LIVE From South College - Pharmacy Dean Dr. Tim Smith & PharmD Students

Keywords Pharmacy, PharmD, South College, Pharmacy Education, Modern Pharmacist, Career Paths, Pharmacy Regulations, Accelerated Program, Student Advice, Application Process

Summary In this episode of the Live From South College podcast, host Kathleen Stockham engages with PharmD students Taylor and Alaina, along with Dean, Dr. Tim Smith, to explore the evolving landscape of pharmacy education and careers. They discuss the motivations behind choosing pharmacy, the challenges faced in an accelerated program, and the diverse career paths available to pharmacists today. The conversation also highlights the unique aspects of the South College PharmD program, including its accelerated structure and emphasis on modern pharmacy practices such as pharmacogenomics. The guests share valuable advice for prospective students and insights into the application process, while also reflecting on the importance of networking and personal growth during their educational journey.

Takeaways

• Pharmacy offers diverse career paths beyond traditional roles.
• The accelerated PharmD program at South College allows students to enter the workforce sooner.
• Pharmacogenomics is revolutionizing personalized medicine in pharmacy.
• Networking and building relationships are crucial in pharmacy education.
• Students should focus on their personal story in application essays.
• The role of pharmacists is expanding in patient care and medication management.
• Understanding pharmacy regulations is essential for future pharmacists.
• Support from faculty plays a significant role in student success.
• The South College PharmD program is designed to meet student needs effectively.
• Graduate school can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding and fulfilling.

Sound Bites

• "I always wanted to be in the medical field."
• "It does get better as you go."
• "Pharmacy is a small world."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to South College Podcast

01:55 The Evolving Role of Pharmacists

06:34 Pharmacists Beyond the Drugstore

10:42 Legal Responsibilities of Pharmacists

13:03 Innovative PharmD Program at South College

16:43 Success Metrics and Applicant Profiles

21:37 Tim Smith's Journey to Dean

24:41 Personal Insights and Hobbies

27:53 Introduction to Pharmacy Journey

29:39 Choosing Pharmacy as a Career

31:36 Navigating the Application Process

33:12 Challenges in Pharmacy School

35:08 Career Aspirations Post-Pharmacy

37:09 Advice for Future PharmD Students

38:38 Building Relationships in Pharmacy School

40:17 Balancing Study and Personal Life

Got a question? Have some feedback? Email us at SouthCollegePodcast@south.edu or come visit us at www.south.edu.  Follow us on social media too.  The Live from South College Podcast is your source for all South College activity including new student information, deeps dive’s into our 100+ programs, and concentrations,  “Tools of the Trade,” and even Live on location from all of our campuses! Great interviews with Faculty, Staff, Deans and hear from South College students and alumni in their own words. From Certificates all the way to Doctoral degrees, catch up with “Live from South College” for the lighter side of helping your dreams find direction. 

Transcript

TRANSCRIPT – Pharmacy Dean Dr Tim Smith & PharmD Students

Kathleen Stockham (00:42)

Welcome to the Live From South College podcast. I'm your host Kathleen Stockham. The Live From South College podcast is your source for all South College activity including new student information, deep dives into our 100 plus programs and concentration.

tools of the trade, and even live on location from all of our campuses. Great interviews with faculty, staff, deans, and here's South College students and alumni in their own words. From certificates all the way to doctoral degrees, catch up with live from South College for the lighter side of helping your dreams find direction. At South College, we pride ourselves on hiring the very best and brightest to teach the very best and brightest.

Our incredible School of Pharmacy is no exception. With a very coveted accelerated three-year program instead of the usual four years, our PharmD program is now also in two pathways of on-ground or hybrid online. This is combined with the most modern and updated labs and classrooms and makes us one of the top choices for students wishing to become a doctor of pharmacy. The person leading all of that is my guest today.

our newly appointed Dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Tim Smith. Hi, Dr. Smith.

Tim Smith (02:01)

Hey Kathleen, nice to talk with you today and thank you for spending a few minutes with us.

