My Advice: From a 4th Year Pharmacy Student

Have you ever take a moment to ask yourself “Wow, how did I ever get here”? I occasionally find myself asking that question whenever I have hit some kind of milestone in my life. At this moment in time, I am currently on the first rotation block of my 4th year as a pharmacy student. It has been a roller coaster experiencing three years of academics at Midwestern University - College of Pharmacy. As I am here rotating at MK Education, I could not help but reminisce on how I am fortunate enough to be here in the first place. The moment I finished high school, I was like many of you, drifting to the flow of the next stage in life – college. I like to call myself a jellyfish back then, just drifting with the flowing waves of the ocean (life). Pharmacy was not the first field that came to my mind when I attended the University of South Florida. I initially started my college education hoping to get a psychology degree, then soon enough it turned into a need to get a nursing degree. Once I landed a job at Florida’s Hospital, I became fascinated with the pharmacy field. It was then that I knew I needed to change the course of my education to achieve my goal to becoming a pharmacist.

No one in my family had ever been a pharmacist, so you can figure how completely strayed I was. I researched everything I needed to know to be able to apply for pharmacy school. I read blogs and articles on what pharmacy schools look for in a candidate. That is when the great idea of getting job experience as a pharmacy technician came to mind. Working towards building my career was confirmed once I was hired to be a pharmacy technician at CVS. Learning to read, input, and filling the prescriptions, while helping new patients every day was very rewarding for me. I was always looking forward to coming to work, and knew that pharmacy school is what I would be working towards in the next year.

If I had access to an MK Education course back then, the path I have taken would have been a lot easier. MK Education prepares students for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) examination. Without preparation, you are basically going into the PTCB exam blindfolded. I wish I had experts to guide me in what to study, and what to focus on for both the PTCB exam and even for the first year of pharmacy school. Many pharmacy students I know struggled because for one, they were older and had started families before going back to school. MK Education helps students refresh what they know, at the same time teaches you what you didn’t know. The classes are available morning, afternoon, and even evening hours. Some classes are on the weekdays, and some are on weekends for those who have other things going on in life. Pharmacy schools look for students who have tons of work experience. It is their way of knowing that you are ready for their curriculum. Getting a PTCB certification is very important to landing a job as a pharmacy technician, and it is just as important to have worked as a pharmacy technician before applying for pharmacy school.

Now I am wondering if I had taken classes at MK Education before attending pharmacy school, what would have changed? I know I would potentially be a more knowledgeable pharmacy technician at the CVS Pharmacy I worked at. I would come into my first day of work, more confident with what I know. This is what MK Education can help you achieve. I would start my first day of pharmacy school with the background knowledge of pharmacology and pharmacy calculations at the back of my head. I would have been more composed and not panic at the thought of the first exam of pharmacy school. Not many people are fortunate to have a learning organization close by. If MK Education classes are within driving distance to you, I highly recommend you take advantage of it. Below is some steps that I hope will help you to start your path on being a pharmacy technician:

5 Steps to Get Started on Being a Pharmacy Technician

• Do Your Research: Always do your own research to have an understanding of what pharmacy technicians do. How other pharmacy technicians get to where they are today. Be open-minded and constantly ask questions to confirm that it is a career you are sure about. Your research can be online or in person with a pharmacy technician. Be familiarized with the field so that it can help you with your next step, which is setting goals.

• Set Your Short Term and Long Term Goals: Most often we postpone things we need to do because we don’t set a due date for ourselves. The step of becoming a pharmacy technician is setting goals in being one. You want to set your short-term goals such as “by this date, I will take my PTCB exam”, and long-term goal like “by this date, I will apply for pharmacy technician positions”.

• Look for Resources that Prepares You: Resources are plentiful as long as you take the time to find them. Reach out to educational institutions around you, such as MK Education (mkedu.org), to help prepare you for the PTCB exam and introduce you to the career choices and opportunities you may not know about. Preparation is half the battle.

• Manage Some Time to Study: Very rarely will people not study for the PTCB exam and still managed to do well. You don’t want to pay for the PTCB exam just to risk not passing it. We all have busy lives but it is important to always manage some time to study. If you can manage your time wisely, it will surely show on the performance of your work when you are a pharmacy technician.

• Have Confidence In Yourself: Be confident with your decision for your career choice. Be confident that you have prepared well for the PTCB exam. Be confident that you will pass the exam. And be confident that you will achieve your goals. The first person to believe in yourself should always be you.