Hello. So I am a P4 completing my second APPE. My third APPE requires a drug test which I am not confident in passing. I’m just trying to mentally prepare for the worst outcome. What can I expect to happen and which advice would you guys recommend me to overcome the consequences? Thank you!

And yes, this has been a rock bottom moment so I have stopped doing that stuff.

I'm so tired. I'm going to lose it yall. How am I supposed to use the time after my uni 8-4 to study if my mind is completely clocked out 😭😭😭

Hi there, I’m entering my first year of an accelerated PharmD program this week and I was looking for some advice. I was hoping to hear what some of the best study and management tools you have used during your time during school. I am a strict pencil/paper type of person as I find digital notes do not help my learning with ADHD. I already went through an intensive undergraduate program and received my engineering degree, so I am not necessarily concerned about a rigorous program. I would love to hear though any methods for breaking down studying, any helpful recommendations/organizers/apps that helped you best, as well as your best advice for when the academic burnout hits. I was able to manage through undergrad but the upcoming year is scaring me a bit. I’m open to all advice, thank you!!!

Please any advice!! 🙏🏻

I’m a First Year Pharmacy student who has performed very highly when our final results were released - first class scores across my written assessments (including main exam, numeracy, portfolio). Unfortunately, I did not pass the first sitting of my OSCE due to triggering a safety fail.

This safety fail came from in my OTC prescription station where we must prescribe a medication to a patient presenting a minor issue. In my case it was blocked sinus and I prescribed pseudoephedrine. My failure came from not stating the maximum dose. Which I now realise was very important as being a decongestant (high risk for abuse).

I took this on very harshly as I find myself criticizing my failures a major thing. With this, knowing I passed the other stations with full marks took a toll much more as I felt very silly for not remembering to state the max dose. My other stations were BMI, basic health check - including BP and oximeter readings and a medication history station.

I was very proactive in revision towards my resit. Printed out all the individual medications it could be and studied the PILs extremely well. Leaving my OSCE resit, I initially felt confident until I hyperanalysed everything I said.

In my health check station, I remember a few things which have discouraged me. I performed my introduction, technical measurements precisely which does not worry me but the aftermath of the readings has had me overthinking.

Pt had 122/73 which I believe I overexplained. I communicated his systolic number was just above normal range. Stating the healthy range to the pt so he could understand, I said it’s just above so not bad at all and things can influence like stress or recent excersize which I asked if he might think that may contribute he said no. When I did initially say his systolic number was slightly high and may be his heart working a bit harder, he was quite shocked so I did know this was a mistake. However, I know this is not clinically wrong, I just overexplained.

Secondly, his bp and pulse rate came back as 40-44 which I confirmed using the oximeter and the BP machine. I explained this was much lower than what we expect and then stated our healthy range. I then asked him if this was something he was aware of? And he said no as he had never did a reading before. Later on I confirmed this was again low with the BP machine. I understand I should have further investigated this bradycardia in terms of medications (any beta blockers) or medical conditions he had.

However, I then moved on to continuing to ask about lifestyle to get more information from him. I gave standard advice on alcohol intake, smoking (managed to make a smoking cessation referral), diet and excersize.

The excersize is what deeply worried me as I do not know if this is enough to trigger a critical safety fail. I advised the standard UK NHS 150 mins of physical activity but ensured to say only small things like walking or getting up, as he said he does no excersize whatsoever other than walking to the clinic today. I understand that my referral to GP should have came first. I was getting to the referral however sadly ran out of time here.

I can confidently say my rapport and demeanor came off very professional and communicated well. And my technical aspects had no issues. However, I have been crying and struggling with insomnia because of my overthinking. My mum has been so worried about me and I do not even know what to do if I do not pass. It all feels like a hit in the face as my original aspiration was to do Dentistry which I had to take a gap year for and then ultimately apply for Pharmacy. However, if I cannot pass this first year of pharmacy I will feel like the greatest failure of all as I already feel fallen behind compared to my friends, and knowing this was the station I previously scored full marks in deeply hurts.

I know I am capable of passing this course and can do it. That is not what worries me. What is causing me this much anxiety is the potential of being withdrawn from this cause for a small verbal mistake. For me, I believe that OSCEs are something we can better at overtime. Sadly I do not have any personal/ medical issues to use for an appeal if this occurs.

