On a whim deciding to pick this blog back up again. However I also plan on making it more than a bunch of witty one liners too.

For those who don’t know, I am now after all this time in my 5th year of pharmacy school. First off, lets talk about this. WHAT. THE. HELL. How could it possibly be that it feels like yesterday I was at pharmacy school orientation and white coat ceremony & here I stand today considering residencies, specialties, what states I want to move to?!? What felt like would be an eternity has been a mere blink of the eye. I am worn and weathered and a completely different person than I was 2 years ago at this time. While sometimes I did not understand the changes occurring in my life, I now believe 100% that I am exactly where I am supposed to be today. Where will I be 21 months from now after I walk across that stage for my doctorate degree? I can honestly say I have absolutely no clue. Various ideas have crossed through my head including, but not limited to:

—> Simply going to work. Wherever I can get it. Still thinking retail is a good solid option for new post-graduates. It is what I have experience in, I am good at dealing with people, etc. I also find myself not limited to the location of where I want to work & I (hope) this greatly opens up my job market opportunities. Other perks include full pharmacist wages, signing bonuses, etc.

—> Residency. I have taken a pediatrics concentration in my classes and have realized that to do anything clinical or specialty based it is necessary to do a residency. I believe I would even need to complete 2 years of residency to do pediatrics? (I am going to a lecture on residencies tonight so hopefully I will understand more). Again my open-mind to relocating will hopefully be on my side in terms of finding one, seeing as they are extremely difficult to obtain nowadays. Especially since I am FAR from the 4.0 perfect overly-involved in organizations student that pharmacy schools pump out hundreds of each year. Negatives include resident pay…. nearly half of a normal pharmacists wages?!

—> Here is one out of the blue…. Opening up a pharmacy. Probably very far-fetched seeing the failing market of numerous independent pharmacies drowning in the competition of the large chains and their free antibiotics, cheap products, $4/$10 generics. But there are days it does cross my mind.

It’s a very strange world, being a 5th year pharmacy student. Stuck between college and real life, perpetually changing my future plans multiple times a day. Some days I feel overwhelmed, others I stand confident in my abilities to do whatever I set myself to. Overall, it’s just exhausting.