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Hi everyone!

What I really appreciate about how the PharmD program at OSU teaches students is its employment of a module-based curriculum. This is a little different from how coursework was traditionally set up in undergrad, where you took multiple courses at once throughout the whole semester.  What you’re probably used to is simultaneously taking 4-5 courses a semester—which most likely differs in subject matter and having to take multiple exams in one week.

However, the module-based curriculum consists of coursework set up in blocks—where for a certain period of time, you will only focus on one class at a time consisting of weekly or bi-weekly exams. In P1 (first year), your first week starts off with a transition course that’ll be your stepping stone into integrating the professional PharmD curriculum. The next few weeks will be a course on pharmacy administration, the U.S healthcare system, and pharmacy law along with the corresponding lab and IPPE (part-time professional pharmacy experience based on coursework). The subject matter for each block of coursework varies, but essentially the same model is employed.

A normal week for a P1 student will consist of a morning portion of class starting at 8:30-11:20am and an afternoon portion from 12:30pm-3:30pm (later or earlier) every day of the week. Mondays and Wednesdays are reserved for lab and/or workshop; you are assigned a morning or afternoon lab. Wednesdays are especially unique because that is the when workshop takes place—a smaller class size to help reinforce content learned throughout the week. If you are assigned a Monday morning lab, then your afternoon can be reserved for your IPPE—which consists of geriatric and community pharmacy experiences. Having a schedule designed as such, could mean a half-day of class or no class on Mondays. Although this seems like free-time, it is wise to schedule this time to study course-work—as it can be easy to fall behind on lectures if you don’t keep up.

Keep in mind, the gaps in your schedule do not necessarily mean that you have this time to do nothing, it’s the time you should be using to study. Setting up a study schedule is really crucial to your success in the PharmD program throughout your time here—especially with the amount of content presented in a single lecture. This fast-pace nature of content presentation is a one of the key differences between coursework in undergrad and a professional program. This might sound like an exaggeration but trying to survive without a calendar or planner will be a tough. It is central to keeping track of deadlines and most importantly, making time to study. Find somewhere that works for you, sometimes all it takes to get started and to actually have a successful study session is the environment—some of my usual spots include the Health Sciences Library, Biological Sciences/ Pharmacy Library, or Starbucks near campus. It is also helpful to create a study group—everyone exhibits varying strengths in their knowledge base, which is helpful in learning content in a different manner. Also, don’t hesitate to make friends in the classes ahead of you (P2, P3) and ask for study tips for different professors.

Most importantly; with all that studying, don’t forget to take a break. Eat a snack, watch a YouTube video, whatever it takes for your mind to rest before you have to start studying again. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Lastly, remember to have fun! Go Bucks!

Hi everyone!
Winter break is always something students look forward to. Its an entire month to relax, catch up with friends, celebrate the Holidays, and prepare your mind for the next semester. Over the past years I ‘ve spent break doing just that, however this year I stayed in Columbus. This was my first time staying here during break but it’s Columbus, the city is huge and theres a lot to do. Here’s a list of what I did.

Buck I Serv
I spent the first week of break participating as an advisor for Buck I Serv, our alternative break program. We spent a day as tourists in New Orleans, this was my first time ever in NOLA. We explored the French quarter and had beignets. Then we headed to Biloxi Mississippi to volunteer at the local boys and girls club and to aid in restoration of wildlife areas damage by Hurricane Katrina. This was a great experience, I met a lot of new friends, had a mini vacation in New Orleans, and got to help a community in need. I highly recommend buck I serv if you’re looking for something to do over break.

Buckeye Football
On New Year’s Day, I watched the Buckeyes beat the Huskies and win the Rose Bowl. Its always a fun time watching the team win Championships. This year was even Coach Urban Meyer’s last game, so it was a great feeling to see him go out with a win. I would have loved to actually go to the game but watching on TV was equally as entertaining. You can always count on the Buckeyes to be in a New Year’s Bowl Game. Go Bucks!

New restaurant
A New York style bagel shop called The Lox opened over break. Being a food blogger, I had to go check it out. I have no idea what a New York bagel is or how it’s different from other bagels but it was delicious. I ended up going twice. I tried their breakfast sandwich and a bagel with their beet and thyme cream cheese. There’s always new restaurants opening near campus so if you’re a foodie like me, you will always have something to do.