Kathleen Stockham (02:07)

Absolutely. Well, you have had an awesome first few months in the Dean's chair. So let's get to it. The role of the pharmacist has changed so much in the past 20 years and what's expected of them. Tell me more about the role of the modern pharmacist.

Tim Smith (02:24)

Yeah, absolutely. It's a great question. It's one we quite often talk to our students about in the classrooms as well as our applicants that are considering pharmacy as a career. It can be quite diverse and I think that's what you see as we see the movement over the next decade or so of that as you described modern pharmacist. You're going to see it kind of have a lot of different faces and that's

really the nature of the profession. The doctorate degree that you get here at South College allows you to go out into the profession and practice in over 200 different areas that allow you to have patient contact or completely remove from patient contact where you're just working, for instance, maybe in an insurance company. But what we're going to see moving forward, I think what everyone's excited about is that pharmacist

being more accessible to the patient and having more accountability for management of outcomes associated with those medications. We know those medications can be the source of a lot of complications, whether that's adverse drug reactions or whether that's drug-drug interactions. And that accessibility to the pharmacist and maximizing that pharmacist expertise in those medication outcomes

is what we're seeing a lot of companies lean into. One of the exciting things we've begun sharing with our students in an area of explosion for the future of pharmacy is what's known as precision medicine. And what we specifically look at in pharmacy is what's called pharmacogenomics. So it's looking at your DNA, what mom and dad gave you, and using that preemptively or reactively

to avoid those complications, those adverse events with medications, but also to improve outcomes. So in essence, can, Kathleen, very easily take a buccal swab or we take a little Q-tip in your mouth, and then in about five business days, we get a roadmap back of you so that we can then know which medications you're better suited for. Whether that's a pain medication, whether that's a cardiovascular medication,

for hypertension, well that's an antidepressant. So that preemptive analysis and that precision medicine that comes from pharmacogenomics is really gonna allow that pharmacist to tailor therapy like we've never been able to do before.

Kathleen Stockham (05:02)

Wow, that is unbelievable. I've honestly never heard that before. It makes a lot of sense and I love the way that the thinking is going, that it means that pharmaceutical treatment can be geared towards the patient as an individual and not just a blanket treatment. I love that. That's amazing.

Tim Smith (05:24)

Yeah, absolutely. Moving away from that trial and error that we've always had, we, you we may ask a few questions, how did mom and dad do with the medication? But in essence, a lot of times we probably all experienced it ourselves or with friends and family to where the physician says, I'm going to bring you back in a couple, two or three weeks or, call the office. Let's see how you're doing. We can avoid a lot of that. And on the front end, know exactly precisely what's that right medication and the selection for it. So.

that pharmacist having that new information, working with the patient care team to really tailor your medication regimen around an assundery of diseases is going to explode over the next 10 years.

Kathleen Stockham (06:08)

Yeah, I just love the whole tailor made and more customization that this requires. That's awesome. So for most people, TV commercials usually portray the pharmacist as someone who possibly gives free medical advice, knows the patients by name in a local setting. That's what we see on TV ads. But what other settings can you actually find pharmacist that's not a national drugstore chain?

Tim Smith (06:34)

Yeah, it's a great question. And we share again with our students these career paths and some of them get super excited to share a few of them that our, student population finds exciting and interesting is a simple one is into the hospital setting. that pharmacist is a integral member of the patient care team on the inpatient and outpatient side of health systems or hospitals. We're starting to see those hospitals now.

as they take care of patients, move us out a little bit quicker from that inpatient setting into home settings. With that, if you think the profession of pharmacy is pretty great, medications are everywhere. So when you think of where medications are, that's where pharmacists are. So if we think of the hospital discharging you to finish some antibiotic therapy in the home setting, well, we've got divisions of pharmacy called home infusion.

