Author: bargo.9

One for All and All for One: A Spotlight on Kappa Psi

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Hello everyone!

It’s hard to believe that this year is winding down and my time as a P3 is coming to a close. In a few short weeks I will have finished my finals and will be moving on to Capstone. June seems so far away right now but before I know it will be day one of my first rotation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. But, before I get caught up in the nervous excitement of becoming a P4 I wanted to take a few moments to tell you about one of my favorite student organizations, Kappa Psi.

It is no secret that our college has a plethora of student organizations and each one offers something unique and valuable to its members. I myself have been a member of all 3 of our large organizations, APhA, SSHP, and SNPhA. But, my favorite organization here at Ohio State is by far Kappa Psi. The large organizations are fabulous for hearing about different opportunities and careers within the profession and ways that you can make an impact, but I have truly found a home within Kappa Psi.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, what makes Kappa Psi so special?  I won’t lie to you, it’s hard to put into words why Kappa Psi means so much to me, but I am going to do my best. One of my favorite things is that our chapter is extremely active in both our community and at school. This year we organized fundraisers for assisting the victims of Hurricane Harvey and raised funds for a virtual book drive for Reach out and Read. Here within Central Ohio we constantly volunteer for the free clinic Helping Hands and we made Valentines for the kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. But in order for us to be successful in our projects and initiatives we have to strong as a group. My brothers are some of my best friends and are always there for me when I need help with my classwork or time away from pharmacy school. Perhaps the best thing about Kappa Psi is that I feel connected to each class within the college and even with recent graduates. I have brothers in each class and Columbus has a graduate chapter and together we all support each other through the triumphs and challenges that arise in school. I honestly don’t think I would be the intern or student that I am today without my brothers. But, Kappa Psi is more than our chapter, Kappa Psi is the world’s largest pharmaceutical fraternity and our brotherhood goes beyond the city limits of Columbus.

This past weekend our Xi chapter journeyed down to Louisville, KY for our Spring Province meeting with the rest of our brothers from the Great Lakes Province. Our province includes chapters from local graduate chapters and schools including University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, Sullivan University, Ohio Northern University, Northeast Ohio Medical University, University of Toledo, Wayne State University, and Ferris State University. Going to Province is such an enjoyable experience for me because I love having the opportunity to network with fellow brothers from local schools (and sometimes brothers across the country!) and work on building strong relationships with them. While we may not see each other more than a few times a year, each time I meet up with a fellow brother we instantly pick up where we left off the last time and have a great time. I know that no matter what, I can always reach out to my fellow brothers to assist me in any way that I need.

ΚΨ Class of 2019 Brothers in Louisville, KY

Province offers many things to those who attend including continuing education credits, leadership discussions, financial planning sessions, and many more. But, one of my favorite parts of Province is the award ceremony where we honor the hardwork and triumphs of our local chapters for the year. I am happy to announce that the Great Lakes Province has been the most philanthropic province within Kappa Psi this year donating $4, 510 to our national charity Reach Out and Read! As an entire province we raised over $14,000 for various charities across the country to give back to our communities. Even more exciting news is that myself and the other brothers of Xi were the most charitable chapter within our province this year with our campaigns for Hurricane Harvey and Reach Out and Read! All in all, it was a great a weekend with my brothers and I left feeling inspired by the profession and my colleagues knowing that we truly do make a difference in people’s lives.

Xi Chapter posing with our Philanthropy Challenge Trophy

As my time within Parks Hall comes to an end, I have a sea full of memories about my time in the didactic portion of my PharmD, but almost all of them were made with my brothers of Kappa Psi. If there is any advice I could give to you as someone who is about to start their journey as a PharmD student, it would be to get involved and get involved early. Find your home within one of our many organizations and give it your all. Every employer or residency program is looking for leadership skills and those are things that can’t be entirely taught in the classroom. Also, take the time to go to the regional or national meetings because the networking opportunities associated with them are priceless. If you have any questions about our organizations or if you want more information about my experiences with Kappa Psi or other student organizations, feel free to reach out and email me.

It has been an absolute pleasure to share my thoughts and experiences as a student here at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your journey to becoming a PharmD!

Sincerely,

Chelsea

ΚΨ Family: L-R my twin’s little, one of my littles, my big, me, and my twin

The Midterm Struggle

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Hello everyone!

 

It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of February. It seems like last week the semester was just starting. But, with the end of February brings the beginning of March which means one thing—midterms.

