It’s Been So Long

 I can’t actually believe this blog still exists. But it makes my heart happy to know it does. I’ve matured so much over the last twelve years. It’s equal parts embarrassing and comforting. Today, I randomly remembered I enjoyed writing. Writing about important things, and not so important things. Then I also remembered, I wasn’t all that good at it. But chuckled at the fact, I still do it anyway. I missed my little corner of the internet. A place where I was able to express myself and wonder if anyone cared. 

I’m adulting real hard now. No one should be considered an adult at 18, speaking from some experience. I’ve gotten married, had another baby—-Still jovial as ever, this mommy. And I’ve fallen out of love and back in love with pharmacy many times over. I’ve struggled real hard at finding my professional identity. 

I got real weird and started recording myself. https://www.tiktok.com/@theofficiale.reid?_t=8p4uoU9nGCk&_r=1

My tiktok if you’d care to see it. 

I’m not. famous yet and I don’t make any money. But, it’s been fun.

Maybe, I’ll take back up writing here again. Who knows, I enjoy going where my mind takes me these days.

Until…

Dear Phamacy Graduates of 2017!

First let me start off by saying Congratulations Doctors. Your commitment to education and excellence has finally paid off. You have accomplished a task that most people lack the ambition to start and dedication to pursue.

You are the proud recipient of not only a Doctorate of Pharmacy but, for most of us, also at the least $100,000 worth of student loan debt. That unfortunately for us all Besty DeVil-ros is attempting to make problematic. It's just bad (Republican or Democrat) this is not up for debate.

You are several exams away from being entrusted with the resposibility of protecting millions of lives. Preparing to tackle what may seem like the fight of your life.

The Journey may feel as if it has come to an end, but be not confused, it is just really begin. You have choices to make, much bigger than what you will eat for dinner, what you will spend your refund check on when it arrives, or where to vacation for spring break. No, refund checks and spring breaks as you know them are things of the past.Much like being a poor struggling student, if you manage your money. Or maybe poor and struggling, not so much. That is up for debate.

So much responsibilty is getting ready to hit you right in the face. Not, just like one brick falling more like 10 just all at once, at a super fast speed. This will be overwhelming and frustrating, but we all ("new grads," because of course I still consider myself a new grad) go through it. You will have days that, even after the inital transition you will still go through it.

Days when your sole existence as pharmacist will consist of answering challenging questions such as:

"What aisle are shoe strings on?"
"What time do you close?"
"Is this made in China?"

And my personal favorite...

" Where do I drop off?" While Standing undering a sign that says "Drop Off"

All questions only a licensed pharmacist could answer. Clearly.

And this is okay.

I think the hardest part of our job is figuring out how to best "Help" our patients. Sometimes, they just need us to be an ear to listen. Other times, our patience, other days it's our kindness, and yes even some days they need discipline.

They need us. Never forget that! Dare, not let an Amazon, nor a mail order automated machine, outshine you! More importantly, replace you. And yes you may have some work to do, to prevent that from happening. You are brilliant, you GOT THIS!

If this journey, as a pharmacist is leveled on a 100% scale, you are now at 25%. Upon licensure you will be at 50%, you have a complete lifetime of greatness ahead of you. So, as you prepare to become a licensed pharmacist be encouraged.

Today is your day, You're off to great places, you're off and away.

You want to be a Pharmacist?

To this day one of the most read posts is "10 Tips of making it through your first year of pharmacy school" Long title I know and not that creative might I add. I always feel so scattered. Every other day I try to talk myself into deleting this blog. I just can't seem to bring my self to do it.

At first I wasn't a mom, who was blogging about getting ready to be a mom.
Then I was a mom blogging about mommy stuff.
( I mean I am still a mom, just a less figured out one)
Next a pharmacy student writing about student stuff.
Now I'm a pharmacist, and well I'm not all that sure what I write about at this point.

So, this morning when I logged to see how the blog was doing. Who's reading, if anyone is reading, and what exactly they're reading. I decided, "Hey why not put a new spin on an old topic" What do I have to lose, right?

