alex's pharmacy jouRxney

Hello everyone! I hope my fellow Purdue rotation students had a great first week at their rotation. I have started to get acquainted with my industry rotational track company, CultHealth. It has been so cool to see a different side of the pharmaceutical industry, one which is very creative. I have already enjoyed the variety of products I am working on projects for.

One of the difficult parts of this week was getting on a normal schedule. I have struggled with having a consistent bedtime and wakeup time since I don’t have to go to class like normal. Balancing my own tasks has been rewarding since I get to choose my own deadlines. I think once I get adjusted, this will be perfect for me.

I have finally started chipping away at projects that were ongoing during pharmacy school that I had to keep pushing aside. If all goes to plan, I think I will have three new publications by the end of the year. I am hopeful that my current motivation level will be maintained so that I can finalize these.

One thing I get in the habit of doing a lot is checking apartment listings and city details for potential post-graduate programs. This can be helpful to remind me why I am working so hard and what my goals are. It is especially tough to be patient now knowing that in 1 year from today, I will have a PharmD (hopefully 😂). Now I have a Zillow agent calling me nonstop about a home loan, which is 10 years away from being a problem.

A big perk of being at home for my rotation is having Muffin by my side all day. She is adorable and she makes the house feel less lonely. I can definitely tell she is getting clingy with me now that I am home all the time. When I leave for a few minutes, she gets all excited when I return.

I have also made my gym return after several months of not doing so. This has given me a lot more energy for the day and helps keep me productive. I am planning to make going to the gym a larger priority this year since my schedule is more open than this past school year.

I had a great time seeing my friends Wen, Anna, Matthew, and Sunishka this week. Having people I love hanging out with nearby is essential, especially with a remote rotation. I haven’t had as much fun with friends in a long time, probably because I am so much less stressed!

As I look ahead for this week, I have some goals for myself:

• Go above and beyond on a project for my preceptor
• Meet three people at CultHealth who are in different departments
• Make plans with someone in town
• Finish my current kindle read
• Take Muffin to a new park/trail on a nice weather day
• Spend less than $100 on groceries
• Send two thank you letters to mentors that have had a large impact on me

If you made it this far, you’re a real one! I am excited to keep writing my thoughts here as a form of reflection. I am hoping that weekly check-ins will be therapeutic and enriching. If anyone has fun ideas for blog post topics, send them my way! Have a great week 💜