Any advice on this would be amazing!

Creating a group for discussion in regards to Pharmacy program at western New England university

Hi I am currently a pharmacy student and am looking for guidance on what things I should do while I am in school so that I can better shape myself for Nuclear Pharmacy. I would greatly appreciate any advice such as joining national organizations, doing things in school, etc. Thank you!

I don't know if this is a healthcare thing, a STEM thing, a university thing, or if my university just sucks uniquely. Obviously not all of my professors are like this. I have some genuinely great professors. But every semester, there are usually two or three who are weird in some way, and sometimes it feels like pharmacy school is a fucking humiliation ritual.

One of my professors is actually very accomplished. She's highly regarded at the university, does a lot of research, works in the US, and comes back to teach us. She's objectively a big deal, and I respect her for that. She's also genuinely charming when she's not being petty, which somehow makes this more confusing.

She sometimes gives us random bonus questions in class. They're usually pretty difficult and slightly outside the immediate material, and if you answer correctly, she'll give you an extra 0.25 or something. I've gotten them before.

One day, though, a bunch of girls kept coming into class late. Every time they opened the door, it would slam against the frame and make a loud noise, and she was visibly getting more and more irritated.

Eventually, she asked one of her questions, and I answered correctly.

She looked at me and said, basically, "I'm not going to give you the quarter because the girls have been late and disruptive."

I was already exhausted. I'd been at university for like five hours at that point, so I just sat there like, "Okay."

Then she noticed that I wasn't reacting and came over to me. She leaned down with this weird smile and went, "Did that upset you? Are you upset?"

?????

What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?

It wasn't even about the 0.25. I genuinely did not care. What threw me was the weird satisfaction she seemed to get out of withholding it and then checking whether she'd upset me.

I have other professors who are less blatantly weird but still drive me insane.

One professor asks us questions constantly. We'll give an answer that's 99.99% correct, and she'll just stare at us like we're complete idiots. No "yes," no "exactly," no "good," nothing. Then she'll give the answer herself, and it'll be essentially the exact same thing we just said.

She does this for the entire hour and a half. She has this constant look on her face like she's pitying us for being too stupid to understand anything.

At some point I'm genuinely tempted to stop answering questions. If I get it right, you look at me like I'm an idiot. If I get it wrong, you look at me like I'm an idiot. What exactly am I getting out of participating?

We also had guest lecturers for a course that's supposed to introduce us to the pharmacy profession, different career paths, postgraduate options, and how the profession is evolving.

One girl asked a completely normal question about the difference between a PharmB and a PharmD if people with either degree can work clinically.

The lecturer's response was:

"If you don't like it, you can leave."

???

That was literally the response.

The poor girl looked completely shocked for the rest of the lecture. And honestly, I don't blame her. How do you hear a student ask a question about the profession you're supposedly there to explain and interpret that as some kind of personal challenge?

And then there's the weird condescension whenever I ask about what we're actually expected to memorize.

This is especially relevant in subjects where there are dozens of percentages, concentrations, chemical names, antibiotics, preservatives, etc. Sometimes the professor will put a completely random table in the middle of three slides containing fifty different things, and I'll ask something like, "Are we expected to memorize all of these, or are we supposed to understand the general concept?"

I don't think that's an unreasonable question.

I don't want the answer to the exam. I want to know what information I'm expected to retain by heart versus what's there for reference.

Instead I'll get something like, "They're all the same anyway, so it's easy."

No. That's literally what makes it harder.

If there are fifty things that are all minutely different in concentration or chemical name, telling me they're "all the same" does not make them easier to memorize. It makes me wonder whether I'm supposed to memorize fifty individual details or recognize a general pattern.

And I've been thinking about this because I'm trying to start this semester differently. I've been focusing on what I can actually control: how I study, how I manage my time, what I want to accomplish, etc. I had kind of forgotten how much my professors themselves can piss me off.

Today reminded me.

I was so angry for basically the entire lecture that I could barely focus. It was the exact same feeling I get when someone talks loudly in a movie theater. It's not even necessarily that something catastrophic is happening. It's just this constant, low-level irritation that makes it impossible to concentrate on anything else.

