On this page, you will find the following information about the following pharmacy school subjects:
Pharmacy Program
Rotations
Graduation and Licensure
Kappa Psi
Feel free to skip around or just read on through and if there's anything I didn't cover, don't be afraid to shoot me an email at healthyberg [at] gmail [dot] com and I'd be happy to answer your questions.
Pharmacy Program
The pharmacy school program was a four year doctor of pharmacy program that required two years of pre-pharmacy course work. I did all of my pre-pharmacy work at the community college here in Traverse City and then transferred to Ferris State in Big Rapids, MI when I was accepted into the college of pharmacy. The first two professional years take place on the main campus in Big Rapids, and they are an intense two years. I remember thinking that organic chemistry was hard, but it was nothing compared to pharmacy school! The first two years consist of classes revolving around pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, and chemotherapeutics. Chemotherapeutics was the hardest class I have ever taken in my life; the day I passed is marked as one of my Top 10 in 2010.
The third year of school is set up off the main campus in Grand Rapids, which is about an hour south of Big Rapids. The third year is more clinical based and consists mostly of pharmacotherapeutics classes, which focused on disease states and appropriate treatments. There were lots of late nights studying this year!
The fourth year of pharmacy school consists of rotations, which were located in various cities throughout the state. We have three required rotations, which include internal medicine, ambulatory care, and advanced community, plus three electives. The fourth year is also when we we put together our clinical seminar presentation. I was so stressed about it and we were all so relieved once it was over.
Pharmacy Rotations
Besides clinical seminar, the fourth year of pharmacy school was definitely my favorite. It was the year that we got the most hands on experience and is the year that most students decide what field of pharmacy they want to go into. Here are the rotations that I had:
- August/September: Internal Medicine
- October: Academic elective
- November: Veterinary elective
- January: Advanced Community
- Feburary: Compounding elective
- March/April: Ambulatory Care
Some favorite posts from rotations:
- Readability Assignment
- Elementary School Germs Presentation
- Leapin' Lizards
- Feline Hernia Surgery
- Capsule Making
Graduation and Licensure
All of the hard work I put into school was worth it because in May 2012 I walked across the stage and received my Doctor of Pharmacy degree with all my friends.
(You may click here for my graduation post - it includes video!)
I wish that you could start practicing as soon as you receive that diploma, but unfortunately it's not that easy. Next I had to schedule and take my pharmacy board exams. There were two exams I had to pass before I could receive my pharmacy license, which you may read more about in this post. I took the exams in late June, and less than two weeks later I became a licensed pharmacist!
Kappa Psi
Kappa Psi is the co-ed pharmacy fraternity that I joined my first year at Ferris. I pledged in Fall 2008 and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I have met some of my very best friends through that fraternity, including my boyfriend, Eric. Even though we were very close friends during all four years of pharmacy school, we didn't actually start dating until we graduated. We had a pretty tight-knit group of friends!
Every fall and spring there is a regional Kappa Psi meeting, and I attended almost every one while I was in school. I'm hoping I can keep going to as many as I can now that I'm graduated! Here are some recaps from previous Kappa Psi assemblies:
- Spring 2011 in Detroit: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3
- Fall 2011 in Lombard, IL: Part 1 and Part 2
- Spring 2012 in Madison, WI: Part 1 and Part 2
More Kappa Psi related posts:
