7 Quick Takes - I Call Shenanigans Edition

Today's Quick Takes are all "wisdom" people have passed down that I have found to be malarkey. (Isn't malarkey a funny word?)

1. Once you get out in the working world, you'll miss school. Bull. I miss some of my classmates, sure. I don't miss final exams. I don't miss all the cliquishness and drama associated with pharmacy school. I don't miss being surrounded by undergrads. I sure as hell don't miss paying to work, which I did during my last year of school. I enjoy having a little actual responsibility, even if it's scary sometimes. I enjoy telling people "I'm a pharmacist" instead of "I'm a pharmacy student." I was a little embarrassed to be in my late twenties and still a freaking student.

2. Never go to bed angry. I get crankier and less rational the more fatigued I am. If I force myself to stay up till the argument's over, I run the risk of saying something I'll regret. Sometimes it's best to just say, "Let's pick this up tomorrow when we're not so tired," and hash the issue out when you're thinking clearly.

3. High school/college are the best years of your life. Egad, I hope not! In a country where life expectancy is ~80, how sad is it that the best years of your life happen before you turn 30?

4. Don't get attached to your patients. What are you, a robot? If you can see somebody in clinic every week for a year and not get attached, there's something wrong with you.

5. Don't mess with Texas. Actually, this is not a myth. I don't know why that's even on here. (But did you know this is the slogan of a litter prevention campaign?)

6. Good things come to those who wait. Waiting around doesn't cut it; you have to take charge and make things happen. Most of the time, the only thing that comes to those who wait is boredom.

7. Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter helps, but personally, I'd rather have some vancomycin. I'm a tad biased, however. :)

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, go here!

7 Quick Takes - NOT Talking About Politics Edition

1. I promised HusBot 5000 that I wouldn't discuss politics on this blog, but I can't help but comment on one thing from the State of the Union. Biden wore purple and white tie. Did he do that because:

A. He's interested in fostering unity between Democrats and Republicans (red + blue = purple).

B. He thinks Lent has already started.

C. He's secretly a fan of the Furman University Paladins.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

2. After careful observation of my coworkers at Sacred Spleen, classmates at ESU, and attendees at various conventions, I have come to the conclusion that all female pharmacists must have at least one of the following:

• A Coach purse (or a reasonable knockoff)
• A pair of Privos or other cute, comfortable shoes
• Highlights (usually blond)
• If married/engaged, a diamond ring the size of a skating rink.
• An iPhone.

3. Meanwhile, male pharmacists must have at least one of the following:

• A cool car.
• A cynical attitude.
• A good-looking wife/fiancee wearing a diamond ring the size of a skating rink.
• An iPhone.

4. From the "making the rest of us feel like underachievers" file: 6-year-old in Sacramento is a member of Mensa. If the article is correct, he's been in it for two years.

5. Want to read some good news? Sure you do. Here's a heartwarming story of how TIME journalists found a 94-year-old woman who survived the earthquake and delivered her some money from an American relative.

6. Next Tuesday is Groundhog Day. I hope the groundhog does not see his shadow since I'm bloody tired of winter, and I hope I don't get stuck in an infinite loop of the same day like Bill Murray did in that one movie. But mostly, I just hope they don't play "I Got You, Babe" on the radio.

7. I also hope next week turns out a lot better than this one. Every day this week I've either forgotten to do something important, misplaced something essential, overslept, or otherwise made an ass of myself. TGIF!

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, go here!

Residency Interviews, or How to be Swell

Ah, residency interviews... quite possibly the most stressed out you've been since your pharmacy school interview. But never fear, Pharmgirl is here! Here's what you need to know.

1. The interview will take most of the day. It varies a bit from hospital to hospital, but often you'll arrive around 8 AM and leave mid-afternoon. In other words, don't schedule a noon flight back home. If you're driving, leave the night before and get a hotel so that you can get some sleep and be on your game for the interview.

