State and National Pharmacy Organizations

My name is Angela, and I am a P3 at PCSP.  As a pharmacy student, it is very important to be involved in the state and national pharmacy organizations.  Being a member of these organizations allows you to be up to speed with the career of pharmacy and allows you to meet other pharmacy students.  The national and state pharmacy organizations hold meetings where students, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacists can interact with each other.  They can also listen to presentations by their peers about what are the latest happenings in pharmacy.  I recently attended the ASHP Midyear Convention in Las Vegas, NV.  This convention was for students interested in hospital pharmacy and pharmacists and technicians who work in a hospital.  It was a great experience!  At this convention a residency showcase was held.  This is where residency programs from all over the United States are there promoting their residency programs.  There were hundreds of them!  If you are thinking of doing a residency, it is a very good idea to attend the residency showcase.  The rest of the convention consisted of sessions for students, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.  The sessions I attended, while at the convention, discussed how to make yourself the best candidate for a residency program and what to expect during the application process.  Even though these sessions took most of the day, there was still time to enjoy the sites of Las Vegas.  Each year the ASHP Midyear Convention is held in a different city. 

Pharmacy organizations are a great way to interact with other pharmacy students and pharmacists.  They allow you to see the current areas of health care that are important to pharmacy.  Although pharmacy school can sometimes bog you down, it is good to take time to enjoy yourself….. and learn at the same time!