That seems like such a youthful statement for someone entering pharmacy school in the fall, but its a question that I find myself asking several times a day as of late.
You see I have met and worked with hoards of pharmacy students over the years. If there is one thing that I have learned during that period is that we often don't... well we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things.
Namely this can be attributed to the fact that these people in question have had minimal experience in pharmacy prior to their starting school whereas I have been living and breathing pharmacy since I was a wee lad in a small, rural town.
So I ask again, will I fit in?
In the great scheme of things, of course this won't matter. I graduated high school with just over 70 people, I'm aware of the background politics that come with being in such a small class. But then, as now, I find myself someone what separated from the others.
Of course I am not trying to put myself up on a pedestal and claiming that I am high and mighty compared to my future classmates. No, what I am wondering is how different our views will truly be.
I have seen virtually everything you can imagine on the retail side of the field. I'm not jaded in anyway as I am quite aware of where we been, where we are and where we are going. Not once will you hear me crying wolf because of the proposed 'lack of jobs' in the future.
Yet I know I will be in the minority in this aspect once school starts in the fall. I suppose it is no different than any other person entering class in the fall, but it's something I do think about.
Believe it or not, a lot of people don't enjoy my company initially. Hard to believe, I know, but its true. Who wants to talk to a crime-fighting pharmacy dude who almost lost a testicle and has a fear of bats?
Oh well, chalk it up to the joys of change in life. At least I have you guys!
9 comments:
As someone who was in the same position when I was in pharmacy school I will tell you my experience. You will be quite frustrated with most of you classmates (and professors, for that matter) as they will actually belive the idealistic shit that is taught. When you try to tell them how it really is they will look at you like you're crazy. Of course, these are the same people who will not have a clue on their clinical rotations and look like complete idiots when they step foot in a real pharmacy for the first time. There will be a few like you and you will all bond.
Having a lot of practical experience already is a huge advantage. However, you do have to accept that you will be taught a lot of "idealistic shit" because you're in a professional degree program, not a technical college. Having your experience I'm sure you can understand this better than others. A pharmacy faculty person I know really hates it when students blow him off and roll their eyes because "I'm never gonna have to know that." You have to go with the flow and keep your ultimate goal in sight. That's my 2 cents.
It really doesn't matter if you'll fit in.
That's not why you're going to pharmacy school, is it? You go, and get out of it what YOU want to.
By the time one is in an advanced/professional school, the social refinement/education aspects of schooling with others are almost gone.
I entered nursing school while working as an EMT in the ER. It was interesting having a fair amount of "hands on" experience already, and there were times when I wanted to share that knowledge. I kept my mouth shut though, because I didn't want to be singled out.
some girls in my course yesterday spent 2 hours discussing whether it was okay to continue to use a perfume that they got from their ex.
You'll be fine.
Probably not. Plenty of pharmacy students come straight through high school and undergrad and have never actually worked in a pharmacy, resulting in (for my class, anyway) an astonishing amount of naivete about the world in general and the pharmacy world in particular. A number of my classmates still lived with their parents.
Pharmacy also tends to attract people who are politically conservative and religious, as well as current or ex-military.
And then there's just tonnes of students who are really earnest and willing to swallow everything the ACPE insists the school feeds you in the touchy-feely classes and will study for hours on end for an extra 2% and always have a question to ask and blah and...yeah. In some regions they are called "keeners".
The thing is, none of these people are necessarily bad sorts. You may get on quite well with individuals in your class. But only a couple people in my class were really anything like me, the computer science dropout with a bad attitude and a hypersensitive bullshit detector. I'm guessing none of those types are much like you, either. So I'd advise you to go in expecting not to really like anybody, and perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised.
And if you don't fit in, that's ok. It is a little easier if you have friends who are going through the exact same thing as you, but it's not required.
Keep your head down, do your course work and get your degree.
Oh and have real friends you can talk to.
The real friends will believe you when you tell them that the idealistic bull is idealistic bull. And there will be a lot of it... Sorry :)
But you will likely have an advantage when you get into pharmacotherapy and pharmacology, at least that's what I found with my measly four years of experience.
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