2. Wear a suit. Do I really need to say this again?

3. Practice! Before the interview, ask someone to lob interview questions at you and critique your answers.

4. Have some questions ready! You'll get to spend some time alone with the residents, so take advantage of it. Ask what they like best about the program, what they like least, what they've learned, what they plan to do when they're done, what their projects are about and if they've received good career advice. Ask the program directors what their past residents have done. Do any of them have the type of job you'd like? If it's a new program, ask why they decided to start one and what they think the resident's role will be. Ask anyone and everyone about residency project ideas.

5. If you're giving a presentation, practice it - over and over and OVER! Have a copy on a USB drive and e-mail another copy to yourself. Be sure you know how much time you have! You may have another person interviewing at the same time as you, and it's rude to use up their time slot as well as your own.

6. Be nice to everybody, especially the secretary and whoever else is interviewing that day. Higher-ups often use secretaries as their eyes and ears, and many a hapless job applicant has been weeded out for unprofessional behavior in front of the secretary. If there's another person interviewing that day, chances are you'll run into them again so don't burn any bridges. Who knows - you just might share an office with them next year. (And won't you feel silly if you try to sabotage the other interviewee only to discover that she's not interviewing for the same position as you are?)

7. Take notes! This is one thing I didn't do that I wish I had done. There were several weeks between the time I went to some interviews and the time I submitted my ranks, and some details got fuzzy.

8. SEND THANK YOU NOTES. This is what separates the queen bees from the wannabes. Interviewing residents takes a lot of time, and getting an interview is a privilege, not a right. Send them a thank-you so they know you appreciate these things. Does every single person you talked to need a thank you? Well, how badly do you want to work there? Finally, send your thank you notes via snail mail instead of e-mail. This way they have something tangible that they can stick in your file. E-mails tend to get lost and may or may not get printed out.

9. Don't forget your recommenders! They took time out of their schedules to help you get ahead, and they need to be thanked. When should you send the notes? I think there are two good options: 1) after you hear about interviews, so you can tell them which programs want to interview you or 2) after Match Day, so you can tell them where you matched.

7 Quick Takes - Brave New Decade Edition

1. Happy New Decade, everybody! Here's hoping the Teens will be better than the Aughts. I've had about all the gloom and doom I can take.

2. You'd think that being a party girl, I'd have spent New Year's out living it up. You would be wrong. HusBot 5000 is the only guy I want to kiss at midnight on New Year's, and since he wanted to stay home, so did I.

3. I am so freakin' sick of this cold and snow. (Now there's something I never thought I'd say!) It's been in the single digits the last two weeks, and we've had snow on the ground since Christmas Eve. I'm looking forward to next week, when temps will finally hit a balmy 30 degrees.

4. Only 173 more days at Sacred Spleen. I think I can, I think I can...

5. No, I don't know what I'm doing when this is over. Yes, I will tell you as soon as I hear something. Despite what you may have heard from pharm school profs, friends, or the media, I do not have employers flinging themselves at me. The recession has affected everybody.

6. I am sick of answering questions about job hunting, can you tell?

7. Hopefully I won't be such a curmudgeon next week. I blame my bad attitude on the crappy weather. Happy Friday, everyone!

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, go here!

Dos and Don'ts of Residency Hunting

The residency application cycle is upon us! Here are some quick tips for you residency hunters, based on stuff I have seen Sacred Spleen applicants do and *cough* stupid crap I did myself.

DO know what the heck you're doing. You will not impress anyone if you do not know what a CV is.

DON'T be afraid to ask questions about the program. Better to ask too many questions and feel a bit silly now than not ask enough questions and feel like you've made a horrible mistake after residency begins.

DO make sure your clothes fit. Nobody sees the size tag except you. Everyone, however, can see if your clothes are too small. Just sayin'.

DON'T sweat it if you couldn't go to Midyear. Midyear is expensive and the economy sucks. We understand! All the residency directors' info is online at the ASHP Residency Directory, so look up their contact info and start e-mailing! They get requests like this all the time, and they enjoy talking to potential residents. (If they don't, you don't want to work there anyway.)

DO have a definite answer for why you want to do a residency. You're sacrificing a lot of money and a year of your life, and you'll have a lot of days where you feel like this. You better have a good reason.