Back to School
I spent the last few days of break prepping for school. We had some homework due on the first day and I figured I could get my pre-lab for the first week out of the way. It was nice to be able to catch up and get ahead before the semester begins.

So this is how I spent my winter break. It may not look like much but I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed every moment of it. There’s a lot more to do here but spending 40 hours on a bus for Buck I Serv the first week had me a bit exhausted. If you ever decide to stay here for break, I’m sure you’ll find something to do that you enjoy.

The week of Thanksgiving is a busy time around the College of Pharmacy, with professors finishing up topics to give us an uninterrupted break and students heading home for the holiday or hosting Friendsgivings in Columbus. But beyond the frenzy of the holiday, you’ll notice a lot of signs across campus with a certain letter crossed out and a lot more people wearing scarlet and grey than usual. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rivalry Week – every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Buckeyes play our arch rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. While OSU is definitely a big sports school, it reaches an exciting fever pitch during this week and campus is all caught up in the excitement. I am writing this post before the big game so I can’t say whether I’m celebrating or disappointed yet, but either way it will be an amazing game for sure!

While Rivalry Week is definitely the focal point of sports at OSU, there are tons of different opportunities to get involved in the sports culture while at OSU whether as a spectator or a participant. Parks Hall, where most PharmD courses are held, is right across the field from the Shoe, OSU’s massive football stadium. Many students get season tickets for football every year, and there are multiple seating groups of pharmacy students cheering on the Buckeyes at every game. Even though I’m not a big football fan, game days are very exciting and all of campus gets into the fun. (Just hope that you don’t have to drive anywhere during a home game!)

If you’re more of a competitor than a spectator, Intramural sports are a great way to stay active and take a break from studying. Some student organizations will make teams to compete in everything from the traditional sports like baseball to the more quirky ones like battleship (played in canoes in a pool where you try and sink your opponents boats while staying afloat) or the midwestern favorite, corn hole.

Beyond campus, Columbus has a lot of great local sports teams to check out as well. Whether you’re a hockey fan and wanna check out a Blue Jackets game or into soccer and get tickets to the Crew, there are plenty of opportunities for either. The Columbus Clippers, our minor league baseball team, even has Dime a Dog nights that a lot of students love to check out for cheap food and great company.

Even as someone who isn’t huge into sports, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the sports scene both on and off campus in Columbus and definitely encourage you to take part  if you come to OSU!

Hi everyone!

I am writing to you all today to talk about preparing for your APPE year. APPE stands for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience, and it is the final year of pharmacy school. APPE’s allow us experience nine one-month rotations in different settings to 1)  make sure that we are well-rounded, and prepared to sit for the NAPLEX and 2) help us determine which area of pharmacy we might want to pursue upon graduation. Whether that means a residency, fellowship or preparing to transition into a full-time position somewhere, your APPE’s are the best way to integrate all of the knowledge you’ve learned in your didactic curriculum into real-world experiences with real patients! Ohio State offers some really wonderful rotations, too!

One of the very first things I did to prepare for my applications was polishing up my CV.  Liz Trolli and the fantastic staff in Career Services are excellent resources for reviewing CV’s! Once the rotations were made available to us through Dr. Legg, I was able to see the application based rotations that were being offered. For those of you who do not know, Liz Trolli is the Program Manager for all of our Experiential education, and Dr. Legg is the Director of Experiential Education. Liz helps make sure that our IPPE’s are assigned to us in a way that works with our school schedule, and she also helps guide us with other important things that we need to have completed each year, like community health service hours and making sure that we submit proper documentation and forms for various things. Essentially, she ensures that we have everything completed before we can begin our APPE’s. Dr. Legg is the professor that is in charge of our entire APPE application process. She meets with every single student (often more than once) to discuss their interests to help ensure that they get rotations that will be of interest to them. She is also a great person to talk about rotations with, as she is very knowledgeable and knows a lot of the preceptors in the area, so she can give a lot of insight to different rotations.

