PILLS 5 th General Meeting The Competitive Candidate

1. PILLS 5th General Meeting The Competitive Candidate December 1, 2009

2. Membership updates Rita Chang

3. Volunteering Updates Marissa Hom

4. Announcements • Individual Volunteering Application due Saturday, December 19, 2009 -- 11:59 pm • Ideas, opportunities, and other information found on our website • Please ask if you’re uncertain about your hours • Reminder: American Red Cross Campus Blood Drive -- Tuesday, December 8 -- confirmed volunteers will receive further details next week

5. CPhA with Dr. Young Michelle Lew

6. CPhA: Celebrate Pharmacy • Work closely with Dr. William B. Young from Kaiser Permanente, Pharmacy Operations Management • Limited to 15-20 volunteers • Requirements • Estimated 3-5 meetings (or conference calls) of 1 hour each • Communicating with various pharmacy schools • Seeking corporate sponsors • Agenda and activities planning • Participation on the day of the event (May 2010) • This event is not a volunteer requirement for PILLS!

7. Application Information: Posted on PILLS website (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~pills/) Due date: Thursday, December 3rd at 11:59pm Selection notifications by Friday, December 4th CPhA: Celebrate Pharmacy

8. Pills 3rd Social Huy Nguyen

9. Holiday Movie Night Friday, December 4th 7:00pm – 8:45pm 209 Dwinelle Attend at least ONE social to be an active member Last social of the semester!!!

10. Hot Topic Anna Zhou

11. Academics Calvin Huynh

12. Making the Grades PharmCAS-School Pages: <http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/schoolpages.htm>

13. Extracurriculars Katya

14. Extracurricular / Leadership • LEADER • club / organization • community center / church • RESEARCH • Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/index.php) • Summer Undergraduate Research Program (http://mcbusa.berkeley.edu/surp.html, http://research.berkeley.edu/surf/index.html) • Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (http://www.chori.org/index.html) • Professors • TUTORING • Student Learning Center (http://slc.berkeley.edu/general/index.htm) • Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (http://www.oases.org/) • Berkeley School District (http://www.bpef-online.org/volunteers.html) • Education 97/197: Undergraduate Field Studies (http://ufse.berkeley.edu/index.html) • IB 133: Anatomy Enrichment Program (http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/ib133/index.html)

15. Community Service Diane Suen

16. Community Service • Demonstrates your compassion for the community • Relates to your desire to serve patients as a pharmacist • Life-changing experiences • Develop communication/life skills • Make a difference! • Popular supplemental essay topic

17. How to Get Involved Volunteering with PILLS Serving Locally (Park clean-ups, community shelters, hospice visits) www.VolunteerMatch.org Animal Shelter (Berkeley) Tutoring/mentoring disadvantaged students (OASES, Camp Kesem) Serving long-term/internationally (Red Cross, Peacecorps, Teach for America)

18. Research Experience Lisa Lam

19. Why undergraduate research? • A chance to get to know a professor • Berkeley is a research institution—take advantage of it! • Develop critical thinking and communication skills • Network with professors, graduate students, postdocs http://research.berkeley.edu

20. Undergraduate Research • Approach a Principal Investigator (PI) • Email, Office hours • Resume, Cover letter/Personal statement • Apply to a summer program in academia • Apply to a summer internship at pharmaceutical or biotech companies • Start looking now!

21. Undergraduate Research Opportunities • Finding a lab position at Berkeley • Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP), Jan 25th • Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) • Supporting your current research project for summer • Amgen Scholars Program • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) • Summer outside of Berkeley • Internships at Biotech or Pharmaceutical companies • QB3-Berkeley Undergraduate Biotech Internships • International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) And many more!

22. Pharmacy experience Michelle Lew

23. Possible areas to get involved in include retail, inpatient, ambulatory, pharmaceutical research, etc. Includes employment, volunteering, and shadowing Why pharmacy experience makes an applicant more competitive Pharmacy Experience

24. Pharmacy Technician Huy Nguyen

25. Pharmacy Technician • Role/Job duties • Work closely with pharmacist to fill prescriptions • Work in community or hospital pharmacies • Benefits • Show dedication to the pharmacy field • Distinguish yourself from other applicants • Learn in greater detail about the pharmacy profession • Greater chance of employment in a pharmacy (vs. pharmacy clerk)

26. PTCE (pharmacy technician certification exam) • 90 Multiple choice questions in 2 hours • Passing 70% • Exam broken into 3 different categories • 1. Assisting the Pharmacist in Serving Patients (66%) • 2. Maintaining Medication and Inventory Control Systems (22%) • 3. Participating in the Administration and Management of Pharmacy Practice (12% ) • More info on PTCB website.

27. How: Sign up on PTCB website • Price: $129 • Test sites throughout state (closest in Oakland) • Immediate test results; 70% pass rate • License renewal every 2 years Suggested Study Aids

28. Current Events Marissa/Rita

29. Pharmacy is dynamic Requires broad knowledge of current events, health policy, and other topics (i.e. Obama’s healthcare reform) Knowledge of Current Events • Anything related to pharmacy could be addressed in interviews, essays, and applications

30. What you can do… • Read the news and pharmacy magazines - Drug Topics - Pharmacy Times • Take classes - PH 150D: Health Policy and Management • Be aware and educate yourself - learn about US healthcare system

31. Thank you & Good luck with finals!