, I can't find a SQ needle to fit this 20 ml syringe, maybe I screwed up somewhere..."

 

[crazybob]

....How do you 100x OD insulin? Not that I doubt nurses are capable of being that ******ed, but..."Hrm, I can't find a SQ needle to fit this 20 ml syringe, maybe I screwed up somewhere..."

Could it be a calculations error or a sloppy writing on a prescription or a chart that was misinterpreted?

 

[rxlea]

Could it be a calculations error or a sloppy writing on a prescription or a chart that was misinterpreted?

Those nurses really should be double-checking each other before administering insulin...

we had a tech once put 10 ml of regular insulin into a piggy back (100ml) when it only called for 1ml. Lucky the pharmacist asked her exactly how much she put in... now, we have to have the pharmacist double check our syringe before we shoot it in.

 

[eightball]

Those nurses really should be double-checking each other before administering insulin...

we had a tech once put 10 ml of regular insulin into a piggy back (100ml) when it only called for 1ml. Lucky the pharmacist asked her exactly how much she put in... now, we have to have the pharmacist double check our syringe before we shoot it in.

That was a sentinel near miss.

Nurses give more than required insulin when they mix up their lantuses, NPHs, Rs, Ns. For instance its not uncommon to give 15 units on Lantus, now when R is drawn up in that amount, problems tend to arise.

 

[charfdorn]

Yeah I feel it should be an option to come to class after all we are paying you not the other way around...they gave us some excuse about financial aid money...yeah right😡

This attitude bugs me. Yeah, you're paying them, but they're granting you the degree. If you want it, you have to play by their rules. And why are you paying for a class if you don't want to go?

 

[naseuy]

This attitude bugs me. Yeah, you're paying them, but they're granting you the degree. If you want it, you have to play by their rules. And why are you paying for a class if you don't want to go?

A lot of times it doesn't make sense to show up to a lecture where they read slides to you word for word.

 

[owlegrad]

A lot of times it doesn't make sense to show up to a lecture where they read slides to you word for word.

Would you prefer them to not put the important information on the slides? I mean some professors leave blanks in the slides to encourage (force) students to come to class. I like going to class, but I hate being treated that way. Just put the information on the slide and if some people don't want to come to class so be it!

 

[samuricool]

I hate it when the person who joined APhA for a CV booster, and knows virtually nothing about the practice of pharmacy, hounds me day after day to donate money to their APhA fundraiser.

 

[owlegrad]

I hate it when the person who joined APhA for a CV booster, and knows virtually nothing about the practice of pharmacy, hounds me day after day to donate money to their APhA fundraiser.

What other reason is there?

But seriously, I couldn't agree more. Every time I turn around I am being given the opportunity to buy some crap I don't want to support one group or another. I don't think it would bother me so much, except that it is so obviously done so that the students involved have something to put on the ol' CV.

 

[type b pharmD]

What other reason is there?

But seriously, I couldn't agree more. Every time I turn around I am being given the opportunity to buy some crap I don't want to support one group or another. I don't think it would bother me so much, except that it is so obviously done so that the students involved have something to put on the ol' CV.

Yeah. I dont think im going to join any of those either. It's a LARGE amount of money i dont have and almost none of it comes back. I might as well just spend money on extra pharmacy books about the field I am headed into.

 

[crazybob]

Yeah. I dont think im going to join any of those either. It's a LARGE amount of money i dont have and almost none of it comes back. I might as well just spend money on extra pharmacy books about the field I am headed into.

I know one girl at school who said that the number of meetings they have per year and the free food it brings with the registration fee is cheaper than adding up the amount of money you would have spent on lunch at school on those days.

 

[tootoo30]

This attitude bugs me. Yeah, you're paying them, but they're granting you the degree. If you want it, you have to play by their rules. And why are you paying for a class if you don't want to go?

First off I'm speaking from my experience at my school, and yes I feel that I can learn most of the info by reading the slides myself instead of the professor reading it to me...your school may leave blanks in slides but not mine, so if it bugs you that much move on.....

 

[gwarm01]

I know one girl at school who said that the number of meetings they have per year and the free food it brings with the registration fee is cheaper than adding up the amount of money you would have spent on lunch at school on those days.

I'd believe that, especially considering the prices at all of the places on our campus.