The end of my first semester at USC is finally here!
When comparing USC Pharmacy School to undergrad, it is tougher not because of the content of the material but the number of things you have going on all at once along with 18 units of courses. We just ended our finals yesterday which spanned a week and consisted of 5 finals!
In our first semester, we are all required to complete an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) which is a part-time rotation for 40 hours sometime during semester either in the hospital setting or community setting. Our locations are picked for us, and we were split either Hospital or Community and into 3 groups that completed our rotation at different times (September or October or November). I completed my first rotation at LAC+USC in the third group (November); I was introduced to all aspects of pharmacy practice within the hospital setting. At the new hospital, clinical pharmacists were stationed at ‘satellite’ locations in each section of the hospital such as pediatrics or burn ICU. These satellite locations are mini storage sites for drugs needed most in that section of the hospital, and usually one or two pharmacists are stationed there. The majority of the pharmacists working at LAC+USC were either staff pharmacists who worked behind the scenes or Outpatient Pharmacists who provided drugs and counseling to patients at two different locations. We were also introduced to pharmacists who worked separately from the hospital itself in other areas of pharmacy practice such as the pharmacy warehouse, drug contracting (formularies), and drug information services! I enjoyed my rotation site as it opened my eyes to all hospital careers in pharmacy that go beyond the traditional roles.
In addition to the rotation requirement, we had to also complete a discussion type class on leadership, a brown bag review (counseling on a patients drug list to find interactions and inappropriate medications), and health fairs (screenings: at least 4 immunizations, 8 finger sticks, and 4 blood pressure readings).
At USC Pharmacy school, during your first semester, you can start getting involved in different organizations and leadership positions. The majority of our class rushed for a fraternity along with joining the 10 different pharmacy organizations.
The courses at USC Pharmacy School are on a grade system (not pass/no pass). The averages tend to be pretty high for all classes, so you really have to stay on top of your work. I haven’t changed much on my studying habits from undergrad, and it can take a toll on you for certain classes which require more memorization such as Anatomy. My favorite classes were Health Care Delivery (a class on the healthcare system) and Pharmaceutics (studying drug degradation, solubility, bioavailability, etc. most similar to Chemistry in undergrad). In our Health Care Delivery class, we went over many important topics of healthcare which included Medication Management Therapy, Medicare, Insurable Hazards, Managed Care, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Current Healthcare Debate, and Pharmacoeconomics. I really believe that this class puts puts us at an advantage over other health professional schools that do not teach similar material; these topics are going to be important not only in our careers but also in shaping the future of pharmacy and our healthcare system.
Overall, I enjoyed my first semester, and I feel accustomed to pharmacy school. Although stressful at times, most us of us had time to have a good time to balance it all out! Now, I need to go find a pharmacy intern job…