Ok, can I first say I am pro-pharmacist because I think from this moment forward it may not exactly sound that way.

1. If you are thinking about pharmacy school...Don't do it, turn around and go the other way. Now why would I say that about a career I love so dearly?

Supply and demand.

I recently had a lot of interviews, and I mean a lot. The market is not looking all that great. I've had many interviewers tell me, "the market is so saturated, I really have the ability to hire who I want and pay what I want. Because students need jobs."

Whoa! At present I am compensenated really well. Just to put you in a range I make upwards mid-sixty/hourly. Now I can tell you out of the 8 interviews I had NO ONE willing to A. match my pay and B. Come within $8 of it. I think the lowest I've been offered is $40/hourly by a company who claimed I was highly recommended to them. They were really interested and even offered to give me $5 more hourly than the initial offer. Financially, I just couldn't do it. I am over $200,000.00 in debt. I do have a 4 year old. And most certainly I must live.

This whole situation has been frustrating and frightening. I love my job. I love being a pharmacist. I volunteer my time as a pharmacist to my community because I enjoy. While, I realize money isn't EVERYTHING. It does take money to do most things.

I want students who are interested in being pharmacists to really understand what that means, to understand the commitment.Financially. Years ago people would say "don't become a pharmacist just for the money" Well now the money isn't there like it was.

So, You want to be a Pharmacist?

Ask your self what's the plan if I graduate and I don't receive a full-time job offer?

Or

What if I have to move away from my family or thousands of miles from where I thought I was going to live?

What is my game plan if it takes a year or 2 for me to find employment? What will I do if I can only find part time employment?

What will I do if I get in $120,000.00 of debt from student loans and I thought I would be making $100,000-$150,000/yearly but I find myself making $55,000-$90,000.00?

If you still want to be a pharmacist, if you still have the passion and you feel like a pharmacist is who you were created to be. Go for it, and be the very best pharmacist you possibly can. Change lives, hell change the profession. Be eager and enthusiatic to make the world a better place. Just know the flavor of the tea, before you sip it.

Life after Pharmacy School...

I can tell you from experience that life as a Pharmacy Student really is a challenging life. I mean your social life is pretty much non-existent. Your family and friends get put on the back burner. There is always some assignment, or test, or presentation that is somewhere lingering.

And then there's P4 year when things kind of slow down but not really. Tests get replaced with journal club's and case presentations, preceptor attitudes. Then there's my all time favorite, free labor. There were several times during my rotation, I would have rather been in the classroom.

Nevertheless, then you graduate. At this point you get to "bask"  Until you realize you have 2 exams standing in your way of being really official. And yes I said "really" because right now you're in transition. You know the point where people ask you, What do you do? And you want to say pharmacist but, you're not all the way sure it's appropriate. I tried several times during transition to convince myself, that in fact I was a pharmacist just not a licensed, practicing one at the moment.

Ok, so now you're studying for either the Naplex or the law or both at the same time. It's funny because I read somewhere on the internet that the law exam is written by laywers and the Naplex is written by pharmacist, so fear the law more than the Naplex. Then I read somewhere else, that 70% of people who take the law exam pass and 94% of people who take the Naplex pass. In hindsight, I believe it. I most certainly felt as though the law exam was much more difficult than the Naplex. Ok, so all of that seems impossible until you pass and then you're expected to work.

So not life!

Working is interesting. I personally felt the difference between being an intern and now a pharmacist. People asked me questions and if I didn't know the answer as an intern it was ok. Now, people ask me questions and if I don't know I get a side eye. I ask my best friend like every other shift " Who thought it was a good idea to give me a license?"

Throughout the day we frantically share text messages that go a little something like:

"What is prefiber?"
" Can you give fluad to anybody?"
" How do you mix this?
"Do you mix that?"

Life after pharmacy school has been scary and exciting, interesting and overwhelming. Even still sometimes life has been a little bland. In short life has been no beach but when is life ever?

Pharm. D. to Rph

Cheesy picture I know, but it's the most beautiful picture I've ever seen in my life!