I began working on my Letters of Intent for those applications I wanted to apply to so I could have those done fairly early. There are other rotations available that are not application based, and those get ranked in PharmAcademic. (All of this will be explained during the first few weeks of your P3 year, so don’t worry!)

As of right now, the ACPE requires that we complete two hospital rotations, two community rotations, and one ambulatory care rotation. The other four rotations are considered elective rotations, and you are able to tailor those to your individual interests!

To be honest, it’s a little stressful and overwhelming to think about these rotations, as they begin to mark the end of my pharmacy school career. To hopefully make this experience a little less stressful for you all, I have some pieces of advice:

1. Keep  your CV up to date! This means updating your CV after every rotation and volunteer experience throughout pharmacy school. You will be thankful you did!
2. Start a list of the various rotations you might be interested in. Do they require an application? When are they due? Keeping track of all of these things will help deadlines from creeping up on you!
3. Decide if you want to travel out of town/out of state/out of the country for your APPE’s. There are many rotations located outside of Columbus and in various states. They are excellent opportunities, so it’s a good idea to look into all of them to see if they might be of interest to you!
4. Double, triple check your application, LOI’s and CV! Have friends, family and faculty read over your materials before submission.
5. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and apply for a unique rotation. For example, Ohio State has a great nuclear pharmacy rotation, which is something not a lot of students have exposure with. This is your chance to find out what you really like (if you don’t know already)!

I am excited that I am able to rank rotations and find really interesting electives. Pharmacy is such a cool profession in the sense that it is extremely multi-faceted: there are so many different practice settings that a pharmacist can immerse themselves in!

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Ashley

Hi everyone!

As an ambassador, a question that we often receive is about commuting to campus. For those students who commute, it can be a challenge to know how to get to campus or where to park on campus. For students living at University Village, a shuttle is accessible using their residence ID. The shuttle runs Monday-Friday 7am- 7pm during the daytime schedule, 7pm-10pm during the evening schedule—every 30 minutes, and Saturday-Sunday  10am-5pm.

For students that commuting from elsewhere, there are parking permits available. A popular selection is the Student C-Central Campus surface lot parking permit for graduate-level students. This is an annual permit, eligible from Aug 1- July 31^st, currently priced at $363.96—with a monthly proration of $30.33. Most students with the C-lot pass park at the stadium, with off-peak access to other spaces. The stadium Is about a 8-10 minute walk to Parks Hall.

Another permit option is the CXC- Buckeye Lot Surface Parking permit. Similar to the Central Campus permit, the buckeye lot permit is an annual pass from Aug 1- July 31^st currently priced at $128.28—with a monthly proration of $10.69. In addition, the buckeye lot also offers off-peak access to other spaces. The buckeye lot Is further, but campus buses are available from the lot to Parks Hall. There are more options available, but these are the most common among pharmacy students.

As the weather gets colder and final exams inch closer, coffee becomes a huge part of my day. I always need a quick dose of caffeine to get myself going in the morning. Lucky for us, Columbus is coffee central. There are several shops in town and they’re all great. Columbus even has it’s very own coffee trail! As an avid coffee lover, I have made my way through the trail, and I highly recommend trying it, its loads of fun. Below you will find 3 of my favorite stops along the trail — all close to campus, and easy to find! If you haven’t visited all 3 yet, I hope that I can convince you to do so soon.

1) Fox in the Snow Café (1031 N. 4th St)
Fox in the snow specializes in handcrafted coffee drinks and pastries. My personal favorite is the mocha, it always comes with some cool latte art and tastes amazing as well. During the fall their hot apple cider is the best in town. When it comes to the baked goods, it is hard to decide on just one pastry because they are all delicious. You simply can’t go wrong.

2) Stauf’s Coffee Roasters (Grandview or Grant Ave)
Stauf’s is an awesome shop, and there are several locations throughout Columbus. They serve a vast array of coffees, as well as some specialty drinks and teas. A big added bonus, is that they have wifi and tables for studying, so it’s the perfect place to when you need to hit the books.

