Time management for aspiring PharmD mom

[PharmTech89]

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I am a mother of two and want to start pharmD school. What have you found is the hardest this or was the hardest thing about the PharmD program? How hard do you out think the program is REALLY? Is something that you think can be done with kids? I would really love to here (if available) from other moms who went through school with kids. All advice is appreciated a THANK YOU!

 

[radio frequency]

Plenty of my classmates have done school with kids. Most are very successful. It all depends on how much support (mental, emotional, financial, childcare) your significant other can give you.

I find the hardest part of school is the monotony. It's not exactly the most riveting curriculum many times.

 

[molyhelp]

I am a mother of two and want to start pharmD school. What have you found is the hardest this or was the hardest thing about the PharmD program? How hard do you out think the program is REALLY? Is something that you think can be done with kids? I would really love to here (if available) from other moms who went through school with kids. All advice is appreciated a THANK YOU!

Only you can define your hardship. The same issue for someone else may be a breeze but for you may be a hardship.
With that in mind, is pharmacy school hard? The same issue for someone else may be a breeze but for you may be a hardship.

I think pharmacy school is hard.
Failure rate has been proven to be as high as 1 fails in 5 that got admitted.

So, be ready. Give all you can give. Think military lifestyle and mindset. Even better, think sacrifice and feeling worn out AND STILL SAFE, you will NOT lose an arm or a leg because of unknown roadside bomb.

You are in control.

As immigrants often tell each other at home:
America is the land of hard work.
In Asia, you may have the brain, but you can not go to school because no student loan exists.
In Asia, you may get sick and often will not recover because no Medicaid exists.
In Asia, you lose a job and depression often happen because no unemployment income exists.

There are other countries like that.
We are in America, we are lucky to have: student loan, credit card loan, Medicaid, unemployment income. Think really really hard about all that assistants and maximize your study. You already have a brain. Propel yourself through this with sacrifices and you will most likely make through.

Before pharmacy school, invest into Memory Class. What? You heard that right, Memory Class.
You know for a fact that school exists to teach you to have good driving skill.
You know for a fact that school exists to teach you to have good cooking skill.
You know for a fact that school exists to teach you to have good dancing skill.
You know for a fact that school exists to teach you to have good boxing skill.
You know for a fact that school exists to teach you to have good MEMORY skill.

When you were born, you did not know how to drive.
When you were born, you did not know how to box.
When you were born, you did not know how to Memorize.

Being 4.0 student as you shared, when did you take a class about how to Memorize?
Why being the best Memorizer is important?
In pharmacy school, you have little time with TOO MUCH INFORMATION to memorize. You need to be the best Memorizer to save time because you simply will not have enough time. That's part of time management skill.

Most of us that failed pharmacy school complained that we were given too little time to memorize. So, you have been begged: Be the best Memorizer and you will HUGHLY increase your chance of success.

If given a chance to pick pharmacy school, I prefer to pick the school that has PASS FAIL SYSTEM. In this system, either I pass or I fail.

No ranking, no valedictorian.

THERE IS NO COMPETITION IN SCHOOL. All and any of your classmates will have all the reasons to support and help you pass. All students are either classified as PASSED or FAILED. Therefore, all help all to pass. You need that loving environment to help you through school because struggling with kids and low income and brutal exams are already enough to wear us out. We do not need any other stress.

To be fair, you need to know as well:
90% score on the exam, that's a passed score.
89.99% score on the exam, that's a failed score. Failed first exam? Take the re-exam in a few days. Still failed re-exam? Take the Summer Re-exam....Still failed Summer Re-exam? Come back next year to sit in the class again. During that time, study for that same material and be that expert in this failed subject.

PASS FAIL SYSTEM has slight variations depending on the school. Please clarify with the school you pick.

In summary, please remember, as a busy mom with stress, you need the mental support which may justify picking the school with good mental support system. You can do it. I heard of 2 pharmacy students started pregnancy during pharmacy school, gave birth and still passed.

Keep going...

 

[PharmTech89]

@molyhelp I've never heard if a memorization class, but I will definitely look into it. As far as the 90% pass score! what test are you referring to? Is it all exams or just a specific one?

 

[PharmTech89]

Do I have to do my pre pharm bachelor degree and the PharmD? Or can I go I do my required courses at a community college then transfer to a university? Should I do prepharmacy and the pharmD set the same school any auggestions?

 

[molyhelp]

@molyhelp I've never heard if a memorization class, but I will definitely look into it.

Published onMar 9, 2014
Daniel Kilov is a Memory Athlete. He is capable of memorizing a shuffled deck of cards in under five minutes, and over 100 random digits in five minutes. Having struggled with organizational skills as a symptom of his poor memory all through high school, Daniel sought out methods to improve his memory.

Daniel now espouses the value of memory techniques as a potential revolution in education, both in the traditional sense of the word and, because as a matter of historical fact, the art of memory formed the cornerstone of education from the time of the Ancient Greeks, up until the renaissance.


Another world champion of memory was a common factory worker that had normal memory skill until he learned that chemotherapy was going to make him lose memory. During chemotherapy treatment, he learned to memorize. Now, he is world champion by internalizing his memory skills.

The point is not about winning those contests. The point is to internalize the skill of memory to help you in the road ahead of pharmacy school.

