Do I want to be a pharmacist?

Applying to a college or university can be a daunting task, even when it is all done online. Consider also having to interview with people who could be your teachers in the near future.

Having gone to college many years ago, I decided to put myself in the shoes of a prospective student and attend an Interview Day for the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS).

I joined 19 prospective students at the Admissions Center on the Vestal campus on a cold, snowy day in January, before boarding a bus for the short ride to the pharmacy building at the Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City.

We each received a folder that included the day’s schedule and PharmD curriculum, as well as information about the Binghamton area and a copy of the Binghamton University Magazine.

As I rode with the others, SOPPS Director of Admissions Rachael Perry served as our tour guide, highlighting many of the resources available to pharmacy students on the Vestal campus, as well as what we could expect at the new building we were about to see.

Upon arrival, we were all seated in the atrium, and met by Founding Dean Gloria Meredith, who gave us an overview of the school and introduced us to some of the faculty.

“As a student here, you’ll have opportunities in the region and in New York City,” Meredith said. “We have many connections in the Greater Metro New York area and you’ll have the ability to complete advanced rotations and all of your APPEs there, unless we can convince you to stay in the area!”

Meredith explained that SOPPS has Candidate status and what that means. “It takes about five years, but we will be fully accredited by 2021, in your second year,” she said. “Candidate status from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) guarantees all of the privileges for you that full accreditation does. You can take the exam and practice wherever you want. We’re very pleased to have Candidate status and the ACPE wants to make sure the quality of the education is where they believe it should be. The last time they visited here they wore hardhats and were pretty impressed. We have a lot of things here that don’t exist in other pharmacy schools that will give you an advantage.”

Other advantages for students include the Big Sib/Little Sib program where P2 students connect with P1 students to provide advice, and the faculty advisors who are always ready to assist.

“When you think about being an undergraduate and having advisors, they help you decide which courses to sign up for,” Meredith said. “But this is a professional school and you have to take every course on the curriculum. You’ll really like the coursework, but an advisor is not really necessary except for electives.

“Your faculty advisor is there for lots of very good reasons: problems with one class or something very personal. They’ll meet with you every semester as a group and individually and their doors are always open,” she said. “If you have an issue, call your faculty advisor. They are here to help you.”

The School of Pharmacy at Binghamton is unlike many other pharmacy schools, Meredith told us. “We do several things in this school that you will not have an opportunity for in other schools. One is the APhA (American Pharmacists Association) certifications. You will become certified in immunizations, medication therapy management – which is not offered in many places – and also in diabetes, and there are opportunities in cardiovascular as well if you want. The first three of these certifications are required, so that makes us a little bit unusual and will look good on your résumé.”

SOPPS students also complete a capstone project, providing a broad opportunity in research that is completed in groups of four with a faculty advisor and teaching assistant to help. The capstone starts in your third year and you devote one of your APPE rotations to it, Meredith said. “It goes on your résumé and it’s very unusual; well under 50 percent of schools offer one. It doesn’t matter if you want to do a residency, go into the pharmaceutical industry, the corporate environment or just go straight into retail where you can take care of patients and provide direct patient care. When people see you have done a research project and have an understanding of evidence-based research, it will give you an advantage.”

She added that interprofessional education is also key. “Your first day, you will be put into a healthcare team with nursing and social work students, and as a team you will take some courses together and will learn about the other professionals so you will be used to communicating with other healthcare providers in a team setting,” Meredith said. “You’ll also work with medical students; you’ll do an emergency disaster drill, a case study in opioid use disorder, a back pain case, and you will when start going on rotations. There could be medical students, nurses or social work students there, so you will have lots of interprofessional experiences, which is is important when you go on an interview or when you want to get a key position, residency or fellowship.”

Finally, Meredith said: “I actually answer emails. Email me if there’s something you would like to ask. Relax and enjoy today and your lunch with faculty.”

Next came lunch with faculty, a tour of the state-of-the-art building led by Student Ambassadors, and interviews with two faculty members (separately) where I could ask questions. (I skipped the faculty interviews, but enjoyed the tour!)

Before hopping back on the bus to head back to Vestal, we were all given a take-home bag filled with SOPPS-labeled notepads, magnets and other goodies.

Now, if only I could pass the required prerequisite courses!