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Pharmacy, the doctor of Pharmacy degree, and you
Rich Wilcox, Ph.D.Assistant Dean for Admissions / Advising
Professor of Neuropharmacology
LPPA Fall 2014
Theme = Admissions ProcessPoints to cover
• What is Pharmacy, really?• What pre-Pharmacy major?• Keys to the pre-reqs• Online college course work• Community college course work• UT policy on simultaneous enrollment• Myths in the application process
What is Pharmacy really?
• Pharmacy is the health profession in which you may have the most contact with patients on a regular basis.
• Pharmacy is the health profession in which you may have the most control over which life saving medications will be taken by a patient.
• IMPLICATION: Work with patients!
What should be my pre-Pharmacy major?
• ANY pre-Pharmacy major is OK.• Most common are Biology & Chemistry.
Do my pre-Pharmacy courses have an expiration date?
• For UT, NO!• For other PharmD programs, you need to
check!
Keys to the pre-reqs
• All science / math courses should be for science majors.• You need English comp and a literature course.• You should take a microbiology course for health
professions [326M]• Your genetics course should cover cell & population
genetics.• Your calculus course needs to cover several topics in
integration. The one semester majors course often covers these topics. [See next slide]
• There are some core / flag graduation requirements for UT.
Topics in calculus that my course should have?
• 1/3 of course on integration• a] Fundamental theorem of the calculus; b] Integration
formulas; c] Intermediate value theorem; d] Theory of the integral such as Riemann sums and integrating continuous functions; e] Applications of the integral - areas, volumes, work, approximations by the trapezoidal rule and by Simpson's rule; f] Integration in relation to logs; g] Trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions.
Online & community college courses?
• Both online and community college courses are fine.
• HOWEVER, IF you wish to take one of the above while enrolled at UT that term you MUST get prior approval from your advisor!
Myth
• The PharmD program only cares about GPA and PCAT scores, not about passion for or experience in Pharmacy.– Not true!– Yes, the average GPA and PCAT are high, but– Virtually all admitted students have significant amounts
of Pharmacy work experience, community service experience, and organizational experience.
GPA of enrolled students
PCAT composite scores enrolled students
Work and service experience
• While NOT required, direct PHR work experience as a CPhT is valuable and helpful.
• Volunteering & community service show your true heart!
Myth
• Communication skills don’t matter as admission criteria.– No one is admitted to the PharmD program without
communicating effectively during interview weekend.– The committee has denied folks with a 4.0 GPA and
99% on the PCAT because during the interview they did not communicate effectively OR did not convey a real interest in helping other people.
– Ethical scenario – team activity– MMI = multiple-mini interviews
Myth
• Language skills don’t matter as admission criteria.– Not true!– Writing achievement and potential are
evaluated specifically • by the PCAT writing score
– And by your grades in English comp and literature
MMI http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2013/02/021313-vetmed-
admissions.html
MMI http://school.med.nyu.edu/md-admissions/mmi-faqs
Myth
• Letters of recommendation don’t matter to the admissions committee.– Letters of recommendation from Pharmacists are the
gold standard for admission!– It is a red flag if someone indicates that they work in a
pharmacy and do NOT have a letter from a pharmacist.
PharmCAS
As of June 2012 we use PharmCAS for the application.
Academics
Pre-req GPA > 2.8 [2014 mean = 3.6] PCAT > 70% [2014 mean = 89%]
Academics + Professional
• Academic ability – Pre-req GPA – PCAT– Grades in advanced science courses
• Knowledge of and passion for pharmacy – Resume– Essay– Letters of recommendation– Interview experiences
Real work experience
• Health care • Especially in pharmacy• Have contact with patients!• Learn about health care
policy & medications
Meaningful service
• Organizational activities• Community service and
volunteering• Where you actually DO
something!
PharmD characteristics
• Following slides show some of the key characteristics of our students.
• Are these your characteristics?
Passion
•Passion for serving others–THE major focus of your life–THIS is why you are here on earth
Discipline
• 60 hour “work” week [academics, work, and service]
• such discipline is the key to success
Pharmacy work experience
• Understand at least one type of pharmacy experience
• Have real insight about the issues facing the profession
• Know something about medcations
Serving in the community
•Care enough about helping others that you do it….a lot
Develop leadership
• Lead “in front”• Lead by example• But do lead• Being a quiet leader is OK
Statistics
Size of PharmD Applicant Pool
GPA for Each Class
GPA of enrolled students
PCAT for Each Class
PCAT composite scores enrolled students
Degrees of Enrolled Students
Residence of enrolled students
Ethnicity / gender enrolled students