Similarly, the point about learning to drive is not just to be a taxi driver. The point is to internalize the skill of driving to help you drop off the kid and get grocery...easily...How and where you use that skill in life is extremely dependent on your situations.
At the age of 18, you know to just get the skill first because it takes times to internalize the skill to be a good driver. We can not just read a book, know the steps, and be a good driver. We need to internalize the skill by practicing the skill daily until a day when you have the skill so well that you can just simply do thing and the skill is applied automatically. That's the level of mastery of memory skill you would prefer to have before setting foot into pharmacy school.
At this age of pre-pharmacy, you know you just have to internalize the skill of memory.

Imagine a day when you get out of class and your husband has to work late and you have a rotation coming up, you just get in the car and drive there, here, there, here...You don't even have to think about driving skill any more....You know when to put the key in, shift into reverse, go to intersection, drive without straining and get all the task done on time before rotation....Imagine that day where your skill is a part of you so well that you can just perform...And you know deep down today as being the start of this wonderful feeling....so, please start now....

 

[molyhelp]

@molyhelp
As far as the 90% pass score! what test are you referring to? Is it all exams or just a specific one?

In the school that follows PASS FAIL SYSTEM, all exams must be over 90% to be accepted as a pass. They do make the exam acceptable so most students will pass.

In the school that follows Ranking system, you can expect A,B,C like traditional schools.

 

[molyhelp]

Do I have to do my pre pharm bachelor degree and the PharmD? Or can I go I do my required courses at a community college then transfer to a university? Should I do prepharmacy and the pharmD set the same school any auggestions?

Since you have kids and distractions to worry about, committing into a program that trains you to be pharmacist for a straight 6 years might be a big commitment, still, that's up to you.

A good approach has been to get bachelor's degree with good grade in any field: teacher, business, computer, philosophy..... Why? most pharmacy schools now want bachelor's degree, any degree, not just hard core science like chemistry or biology.

For pre-pharmacy classes, many took the classes just at community colleges and still got accepted into pharmacy schools. That takes about 2 years minimum, maybe 3 years.
During that time, take other classes to qualify for bachelor's science degree.
If well combined, all that takes about at least 4 years, may be 5 years.
Near the time we get bachelor's or just after we got bachelor's, apply to pharmacy schools.
Then, start pharmacy school for at least 3 years, may be 4 years.
Then, done, serve at community pharmacy. If lucky, get hospital job in rural areas.

Why this long route of pre-pharmacy and bachelor's, then, apply to pharmacy school you like? You have flexibility, if you get tired after 4 years, you student loan is not that high and you still have a bachelor's degree as a backup tool. Then, when you finish pre-pharmacy classes at any colleges you see fit, you can apply to any pharmacy school you see fit and really pour out your brain for intense 3 years or 4 years (last year is less stressful because you are out there at practice site to do things, not study and take exam, so less stressful. But, some site forces you to research or present a topic or read pharmacy news and report....just some headaches but not as devastating as pharmacy school exam).

Why this long route? If you sign up into a program that trains you straight 6 years from scratch and then, in the middle of training, you can't finish for whatever reason (you burn out, your husband burns out, your kids sick....), I heard you can not transfer the finished classes to other pharmacy schools...Anyone with experience of 6 year school, please give your comments.

If you want to get more skills to get Hospital job in City areas, do Residency for 1 year, (or 2 years to get even better Hospital job).

If you plan to be top notch clinical pharmacist in hospital which requires top notch school training, then, you need top notch pre-pharmacy classes with lots of community volunteer and club experiences....
To get Hospital jobs, you often need Residency which costs you 1 year or 2 years.
To get Residency, you often need good club and leadership experiences during pharmacy school which cost lots of time (a luxury of time that parents like us do not have extra time.)
To get Residency, you also need to compete with top students from other schools, so, you also need to go to top schools that lean toward clinical training (there are many, just to name a few, UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, USC....)
To get into top school, you need top grade with good community services and club experiences which cost lots of time (again, a luxury of time that parents like us do not have.)

If you plan to help and serve as community pharmacist because you know you have the experiences and personality and endurance to fit this community service, then, you can take pre-pharmacy classes at community colleges and apply to schools that are not heavy about clinical training...(Most pharmacy schools that offer the core pharmacy classes as 3 years have just enough time to train us to be competent pharmacist that most likely serve well in community pharmacy.)

Another note to relieve stress: some schools have an option called Academic Forgiveness which counts only grade within 5 years from the time you apply. If you ever have a grade of F or D that is over 5 years, that is forgiven. Within the past 5 years, if you restarted your life and now have good GPA, you prove now that you have good discipline and brain power to be in the pharmacy program. Old grades that are over 5 years are not likely a true judge of your current ability, drive, and skills.

Good luck on the long road ahead.....

 

[pharm B]

Do I have to do my pre pharm bachelor degree and the PharmD? Or can I go I do my required courses at a community college then transfer to a university? Should I do prepharmacy and the pharmD set the same school any auggestions?

I attended a community college and a state institution. I can tell you I graduate with the same degree as any other pharmacy student, regardless of the undergrad (private or public) or pharmacy school (private or public) they attended. I have better things to spend money on than a diploma printed on slightly thicker paper.

I think the biggest difficulty in going through school as a parent is making sure you have a support system in place for when your kids are sick, both on the home and school fronts. You need a friend in class who'll provide you with missed notes, etc, and you might need a family member who can run your kid to the doc if you can't leave school. Pretend your phone rings just minutes before exam and it's your child's nurse. Do you have someone who can help, or do you need to tell your prof that you have to miss? First-hand experience: mine were usually more than happy to help. One had a flat policy that if you missed, you got a different version of the exam (sometimes a more difficult one).

Other than that, one of the other big juggles is organizational involvement. Do you want to take on a leadership role? Do you even want to be a member of any of the groups? You have to figure out for yourself how much you can handle.