Whew, I PASSED the NAPLEX!! Four years of pharmacy school seemed like a piece of cake compared to the "THOUGHT" of taking the naplex. In hindsight, much emphasis on hindsight, it's actually pretty funny. I was stressed beyond belief about a single exam, which was standing directly in front of my future.

I gained so much weight, shed so many tears, and experienced so many breakouts. Fortunately, I didn't have to do it alone. My best friend stuck by me through it all, well we stuck by each other. We got on each other nerves, argued, and most certainly had lots of fun in the process. Everyone at my church dealt with my constant emotional crisis. For their prayers, I am most thankful. I'm most appreciative for their unwavering support and confidence in me even when I didn't have it in myself.

It didn't take long after graduating to realize that my Pharm. D. didn't mean much wihtout being followed by Rph. Quick rewind, I took a 2 week vacation after graduating, which may not have been the smartest idea. I think altogether, I ended up studying mid- May, June, July, and August. Nearly  4 months. Which was absolutely aggravating.

My advice...

Start early, I know after working for free on rotation and then working for money, you are tired. However, if you could commit to going through 3-4 chapters of rxprep a week (during your P4 year) you would really be doing yourself a favor.

I like rxprep. Notice I didn't say love. I feel like rxprep is a good review, very comprehensive, but I'm not sure I feel that's all you need to pass.  Take that with a grain of salt considering all I used was rxprep, and I passed. During the prenaplex, there were questions I felt, if I had the time and resources, I wouldn't have picked the correct answer.

Definitely, utilize the entire rxprep course when that time comes: the videos, the book, and the quizzes. Then if you get down on time just the quizzes. I personally feel as though rotations are close to the best resource, especially if you have good preceptors. I know the thought at that point is to basically, get it done and graduate. From personal experiences, I met a lot of knowledgable people who were willing to help prepare me for the Naplex for FREE, so if you find yourself in a similar situation, use it to your advantage.

Take the prenaplex. It helped to familiarize me with the Naplex format and scoring. Remember, napb says the score isn't a representation of the number of questions you answer correctly. I took the prenaplex twice, my first score was a 96 and my second score was a 87. While my overall score was a 110.  I felt as though both of the pre-tests I took were much more difficult than the actual exam. I'm not sure how accuratley prenaplex scores correspond with the real naplex scores, I've talked to several people who scored in the low 60's both times they took the prenaplex, some passed the naplex and some didn't. So, I'm not sure.

Each exam is supposedly different.

I think considering all of the questions that required some sort of math I only had maybe 10-12 calculations.

It was very random.

I didn't get too many questions from anyone subject.

I don't know how adaptive the exam is, I didn't feel as though it got any easier or harder. There were questions I thought were easy and I knew, some that I had no idea and had never seen before, and then others I simply couldn't remember.

Timing is extremely important. I'm a fast test taker, so that wasn't an issue for me. I would say it's important to remember the exam isn't scored in a way that you have to get every question correct in order to pass. You need to be able to determine in a matter of seconds if you are able to get the question at hand correct, if you can go for it. However, if you can't let it go, don't waste your time...literally...

Lastly, I didn't think the exam was impossible. I thought it was fair. I was nervous because so many people said they felt terrible about the exam and later found out they passed. I didn't feel terrible, I was feeling neutral, which later made me nervous. So, if you are preparing to take the Naplex fret not, study smart and hard. Pray, have faith, and don't let it consume your life like I did. You got this!

Dear Pharmacy Graduates of 2020!

I am not a morning person. That is a very random statement. However, hopefully by now you know (if you read regularly, if not shame on you) that I am a very random person. Hold on to my lack of morning luster. To the Pharm D. graduates of 2020 this post today is for you.