that provide those parental or those IV therapies, those IV antibiotics to you in the home setting, which is great. An area that's really grown over the past 10 years is what's called specialty pharmacy. So that's these high cost, sometimes high risk medications that are tailored towards your specific disease state. So let's take Humira, that's a drug out there, a specialty drug for

rheumatoid arthritis and a various other indications those high-risk kind of high-cost Medications require a little bit different monitoring So you've got pharmacies that provide those therapies into the home or even into infusion suites Where those are given by the patient on a monthly weekly basis? So that monitoring is a little bit different than what you would see in the community setting or we see that typical

our most of our public is comfortable with those, you know, kind of drug store chain pharmacist interactions. And that's that impression they have of what pharmacies about it is a whole lot more. As I mentioned before, you could even step into nonpatient care. So we're starting to see a lot of Fortune 50 companies start to bring pharmacists into the team to help manage the cost of medications. So that

expertise that the pharmacist has on those medications can help them better design insurance plans, drug coverage plans, utilization plans, so that that business has the correct spend and they use those medications to avoid spend in the medical bucket. So let's take for instance a patient that has diabetes. Lots of different ways and I've mentioned before that precision medicine being able to look at where

those patients drug selections are by those caregivers and direct those to ones that can lean into and allow the company to not spend as much in the medical bucket for diabetes is very exciting for a lot of the C-suite folks and finding a way to capture and flatten the slope of the line in their drug spend. Another cool area.

Kathleen Stockham (09:52)

Yeah, I would imagine

that a lot of large companies really would lean into that to help sort of mitigate some of the high cost to employers for healthcare, particularly when you have a wide diversity of employee base that are all different ages and in places in their life. That's really, really fascinating. honestly had, again, this is a lot of breaking news for me on a personal level. That's really, really interesting. And I love the way

that the industry is thinking about it that way because it does indeed feel much more customized and preventative. for anyone listening to the podcast, and I'm assuming it's going to be a lot of people who are interested in PharmD, understanding the law and the legal accountability seems to be one of the largest hills to climb.

to becoming a pharmacist. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and the understanding of the law that is the responsibility of the pharmacist?

Tim Smith (10:50)

Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of people kind of think of it as these, you know, the opiates, the narcotics, and that certainly that accountability of that supply chain is integral and pharmacy plays a key role in those controlled substances as they move through the health care supply chain. But the law itself is kind of complicated. Our students will actually have to take separate examinations around that federal and state laws.

And that's where some the complexity comes. We do have a lot of federal organizations that have laws and regulations that us as pharmacists as we care for patients in various patient care areas have to understand and make sure we're in compliance on a day-to-day basis. So those can get a little bit complicated as they start to marry with state laws and regulations. Ultimately, pharmacists are accountable to their state boards of pharmacy.

So those state boards of pharmacy establish those rules and regulations of how we care for patients. So think of it, Kathleen, like, you know, what the system depends upon the profession to be the safety net. And so those laws and regulations that our state board writes are there to protect the public. So that is in essence where as a profession, we work with the other folks in the healthcare system to make sure there's no harm.

to patients as those medications are utilized. So there is some inventory stuff and accountability to make sure those, we don't have shrinkage of those typical controlled substances, but ultimately the regulations that we have that pharmacists help comply to are all about patient safety.

Kathleen Stockham (12:22)

that makes total sense. Really interesting.

Yeah, yeah, that's really fascinating. And again, it's just something that is you're taking into consideration about all the facets of the pharmaceutical responsibility for the industry. So tell me a little bit more about the South College program and the way that we approach PharmD. How is the South College PharmD program different?

Tim Smith (13:03)

Yeah, I think you leaned into it Kathleen in your introduction section. The dual track really separates us along with the accelerated program. So if you look, there's 143 schools of pharmacy in the nation. So there's only 25 that are an accelerated track and then you layer in what we're doing and we kind of think we're at kind of the tip of the spear and how the future is going to deliver education to students.

around that doctorate level degree and having that ability to do that hybrid and that online layered in approach as well as a campus approach really takes that number down to only three schools of pharmacy. So just structurally, programmatically, we're completely different. So we like that standpoint because it allows us to meet that student where they want to be met. Certainly that's what South College has been about.

as a mission statement is allowing that student to have multiple platforms to learn into. And I think that has been the fun part of us as we innovate our program and we get student input back. Just finished a session at lunch today with our first year students giving us feedback because it's our first class, our current P1s, where we've had that dual track. And we want to make sure we're right on the point. We're meeting their needs.

whether that's a campus based or whether that's our students are participating from home.

