{knowledge} P1 Fall Course Overview

I have officially survived my first week of pharmacy school. Let me tell you something - there is so such thing as easing into grad school. You jump right into the deep end of the pool and they say swim 500 laps. GO!! But I have to say - I am really enjoying the classes. I don't think they will be necessarily difficult content but it is going to be a lot of information...all at once. I wanted to give you all a summary of each class this semester and what I am looking forward most about it. It will be interesting to look back at this post at the end of the semester and see if my opinion on the courses has changed.

General Advice to P1s

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Here is a breakdown of the courses I will be taking this semester:

Biological Science Integration Part 1: General overview of all the science courses you took in undergrad. This is going to be the most difficult class this semester because of the amount of information given each week. It is basically anatomy/physiology, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and metabolism all in one class. 

Calculations: This course is designed to work hand and hand with the dispensing lab. Calculating amounts of ingredients needed to fill a prescription.

Dispensing Lab: This course is all about compounding and filling prescriptions. Its a hands on course designed to simulate compounding in a pharmacy. This semester we will be making children's flavored tylenol, medicated lolipops, and medicated chapstick. Just to name a few! 

Principals of Pharmaceutical Care: This is probably going to be one of my favorite classes. This course is focused on the new age of pharmacy - focused on patient care. 

Professional Responsibility and Leadership: This course is going to be another one of my favorites. It is designed based off a self assessment test taken at the beginning of the course. After the assessment you learn what your leadership style is and how to work with different leadership styles. It is going to be a great course to learn how to work in team settings in the health care world. 

Professional Communications: This course is your basic communications course but specific to pharmacy. How to communicate effectively in a pharmacy to both your patients and coworkers. 

Electronic Mentor Program: This is an interesting course that is based off electronic communications with pharmacists all over the country on ethical questions in pharmacy. We have a topic each week that we discuss in class and then leave our opinion on the topic in a comment on a blog. 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: This course is designed for you to think critically in pharmacy situations. Teaching you techniques on how to approach a situation successfully in a pharmacy environment.

Overall my first semester in pharmacy school is designed to give us an overall pharmacy background and prepare us to be well-rounded student pharmacists when we enter a pharmacy to do interning/work. I am very excited to see how these classes will turn out and can't wait to share my experiences with you!