Spring Break

Hey guys,

It's spring break A.K.A. "study break" here at PCOM and that means everyone's been taking a break to relax and recharge. I've had a great few days off and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about some of the fun things we're doing for a break this year.

Georgia State Parks

Georgia is full of great parks and outdoors attractions if you love exploring nature. This month my good friend Will Brown and his girlfriend Courtney took these great photos of Tallulah Gorge. The next weekend I went camping and hiking there and it was a great cheap (and therefore student friendly) get away that we'll be repeating more this school year and summer.

Will and Courtney enjoying the views.

If you consider yourself more of a beach person than a mountain person we have a cure for that too. Savannah and Tybee Island are not too far away for a weekend getaway. Savannah is famous for it's St. Patrick's day celebrations but can be a lot of fun all year long. This spring break I decided to instead to go Pensacola, Florida. It's about a five hour drive from campus and is the beach is absolutely breathtaking. 

Here is a view of the sunrise from our hotel room:

And finally if you are most interested in city life, downtown Atlanta is only a half an hour away. This month there have been countless activities going on from concerts to arts and crafts shows to anime conventions. There is really something fun for everyone. 

And now it's time for me to get back to the grind and study for my Infectious Disease test. Hope you all have a great week!

Katie

Opportunities in Pharmacy Today

One of the things I love most about pharmacy is how diverse pharmacists' option are when it comes to pursuing their passions. There are so many different areas of pharmacy that pharmacists can head into. I wanted to tell you about some of the jobs that most people never hear about before they start school but are great opportunities for an aspiring PharmD to consider. 

Clinical Pharmacy: 

Clinical Pharmacists work in hospitals all across the nation. They work hand in hand with physicians, nurses, PAs and other healthcare professionals to care for patients. These pharmacists go on daily rounds in the hospital and evaluate patient's medication therapy. Often these patients need constant dose adjustments and medication changes and these pharmacists make sure the patient's medication needs are correctly being met. In many hospitals they are directly responsible for dosing and monitoring certain medications that can be dangerous to the patient if not done correctly. 

Managed Care Pharmacy:

Managed care is a great area for someone who loves pharmacy but also has a good mind for business. Managed care pharmacists review patient data, preform drug utilization reviews (reviews of appropriateness of medications and drug therapy), preform and review medication cost analysis studies, and often design patient care offerings for insurance companies.

Academia:

If education is your passion there are a lot of amazing opportunities in pharmacy. At PCOM our Pharmacy Practice professors work both at our school, teaching classes, and also at separate sites doing direct patient care. The students then often go to their sites on rotations and the teachers act as preceptors to the sites. It's a great opportunity to help shape a whole new generation of pharmacists. 

There are so many great opportunities for pharmacists in Georgia today. The head of the Georgia DEA and Georgia Poison Control are both pharmacists and there are countless places where pharmacists may find interesting, exciting work. If you have more questions just start doing research! You'll be amazed how many areas of pharmacy are open to you.

Katie