Kathleen Stockham (14:37)

that's awesome. Well, and again, I think it's just one of the things that differentiate us. So speaking of that, we just received some great news just recently on our testing and pass rates for a three year accelerated PharmD program. So can you share a little bit of that breaking news?

Tim Smith (14:54)

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for bringing that up. We're very excited. The teams worked hard over the past two or three years to really get that metric up. And for the folks listening that don't know, our graduates have to pass two board exams. One, I mentioned a minute ago around law, federal and state law. The second one is what's called as a NAPLEX. And that is overall foundational pharmacy knowledge. Again, what's needed to protect the public, right? The basics, if you will.

All schools of pharmacy then are rated and how your graduates each cycle, how they perform. So we were super excited and more we hit and happy to share with the folks on the broadcast today. As far as in our state, number two, and in the nation, we were number two in accelerated programs. So that was fantastic for us and significantly above the national average. So.

Lots of hard work on our graduates certainly, but then that guidance from the faculty and the team here to make sure the program, the curriculum is focusing on the right foundational information. We're happy to see the results start to produce what we knew would happen as we started to have that programmatic changes.

Kathleen Stockham (16:16)

All right, well woohoo, that's awesome. And how exciting to see the rise and again, all of that hard work being put to the test, but most importantly, being ranked number two, that's awesome. So for anyone listening, can you share a little bit about what the typical profile of a successful South College PharmD applicant looks like? What is the prototype that you look for in terms of applicants?

Tim Smith (16:43)

Yeah, I think, know, as we every week do admission cycles, Kathleen, it's all about fit. And so that student, we want them, we're very transparent to understand how we're designed because the good part about it is we can best fit them now, right, is to are they an online learner? Are they an in-person learner? So that ability now for us to really pick a student into the right track is important. And our first, our first

layers of analysis of the applicants, but I think most of the students that we see that are successful, they're the typical ones that come in. We've got the students that are pharmacy from the beginning. They know in high school they want to be a pharmacist, but then we see a lot of folks is they're in that kind pre-health science undergraduate curriculum as they start to explore and we share with them what pharmacy is about. We see the students that come through are those that kind of STEM students.

And as we look at them and chat with them, those are the students we see that are going to be exceptional students for us in the classroom and in the experiential setting. So it's that fit, making sure because in accelerated track, as everyone knows, it's got to be the right fit for you because you've got to be able to unplug it sometimes, but also be able to stay focused without having that

summers off, it's important for that student to know that and be ready for that so that they don't fall behind. We're pretty excited about what we try to do as a program to help that student from a wellness point of view into that fit because it's important for them. Grad school can be stressful and accelerator program can layer into that, but we structure our assessment program around

where we allow that student to have some time to unplug and decompress so that they can still perform at the top academically and not allow the program design itself to impair them.

Kathleen Stockham (18:51)

Yeah, that actually

jives very well. I interviewed two accelerated nursing program, accelerated BSNs. One was a current student, one was an alumnus, and they both said the same thing, that the accelerated format means that you've got to learn how to prioritize very quickly and attack what must be done, what needs to be done, and you have to learn how to basically tune out anything that's going to compete for your attention.

And sometimes that could be something as personal as a relationship, or it could be something as more profound as trying to put your attention where it needs to be, because it's all coming at you so quickly. So that definitely sounds very much in tune for anyone listening that the accelerated program means you need to be 100 % focused and dedicated, because it does go fast. So on the subject of the application, are there any...

tips or tricks to the application process you can share.

Tim Smith (19:49)

I think first just orienting yourself to the logistics of that. What's required? Where do I go? A lot of good resources out there quickly at your fingertips that kind of help you of where I go and point to. Where we see students struggle the most is I tell you to work on is your personal statement. And now it's time with AI and stuff. You can kind of allow those algorithms to help you with a personal statement. But where we look at for applicants

and what we try to tell them as tips is just tell us your story. Why pharmacy? What and why South? What's got you here? And when the student actually stops for a second, hits that pause button and thinks about why, and just puts down in their own words, those become the most impactful personal statements and allow the admissions committee to really see that student. Because I mentioned before, Kathleen, it's fit, right?

