Prepharmacy Club: 2005-2006 Meeting Archive
- First-year pharmacy students panel
- Treasurer election
- Events
- Admission process
- Events
- Metta Lou Henderson on trying something new
- Kem Blanchard discusses interviews
- Events
- John Belobraydic discusses Walgreens and retail pharmacy
- Events
- Sgt. Stark discusses pharmacists in the Air Force
- Events
- Dean Bootman discusses future of pharmacy
Sept. 12, 2005 Meeting Minutes
Hi everyone, hopefully you were able to make it to the first club meeting of 2005-2006. The first speakers of the night were Jasmine Moffett and Mike from Kappa Epsilon. Kappa Epsilon of UA College of Pharmacy wanted to let us know that their chapter is open to undergraduate students to participate in social activities. Social activities have included trips to the Grand Canyon, Bedroxx bowling alley and participating in their national campaign for breast cancer awareness. To become an undergraduate member the dues are $20.
The next speakers at the meeting were Caitlin and Ali from ASP (Academy of Students of Pharmacy). They wanted to announce an upcoming AIDS meeting on Sept. 14 from 12-1 p.m. in the College of Pharmacy. There will be guest speakers at the meeting to discuss how AIDS has impacted their life. Also, there will be an AIDS walk at the Rillito Downs on Oct. 16 at 8 a.m. Application packets can be picked up from Jennifer Heller or you can register on-line. Jennifer Lynn from ASP also announced that this organization coordinates activities such as diabetes clinics, the UA pharmacy day on the mall and the Women's Health Expo. In addition, if you become a member you will also receive monthly pharmacy publications. If you are interested in joining, applications can be picked up at the College of Pharmacy.
Upcoming club events were announced and event sign-up sheets were available. The upcoming club events included:
- the ASP AIDS meeting on Sept. 14
- the % night at Pita Pit on Sept. 27
- the AIDS walk on Oct. 16
- the Juvenile Diabetes walk on Oct. 29.
If you would like to participate in any of these, please e-mail Activities Coordinator Jennifer Heller at jheller@email.arizona.edu. Remember, the club keeps track of the events you are involved in and will award the most involved member at the end of the year!
The next group of speakers was the first-year pharmacy students. Students introduced themselves and each gave a piece of advice to the prepharmacy students. Some of the advice that was given included:
- get experience to show you have interest (it will also give you an idea if this is what you want to do)
- get involved in the community
- get to know your teachers outside of class
- be professional
- form study groups
- join clubs,
- be persistent and be positive!
Prepharm students were then able to ask the first-years questions about admissions, PCATs, interviewing and essays. Some of the other topics discussed were: how many schools each had applied to, how many of them had degrees when they applied, who they asked to write their letters of recommendation, some of the questions they were asked during the interview, how they studied for the PCAT, and where they worked or volunteered to get experience.
Lastly, the Prepharmacy Club would like to congratulate Frank Juliano as the new club treasurer! Thanks to all of you who were able to attend the meeting and we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on October 3rd!
Here are several social and volunteer events for the month of October. First, the AIDS Walk will be on Oct. 16 from 8 -11a.m. at the Rillito Park. The minimum donation is $10 and you can register online at www.aidswalktucson.com . Go to www.aidswalktucson.com and click on register. Our team name is SSHP and we are in the College/University category. The team is signed up for the 4K walk.
Next, we have the post PCAT BBQ at Himmel Park from 1 -3 p.m. Everyone is welcome; this is not just for those who are taking the PCAT, so be sure to come help out or just have some food and fun! If you sign up to attend this event, be sure to actually attend, as we purchase food based on how many people sign up.
Jaime Dennison from ASP was at the meeting to encourage us to help out and celebrate American Pharmacists Month on Oct. 24 at the UA mall from 11 a.m. -3 p.m. There are 3 shifts available: setting-up, serving root beer floats or taking down. Everyone is encouraged to at least stop by and see the booth and have a root beer float!
The Juvenile Diabetes walk is on Oct. 29 and will be from 4:30 a.m. -3 p.m. and from 5-7 p.m. at Old Main. We are not walking at this event; we will be volunteering in 2-hour shifts which will be announced later. If interested in this event, e-mail Jennifer Heller at jheller@email.arizona.edu right away for more information.
