My UBC Pharmacy life- Choosing pharmacy

End of 1st year.

1st year at UBC Pharmacy was quite interesting.
After 1 year of studying as a 1st year, I thought it would be nice to start a blog for those who are
interested in UBC Pharmacy. Just letting them know what it's like and what they can expect in the future.

I won't say anything about the interview process.... or the admission procedures etc etc.... because that could get me in trouble. I know when I was applying last year, someone had a blog as well and he/she ended up getting in trouble for helping students with interview questions and such....

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So,
Let me say some things about
How I came to choosing UBC Pharmacy


I entered pharmacy after my 2nd year of studies as a Microbiology student.
For those that have been doing their research know that you can enter UBC pharmacy after 1 year of Undergrad. To me I find entering after 2nd, 3rd and even 4th year is not much of a set back.

So... what was I thinking in 1st year???

In first year, I had no idea what I was going to do at UBC. Medicine? dentistry? Medical lab sci? Microbi, Biochem???? etc etc choices were there but I wasn't sure what to do.

It seemed like everyone I asked wanted to do Med or Dent.....
[We all notice that people always set very high goals for themselves don't we ;) ]

I wasn't very good at labs, but was very interested in Chemistry and Biochemistry... However, wasn't confident in myself to pursue PhD or masters...

My 1st year grades weren't too great. I had about 81% avg and about 82% pre-req average for Pharmacy. I probably could have applied in 1st year.... and probably would have if I knew more about it.

In 2nd year, I wanted to keep my options open so I could choose where ever I wanted to go.
I declared my major as Microbiology* and took the same science courses like everyone else...
Chem233, chem 205, Bio 201, Bio 200, Stats200 and etc etc etc etc....

I was dead this year... I spent a lot of my hours in the library so that I could boost my GPA.

((**OH BTW, If you have low GPA in 1st year you can take some courses that you will be taking in 1st year, 2nd year Pharmacy in ADVANCE! and those will count towards your GPA calculations for entry***))

I ended up boosting my GPA up to 86% Pharmacy Pre-req, 87% Med school, dent pre-req. I did do lots of volunteer works and club activities as well so I would at least have somethings to write on my applications.

At this point, I only needed to take 1 more course (Biochem 302) to have all my Pre-reqs for Med and Dent and my GPA was high enough to enter Pharmacy.

At this point, I started weighing the pro's and cons.....

MED- Very respected, high paying and rewarding.... but making life and death choices could be difficult for me. Also studying until 30 yrs old doesn't sound too appealing.

Dent- Very respected as well, Very very high paying and questionable in "rewarding" aspect in the profession. No disrespect for dentistry but I am not interested in looking at people's teeth... all the time... No life and death situations... but... this would've been my last choice if anything.

Pharmacy- Very respected??? not so sure. Not many people know the roles of pharmacists in the first place.... high paying job, rewarding and it only takes few more years until I start working.

So what is the roles of the pharmacists?
During the break, I volunteered at a Pharmacy for few months to find out.
The pill counting and dispensing stuff were not done by the Pharmacists at all.... hmm
The technicians were the ones that were doing all the work while the pharmacists spent their time checking prescriptions for errors made by the doctors, technicians and they counseled their patients.

It would take a long time to explain what I've felt after this experience. So instead, I encourage everyone to just get some experience as a volunteer and see it for yourselves.


After this, it was all in for pharmacy.
I took the PCAT twice because I wasn't satisfied with my 1st attempt....
And I entered UBC Pharmacy as 2013 graduating class.


I am sure many people have their reasons for choosing pharmacy. But what interested me the most is the relationship with the patients, and the respect they seem to be getting. Again I encourage you to get at least few weeks of experience before making your decision.

So, what do I think after 1st year of pharmacy?
I think I made a good choice.

1st year of pharmacy is very basic and just gives you a little taste of what the whole profession is like. I heard next year kills you though..... 7~8 final exams anyone??


*In UBC you declare your major in 2nd year.... kinda like saying " I wanna do this in 3rd year"... but basically everyone is studying the same thing in 2nd year still.... (except if you are in Chemistry, Computer Sci etc)