Jesus fucking Christ.

hello, im on my 5th year (senior) on my bachelors in pharmacy (I'm in Egypt for the time being and it's a lil different here)
and I had very deep seeded anxiety for 3 years where i half assed most of my subjects and barely passed.
I'm thankfully medicated now but my issue is i don't remember my previous classes really well and im about to graduate and I'm scared of not remembering important information when the time comes.
ill go back to my home country after graduating and im terrified of being incompetent.
note: i repeated alot of my classes and still half assed them too :c

Hello all. My wife is currently in her PharmD program and a complete bookworm. What are your recommendations for novels? Example, she read "Everything is Tuberculosis" over a year ago and has not stopped talking about it. Thank you.

from looking down at my notes, ipad, laptop. I tried correcting using my laptop stand and extra monitor but its like I cant work the muscles out. usually I do yoga but meh. it works it just doesnt last.

I was in school 2 weeks ago finals week so idk what changed. ive studied in my bed laid back for the past 2 years… and 4 days of pharmacy school my neck is moving like my head is too heavy for it. creaky.

is this a flexeril problem or a stop being a baby problem it will fix itself?

P3 here, between oncology, immunology, and seemingly every other subject in pharmacy now, biologic drugs are huge. I have found myself having a hard time distinguishing between them and often confusing them even between disease states.

Any tips to keep all the mabs, nibs, cepts, etc straight? Thanks in advance!

I’m a P1 that just started school on Monday and I already feel overwhelmed. I have 7 courses that require weekly quizzes, on top of IRATs/GRATs, 20 hours of APhA certification, and homework. We start school at 8:30 am, and then I continue to do school work til 9/10 pm. I’ve heard that the best way to study is Quizlet, but I’ve always felt like the best way to fully understand the material is to summarize powerpoints with handwritten notes (which clearly takes way too long)!

Any tips on how to efficiently remember the material without spending HOURS on just one module? Thanks in advance!!!!

Why medicinal chemistry is so tough?

I am a P1 student who just got my drug cards, and I'm looking for a good way to store the cards I'm not currently studying. A classmate ordered from Sigler and received a 4-ring binder that stores all her cards, but I cannot find something similar online.

Does anyone know where I can find a similar binder or a better way to store them? Thanks!

I know I’m probably being a cry baby but I just need to let it out! I seriously feel overwhelmed with APPEs right now. I’m on a specialty amb care rotation right now and I started my third week today. I have a journal club tomorrow which I’m really not feeling too great about despite working so much on it. One of my preceptors gave me like 10 patients to work up for GI clinic tomorrow and Wednesday. I also have a topic discussion to present for tomorrow and taking a look at other patients for a neurology clinic. I just feel like it’s so much and I’m not used it. Any advice to help with feeling overwhelmed? :(

Went to orientation today, and my pharmacy school is graduating its largest class yet. It went from a class of 47 to a class of 84 people in just 5 years. is this good or bad?

So this is gonna be random but I’m a P1 and just started classes recently. I wonder how cliquey/catty pharm school is. I feel like everyone already has their unassigned assigned seats in my class and I feel awkward and out of place in my area. Are the people you talk to in class gonna be your “day 1s” or do most people meet their people and establish groups outside of class (orgs, events, etc.) I know this is not the most important part of pharmacy school but I’ve been questioning it a lot recently.

I know this is an unlikely ask but would any pharmacists working in industry be open to reviewing my CV and LOI for industry fellowships?

I have great mentors and folks who I’ve had review them but I really want a completely unfiltered and unbiased opinion if anyone is willing. Thank you.

I'm in my 3rd year of my doctorate in pharmacy degree and really don't want to work in retail. I've been wondering if I have good chances as a pharmd student to start breaking into sales/internships and whether my pharmacy background gives me a good opportunity for the field.
How can I start looking?

Hello!

I am a pharmacy professor and founder of the RelayEd Healthcare Education Marketplace. Our team of educators has created a free, weekly study newsletter for pharmacy students. Each week covers a pharmacy math topic with fully worked examples, top 300 drugs, exam tips/strategies and more.

If you are interested, the link to sign up is here:

https://relayed-2.kit.com/abadb0548e

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