5 Pieces of Advice for New Pharmacists

Your late-night studying, rotations, and hard work have paid off, but graduation is always a bittersweet day as you celebrate with your peers and professors and prepare for your pharmacy career.

Here are my 5 pieces of advice for new pharmacists:

1. Get licensed as soon as possible.

You’ll always feel like you aren’t ready to take the NAPLEX and MPJE exams for licensure, but prolonging your exam date will only cause anxiety, so it’s best to schedule as soon as possible.

Four years of pharmacy school has prepared you for these exams, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t study. Review your notes and also take the Pre-NAPLEX exam through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). It’s a 100-question, 140-minute practice exam that costs $65 each time.¹

2. Stay up-to-date on CE.

Each state pharmacy board will dictate the number of continuing education (CE) hours required for your license renewal. Make sure to read the regulations for all states where you hold a license.

It’s extremely important to stay up-to-date for not only your license, but also your profession. Being a pharmacist is a lifelong-learning profession, with new medications continuously being approved and accompanied by clinical trials.

Failing to complete CE could mean disciplinary action. For that reason, I recommend creating an NABP e-Profile ID, as it provides an electronic system to keep track of your CE credits.²

3. Live by the “Oath of a Pharmacist.”

The “Oath of a Pharmacist” definitely encompasses what the pharmacy profession is all about. Always stay true to it and never change your course. Some may try to sway you, but always rise to the top of your license that you worked so hard to achieve.

4. Read a journal article whenever you can.

It can be difficult to stay up-to-date with the pharmacy profession, given the demands of your career and personal life. If you can read a clinical study once a month, you’re enhancing your clinical knowledge. If you participate in a monthly journal club with your colleagues, you can educate others about that clinical study.

Becoming a member of a professional organization like the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists can help keep you current with the profession. You’ll receive journals 1 to 2 times per month that discuss new medications and clinical studies.

5. Mentor student pharmacists.

Giving back to the profession is very rewarding. Contact your local pharmacy school to learn about opportunities to serve as a pharmacy preceptor.

Many pharmacy schools also invite alumni to serve on committees. In any case, stay connected to the pharmacy community.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

References

• National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Pre-NAPLEX. nabp.net/programs/examination/pre-naplex/. Accessed May 24, 2016.
• National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. CPE monitor. nabp.net/. Accessed May 24, 2016.