Unique Experiences In DC

This past week I have been able to take advantage of a lot of unique experiences in DC that I may not have had the chance to do if I had not had a rotation with the FDA. Some pictures to recap my weekend/week.

I visited the USP, United States Pharmacoepia, which works with the FDA to form the standards and monographs (how to make these drugs) for all of the drug ingredients, supplements, injections, etc. Definitely an insiders perspective that was once in a lifetime. I got to tour the Pentagon, where I could not take pictures but it was definitely a great tour.

I visited the Supreme Court. Once again limited on the pictures but an experience everyone should take advantage of at least once.

I also visited the National Botanic Garden which is small but full of beautiful exhibits.

To Get a Pharmacists License

I graduate in 55 days from pharmacy school. Besides finding a job there is much to do in order to practice as a pharmacist. No matter what kind of pharmacy that a person hopes to practice (hospital, retail, industry, residency, etc.), they have to get a diploma and then a pharmacy license.

To get a pharmacy license:

1. Show proof of graduation from an accredited college of pharmacy

2. Show proof of internship hours completed (each state determines how many internship hours you need ~1500 hours)
-If you work the intern hours out of state you have to get them 'officially' transfered by the state you worked in to the state you want to get licensed in.

3. Pass NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) with a certain score
-Tests your knowledge of the profession
-Must get scored transfered to individual states to get licensed in those states

4. Pass MPJE (Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination) with a certain score
-Tests your knowledge of pharmacy law in the particular state you want a license in.
-Must take a different exam for each state you want a license in

5. Pay for the exams and score transfers. Pay for the actual license in each state you hope to get licensed in.

I have got lots of work to do!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday to everyone with a birthday today, especially my niece

EMILY who is turning TWO!

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to Emily (and everyone)

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Pharmacy Student Takes on DC

I am trying to take advantage of my time on my rotation in DC. Here is what I was up to this weekend in DC:

Visited the National Museum of American History. Saw a lot of great things including one of President Lincoln's top hat, Julia Child's kitchen and the pair of ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie.

I saw the Lincoln Memorial













The World War II Memorial











The Vietnam War Veterans Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial

The DC cupcakes shop from the TLC show.

Longest Commute Ever (or Yet...)

Leave the house at 6:30am to walk to the metro.

Ride one metro for 20 min.

Transfer to a second metro. Ride the metro for 50 min due to a new electrical outage at the station I need to get off at.

Miss my shuttle. Get on a metro to a different station to get a shuttle. Ride the metro for 15 min.

Transfer to a different metro. Ride the metro for 35 min with some delays.

Get to my new destination to find out the shuttle has just left.

Wait 15 min. Get on a bus. Ride the bus for 30 min.

Wait 20 min. Get on a shuttle headed for the office. Ride the shuttle for 25 min.


Arrive at work at 10:30...

...Four hours later, exhausted, frustrated, and trying to forget what just happened.

Famous Pharmacists

Dante Alighieri, The great Italian poet and author of “The Divine Comedy” who was an apothecary guild in the late 1200's

Sir Isaac Newton: The man who changed the world with his theory of gravity served as an apprentice apothecary

Benjamin Franklin; (inventor of electricity) Believe it or not, this Founding Father was a pharmacist before he was ever a printer or a statesman

Agatha Cristie was a pharmacy technician

John Pemberton(1831 - 1888), American inventor of the soft drink Coca-Cola
Charles Alderton (1857 - 1941), inventor the soft drink Dr Pepper
Caleb Bradham (1867-1934), American inventor of the soft drink Pepsi-cola

John Wayne's father.

Charles Walgreen: After losing part of a finger in an accident at the shoe factory where he worked, Walgreen with the sugession of his doctor decided to apprentice with a local druggist.

Hubert H. Humphrey: (Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson) The Minnesota democrat worked for a short time as a pharmacists in his father’s drugstore

O. Henry: The brilliant American writer – author of ‘The gift of Magi’ –He worked in his uncle’s drugstore as a teenager and became a pharmacist at 19.

George H. Ryan (1934-), Illinois Governor


HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Pharmacy Student Touring DC

My weekend in a nutshell:

Visited the Arlington Cemetery

Got to see the original Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights at the National Archives

Saw a great St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown DC

Visited the National Air and Space Museum

Saw the National Smithsonian Castle

Saw the White House

A Bulldog in DC

I have not had the chance to really tour the capital yet but here is a taste of what I have been up to during my first week on the job.

Commuting to and from FDA headquarters in White Oak

Visiting the American Pharmacists Headquarters in downtown DC

Passed by the World Health Organization Headquarters, the Federal Reserve and the Albert Einstein memorial in downtown DC

Saw a protest in front of the Department of State

Got to visit and tour the National Institutes of Health (medical research headquarters of the USA)

Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head

Yuck, yuck, yuck.

This weather is only fit for a duck!

Raining for about 30 hours straight in DC. Yes the rain is wet :)
Want to either put on my rain boots and splash in the puddles or act scared like the politicians and stay home.

Lessons I Learned On My First Day At The FDA

1. All seizure medications can cause rash.

2. Hair coming out of one's ears looks archaic.

3. Public transportation can be good but for some reason it hates me no matter where I go.

4. Bureaucracy is great. Bureaucracy is slow.

5. Change is never easy. But things that are easy rarely are worthwhile.

Welcome Washington DC

Welcome Washington DC, my home for the next ten weeks!

Miss or Not

What I will miss when I leave my rotation in Chicago for DC:

My family and friends

The use of a car

The amazing views from work

What I will NOT miss EVER!

Chicago Traffic

!

Chicago Potholes in Spring

Chicago Snow