 

Now I don’t know about you, but midterms are probably one of my least favorite times of the year. We’re stuck somewhere between winter and spring and the joy of Spring Break is looming around the corner. When you add in the stress of exams, project deadlines, and due dates to the weather it’s just an odd time of the year. But, fret not, we can and we will get through it! Here are a few of my tips for getting through midterms.

 

  1. Make a study plan
    • Your planner is your best friend. If you don’t have one, find one or utilize calendar apps. The most important thing you can do is to plan out a method of attack to help you tackle your to-do list. While the bulk of your plan may include study, project, or writing time don’t forget to give yourself some time off to recover. Which takes me to my second tip. . .

 

  1. Make time for yourself
    • After a long day of studying nothing feels better than finally being able to take a break. Go out to dinner with your friends, play trivia, catch a movie with your bestie, or play with a dog. Whatever lets you hit the reset button in your brain make time for it. While it may be a little rough getting through it, your mental health is more important than any due date.

 

  1. Hit the gym
    • Last week I went to one of my friend’s Circuit Cycle classes for the first time with a few of my friends. We spent a whole hour cross training spinning bikes and free weights and the only thing I could think about was what move I had to do next. I had absolutely no time to think about the things I had to complete on the weekend or the upcoming week and it was magical. I may not have been able to walk for the rest of the week but I felt so refreshed and powerful after. If the gym and group fitness isn’t your thing no problem. Take an hour to go outside for a run or stroll around your neighborhood. The main thing is that you’re taking time for yourself and moving.
      1. P.S. If you’re wondering who my instructor friend is it is no other than Victoria one of the other Ambassador Coordinators. Also, if you’re ever short on inspiration check out her fitness Instagram page @thefitpharmd

 

  1. Eat well
    • I’m not going to lie—I have a tendency to go straight to Chipotle or Chick-fil-a when I’m stressed. But, try and limit your comfort food as much as you can. One of my favorite healthy and quick meals is a salad. If you’re in a bind on what to make here’s my favorite Balsamic Strawberry Chicken Salad. Marinate your chicken breast in balsamic vinegar for a few hours in the refrigerator (tastes better if you let is marinate overnight but any time is better than no time) and then grill and cut in small pieces. Place chicken over a bed of spring mix, goat cheese, quartered strawberries, and poppy seed dressing. Not only is it delicious but it’s a nice peppy reminder that we’re almost to spring!

 

  1. Catch some zzzzzz
    • I can’t stress this one enough. Being able to sleep is imperative to being able to succeed. It’s actually been shown that those driving after not getting adequate sleep is equivalent to driving impaired. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to go in to an exam when I’m not my best because I know that’s when I’m prone to making silly mistakes. It might be hard but try to bank at least 8 hours every night.

 

I hope my tips help get you to your final destination of Spring Break! I’m anxiously awaiting the end of all of my deadlines and exams so I can relax on my Bahamian cruise. You’ve got this and best of luck through midterms!!

 

Chelsea

 

Getting Paid to Learn

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Hi all! I hope all is well since my last blog post. If you’re reading this from anywhere in the Midwest or east coast I hope the snow hasn’t dampened your spirit too much. But hey, at least you have a great excuse to drink as much coffee, tea, or hot chocolate as you want! I wanted to let you all know about a unique intern opportunity we have here at Ohio State. We have one of four active Medication Therapy Management Telehealth centers for SinfoniaRx, a Tabula Rasa HealthCare company. As an intern at the Medication Management Program you have the opportunity to impact the lives of people across the entire country. One of the nice things with this position is that as you progress through the PharmD program you get more responsibilities and can counsel on more disease states including hypertension, osteoporosis, COPD and asthma, diabetes, and chronic heart failure to name a few. This is one of the only jobs where you can learn about a drug or disease state in class and start counseling on it the exact same day. I also really enjoy getting to work with a variety of students who are at different levels in their schooling. MMP employs over 100 students as both technicians and interns! While students are a large driving force of the MMP there are also full-time and part-time technicians and pharmacists who work there. My team has some great undergraduate technicians who are eager to learn more about different disease states and medications. My pharmacist lets me to spend time with those individuals to help explain what is happening with the drug or the condition which in turn helps me learn it better. You honestly do get paid to learn in this job.