Dear Future Pharm D. graduates of 2020:

I am penning this open letter to you in efforts to offer non-solicited advice that I feel you may all so desperately need. At this point in your career you have just gotten your letters of acceptance and you are eagerly awaiting to began your matriculation as a Pharm D. Candidate. My first bit of advice is to not be too eager. Enjoy your summer, it is the last summer you will have for a while. Seriously, take this opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Enjoy freedom as from August forth you won't experience very much of it.
Pharmacy is not what it use to be. The pharmacy market is toning up and is much more competitive than previously. The work environments are questionable and the pay is GREAT. However, unless you are on scholarship the debt you graduate with will be even GREATER. Pharmacy is really not all that great to be frank. In the sense-You could do a million other things in life and make a decent living, with little debt and be very happy. The point. Don't do this for the money. I recently completed my exit counseling and found that as of May 8, 2016 I am the brand new owner of $218,000.00 worth of student loans. Was I freaked out? Ugh, yeah. However, as of May 8, 2016 I will be able to help people in ways I never have been before. In short, I'm Happy.
Excitement- The excitement you will feel during your first week of orientation, write it down, take a picture of it, do whatever you need to do to capture that feeling. Then greet pharmacy school each day with that same excitement in your eyes. Each question, obstacle, struggle, late night study session, early morning exam, and impossible professor-meet all with that same excitment. The way you will feel the moment you are donned with a white coat (At this moment you will feel pretty official). -Funny story, the day I recieved my white coat I walked around the mall for hours with my coat on, begging to be asked a question that probably til this day I may be too afraid to answer. That same coat brought me great feelings of delight to throw away. Which leads me to pride.
Pride- Take pride in your profession. I certainly do. Be creative and innovative. Meet problems with your eyes wide open- for a solution. There are probably thousands of pharmacists who don't want to be pharmacists. You may meet a few of them on your journey. Never let them dim the light that so brightly shines inside you. This is your career. You make as much of it as you want, or as little it's your choice. But pharmacy needs trailblazers, pharmacists who are unafraid to make changes, and push the enevolope. We have enough bench warmers-literally.
Confidence- I believe that our confidence is tied to our faith. If you have studied and put forth honest efforts to master material. The information is there, there may be challenges in the translation of the information. But make no mistake it's there. You have to develop that confidence in yourself. That is, have faith that what you know, you honestly do really know. I still struggle with this and I amaze myself every time. Like "Oh, I actually do know this." -Funny story. A man walks into the pharmacy and confidently says to me " I need the nonsedating bendadryl- come show me where it is" I thought to myself "am I tripping.Nonsedating benadryl?" Confidence.Get it!
Honesty-There will be many times where the opportunity will present itself to be dishonest. Don't. Because if you will lie, you will cheat, and if you will cheat, then you will steal. And then well, it's just a slippery down hill slope that you don't have to ride.
Deliver Yourself From People- Know matter how old you are in pharmacy school you can become lost. This experience is so freaking brand new. You'll have hopes, fears, and dreams and the first thing you may want to do is align yourself with people who share these exact feelings. I met someone who I aligned myself with very early in my pharmacy career. I had to deliver myself from that person. They constantly suppressed my ideas and fed me a lot of negativity- a person I called a friend. Sure we had great times. However, they introduced a lot of unnecessary conflict into my life. I shared things with them, only for them to call me crazy and later do the very things I said. Needless to say we are not "friends" anymore, if we ever were. The point I want to make is always keep your eye on the prize. Friendships are a pleasure, not a need.
Gratitude-While in pharmacy school you will have no probably identifying problems, whether it be with your school, your classmates, or even yourself. Don't make this process harder than it needs to be. Stay focused on the positive as much as possible. Keep a gratitude list if you must. Be thankful for each opportunity to present and each opportunity to sit for an exam. Because the fact of the matter is you applied for this opportunity and it was granted. I'm sure there are several people who weren't granted the opportunity who would be more than happy to experience the struggle.
Professionalism-Pharmacy is a profession, which requires the individuals apart of it to exhibit professionalism. To be honest, this was actually a hard concept for me to grasp. Professionalism is not the way you act at work, its your whole life. After four long years, someone will call you Doctor. That entails a lot. There is even some social responsibility attached. The way you dress, the way you speak, the way you handle situations, and even your attitude should all be appropriate. Wearing a bathing suit to the beach is appropriate and yelling at a basketball game is also very appropriate. Wearing a bathing suit to a restuarant and yelling at a customer at work are inappropriate. There should be a level of distinction in the way you conduct yourself and that starts now. Then once you graduate never sign your name Dr. John Doe, Pharm. D. Its either Dr. John Doe or John Doe Pharm. D.