So it's important for the admissions committee to make sure that candidate is the right fit for us and commercially will the right fit for them. So I think that tips what I try to share with the students when we talk to them early on is just spend some time and be candid with that personal statement. It allows the admissions committee to have a lens to actually see you.

Kathleen Stockham (21:10)

Yeah, that makes complete sense. And I think there's also, other pieces of it that, you know, it's hard to put into writing things about yourself, but I think finding the right fit and the student who's willing to sort of stretch and bend and, you know, and sort of find their purpose and find their path is key. So let's talk about you for a little bit. So tell us about your journey. You were just named the Dean of the School of Pharmacy not too long ago. So what led you to this point?

Tim Smith (21:37)

That's a great question. I've always enjoyed No matter where I've been in pharmacy. I've enjoyed the leadership component that supporting the team And when I joined South College in 2012 I've always Kathleen ever since I got out of my Residency program. I've done some sort of affiliation with the School of Pharmacy where I've had students on rotations I've enjoyed that learning environment but I formally

wanted to become a faculty member and did so in 2012. Happy doing that. But then in July of last year, when our dean retired and the opportunity came along, I really wanted to be a part of innovating as a few of the things that I've shared with you so far in the past few minutes of kind of changing programmatically how we deliver pharmacy education. And that ability to innovate and support the team as the team looks at how we restructure really

allowed me to lean into again, wanting to be in leadership. I've been blessed in pharmacy to be able to do that. At Health System for 16, 17 years as a director and corporately, as well as owning my own specialty pharmacy business and leading that team. But academia has always been a warm spot for me to just kind of always be a part of and now getting the chance to be the dean.

And support that team has been very fulfilling in the short few months that I've been doing it.

Kathleen Stockham (23:12)

Great. All right. So what kind of student were you in school?

Tim Smith (23:17)

busy. As I tell students, don't do what I did, right? Do what I say. It was a little bit different and certainly wasn't an accelerated track. And I chose to work the entire time as an intern. So it was, you know, demanding in grad school when you're still working and it takes some time away. But I've always enjoyed and still now do.

the networking component of the profession. Pharmacy is a small world and you realize that when you're a student and just that being engaged even as a pharmacy student was very rewarding for me and has allowed me to continue to do that as a profession has been super nice to me as a student. It was eye opening, I guess is a good way to put for me Kathleen because I went in

pharmacy school thinking I was going to do one thing and did a complete 180 when I left out as a graduate than I thought I was going to do.

Kathleen Stockham (24:24)

That's so cool. I mean, for, know, it sounds like, you know, there's obviously emotional growth and business growth while you're in school at that time and trying to do that and work at the same time. That's remarkable. What do you like to do in your spare time?

Tim Smith (24:41)

You know, probably I've got a few things. Just to decompress. I like to exercise in various forms to do that. I've done that for decades and I'm an avid golfer. So just to get out and walk beautiful golf courses and take my mind off of daily stresses. Golf has been a great stress release for me.

Kathleen Stockham (25:07)

Chasing a little white ball all over the place. Yeah

Tim Smith (25:10)

Yeah, it's pretty

simple. You can never master it, but it is a very rewarding hobby.

Kathleen Stockham (25:17)

Yeah, and good exercise. Well, this has been amazing. think anyone who is thinking about pharmacy as a career really needs to listen to this podcast. Maybe listen to it again. So much great information shared and most importantly, hearing where the industry is going, I think is really exciting. And to find out that we're really on the precipice and on the front lines of it is also exciting. I am so thrilled to hear where we're going.

with the program and it really helps, advocate for students considering a pharmaceutical path as well as getting it done in an accelerated manner. I mean, win-win. Thank you so much, Dr. Smith, for spending time with me.

Tim Smith (25:57)

Absolutely Kathleen. Again, thank you for having me.

Kathleen Stockham (26:00)

that's awesome. Well, coming up after the break, we have two current pharmacy students who will give us the inside scoop on what it's like being in a three year doctoral program and a big bright future that sits ahead. This will be awesome. Stick around. We'll be right back.

