Apply to pharmacy school with success.
Pharmacy offers the unique opportunity to integrate pharmaceutical science, medicine, business administration and direct patient interaction. Pharmacists experience a variety of working opportunities from providing their expertise in community and hospital pharmacies to providing clinical research insight in the development of the next generation of medications in the pharmaceutical industry.
With the advent of new jobs and retiring pharmacists within the urban and rural communities, the need for graduating pharmacists to address current and foreseeable pharmacist shortages demonstrates a strong job market. Moreover, pharmacy is undoubtedly a financially rewarding career path.
While the number of pharmacy school spots has largely remained stagnant, the number of pharmacy applicants has continued to rise. In addition, pharmacy applicants are increasingly competitive based on academic (high GPA, PCAT) and non-academic (extracurricular activities, pharmacy experience) factors.
As a consequence, a focused plan towards gaining successful admission (including pre-pharmacy planning, a polished application, reference letter selection guidance and interview preparation) is essential to grab the attention of the admissions committee and stand out from other highly qualified applicants.
We are here to here to assist you through your journey to pharmacy school graduation and beyond. Our role is to provide you with a focused approach to cultivate the skills crucial to gain admission to pharmacy school.
We guide our students through the application process as follows:
- Pre-pharmacy planning,
- Comprehensive application review,
- CASPer® training, and
- Interview preparation.
THE ASTROFF PATH TO SUCCESS
We mentor and guide our clients through every step of the process, from planning, to application review, to CASPer® training, to interview preparation, and beyond graduation. We are there to provide support to our clients throughout their academic journey towards their chosen career path.
About the Pharmacy Profession:
Pharmacists are integral members of the healthcare team that participate in the care of patients and the promotion of community health through the clinical services and information they provide. As medication experts, their expertise is valued by both patients in optimizing their drug therapy and by the healthcare system by efficiently lowering medical expenditures and freeing up funds to budget for other health resources.
The pharmacy profession is in the midst of much anticipated and positive evolution towards enhanced clinical skills integration to the current practice. Many pharmacy schools offering professional baccalaureate degree (Bachelor of Science) in pharmacy (BScPharm) have transitioned to accommodate an entry-level doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD). This transition highlights the clinical importance of pharmacists to the healthcare team on top of their dispensary role.
In fact, multiple provinces have come on board to expand the pharmacist’s scope of practice to accommodate the needs of the healthcare system from prescription adaptations and prescribing rights for minor ailments to administration of annual flu shots.
Pharmacy School Admission Process:
As the pharmacist’s scope of practice continues to grow, the next generation of pharmacists will be expected to adapt to the challenges posed to the profession with greater responsibilities and a more enhanced clinical role. As a result, pharmacy schools have engaged in stringent admission processes to determine a pharmacy candidate’s potential for success through pharmacy school and in clinical practice.
Pharmacy schools are looking for candidates that possess qualities that may include the following:
- Critical thinking/problem solving skills
- Professionalism
- Advocacy skills
- Leadership skills
- Understanding of the challenges pharmacists face (e.g. drug shortages, generic drug pricing, rural pharmacy)
- Teamwork/collaboration skills
- Oral and written communication skills
- Empathy skills
- Time management and organization skills