Take what you need and leave what you don't or even suggest it to someone who could benefit from it.

With much respect and love from one fellow pharmacist to another,

Dr. Charity Strothers

Graduation Motivation...

Graduation marks a triumphant completion. For me, it marks the end of senseless early mornings and the death of sleepless nights.

I can remember my grandmother taking me shopping to find the most appropriate interview attire to downplay my nicely formed baby bump. I was five months pregnant when I interviewed for a seat in the school of pharmacy’s class of 2016.

What are we doing or giving to make things better? If the answer is “nothing,” then we are failing. The only thing that stands in the way of being is doing. It takes just one step. One foot in front of the other, left foot, right foot repetitiously, enthusiastically and persistently.

This journey was not easy, nor was it glamorous. I’ve been frustrated, overwhelmed and angry. I’ve punched a time clock more than I’ve vacationed. I’ve endured heartbreak and betrayal. I’ve felt like a failure more than I’ve felt affluent.

I was determined to stay the course. Being bold brought me to the occasion, and being humble allowed me to rise to it. I did this for the little girl who calls me “Mommy,” to show her she has a choice and to set the standard, not the exception.

On May 8, I will graduate as Dr. Charity B. Strothers. However that amounts to nothing if my greatest accomplishment serves only to advance myself singularly.

For the person with just as many doubts as dreams, I share this poem:

It Couldn’t be Done

By Edgar Albert Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

Oh Sweet Sixteen!

It is 2016, please lets take a moment of celebration [insert celebration] OMG I can not believe that I have made it through 4 years of pharmacy school. I am so thankful and filled with so much emotion. Can I bask for a moment in time? Life has been really crazy. I always stop in with a short nothing to say and promise to come back and really talk about what's been going on with me. But life has just kept me really busy. Since I won't have too much going on I've thought about deleting this blog after school and starting a new one. But, I just can't bring myself to do it.

Emsley is almost FOUR and  almost as tall as ME! Which doesn't say a lot because I'm super short. She is so beautiful and smart. Four entire years and I still haven't gotten my life together. Oh, and I'm still fat! I'm eating as good as ever. Somebody gotta do it.

Graduation is less than an ENTIRE month a way. It's so surreal, I will be a Pharm D. (ehh hmm) a whole doctor. Life has not been easy, ever! But it's been a really good time.

Hopefully graduating will free up some of my time. Probably not, I just swap old goals for new goals. I had a spare moment yesterday and noticed I hadn't posted in nearly 2 years. Unacceptable on my part. This blog means so much to me and no one probably even reads it. If I was on my iphone I would insert one of those little crying side mouth emojis. Humble beginnings, I think this blog was initially started to pass time and make money. Just to confirm I've made no money. I also, think it served to help improve my writing. I've written so many articles. I recently had to write a four page paper for school and was completley full of myself. Like is this a paying job or NAH?

There is always a little something about home. You can never go too far or do too much, that you can't come back home. No matter how long I've been away or how much I've accomplished (or not accomplished) it feels good to come back home and write about life.

Until...

Surviving Drug Disease Management Modules

Hi All!


I'm guessing that people enjoy reading my posts about pharmacy school, as I get oh so many comments. I'm glad that I am able to help those who are searching. So, in my quest to continue to help, I've decided to post about the infamous DDM. That is Disease and Drug Management.


Not every school follows the same curriculum so I can only speak for my institution. DDM, happens a little like this: You study a system for example the cardiovascular system, you go through pathophysiology, pharmacology of drugs that treat CVS diseases, and Therapeutics (that is the application of the drugs useful for treating the disease).


Lets lay it out more.... Take for example the Central Nervous System is the system we've chosen to study.