[South College Radio Ad Spot]

Kathleen Stockham (27:53)

Welcome back. You just heard from the Dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Tim Smith, on how amazing and challenging our pharmacy program is and getting it all done in an accelerated three-year format. Now, let's hear from some students who are right in the middle of it right now.

Joining me is second year class of 2026 PharmD students Taylor and Elena. Hi guys!

Taylor Dabney (28:17)

Thank you for having us.

Kathleen Stockham (28:19)

thanks for being here. All right. So let's get into this now that you're taking a little break from studying. Tell me both of you how you decided upon pharmacy as a career option.

Taylor Dabney (28:29)

Okay, I always wanted to do something in the medical field and I originally thought I wanted to do medical school and then it wasn't until about a few months honestly before applying that I really changed my mind and decided that pharmacy was what I was more interested in and then at that point I knew I wanted to pursue that instead. So I always knew I wanted medicine but it wasn't until...

white soon before coming to pharmacy school that I knew that that's the route I wanted to take. Mine kind of looks a little similar. So knew that I wanted to do something in healthcare as my mom's a nurse. So during middle school, my cousin actually went to South College School of Pharmacy and she had just got her white coat and I thought how cool would that be to have a white coat one

So I kind of changed my direction and started looking in the pharmacy and got a job at a local pharmacy and I've loved it ever since.

Kathleen Stockham (29:22)

that's awesome. So from being in middle school, wow, that's quite a dedication. All right, so did the ability to complete a doctoral degree in three years rather than the standard four years sway your decision at all? I mean, why did you choose South College?

Taylor Dabney (29:39)

Yeah, I chose South College. So I went to undergrad at South College knowing that I wanted to become a pharmacist and I knew that they had a really great pharmacy program. And when looking at do I want to go to a three year program versus a four year, I thought how awesome it would be to have that final year shaved off and to be able to join the workforce sooner. Yeah, mine also definitely played a role.

Um, knowing that I could get it done in an accelerated period of time. I did not go to undergrad at South. went to undergrad in Kentucky. And so I got my bachelor's degree there. And then I found out about South, just being a few hours away from where I was. And I didn't even know you could do it in three years, but, yeah, after finding that out, I was pretty dead set on trying to get into a three year school. even though, you know, it is accelerated, there's hard aspects of it.

but I just thought it would be so beneficial to get it done all in that period of time. You're staying in your study mindset all year round. You're not getting out of your groove at all. So yeah, to have that sped up is really cool.

Kathleen Stockham (30:49)

Yeah, that is and I agree that getting out into the workforce maybe a little earlier is definitely of benefit. There is such an outcry all over the country for more pharmacists. So good on you guys for doing this. All right. So let's roll it back to the beginning. How involved and how hard is the PharmCAS application?

Taylor Dabney (31:09)

I think it was really intimidating at first because there's so many different like aspects of the application that you have to put on there you know you have to all your classwork that you've done all the things you've been involved in you have to know all the letters recommendation and all that so I think at first it's definitely a little bit intimidating and really involved but looking back now I'm like it's not

It's probably not as bad as I thought it was in the moment, but there is a lot that goes into it for sure. I think that a lot of people talk about how intimidating it was, so I was really nervous. But once you get into it and you get in the flow of feeling it out, like Elena mentioned, keying in all of your past coursework, once you get in the flow of doing it, you're just going and it's hard, but it shouldn't deter people from pharmacy.

Kathleen Stockham (32:03)

Okay. All right. That makes sense. And I've kind of read and seen both things where Taylor, like you said, once you kind of get into it, it's like, okay, you this is what I want to do. And then other people, you know, when you give them something to fill out, then it's kind of like a whole thing where they don't want to do it then they get intimidated. So I totally get that. All right, Taylor, what's been the hardest thing so far now that you're in your second year? Like what's been the one thing that you're like, God, not that.

Taylor Dabney (32:29)

That is hard. Like class?

Kathleen Stockham (32:33)

Yeah, like what's been

like the hardest thing so far that you've done?