The last event for October will be the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Oct. 30 . It will be from 7-10:30 a.m. at the Tucson Mall. The recommended donation is $10-20 and you can register on-line at http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=108077. Our team name is UA Prepharmacy Club. If you would like to participate in any of these events, please e-mail Jennifer Heller, the activities coordinator, at jheller@email.arizona.edu as soon as possible.
The speaker for the night was Dr. Theodore Tong, associate dean for academic affairs at the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Tong spoke about the admissions process and answered questions. He reminded us to be prepared, and have awareness about the profession. He also reminded us that the college's web site has great information to help you be prepared and focused. The website also has the latest statistics for the class of 2009. Dr. Tong suggested to not deny yourself of the possibility of other schools being interested in you by only applying to one school. He also suggested to get your application in early, and if you have questions to make your appointments with Kerry or Marty soon because they are going to be very busy.
The application is available online. This new application is expected to be faster, more accurate and flexible. Your application profile will include your academic experience/PCAT scores, volunteer/work experience (the college *will not* interview students who do not have work or volunteer experience in a pharmacy/health setting!), involvement, awards, and short answer questions. The application allows you to enter your own grades/PCAT scores that will be later verified with your transcripts. If you have already completed coursework at a different school, you can go ahead and send in those transcripts now; however, don't send your current transcript until fall grades are available. The letters of recommendation forms are now online and cannot be accessed by your recommender until you submit your application. The deadline for the application is Dec. 1 and the deadline for the letters of recommendation is Dec.15. Remember your letters of recommendation are important and will be evaluated. Dr. Tong emphasized the importance of spending time with your recommenders to allow them to get to know you. The college wants to see letters that show your motivation and character; it needs to be more than you "received a good grade in the class."
Another important part of the application process is the interview. It is a closed file interview and is designed to get to know you and to evaluate your communication skills. Typically each interview day there will be 20-25 candidates invited who will be divided into two groups. The team of interviewers includes faculty members, practitioners and 1st, 2nd or 3rd year pharmacy students. Even though 40 minutes is alloted, the interview typically lasts about 30 minutes with another 40 minutes to write the on-site essay. Tips for the interview: remember that listening is just as important as speaking, don't second-guess the questions asked and answer honestly.
Lastly, Phi Delta Chi professional pharmacy fraternity was at the meeting to announce their T-shirt fundraiser. There were 3 different shirts available; if you are interested in purchasing a T-shirt from them you can e-mail Larab@email.arizona.edu . Also, the Prepharmacy club has ordered new red club T-shirts for the first time! If you have not received your club T-shirt they will be available at the November meeting along with any orders for fundraiser T-shirts from Phi Delta Chi.
Details about November events:
Nov. 14: Club Booth Internship Fair
10 a.mm-2 p.m.
UA Student Union-Grand Ballroom
Promote the Prepharmacy Club and learn about the profession of pharmacy
·
Nov. 17: Stuff the Bus
5 p.m.-7 p.m.
Meet at the College of Pharmacy at 4:40 p.m.
Located at Sam Levitz on Pantano or on Orange Grove
Nov. 16-19: El Tour de Tucson
Wednesday, Nov. 16: shifts available from 3:30 pm-9:00pm
Thursday, Nov. 17: shifts available from 9:30am-6:00pm
Friday, Nov. 18: shifts available from 9:30am-9:00pm
***Wednesday-Friday: Meet at TCC downstairs in Exhibit halls B & C
Saturday, Nov. 19: (3 hour shifts)
Available from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.-4:30.p.m.
***Saturday: Meet at the College of Pharmacy at scheduled shift time
The Tucson Convention Center is located at Congress and Granada (downtown Tucson)
We were honored to have Dr. Metta Lou Henderson as our guest speaker for the night. She spoke with us about her scholastic and professional experiences in pharmacy. Dr. Henderson received her bachelor of pharmacy in 1951, master of pharmacy in 1966 and her doctor of philosophy in 1978 from The University of Arizona. She attended UA when the pharmacy college shared the old chemistry building on main campus. There were 19 graduating students from her class, only four of which were women. Dr. Henderson was the president of the professional fraternity Kappa Epsilon, that at the time had only female members. Dr. Henderson completed her internships at the Tucson Medical Center and a small compounding pharmacy called Jim’s Pillbox. When she graduated, she moved to Michigan where she worked at a university hospital. She later began working in an apothecary shop in Battle Creek where she was only the third female pharmacist in the county! Dr. Henderson decided to begin working with pharmacy students at Ohio Northern University, where she spent 20 years teaching at the College of Pharmacy and helped in the development of an expanded clinical program. Dr. Henderson became the associate dean of college student services at Ohio Northern University. In 1998, Dr. Henderson retired and has since published a book entitled American Women Pharmacists: Contribution to the Profession.
