There are a lot of different things you can do with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The obvious career path is the one most people see every day—pharmacists who work in a retail setting, dispensing medication and providing information and education to patients on drug safety and other factors. In addition to retail pharmacy, there are many different things that PharmD graduates choose to do, and the Career Pathways Conference was aimed at helping students better understand some of the alternatives.
It was a three-hour event that started at 3:30 pm, just after classes got out on Thursday, October 2. Sixteen guest pharmacists from various fields—including drug information, critical care, outcomes liaison, fellowship, medial informatics, managed care, attorneys, and more—came to talk about their own careers and how students interested in pursuing these specialty areas might go about it.
About 75 to 80 PharmD candidates from Roseman University’s South Jordan campus attended to hear the career advice from presenters. Some of the things they shared with students included:
- Develop good writing and communication skills
- Participate in continuing education, skill development, and training
- Leave the door open for future career opportunities beyond what you are currently doing
- Learn how to be an effective networker, meet new people, and don’t be afraid to expand your horizons beyond retail pharmacy if that is not what makes you happy
- Maintain the curiosity that probably compelled you to enter the pharmacy field in the first place
- Develop good critical thinking skills, because they will be useful in any area of pharmacy practice
After hearing the presentations, many students stuck around for a social hour where they could speak with the presenters one-on-one. Roseman University College of Pharmacy would like to send a special thanks to all those who participated as presenters.