Taylor Dabney (32:36)

So I came in with just an associate's degree, so I'd never taken biochemistry. So it is your first quarter of graduate school. don't really know what to expect, and bam, you're hit with biochemistry, which some people like Elena, if they had a bachelor's degree, they've experienced biochemistry before, but I had not. So that's been my hardest class. So once I made it through biochem, everything has been smooth sailing.

Kathleen Stockham (32:46)

Ooh.

I think that's true for anybody taking biochemistry. my word.

Taylor Dabney (33:06)

Yeah, but

I survived. here. We survived. I think, yeah, like Taylor said, I came in with a bachelor's in biochemistry. So not necessarily the content was the most difficult for me. I think just having things accelerated was something I really needed to adjust to coming in.

Kathleen Stockham (33:12)

Yeah. All right, Alaina, what's been the hardest thing for you so far?

Taylor Dabney (33:34)

Just because I was used to, I didn't go to the South, so I was used to semester schedule and things being a little more drawn out. So that was the hardest part for me initially was trying to adjust to the sped up schedule and having shorter quarters and just having a lot of material condensed and having to figure out the best techniques to get that into my brain quicker and really grasp that information in a short amount of time.

Kathleen Stockham (34:03)

Yeah, well, that's kind of the other the underbelly of being in an accelerated program. Woohoo, it goes fast. But boy, it goes fast. Now, totally get that. All right. So upon finishing and passing your NAPLEX exam, where do you want to go? What do you want to do?

Taylor Dabney (34:19)

So personally, it changes every couple months, but right now I would like to seek out a residency in ambulatory care. I'm not sure where, but that's what I'm leaning towards.

Kathleen Stockham (34:33)

okay, interesting. All right, Alana, what about you? Passing the NAPLEX, yay. All right, then what?

Taylor Dabney (34:38)

Me

and Taylor actually have similar career goals in mind right now. So I also am looking to pursue a residency and then as of right now my main interest is ambulatory care but I know that's you know it's possibly going to change as we head into our third year and all of our rotations. But as of right now that's my main interest. I'd also love to do something kind of like what our professors do where they have a practice site and then they also

teach a few days of the week. So I would love to do that as well I think in the future.

Kathleen Stockham (35:08)

Yeah, Dr. Smith actually did exactly that. I asked him that question, you know, because I think the way that television portrays their modern pharmacist is the friendly face behind the window at Walgreens, that is definitely one arena. But he was actually mentioning that he took the same path you just described where he had his own storefront, his own business, but then also taught

and really began to enjoy and he said really kind of migrate more in that direction that he enjoyed it so much. So that's awesome. I love the fact that you guys are thinking about it differently because that's one thing that I learned from talking to Dr. Smith is you know pharmacy is so much more and has so many more pathways than just working in you know in a retail outlet. There's so many other places that you can go. So that's awesome. All right. So ladies.

What is your advice to anyone listening who is seriously considering PharmD School?

Taylor Dabney (36:03)

So my advice for applicants would be to be yourself and let your personality show through. You should be in good academic standing, but your personality can go a long way as well. And I've got two pieces of advice. And to not turn away from opportunities.

Kathleen Stockham (36:19)

Okay, I love that. All right, Elena.

Taylor Dabney (36:22)

think my piece of advice wouldn't necessarily be so much for the application process, but just more like a mindset in general. think there's a lot of fear about graduate programs and graduate programs, especially in the medical field, that they're gonna be like the worst years of your life and they're gonna be so hard. And I don't think there's a lot of...

A lot of people out there giving people hope that those are going to be good years. I think that this program is really difficult, but it's not impossible. And I think my piece of advice would just be to look forward to those years of going into something that you're really interested in and taking that time to just appreciate where you're at. I've met some of my best friends in this program, and we have the best time together.

So, know, even though the program is really hard, I think there's a lot to look forward to in the years within this program. You you do a lot of things together. You really grow close together. So I think my advice would just be, you know, look forward to the fact that it is hard, but it's not impossible. And those can be really good years of your life.