 

As I mentioned earlier we have the opportunity to contact thousands of patients across the country with this job. One of my favorite success stories I have as an intern at the MMP is an encounter I had while checking on a member’s diabetes. I knew they take insulin and I wanted to check in to see if they were having any issues with their blood sugars dropping too low. As I continued chatting with them I learned that they were in fact having episodes of low sugars and that they were using insulin because they thought it was going to help their sugars go back up. In that moment, I was then able to properly counsel them on what would be best to get their sugars back up. I then proceeded to tell them what their insulin was actually doing in their body and how it was helping the diabetes. At the end, they were so grateful because no one had taken the time to explain how everything worked and why they were using insulin. I can honestly say that interning here has helped elevate my counseling and patient interviewing skills. Once here, if you are still interested be sure to look out for an information session at the college during one of our hiring periods! You can also reach out to our Career Services Office here at the college. If you would like any more information about SinfoniaRx and the national impact it has feel free to check out the website at https://sinfoniarx.com.

 

Good luck this semester and here’s to hoping the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow in a few weeks!

 

Chelsea

Spicing Up the Mortar and Pestle

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Hello!

 

Since I’m a bit new here to the blog I want to introduce myself. My name is Chelsea Bargo and I am one of the new Ambassador Coordinators for the 2017-2018 school year. I am currently in my third year but my journey in Columbus started about 10 years ago. I graduated high school from a small country school about 30 miles east of Columbus. I then found myself attending Auburn University for my undergraduate studies before eventually making my way back to Columbus and Ohio State. I hope that I have the opportunity to meet you at an interview day and tell you more about my journey and why I chose to come to Ohio State for pharmacy school. But for now, I want to tell you a little bit more about one of the largest events at the college, the Chili Cook-off.

 

For the past 20 years the college has been adding a little more spice to the mortar and pestle by hosting a competitive event for a good cause. Each organization within the college is encouraged to make a team and show off their culinary creativity by crafting a batch of chili and theme. What’s even better is that there are teams outside the college who come together to support the Chili Cook-off. I even ran in to an old high school friend that I hadn’t seen in years while he was helping his girlfriend, a nurse practitioner student, man her booth. This year some of the standout teams and themes were Phi Delta Chi’s Stranger Beans, SNPhA’s Chili with a Chance of Meatballs, the College of Pharmacy Residents’ Spice Jam, Kappa Psi’s The Chilionaires, Kappa Psi Pledges’ Beano 911, and a friend of mine’s Chili Joel to name a few. As always, the chilis this year were fantastic and featured some out of the box ingredients like ale, bleu cheese, exotic latin spices, pork, meatballs, and coffee. I unfortunately was unable to make myself try the approximately 30 chilis at this year’s cook-off but each one of them I did get to was absolutely delicious.

 

A panel of judges made up of students, professors, deans, and faculty was miraculously able to make it around to each chili to help decide which chilis were better than the rest.  Plus, each year there is always a people’s choice award for the crowd’s favorite chili. Here’s a list of this year’s winners:

  • Healthiest Chili—CPNP
  • Charitable Pharmacy Award—Spice Jam
  • College of Pharmacy Dean’s Choice—P1 Class of 2021
  • Spicy Chili Award—P1 Class of 2021
  • Mild Chili Award—Devin’s Grand Slam Chili
  • Vegetarian Chili Award—CPNP
  • Students’ Choice Award—P1 Class of 2021
  • Rusty Bucket Award—Devin’s Grand Slam Chili
  • Alumni Award—Bean There, Done That!
  • Nursing Award—Spice Jam
  • Best Table Award—Brenny’s Best Chili
  • Most Philanthropic Award—Bean There, Done That!
  • People’s Choice Award—The Chilionaires

Congrats to all the winners!!

 

The most important thing about this event is not all of the fun and creativity that goes in to creating a chili but in how much money is raised for a charity here in Central Ohio. This year, the beneficiary of the event was The Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, a cause that is very near and dear to many people within the college. The Charitable Pharmacy is a gem located on Livingston Avenue that serves the underserved here in Franklin County and linking them to life saving medications and pharmacy services. As a student, I have had the great pleasure to volunteer at Charitable and serve my community through filling prescriptions. While the final donation tally is still being totaled we do know that the silent auction brought in $1,000. What is even more impressive is that The Charitable Pharmacy is able to turn that in to over $7,000 worth of prescription medications!

 

Unfortunately, the Chili Cook-Off is only one night each year but it is always a memorable one. I love that our college and the community comes together for a night of fun and charity. If you’re ever in town during the fall semester look to see if it’s the same weekend of the Chili Cook-Off! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

 

Until next time,

Chelsea