As a pharmacy student at the University of Connecticut, a day in my life is pretty hectic. Between heading to class, learning the names of different drugs, attending club meetings, and working as an RA, there is never a dull moment. Talking to other UConn students has really put into perspective how crazy my life is, so I thought I would break it down for everyone.
6:30 a.m. – Wake Up and Start the Day
So, I don’t actually get out of bed at this time. I like to scroll on my phone for about thirty minutes before actually getting up to start the day. From 6:30 to 7:00 a.m., I am typically checking all my different social media apps to see what I missed the night before, especially because I tend to go to bed really early. At around seven o’clock, I will get up and start my day by doing my morning skincare and brushing my teeth. From there, I get dressed, do my hair, and pack my backpack before leaving my dorm for my eight o’clock lecture.
8:00 a.m. – Cardiovascular Module
I completely forgot to take a picture of this class, so please forgive me. Cardiovascular module (cardio) is my first class of the day. This class focuses on all the different cardiovascular diseases – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart failure – and the different medications we use to treat these diseases. In cardio, there are a ton of different pathways that we need to learn, like how a blood clot forms, along with where different medications interact in the pathway. Along with that, we need to memorize what medications treat which disease state (for example, someone with a blood clot might take warfarin) and all the various contraindications and reactions a patient should be on the lookout for. This class feels like a lot, and it has a lot of information, but it is also one of my favorites. I find that the content is interesting, even if it feels overwhelming at times. At the same time, the professors who co-teach this class are amazing and extremely committed to student learning.
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Non-Sterile Compounding Lab
After cardio, my next class is the non-sterile compounding lab. Now, you might be asking, what is a compounding pharmacy? Essentially, a compounding pharmacy is the preparation of a customized medication for a patient. Think of someone who might need a cream, but it isn’t commercially available. They would go to a compounding pharmacist to fill their prescription. Now, the non-sterile aspect just means that whatever we are compounding in this lab does not need to be sterile or completely bacteria-free. This week in the lab, we made vaginal inserts for a pretend patient along with troches, which are essentially fancy cough drops. While it sounds super fun, this lab was a little stressful. There were a lot of ingredients melting and a ton of multitasking going on during this lab, so I felt really stressed for time. The lab is also long, especially this one, which went the full three hours; that’s why we all look so tired afterwards. Despite that, I still managed to have a good time in the lab. A ton of my friends are in the lab with me (pictured above), so we always chat and help each other out. I also like to sing songs for my friends and the lab coordinators – even though I am an awful singer – to help make the time go by faster. I also don’t mind a non-sterile compounding lab because my goal is to be a compounding pharmacist, so I consider this practice for my future.
12:45 p.m. – Pizza at the Lunch and Learn and Homework
One of the perks of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is that every Wednesday, they host a Lunch and Learn for students. Lunch and Learns feature a presentation from a pharmacist who speaks about their experiences and focus. This week, we had a veterinary pharmacist as our presenter. Along with the presentation, there is also pizza provided. So, we get something to eat while we learn about different aspects of our future careers. Once the presentation wrapped up, we all decided to work on the non-sterile post-lab questions. These questions can be challenging, but it helps to talk through different answers with other people who have completed the lab. It’s especially helpful because my friends and I are all in the same lab, so it makes understanding the questions easier.
1:30 p.m. – Dunkin run with Kelly
After an exhausting non-sterile lab, with still a long day ahead of us, my friend Kelly and I decided to treat ourselves to some Dunkin’. With the new spring menu out, we decided to try some of the featured drinks. I tried the banana pudding cloud latte when the menu first came out, and I loved it. I also convinced Kelly to try it, and she fell in love with the drink. This was the perfect midday treat to keep us going.
2:00 pm – Studying BPK with Sofia & Emily
BPK stands for Baseline Pharmacy Knowledge. It is essentially a list of the top 200 drugs in the United States. We are required to know the brand names, generic names, drug classes, and drug use for all the medications on the list. There is a lot of information to know, so Sofia, Emily, and I are always taking different opportunities to study and review the material. Thankfully, Emily made flashcards for all the drugs on the list, and she brings them with her every day, so we can study anywhere at any time.
2:30 pm – Public Health and Healthcare Policy
Public Health and Healthcare Policy is my last class of the day. This course focuses on different healthcare policies, good and bad, and how they impact the patient population. Since it is a pharmacy-specific course, it focuses on what the pharmacist’s role is in different public health areas. This lecture focused on the different ways that public health interventions are developed, mainly looking at the different behavior models used to create said interventions.
5:00 pm – PTSO meeting
The Pharmacy Transfer Student Organization, PTSO, is one of the newest pharmacy clubs. Despite not being a transfer student, I decided to join the club because I am friends with all the founders. This week, we learned about the different executive board positions available, what each role entails, and who is eligible to run for each position. At the end of each meeting, we always play a Kahoot. The Kahoot never really has to do with what we talk about in the meeting, but rather something fun. This week, our Kahoot featured questions about all the different members of the club. It was so fun to see what people know about us!
7:00 pm – RA Staff Meeting & Room Checks
Every Wednesday, we have our RA staff meeting. This week, along with the normal meeting agenda items, we also completed fire health and safety checks in our residents’ rooms. Fire health and safety checks are just meant for us to ensure that no one has banned items or anything in their room that is a potential fire hazard. They don’t usually take long; it just takes a while because we go through each room on our floor and fill out a form indicating whether a room passed or failed. Aside from that, the staff meeting is usually a place for us to talk about any recent trends in the area or observations from duty. It’s also fun for me to catch up with my RA friends, who I don’t see often because of my hectic schedule.
9:00 pm – RA Duty with Paola
I didn’t realize that we had room checks this week, or else I probably wouldn’t have taken a duty shift. When we complete room checks, we always lock the doors after leaving the room. If residents get locked out, they have until midnight to call us to let them back in without paying a fine. Since Paola and I were on duty, we were the ones responsible for responding to people’s calls and lockout complaints. We also still needed to complete our regular RA rounds – checking the bathrooms on each floor in each building to make sure no one needed help. Since this was a midweek duty shift, there weren’t too many issues aside from all the lockout phone calls.
12:00 am – Bedtime
Although RA duty doesn’t end until seven o’clock the next morning, we are allowed to go back to our rooms at midnight, which is when our last round is over. After completing rounds, I take a shower, do my nighttime skin care, and head to bed.
In short, the life of a pharmacy student is pretty hectic, especially for someone like me, who tends to be over-involved. People often tell me that I am crazy, but I genuinely love every single thing that I do, which makes a day in my life extremely rewarding. To them, I want to leave this Harry Styles quote, which perfectly sums up my feelings on being a pharmacy student: “If you’re happy, doing what you’re doing, then nobody can tell you, you’re not successful.”