Kathleen Stockham (37:28)

that's outstanding advice. I love that because it's not so much focusing on the things you've got to get through, but I love the fact that you're thinking about it and that you're following a passion and a direction and you're but you're also being smart about, gathering things along the way and kind of smelling the roses, if you will. And, you know, finding friendships. 

So I love that, that you're creating these meaningful networking relationships, in school and you're both have, obviously a lot of

affinity going on with each other. You're both in the middle of this together and you're going through this together. I've noticed that with DPT and PA students that it's really a tribe. They inform these very intense deep relationships. So that's amazing. All right.

Taylor Dabney (38:34)

I think it's just something that happens when our cohorts are pretty small and we're together all year round. Yes, all the times. So I think it's just natural for everyone to sort of stick together like that. I think it's funny, our professors, there's a, me and Taylor, we have two other really good friends in our program and our professors, I think they know if they see one of us, they're gonna see all.

the three others following behind. We come as a package deal. We can coin the quadruplets. So if they see one of us, they're like, where's the quadruplets at?

Kathleen Stockham (39:06)

Nice.

that's awesome. I love

that. Well, we have a lot of students at different campuses right now doing Taylor what you did, which is getting an associate's in health science pre-farm. And then actually if you complete our associate of science and health science pre-farm, followed by the FarmD program, you'll earn three degrees in as little as five years, an AS in health science pre-farm, a bachelor of science in pharmaceutical science,

pre-pharm and then a doctor of pharmacy, which is pretty amazing. you know, think about that in five years, you can go from an associate to it's amazing. What encouraging words do you have for them to keep going and Taylor, you're in middle of it right now. So, what encouraging words do you have for the rest of the students out there that are, considering this, thinking about this or in the middle of it, just like you.

Taylor Dabney (40:01)

Yeah, I would have to say not to give up to keep going. It does get better as you go through. And then like Alaina said, honestly, getting through it and finding your people makes it makes the challenge 100 % easier. So I would just want them to stick with it and just to

keep going with it. I mean, it gets better and you'll have an amazing career at the end of it. And pharmacy is such a small world that you'll be okay.

Kathleen Stockham (40:33)

Yeah, I love that. All right, Alaina, what do you do in your spare time? I know you don't have much, but what do you do in your spare time?

Taylor Dabney (40:39)

Yeah, we really don't have a lot of time. We spend it together. No, but I think honestly our program does a really good job of the way they've structured it, restructured things now. We do get, you know, not a lot of spare time throughout the week, but we have composite exams every other Monday. So we know that every other Monday we get a free weekend essentially, you know.

We still study a little bit that weekend, but we like to take those weekends and sort of plan something fun to look forward to. So a lot of my free time is spent with my friends, just doing random things that we think of that we think would be fun. But other than that, I'd like to go to the gym, go on walks when it's nice outside. I really like to cook and stuff, so I spend a lot of my time doing that as well.

Kathleen Stockham (41:30)

Yeah. All right, Taylor. Well, I have a feeling I know what your answer is going to be, you're over at you're over at Elena's house with her cooking. So what are you doing your spare time, Taylor?

Taylor Dabney (41:34)

Yeah,

so like Elena said, I love to hang out with my classmates that became my best friends. And then I also like to spend my summers on the lake. We're near Norris Lake. And then I have the most perfect golden doodle in the world. Her name's Maisie. So I spend a lot of time with Maisie as well.

Kathleen Stockham (42:00)

Very nice, very nice. And I'm sure Maisie is probably a nice break from studying dosage calculations and other things like that. Oh my goodness. Well, there you have it. If pharmacy is in the future for you, then South College has the pathway. I think the future for these two students, well, really four if we go quadruplet route is bright. I want to thank my two guests and current second year PharmD students, Taylor and Elena. Thank you guys for being here.

Taylor Dabney (42:28)

Thank you for having us.

Kathleen Stockham (42:30)

that's awesome. The future of healthcare is bright at South College with 10 campuses in seven states plus online and CBE. There's a pathway for you at South College. Hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Live from South College. Thanks for joining me. More episodes are coming your way very soon. And if you love it, give us some stars and you can always send us feedback by emailing us at southcollegepodcast at south.edu. Have an awesome day and let your dreams.

find direction. See you next time.