DON'T feel the need to have your whole career planned out. Your interests may change, your family situation may change, your goals may change. And that's OK. Hell, it's natural. I've changed a lot since July 1, and most of my resident friends could say the same.

DO ask someone to proofread your CV and letter of intent. Yuo don't want a typo to tank your chances of acceptance.

DON'T think you won't get rejected by some program. You will. Suck it up and move on.

DO prepare for the interviews. I'll have another post on this later.

DON'T put your GPA on your CV. If you have a high GPA, they'll think you're book-smart but have no social skills. If you have a low GPA, they'll think you're dumb/lazy. Besides, they'll see it your transcripts, so having it on your CV is redundant.

DO think carefully about who you ask for recommendations. At Midyear '08, a prof volunteered to recommend me for a residency. Later that day, HusBot 5000 asked me why I didn't take her up on the offer. I replied, "Dr. _____ has always made it clear that she thinks I'm an idiot. Any rec I got from her would be a bad one."

That's an extreme example, but you get the idea. Think not just about how well the person knows you, but where you met, how long you've known them, and how well the two of you get along.

DON'T order the spaghetti and meatballs at lunch during your interview. And please DON'T ask how I know that. :)

DO put some non-pharmacy stuff on your CV - if it's exceptional or interesting to talk about. For example, if you were an officer in a non-pharmacy club or if you were in the Peace Corps prior to pharmacy school. Things like that help you stand out, and it'll give interviewers something to ask besides "where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

The Night Before Christmas - Sacred Spleen Style

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pharmacy

Things were finally quiet, so I was watching Peppermint Patty and Marcy.

The IVs were laid on a cart with care

In hopes that a pharmacist soon would be there.

The patients were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of going home danced in their heads

When all of a sudden, the intercom let off such a clatter

I perked up my ears to see what was the matter

"Rapid Response in Mental Health!" Cried the operator.

I dashed out the door and told the techs, "See you later."

Away to the padded rooms I flew like The Flash

It's finally time for Pharmgirl to make a splash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But an old guy who, shuffling along, had fallen on his rear.

With the look in his eyes so vacant and mean

I knew in an instant, "He's had too much Thorazine!"

But don't fret my friends, this is a story of hope

I gave the guy some of the antidote

With the old guy stabilized, I went back out of sight

It may be Christmas Eve, but it's still a work night.

Pre-Pre-Pharm FAQ

A reader writes: "I'm in high school and thinking about becoming a pharmacist. What advice do you have for me?"

1. Find a way to shadow a pharmacist. A lot of high schools where I live have programs where students can shadow a pharmacist or MD or RN or some other healthcare professional for a few hours and get course credit for it. If that doesn't work, try #2...

2. Volunteer at a hospital and ask to spend time in the pharmacy. In many states, it's illegal for high school students to be technicians (and no offense to you high schoolers, but I think that's a good thing). However, we frequently have high school students volunteer at Sacred Spleen - usually doing clerical stuff. This is a great way to see what a hospital pharmacy is really like, and if you do a good job, you might get hired as a tech someday. (Sacred Spleen has done this.) Also, the pharmacists at the hospital might let you shadow them, depending on everybody's schedule and the hospital's policy on shadowing.

3. Get a job at a local pharmacy. You probably can't get a tech job, but at chain drugstores, grocery stores, and big box stores like Target and Wal-Mart, there are lots of non-pharmacy jobs available. Make sure the general manager of the store knows pharmacy is in your plans, and when a tech job opens up, they'll think of you. This happened at the PWLTH where I worked - yet another tech quit and one of the reliable front-end cashiers applied for the job. We hired the cashier right away. We got a person we knew we could trust, and the cashier got a better job. Everybody won.

4. Keep those grades up! Going to an Ivy League school is not necessary (mainly because none of the Ivies have pharmacy schools). But you do need to do well enough to at least get into a state school, and if you're in the habit of studying now, college will be an easier transition. The people who struggle more in college are generally the ones who skated through high school and then got a rude awakening when they found they actually had to work at college classes. Not that I know anyone like that... *cough*