Welcome to the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy blog!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Tacky Christmas Sweater Party


It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's almost Christmas, and what better way to celebrate than with a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party?! School can get a little stressful around the holidays with final exams and wrapping up the semester, but taking a break from studying to dress up in your tackiest Christmas attire and hang out with friends is such a great stress reliever. Many pharmacy students did just that at this year's PCSP Holiday Party. There were tons of awesome tacky sweaters and lots of great food. What could be better? MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Markie
P3 - Class of 2016

Friday, December 19, 2014

Operation Christmas Child



One of the things I love about PC School of Pharmacy is our motto, "While we live, we serve." It's so great to see our school give back in different ways, but my favorite is through Operation Christmas Child. You may have heard of Operation Christmas Child before, but if you haven't it is organized by Samaritan's Purse every year in an effort to reach out to children all over the world who otherwise may not receive anything for Christmas or may not learn about the true meaning of Christmas. All you have to do is fill a shoebox with items that a child may need or want for Christmas. These items can range from toys to stuffed animals to clothing. PCSP holds a collection week each year to allow students to participate. We always have such a great turnout and everyone has a lot of fun packing shoeboxes for children in need!

Markie
P3 - Class of 2016

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Light at the End of the Tunnel


This definitely describes my life in more ways than one right now. First off, we are closing in on another semester, and Christmas break is right around the corner. Just a few more exams and we will be free! Secondly, as I am in my P3 year, I can see the academic portion of my pharmacy school career coming to a close, as I only have one more semester of “schoolwork” before moving on to 9 months of rotations during my P4 year. While this is an exciting time, it is also a little bittersweet, as I have truly loved my time here at Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy. I have learned more than I ever thought possible, made lifelong friends and served the community in many different ways. It can be tempting to always be thinking toward the future, especially in pharmacy school when so many of our friends have already moved on to jobs and other endeavors, but my advice would be to enjoy the ride….When you are standing in my shoes, you will be glad that you savored those moments, and realize that each of them prepared you to be the best pharmacist that you can be. So while there is a light at the end of the tunnel that I am happy to see, I am just as happy to say that I enjoyed the time that it took me to get there.

Jenny
P3 - Class of 2016 

Friday, December 12, 2014

Appropriate Time Scheduling Techniques


This time of year school gets very hectic as the semester is winding down and we begin to prepare for finals.  Everyone is on edge, while calculating what they need to make on their exams to get a certain grade in the class, reviewing old exams, and studying during every chance of free time we get.  This time of the semester is bittersweet to me as I prepare to move further in my pharmacy school career and become closer to graduation.  So as I begin planning my schedule for finals, I make sure to write each final and its time in my agenda, then I try to plan around that for when I will study and what I will study.  It becomes tricky when you have so many finals, but time management is key during the end of a busy semester.  I also make sure to save a little free time for myself because you cannot spend all of your time studying or else you will get burnt out very easily.  When preparing for finals it really is up to the individual student to find what works best for them and helps them stay on top of their work, but for me I have found what works best which I shared with you.  My schedule allows me to study hard, enjoy myself, and time with my friends before we all head home after exams are over.

Sara
P2 - Class of 2017

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Shadowing/Working in a Pharmacy


I think a pretty common question that’s asked when making the decision to come to pharmacy school is whether or not you need pharmacy experience before coming. The beautiful thing about it is that you don’t have to have any pharmacy experience coming in to be successful. While pharmacy experience will definitely help you out with drug names and being familiar with the set-up of a pharmacy, it doesn’t guarantee pharmacy school will be a walk in the park. With each class, there will be some who have years of pharmacy experience and others who have never stepped foot behind a pharmacy counter before. Both have equal opportunity to be successful in school! So if you are thinking about pharmacy school but have no pharmacy experience, don’t let that stop you! Come! With hard work and dedication, you will be fine. If you have pharmacy experience, that’s great! You come too! You will be successful as well with hard work and dedication.

