Earlier today... or yesterday... or whatever the hell you wanna call it I had my second interview. This one required quite a bit more traveling than the last, but it's been a rather interesting journey since I have arrived. Upon boarding the plane I considered if it would be rude to remind the pilots to land as we neared our destination, alas I thought that may not be a very wise idea.
The interview itself was quite different from last week's. Instead of having one interviewer for forty minutes, this one was broken up into 4 separate interviewers each for twenty minutes. It was nice to talk to a range of people, but in all honesty twenty minutes is not a whole helluva lot of time.
It didn't really help that one of the interviewers appeared completely disinterested in interviewing me. She hadn't looked over my file and didn't express an ounce of emotion or reaction during the interview itself. I thought that if it was expected to be prepared and to conduct myself in a professional matter that my interviewer would do the same.
After wards I felt pretty good about the process. I'm a people person, thus why I love retail, and I have no qualms about talking with random people about something I love. I suppose it's a good sign that one of my interviewers said that I appeared "overqualified given my background" (whatever the hell that means) and my last interviewer said he expected to see me in his class next year. Good signs I hope.
The funny thing is I thought this was the school I was most certain that I wanted to go to. After my first interview, and the events of today, I'm not really sure that's the case. I do not really care for how the curriculum is setup, although I'm told it will be changed for next year, and the vibe the school gives off is completely different. Last week every one I met, from students to professors to support staff were overly friendly and supportive. Today, people were friendly, but those outside of the interviewing process flat out ignored us in the halls.
It doesn't help that this school is quite focused on the clinical side of things which is most likely where I will not end up.
But after the last few years what right do I have to be picky? I'll find out my status by Friday, possibly as soon as Tuesday, and I really don't know what I'll do then. The whole situation is very surreal after everything that's happened over the years.
Could it be that, in the near future, I may have to change the name of this blog to "I will be a pharmacist...?"
Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
6 comments:
looking forward to the name change. hope it happens soon. of course, in 6 years you'll need to change it again.
The airline joke would have been awesome. :)
Overqualified? IWTBAP, what about this school "on the clinical side of things" that is preparing its graduates for retail, whether they know it or not? Don't all of those students walk out into the real world overqualified?
I do not say this because I want to disparage retail. It's just that, unless the pharmacy owner allows it, the retail pharmacy does not permit much of any time to actually solve real drug-related problems. Counseling windows seem to be mostly for show. At the big box-ers, most of the "people action" occurs at the pick-up window, with people waiting in line and dickering over charges or refills.
I think it is the height of hubris for a pharmacy school official to call anybody overqualified. Aren't they supposed to be setting a standard of education for ALL pharmcists, and have they written off retail so badly? Where do they think the big-box-ers are getting the pharmacists they need for their three new stores that are about to open in my area of Texas?
What I left out was that he stated this after I went on for fifteen minutes on where I came from and where my long term goals are aimed.
I am aiming to own a chain of stores which have the ability to provide the services you just mentioned retail cannot do. And before you say that's impossible, I must mention I have worked for a company that successfully employs that method. In fact, it's cornered Walgreens a bit which is quite impressive.
Also I was his last interviewee of the day. Of the previous three, two of them had decided to go into pharmacy a little over a month ago. I would surmise he meant that in that I am extremely well versed in pharmacy for someone who has not entered schooling yet.
The vast vast majority of their graduates go onto either clinical or residencies. They've been averaging nearly 50% of graduates going on to residencies over the past five years.
It's not that they dislike retail, he and I had a lengthy discussion about it. It is more that the students they have wind usually going the non-retail route. As such, their program has shifted a little more towards that area over the years. They do not discourage retail by any means, it's just not their sole focus.
As one of the gentleman put it "If you want to be a cog in the machine that is CVS and/or Walgreens, go to XYZ pharmacy school. But if you really want to be a pharmacist and be able to help patients in innovative ways, this is the school for you."
Good luck.
Go with your gut feelings, if you have the option.
During one of my interviews I had a guy fall asleep on me.
At one residency they wouldn't allow me to talk to residents without a faculty member supervising the conversation.
Whether you get admitted or not, I think you should write them a little comment about the disinterested interviewer. Schools should be aware of the impression they give to potential students and I'm betting they would pay attention.
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