Should I continue to work if grades are suffering?

[Ailiniel]

I am a P2 and have been required to work 16-20 hours during pharmacy school. I value my intern job which will be a stepping stone with my future goal. However, I feel like I am always behind in class and despite the amount of effort I put forth into studying and feeling like I should be getting better grades in return I still do poorly on exams and making mostly C/C-grades which is disheartening. But I don't really want to quit my job.

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[Abby Atwood]

If you are hoping for residency, it's kind of tricky. A job helps a lot when looking for interviews, but grades are also important. You should probably focus on getting your grades up.

For retail and staff hospital applications, you are probably better off keeping your job if you can keep your grades up enough to not fail a semester. Regular jobs don't really check your GPA.

This is setting aside considerations of school preparing you to be a knowledgeable and competent pharmacist. What you want and need to take away from your school experience may alter this advice.

 

[Ailiniel]

I think 80% of the material in class is going to be forgotten anyways and is learned when pharmacists are actually out practicing. Unless I am wrong.

I just hope it won't be trouble when I take the naplex.

 

[Display Name]

Everyone has an opinion, here is mine: passing every class is of paramount improtance. Beyond that, passing the NAPLEX and MPJE are pretty important, as well. If I understand your situation, you are barely passing classes due to the demands of school and work?

Believe it or not, you are building a knowledge base that becomes second nature - or at least instills in you the instincts to make appropriate decisions come time for the boards. Sure, you will learn in practice - but getting to the point of practicing is really the issue at hand. NAPLEX can be a beast - and you cannot cram and fix cracks in your foundational knowledge in the short amount of time you will take to prepare.

Questions I would consider:

• Do you need the money?
• How does having this job directly affect your future plans?
• If you did not have that job how could it affect your future plans?
  
• Would your employer allow you to work less - even minimally during school (and perhaps work more during time off/holidays)?
  
• Is your current performance level enough to pass all of your classes?
• Will P3 classes be even more demanding according to your cirriculum?
• When rotations roll around, are you willing to risk having on-the-edge grades there?
• Will your C/C- level of performance affect your performance on rotations?

I had all demanding clincial rotations, except one. I worked one shift a month, and even at that, wished I had that time for the tasks rotations required.

Great grades are not everything - passing grades and acculmulation of knowledge is.

I say all of this as someone who worked as a P1 - and really, really struggled because of it. Pharmacy school was not easy for me. I made the choice to not work after that - and for me, it was the right choice. I did take a minimal hours spot my final year - working no more than 7 hours a week - but they let me just work when I wanted, which was generally once a month. It turned out ok - I have a full-time job and a prn position.

Best wishes in discerning what is in your best interest - and good luck with your studies!

PS: Something I wish I had been told as a P1: Buy the most recent copy of RXPrep that you can afford (seriously, the current year is worth the investment) and use it to augment your studies at school. I had it P3 year and it made a TON of difference and it was all I needed to pass the NAPLEX. If you can afford it , by the online course while you are on rotations and and chip away during that time. You will be super well prepared for boards.