Aurezu
P2 - Class of 2017

Monday, December 8, 2014

Christmas Break


“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” We are simultaneously at an end of a calendar year but in the middle of a school year. We have survived fall semester! Whether you are in your last year of undergrad before pharmacy school, working while you wait for pharmacy school to start, or are currently a student at PCSP, congratulations on getting one step closer to your future career as a pharmacist. We should all be proud of how far we have come, and take this time at the end of the calendar year to be grateful for those who have supported us on this journey, and to make goals for the New Year. I am going to enjoy spending every minute of my break with my daughters, husband, and family. We plan to do every cheesy Christmas tradition we can pack into three weeks. And I am secretly asking Santa for some snow. A personal goal for me, academically, is that I plan to enjoy my time off, but then “hit the ground running” when classes start in the spring and procrastinate less. How about you guys? Are you going to partake in any Christmas traditions? Do you have any goals set for the New Year?

Nicole
P1 - Class of 2018

Friday, December 5, 2014

Preparing for Finals



It’s that time of year again!  Yep, that’s right, finals will soon be here.  Although this time of year can be very stressful, it is important to remain focused and collected.  The thing that keeps me level headed is starting to study earlier.  Studying a little bit every day helps me with recalling it when “cramming” for the last week before finals.  The more I keep up with my studies, the easier I find studying for finals to be.  Studying is the most important thing, but sleep, a well balanced diet, and having an outlet to get away from the stress are also extremely necessary.  So let’s not forget to recharge and fuel our brain properly before hours upon hours of hitting the books. Stress is a good thing at times for motivation, but there are moments when I just need to step away from it all to get my head straight.  A quick study break of Super Smash Bros usually does the trick for me.  Another thing to remember is that after all the hard work of the semester and finals are over, we have our well deserved winter break waiting for us. Happy studying all!

Ryan

P2 – Class of 2017

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Friends for Life


Coming in to pharmacy school I knew that it was going to change my life in the career aspect, but I had no idea how much my life would change overall. This will be my third and final year at PC in the sense of going to class with the same people everyday. Those people that I met on the very first day of orientation have become four of my best friends. I started pharmacy school nervous and not knowing what to expect, but the first day when I met Shanna, Allie, Jenny and Caleb I knew it was going to be ok; little did I know these four would become my confidants, my support team, my stress relievers, and have parts in my wedding. I’m a firm believer that you have to have people in your life that know the stress you’re under and what you’re going through, I think it’s critical in having a successful pharmacy school career. When you go to school everyday and you always have a test or a quiz or a project it’s very easy to forget that you need a break from it, whether it be a quick dinner or a fall break trip.  You have to have a break or you’ll get burnt out very quickly. Having people that have the same things going on and understand your lifestyle makes it much easier to have those dinners and trips. Everybody always talks about stress and time management but you also have to make time for fun and friends, and I’m so thankful I met mine in pharmacy school. So my advice for starting pharmacy school is to meet people and form bonds that you can have not only for pharmacy school but also for life.

Amber

P3 – Class of 2016

Monday, December 1, 2014

Stress Management Strategies




School can be stressful at times. Managing this stress is a work in progress, no matter if you’re a ‘type A’ individual or someone who works on impulse. Over the years, I have developed a system for managing the stressful moments that come with life in general; more specifically pharmacy school. Next time you are stressed, these hints and tips may help you too J

1.      Get enough sleep!—I really cannot stress this enough. Each night (especially before a big test) I set an alarm for myself and say ‘Ok, whatever I don’t know by this time, I just won’t know’ and it works. This way, my brain knows that we have until this hour to get whatever we need to get done, done. Right before a big exam this is especially important. You’d be surprised what you can retain with that extra hour of sleep!

2.      Do what you enjoy. Don’t feel like you have to give up things like TV and exercising just because you’ve been told that’s the ‘right way to handle things’ . You can do any hobby you’d like, you just have to prioritize your time. Find out what parts of your day you are spending the most time and cut that out. Five minutes can make all the difference---Which brings me to my next point….

3.      Manage your time. I find that writing out an actual itinerary works for me. For those who aren’t as ‘type A’ I would suggest making a mental list of all the things of all the things that you’d like to get done.

4.      Reach out.  9 times out of 10 the person sitting right next to you is feeling just as stressed out an overwhelmed as you are, if not more. I found that joining study groups worked for it and me helped out a lot to have my professors there, ready to help if need be.

5.      Last but not least remember---Rome wasn’t built in a day. If there is a task that can’t get accomplished exactly when you’d like, it ‘s okay! Try your best to plan ahead of time to make up for the inevitable times when things just so happen to come up.

Danielle
P2 - Class of 2017