As you can see, Dr. Henderson was not afraid to try something new! She stressed the importance of not being afraid to try something new and spoke of the many opportunities available within the pharmacy profession. Dr. Henderson emphasized the importance of finding a mentor and spoke about her mentor, and how her mentor was the reason she completed her master’s degree and PhD. She encouraged us to build a network, meeting as many people as possible because it will become very important in the profession. She told us to be active, attend meetings and “expand our horizons.” She advised us to remain active in pharmacy organizations even after we graduate because the future of pharmacy depends on these organizations and on us! Dr. Henderson explained that there is no end to what we can do, but that we have to be willing to “stick our necks out and push our way through.” Dr. Henderson ended the evening by answering any questions from club members at the meeting.
In case you have still not seen our new website, the address is: http://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/about/organizations/prepharmacyclub/index.php
Thank you to those of you who were able to make it to the meeting. Our next meeting will be on Dec. 5. If you have not received your club T-shirt, need to turn in your application or pay dues, you can do so at our next meeting.
First, we would like to thank the Arizona State University Prepharmacy Club and the Maricopa Community College Prepharmacy Club for attending our meeting. We appreciate your support and enthusiasm!
Our December service event will be the Ronald McDonald House, Chef for a Day.
It will be held on Friday, Dec.9. Details about the event, including directions, will be e-mailed to those who signed up to volunteer. We needed about 10-15 volunteers for this event and had great response at the meeting. Thanks to everyone who signed up!
The speaker for the night was Kem Blanchard, counselor at the UA Career Services
Office. Kem gave a lot of valuable information and recommendations pertaining to the interview process. Kem assured us that anyone can learn how to interview; it just takes preparation and practice. She highly recommends practicing what you want to say both with your notes and then without notes, both by yourself in front of a mirror and then with a friend. She told us to research the schools you are applying to and know why you want to go there (location, tuition, curriculum, facilities).
Kem's advice for dressing for the interview was to "dress for success." Wear a conservative black or dark blue suit. Do not wear any bright colors or excessive jewelry. Be well groomed, including your nails and hair. You are making a first impression and this is something you actually have control over, so pay attention to how you are presenting yourself from head to toe.
To prepare for the interview, practice is key. Do not memorize what you want to say but be comfortable and confident in your answers. Think ahead of time about why you chose pharmacy as a career, what has influenced you to consider this field, and what you have done to gain experience. Kem provided a handout full of useful recommendations, pointers and advice, as well as some sample questions you should be comfortable in answering. Kem also recommended we be familiar with current social, ethical and medical issues.
An interview can last anywhere from 30 minutes to most of a day. The interview can be either open file, where they know about you and have seen your application, or closed file, where the interviewers will not know anything about you. Either way you must be familiar with your application. The interview focuses on your ability to verbalize your application and why you are a good candidate. The interviews can either be one-on-one or in front of a panel. You need to pay attention to your posture and eye contact, look at the interviewers when speaking. You must also engage in active listening! You may take 10-15 seconds per question to think about what you want to say. You also need to be sure to close the interview well. Since you have previously researched the school, you should be well prepared to ask any questions if they provide that opportunity. Be sure to thank them for their time and give a summary statement of why you are an excellent candidate. Also, shake each interviewers hand and smile.
Lastly, remember to relax and breathe! Remember you are there because they are
considering you as a candidate. Also it is very important to evaluate yourself
and your interview after the interview has ended.
Feb. 7, 2006 Meeting Minutes
Welcome back, and thanks to those of you who made it out for the first meeting
of the spring semester. We hope you enjoyed the free drinks and pizza provided
courtesy of Walgreens!
The upcoming events for the month of February are as follows:
ACLC National Leadership Conference -Feb. 17-19
Workshops, service projects, team builder activities and leadership skills
$50 for all 3 days meals included
Deadline to register is Feb. 7!
ASP invited us to participate in some upcoming service activities:
- UA Discusses: Understanding Diversity - Feb. 23, 3-5 p.m.
Student Union Ballroom
How diversity affects healthcare, Access, and quality
- The Women's Health Expo - April 1, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Health screenings, guest speakers, informational booths
Prepharmacy club members have been a great help in the past so ASP would love
for us to help again!
- Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - April 2
Register online and join their team (UA Pharmacy)!
Judge the 7-8th Grade Science Fair - March 6, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.(2 shifts)
Wilson Elementary & Junior School
10 volunteers needed, it should be a lot of fun!
Highway Maintenance and Picnic -Sunday, Feb. 26
Help to clean our stretch of the highway near Picacho Peak and have a picnic
with your fellow club members!
More information to come
Trail Maintenance at Parker Canyon Lake -Saturday, Feb. 11, 6:15 a.m.-8 p.m.
We need about 10 volunteers to help the Alternative Brakes Program.
This is a great way to get to know your fellow members and also enjoy our great
weather!
Our guest speaker for the evening was John Belobraydic, RPh, pharmacy manager
at Walgreens. John graduated from the UA pharmacy college in 1986. He spoke
with us about the Walgreen Co. and the current need for pharmacists. Walgreens
currently has 4,600 stores across the country in 44 states. In 2005 Walgreens
was growing at an average rate of 1 store per day! Last year Walgreens filled
about 13% of all US prescriptions, but in Arizona they filled 35-40% of the prescriptions. Walgreens is anticipating having about 7,000 stores nationwide by the year 2010.
John spoke of the need for pharmacists. He said that currently Tucson is in need of 15-20 pharmacists per year while Phoenix needs around 40-50 pharmacists per year, so there is great job security for us when we graduate! John spoke about what?s to come for the future of Walgreens. They are hoping to have home healthcare services, compounding pharmacies and patient care centers. Walgreens is a Fortune 50 company with record sales and earnings for nearly 30 years.
John also spoke about how retail pharmacy is patient focused, team oriented and professional. He encouraged that we work in a variety of pharmacy settings to know what it is that we like. He told us that if retail is what we might be interested in, than Walgreens offers many different programs. Through the Walgreen Co. you can become a pharmacy intern, shadow a pharmacist, enroll in a Pharmacy Summer Internship Program or apply for scholarship programs. Walgreens offers an educational assistance program; however, each program differs so for more information you can visit www.walgreens.com to see if these opportunities are right for you.
John has very generously provided us his contact information for anyone interested in shadowing or if anyone has questions:
John Belobraydic
belobraydic@comcast.net
520-325-5868
cell 520-490-2617
In case you have still not seen our new website, the address is:
http://www.pharmacy.arizona.edu/about/organizations/prepharmacyclub/index.php
Also, our club historian, Variatee Montgomery, is beginning to work on our end-of -the-year slide show and she needs your pictures! If you have been to our club activities and have taken pictures, please e-mail them to Variatee at Variatee@email.arizona.edu so we can add them to our slideshow!
Our next meeting will be on March 6. Hope to see you all there!
ASUA candidates spoke at the opening of our March meeting. They encouraged us
to have a voice in our student government. You can see each of the
candidate's platforms and vote online at ASUA.Arizona.edu.
We have a lot of upcoming service events for this month so be sure to get
involved!
Saturday, March 11: Tucson's Climb to Conquer Cancer
7 -11 a.m.
Pima Community College West Campus
$40 (the club will reimburse you for half of the cost at the April
meeting)
Saturday, March 18: Touring Reed's Compounding Pharmacy
7:30 -9 a.m. (meet at COP at 7:15 a.m.)
*We are looking for 20 active club members who want to tour a local compounding
pharmacy followed by breakfast!
Friday, March 24: Touring UMC's Inpatient Pharmacy
3-4 p.m. (meet at COP at 2:45 p.m.)
*We are looking for 12 active club members who want to tour a local inpatient
hospital pharmacy followed by dinner!
Saturday, March 25: Touring Walgreen's Pharmacy
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (meet at the COP at 11:15 a.m.)
*We are looking for 10 active members who want to tour a local commercial
pharmacy followed by lunch!
We are having a Prepharmacy Club Service Weekend and will be giving involvement
certificates to those who participate in these events!
Prepharmacy Club Service Weekend Events April 1-2
The Women's Health Expo
Saturday, April 1
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Pima Community College
Relay for Life
Saturday, April 1
5 p.m.-8 a.m. (this a fun overnight event raising money for cancer
research)
UA mall
$10 and you can register online at www.kintera.org
The Race for the Cure
Sunday, April 2
7:30.-10 a.m.