3) Boston Stoker (771 Neil Ave)
Boston Stoker is the smallest of the 3, but they still serve some great coffee. I personally enjoy their cold brew. It’s one of the few places I am willing to drink black coffee, because it tastes that good here. This coffee house also has a few tables, and can be a place to study if you’re looking for somewhere new.

Hello everyone! One of the common questions we get as ambassadors is what our normal weeks look like as students at Ohio State. To give you and idea, of both how classes are and how we fit in everything else, I am going to walk you through what a typical week looks like for me! One thing to note – everyone’s schedule is different so this is just one possible schedule out of many.

Monday: 

-Lecture 8:30-11:30 – Monday started off with a lecture on the pathophysiology of Arrhythmias. While the material was pretty heavy, it helped that it was taught by a pharmacist who works in the Ross Heart Hospital and is a specialist in the field.
-Professional Hour 11:30-12:30 – All PharmD students have 11:30-12:30 off every day. This professional hour, I ran across the street to BistrOH to grab a quick bite with friends.
-Lecture 12:30-3:30 – We finished off Monday with a lecture on the pharmacology of anti-arrhythmic drugs and the medicinal chemistry behind how these drugs work. Throughout the lecture, we had a variety of patient cases to help us visualize how these things are applied in real life.
-Interprofessional education event 5:30-8:00 – A special event, this was a session with other health professional students focused on the opioid crisis. It was really interesting to hear the viewpoint of my future colleagues and really helped me to realize how much we will all need to work together to solve the crisis.

Tuesday:

-Work 7:00-12:30 – As mentioned in my last blog post, I work with the OSU Wexner Medical Center as an informatics intern.  Tuesday morning, I worked with some of our pharmacist specialists to standardize how we make patient progress notes. I was amazed at how diverse a range of specialists we have right across the street from the college and it was really interesting to hear from all of them how they work through their cases.
-Lab 12:30-3:30 – Lab is my favorite part of the week, class wise. Our second year lab is focussed on hospital pharmacy so this week we were compounding sterile IV bags of ceftriaxone. We also have a heavy focus on communication skills in lab so I practiced presenting therapy changes to a physician. It was great to be able to practice with one of our TAs acting as a physician and now I feel ready to do the real thing on one of my rotations.

Wednesday:

-Lecture 8:30-11:30 – More lecture! This time we learned about the therapeutics behind treating atrial arrhythmias.
-Professional Hour 11:30-12:30 – This professional hour, I went to a meeting of a brand new student organization. Bringing our grand total to 18, this new organization focuses on specialty pharmacy. They had a guest speaker who had a lot of insight into the field but most importantly – they had free food.
-Lecture 12:30-3:30 – To round out the day we talked about Venous Thromboembolism from another faculty member who also practices at the Wexner Medical Center. While we only had him for a few hours, we learned a ton about the topic and worked through some patient cases that made the material so much clearer.

Thursday:

-Work – 7:00-12:30
-Professional Hour 11:30-12:30 – This professional hour I mostly studied but also shamelessly used the excuse of supporting a good cause to get some tasty baked goods! During professional hours, student orgs sell everything from white coats to t-shirts to cupcakes. It’s a great opportunity to support some of our charities and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time.
-Workshop 12:30-3:30 -Thursday workshop was focused on patient cases for Arrhythmias and Venous Thromboembolism. Using a team based learning approach, we talked about all the considerations that need to be made in treating these disease states. All the different specialists were there so we got to see how the team works together to prioritize and manage complex patients.

Friday:

-Workshop 8:30-11:30 – Friday workshop will focus on pharmacogenomics. I particularly am looking forward to this since it’s such a cutting edge field that even a lot of practicing pharmacists don’t know much about. The fact that we get exposure to it so early on is very exciting.
-The Circleville Pumpkin Show 2:30 -??-  Since the week can’t be all work and no play, me and some of my fellow Phi Delta Chi Brothers are going to blow off some steam at the famous Circleville Pumpkin Show! I’ve never been so I’m not entirely sure what is in store but I’ve heard they have pumpkin flavored versions of literally anything you can think of. I can’t wait to see what all I can find!

So there you have it, a week In the life of an OSU student. It’s pretty jam packed with a lot of exciting things that spice things up between lectures. I hope this gives you an idea of what it’s like here!