Pathophysiology would be the "WHAT" - What's wrong in patients with ADD, ADHD, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease....


Pharmacology would be the "How"- In the sense of, there's a lack of Dopamine in a patient with ADHD, how can we increase the amount of Dopamine available in the synapse? So we study all the drugs that can do this.


Therapeutics would be the "Why" Where" "When" and "Who"- With therapeutics you tend to contradict everything that you've just learned in pharmacology. It's the application of therapy. Why have you chosen to give your patient this drug versus another (maybe it's the drug of choice). When is the patient supposed to take the medication (evening or mornings, everyday or once a week). Who can an elderly patient take it, someone who is breastfeeding, someone who is severely burned. Where is this medication topical, inhaled, oral, parenteral....


So, what makes DDM difficult?
I'm not sure why it's so hard to get a straight forward answer from people. When I was asking people whom had graduated they would always say things like " It's just like nothing you've every experienced before!" And I agree you've probably never experienced that type of learning before but I think there's a better way to explain how to tackle it.


1. Stay on top of studying (take in consideration if you start studying the day your professor introducing information to you, the moment your professor walks out of class you are already "X" amount of pages or slides behind)


2. Read the book (reading the book helps to make connections that maybe you didn't catch in class or your professors didn't mention but not only that some professors will make notes from the book so you're reading and studying at the same time. Or you'll have professors who give you the practice problems from the book on a test and that's always a plus)


3.  Search for professor's old exams ( Either ask the professor directly or ask around, it helps you to understand how they tend to test the material or the material they tend to focus more on)


4. Don't Take a pharmacology test with a therapeutics mind ( these 2 arenas are very different and people tend to not get them straight.)


5.  For me having 5 teachers on one exam is difficult because every professor presents and looks for information differently


6. Committing the information to memory with your learning style. I learn well from reading so if I can read something I tend to commit it to memory. However that wasn't the case for pharmacology. Professors tended to test on half-lives, contraindications, and indications. So there would be 15 drugs with 6 contraindications, 8 side effects and 4 indications each. There was no way that I could read it and know it. I had to make flash card and write, write, write....


I have a few more blocks of DDM and it won't be easy but hopefully it will be worth it!

I'm a P3 now!!!!

Hello  All!

I feel like every time I post, I am apologizing for not posting sooner. At any rate I'm sorry for not posting sooner, but life has just been going.

I am officially a P3 now!!! It feels amazing! In case you were wondering how it feels. School ended April 30 at noon and final grades came in a few days later and here I am chillaxing.  This semester had to have been the roughest of them all. The second semester of P2 year begins Drug and Disease Management (DDM) 1-3. I have covered CVS and CNS, that is Cardiovascular and Central Nervous System. Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics. I feel like a Champion because CVS (Block 3) was rough, it took a few people out! Hell, it almost took me out. Through God's graces, mercies, and strength, I made it out with a C+.

When I logged in, I saw 4 comments needing to be published. Now, I am here to tell you for so long I have felt like my blogging had been in vain. But to see people actually reading and responding has elevated my feeling of AMAZINGNESS to a new level. I blog because when I was interested in pharmacy school their wasn't anyone blogging.  I say this because I mostly feel like I blog about school now, more than anything when I do blog. My goal in life is just to be a help, or a motivation to someone!

SO...... In response to my comments: Go to Pharmacy School and KICK MAJOR BUTT! I say this because there is no longer a shortage of pharmacist in the United States of America, and in fact we are rapidly approaching saturation. I love my Profession, it didn't choose me, I chose it! I plan to make my mark on pharmacy! Thirty years from now when professors are teaching History of Pharmacy, I want my name to be in a text book. I hope this is the goal of all of my colleagues!

Us Pharmacy Students are in this race together! Stay motivated and encouraged. I can be reached by email at cbstrothers@vwc.edu , facebook @Charity Strothers, and Instagram @makeupill. Whether, you want to say "Hi" , need a word of encouragement, advice, or have a question! Never hesitate to give me a shoot!

With Love!