Pharmacy school is filled with vast amounts of information to learn and retain until graduation and beyond. This can make it hard to take time for activities that can enrich future pharmacists with experiences not obtainable in the classroom. Professional organizations, leadership positions, and working in pharmacies are great examples of vital out-of-classroom experiences to help students obtain the readiness needed before entering practice. But there is one more activity missing from that list.

Earlier this summer, I completed a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in New Haven, CT. To say that my path to where I am today has been non-traditional would be an understatement. 

“Congratulations!” my oncology professor beamed at me. A colorful array of emotions flooded my mind as the olive hood went over my head and my professor rested it upon my shoulders. I was finally a pharmacist. I was excited, in disbelief, nervous, and over the moon all at the same time. All my hard work culminated to this moment, and it was time to embark on a journey of new opportunities and challenges!

For many of you reading this right now, you may be experiencing the rigorous rotations of final year, or you may be a few years away from graduating. Either way, the road to your olive-hooding glory is a stressful, yet fulfilling, one. Your final year of pharmacy school is absolutely the year when you will grow the most as a professional, and for those of you already in the midst of your rotations, I would like to share a few helpful words of wisdom with you as you count down the days to that fateful moment!