Research Day at PCOM

Hello everyone!

Every year at PCOM we have a school wide (across both Philly campus and Georgia) day to celebrate all things research. Since I am a research student for the School of Pharmacy I was especially excited this year to attend all the planned events. I was most excited about the school's poster presentation session since I was able to participate for the first time.

When I started research last July I had never been in a "real" lab before. I remember being really intimidated by how complicated everything seemed but I was so happy to have the opportunity to work that I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. I dove head first into my research project that summer and as school started back in the fall I tried my best to keep working full steam. It was a difficult journey but with the help of my research professor and mentor Dr. Eric Wang I was able to get a lot of really great work done. When it came time to work on my presentation for research day I knew I had done something to be proud of.

The poster presentation session started out with a keynote speech by Brian Hallas, Ph.D. that was live-streamed from the Philadelphia campus . We then moved on to actual presentations. We had so many great posters presented that day from both professors and students from all of our programs. I met and talked with so many new people from our school and was able to share with them my work. It was a really fantastic experience. I was really nervous to present at first but it ended up being a really positive experience. It was also really great to see how hard everyone had been working and to mingle and learn about different areas of research. 

Here are some photos of the event:

And last but not least my personal favorite photo!

After all the hard work I've put in this year I was thrilled to find out that I'd won first prize for the School of Pharmacy! 

All in all it was a great experience and I'm already looking forward to next year's event. I can't wait to see what everyone brings to present! 

Katie

Health Fair Update

Hey guys! I hope things are going great for you all!

For those of you that read the blog regularly, you may remember that last month we had our first official school health fair. It ended up being a great success and a lot of fun. We had a great student turnout from all our pharmacy classes and a lot of students came from the DO program as well. I wanted to share with you some of the pictures of the event.

Here are some of the pictures courtesy of Jis Joseph, our resident P2 photographer.

I can't wait until we do it again next year!

Katie

The Class of 2014

May signals an exciting time for the pharmacy program here at PCOM. This month, our inaugural pharmacy class finishes the didactic portion of their curriculum and will head off to start their rotations. I am so excited for them and so very proud. To celebrate their big accomplishment I wanted to share a few memories I have had with them over the last few years.

I still remember the very first time I stepped into PCOM. It was early fall and I was deep in the middle of my undergrad career. I had RSVP'd to an open house event and when I left my house that evening to go to the school I really had no idea what to expect. That night, as I toured the campus and listened to presentations from faculty, I began to feel like I had already made my pharmacy school choice. And though I learned a lot about how great the school was that night, the thing that really sold me was my interactions with the student ambassadors. All the students I met that night were part of the inaugural class and I have to say, it was really because of them that I chose to make this school my home. Their excitement and deep sense of community permeated the campus and I knew this was where I wanted to start my pharmacy career. 

When I was in my first year of pharmacy school I knew I wanted to get involved with improving and building up our program but not having any real leadership background I didn't know quite where to start. The class of 2014 showed my the way starting with their encouragement to become a student ambassador. That was the path that eventually lead to be able to start this blog. I can also remember that year when a member of their class came to our classroom to talk about his role on the faculty's Curriculum Committee. Up until that point, I didn't know that such a position was even available. With some his guidance I was able to step up into the position and it's enabled me to really make an impact in our program.

When I started in the lab last summer I was totally lost. I had never done research before and I needed a lot of help to learn all the proper techniques and procedures. Dr. Wang's other research assistant Mei stepped up and spent all summer training me to carry on with research after she left the lab to start her third year. It was because of her hard work, along with Dr. Wang's, that I feel so confident in my abilities now. 

In addition to big impacts the class has had on me, I still think a lot about the little things. The laughs, the advice and the encouragement they shared with me went a long way toward making my time at PCOM really special. I am going to miss my friends as they move forward in their rotations but I could not be any happier for them. 

Thank you all for all you've done for your school and for your fellow students.

And congratulations!!!!

Katie