Where to volunteer?

[goheel]

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Hi,
Where do I need to volunteer to increase my chance to get into pharmacy school? What kind of things will I expect to do when I volunteer?

Thanks

 

[off2skl]

I volunteer in a hospital pharmacy. I make rounds with medicatiosn and IVs throughout the hospital, pick up unused meds. I also send filled scripts through our tube system between rounds (basically a pipe system, whcih you type in a code to get it to a specific unit), filing, create labels (for files, not for the scripts), deliver scripts that come through our regular and STAT lines. I've doen soem restocking under the supervision of a tech.

 

[Roxicet]

I volunteer at a free clinic downtown. I don't know how much that will help me get into a pharmD program, but I like it. It's not high tech at all. All I can do is count pills because all of the patients there speak spanish. Other people can type labels for the meds (in spanish), or hand out the meds to the patients and explain to them what they're for and how to take them. Most of the meds prescribed are for diabetes, hypertension, and depression. I have learned a little more spanish, but for the life of me, I can't put together a proper sentence, even though I've been surrounded by spanish-speaking people my whole life. For some reason, we can never get a pharmacist to volunteer. The person in charge of the pharmacy is usually an RN. I feel like i'm needed more there than in retail or a hospital. I feel like I've made a difference at the end of the day.

 

[LVPharm]

Now that's a great volunteer opportunity, Karma! You're providing your efforts to an underserved population, and getting a great experience in actual community pharmacy practice. You'll have great stuff to put into your personal statements and interviews when the time comes.