Tuesday, March 24, 2015

My Class Schedule


Although I have been in Pharmacy school for quite sometime, this semester is the first semester we have deviated from the traditional course schedule of having semester long courses. And I love it. It seems to make the semester go by a little faster.
My class schedule is as follows: 
MWF-MTM
MW-Lab
T/Th-Pharmacy Administration
Clinical Rotation 
This semester, I am taking several 'short' courses and only three that last for the entire semester. My short courses are MTMs---medication therapy management courses, I have 5 total and they only last on average for 4 weeks then we move to the next one. In these classes, we learn about the medication groups, where they come from, their chemical structures and how/when to use them. We go through different disease states that are common in a a targeted part of the body. For those of y'all keeping score at home, that is A LOT to stuff in your brain over such a short period of time.  For example, during my respiratory MTM, we talked about things like COPD and asthma and which inhalers we use to treat it. During my renal  MTM, we talked a lot about diuretics and what sections of the kidney they target. These course are super interesting but also super intense.
I have been taking 2-4 hour labs ever since I can remember. They seriously seem to be never ending! BUT I will say I learn so much. This semester, the labs are in place to reinforce what we are learning during our MTM classes. For example, when we talk about asthma, we will go into lab the afternoon of the very same day to practice inhaler techniques.
My pharmacy administration course is actually a financial planning course. It teaches us the numbers behind the business and will be really helpful if we were to ever own a pharmacy. It also tells us the importance of a 401k and protecting our assets. Hopefully by the end of this course I will be able to check an item off of my bucket list ;)
This is the first semester we were able to pick an elective to take and I chose Spanish. It seemed to be the most logical choice since there are so many Spanish speaking patients we come in contact with on a daily basis in the pharmacy. I have Spanish on Tuesdays. Its so fun having  a little more flexibility in my schedule this semester even though I still have an 18 hour course load! One of the things I have to look forward to is my rotations. I love being able to go out and apply what I'm learning in the classroom.  BUT I am more than ready for summer!  :)

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Monday, March 16, 2015

#iconfess


Happy Monday! Today I am linking up with two of my favorite bloggers to share some of my most epic fails. And they were :) ! Be sure to check out every one else's here and  here 

Ok so I don't know about y'all but I am on the struggle bus with this time change! I feel like my feet have not stopped moving since last Sunday ha! 


Thankfully the cold is starting to wear off just a tad here in South Carolina. IBut the other morning on my way to the gym it was super cold, and I drove to the gym just like this. Glass half defrosted.  I usually go to the gym in the mornings because I don't have time to talk myself out of it.  I was super impatient and I'm not proud to admit it but I had a feeling that if I'd waited any longer, I wouldn't have been going. The upside is that the gym is only about 5 minutes from my apartment so I could only half see for a little while :) .


In the mornings, I usually turn straight to Nickelodeon at the gym and watch whatever is on while I am dying running on the treadmill.  On this particular morning, it was the Fairly Odd parents :). I am not ashamed...until the girl next to me is also in her mid-twenties and watching CNN. #awkward. 
  
One of the upsides of living in my apartment is that the police/fire departments are right across the street. The other day I heard a ton of fire trucks heading towards my apartment. Apparently they'd gotten an emergency call from the complex across the street for me. And they sent not one, not two, not three but eight police cars and three fire trucks! I was sure hoping there was not an actual crime going on during this time because all of the authorities were at the complex

The most embarrassing thing that happen to me this past month was by far my rotation. As many of y'all know, in order to become a licensed pharmacist, I have to do a series of clinical rotations and get a certain amount of hours. On Tuesday, I started my rotation at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
I was so excited!  I woke up early enough to shower, eat and be on my way.  I got there at about 7:30 with plenty of time to find a park {and snap a quick pic :)  }but there was only one slight problem...this is a hospital and it was a 4 lane parking garage. Many of the staff work all night and get off at 7 or 8 and the next shift starts around then. I drove around for THIRTY minutes because I kept missing parking spaces! I didn't walk in until 20 minutes after I was supposed to be there only to find out that my preceptor was the person that did the hiring and firing at the hospital for pretty much all pharmacy related positions. Awesome. Luckily, it was just an 'orientation' day but I was still so embarrassed! I hate being late and now I will forever be known as the 'girl who was late on her first day'. At the end I really could not help but laugh. It's so funny when the best laid plans turn out to be the complete opposite! :)


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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Lessons Learned: Blogging

It has officially be 1 year since I started this blog. Well actually a little over a year at this point. How'd that happen? I can not believe how fast time has gone! 
As a pharmacist, no one really cares that you are in love with Toni Morrison or that you recite the words of Robert Frost once a day in your head to make any decision and twice when making an important one. For the most part, people care about you knowing the right dosage form of Amoxillin to give to their screaming toddler. I originally started blogging as a creative outlet and to keep up with my family and friends while I am in school.

It took me a while to actually start a blog. I remember seeing a link to one of my friends' from Clemson sister's blog on facebook one night (confusing) and just decided to click on it. She went to Clemson too and she had bloggy friends on her blog and just started clicking away. . I read several blogs for months before finally committing to starting my own. At first I thought, 'What in the world would I ever write about?' Then, whenever something would happen, especially big mile stones, I'd always say 'Man, I wish I could blog that' before quickly realizing I didn't have a blog yet ;). I originally started blogging as a creative outlet and to keep up with my family and friends while I am in school.

So what have I learned after 365ish days about blogging?
  • People are interesting. I really don't know what other way to put it. So many times I have read blogs, read the comments that followed and been truly speechless. Some people are so opinionated while others can be really helpful and sweet. Here's the thing. when writing a blog, it is the person's life we are talking about. Some people acuallyl blog for a living. Many of the bloggers I have come in contact with blog for the same purpose....to document their lives and the special moments that come with the territory...both good and bad. Many bloggers also use blogging as a creative outlet like I do. I don't think I have ever met or spoken to a blogger that said he or she is doing it for other people..and that's the way it should be. The readers that come along are really just a little perk :) 

  • To be me. Being me--what you see is what you get. I think a lot of times, espcially bloggers, use blogging as a platform to adverstise the goods and not the bads. Now I'm not saying I would post every single detail about my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day but I also wouldn't post every single time I won a prize on a lottery scrach off. I have learned it's important to be real..and to show the really real you. After all, no one can be you better than you.
  • It takes patience. A lot more than I originally thought. One of the sweet bloggers I met before starting this blog told me this on at least 3 different occasions. I decided very early on that I just didn't have the patience for patience :) But she could not have been more right. Also, Shay did a blog post on writing where she interviewed several different different bloggers and they all said the exact same thing. Experts won out. :)
  • It is super super easy to get intimidated in the blogging world---there are so many different levels to blogging from elite to amateur.  The important thing I have come to remember is that there are also different time ranges to blogging. Some people have been blogging for years and years. Some people also have more time on their hands. Everyone is different. Don't compare

The cool thing is that everyone starts out on the same level for the most part. 


Even though I love to write, I try to keep the reason why I started blogging in the back of my mind.
I have loved being able to look back and reflect on things I've done with my family and friends. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have met and become friends with so many amazing people. The blogging community is seriously amazing but as with anything, there are pros and cons. It's important not to let the cons outweigh the pros. I want to send a huge, ginormous THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time out to read my random ramblings. Thank you for all of the love and support and encouragement. Seriously. I love you all
XOXO


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