Reid Park, 100 Randolph Way
The speaker for the night was Sgt. Stark from the US Air Force. Sgt. Stark spoke about the Air Force Pharmacy Scholarship Program. It is a one- or two-year scholarship that pays for schooling, books, supplies and provides a monthly stipend. This year there were 38 people who applied for the program and nine two-year scholarships were awarded as well as some one-year scholarships. If entered into the scholarship program, you would enter the Air Force program on active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant.
When you have graduated from pharmacy school you are considered for higher rank and pay. As a pharmacist in the Air Force you work 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. workdays Monday-Friday. You are given a housing/food allowance in addition to the base pay. Two weeks per year you are required to attend commissioned officer training. You are given 30 days/year
paid vacation and opportunities to travel. Air Force pharmacy is a worldwide practice where you have the opportunity to learn about different cultures and see new places. Your #1 role in the Air Force is to be a pharmacist, and 2nd is to learn to be an Air Force officer. As an officer and pharmacist you will have the opportunity to volunteer for smaller jobs, become involved in the pharmacy therapeutics process, and participate in national meetings.
Sgt. Stark also spoke about some of his personal experiences in the Air Force and
what the Air Force has meant to him. If this seems to be something you're
interested in, you can learn more about Air Force Pharmacy at Airforce.com.
Thanks to those of you who were able to attend the meeting. The last prepharmacy club meeting of the semester will be on April 3. There will be new officer elections held at this meeting. If you want to run for officer remember to review the job descriptions. We will also be showing a slideshow of pictures taken throughout the year. So if you have any pictures you have taken from any of our events please e-mail them to variatee@email.arizona.edu. It should be a lot of fun, so we hope to see you all there!
April 3, 2006 Meeting Minutes
Hi everyone! We hope you enjoyed the last meeting of the year and the free
Eegee's drinks and sandwiches! Hopefully you had a great year as a member in
the club and we look forward to seeing you all next year!
The final events are:
UMC inpatient pharmacy tour
Friday, April 7, 2-3 p.m.
There are about 8 people signed up for this event. If you know that you are signed up and cannot make it please contact Amy at amyhwang@email.arizona.edu so another member can have your spot.
Arizona Epilepsy 3K, 5K walks.
Saturday, April 8 at 7:45 a.m.
You can meet at the College of Pharmacy at 7:30 a.m. for rides or go straight to the event at Reid Park on Randolph Way. You can register online for the event and e-mails for the link will be sent.
We were honored to have Dean Bootman from the College of Pharmacy speak at last meeting. Dean Bootman is a University of Arizona alumnus and has been the dean for the college since 1990. He is very knowledgable in pharmacoeconomics and spoke about the future for pharmacy. Bootman spoke about how technology will be rapidly changing all of healthcare. Pharmacy is very focused in biotechnology, which is where the future of research and discovery is headed.
The UA now has 2 buildings where researchers are working on discovering new
drugs and how they work in humans. The 2nd floor of the new Drachman Hall will
be housing the federally funded national call center for elderly who are receiving Medicare and have drug complications. As president of APhA, the dean pushed for the progress of federally funded drug programs for the elderly.
Bootman spoke about the future of drug development for the state of Arizona and the Batelle Research Roadmap which focuses on 3 major health problems: cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. He spoke about the many things that are changing the future of pharmacy including; informatics, biotechnology, economics and financing, politics, and an aging society. The dean explained some of the statistics about this country and healthcare. Currently the United States is the last country to not have a national healthcare system. There are about 800 people dying each day due to medication complications and pharmacy is an industry with high human error. The US is presently only ranked 38-39 worldwide for the
quality of health of our citizens. Why is this? Is it because the US doesn't have a national healthcare system or because of our culture? Pharmacy development is moving forward and Bootman suggested that the future of pharmacy is all of us. It's how we as future pharmacists see a better world and it's how we approach patient care and solve problems.
Lastly, we congratulate Lindsey Hall for being the most involved member of the club. Lindsey attended nearly every service event we held this year! Also, we would like to thank Marty Baker and Kerry Clinefor being wonderful advisors! And last but not least, congratulations to the future officers of the Prepharmacy club! And thank you to all who ran. The winners of the elections
were:
- President: DeArla Heller
- Vice President: Michael Biegelman
- Treasurer: Amy Hwang
- Recorder: Ashley Sweaney
- Historian: Megan Guthrie
- Activities Coordinator: Lindsey Hall
- Computer Guru: Suzy Liang
- ASP/ASUA Liaison: Whitney Myers
Again, thanks for making this a great year and we hope to see you next year!