Texas prides itself on being the largest state in the continental United States, but this fact does not help interested students who are looking for pharmacy schools.  In fact, it can serve to further confuse these students who are trying to decide on a school and have no idea where to begin in such a big state.  Students from the New England area are used to states that take less than 4 hours to get through, not states that take 15 hours to drive completely through.  It’s quite a big task.  However, we’ve narrowed this list down to the 5 pharmacy schools in Texas you should know about before applying to schools.

University of Texas at Austin – College of Pharmacy
The most well-known of the Texas universities is the state school University of Texas; it’s known for its sports, extensive degree programs, and its pharmacy school within the state.  Students from around the country flock to this highly-ranked school both because of its attractive location in the capital city and its high rankings within most pharmacy circles.  For students from different areas of Texas, the pharmacy school also has the option of transferring halfway through your college experience, essentially earning a doctor of pharmacy or a master’s in the process.

Texas Tech University – School of Pharmacy
Texas Tech is another highly-ranked Texas state school that continues to attract students from around the country as well.  While their pharmacy school is one to brag about, its location tends to turn many students off of enrolling in its program.   The university is located in a more remote area than most other large state schools, but the reputation of the pharmacy school itself is enough to encourage students to apply for the program.

University of Houston – College of Pharmacy
Yet another state school, the University of Houston is located within the nation’s third largest city and offers a wide array of cultural options students can experience throughout their course of study.  Because of its location in Houston, students are able to take full advantage of the many clinic and hospital options available for experience throughout their studies.  While the pharmacy program is not as popular as others within the school and the state system, the pharmacy school continues to produce top-ranked pharmacists and helps prepare students for a fruitful future in the pharmacy industry.

Texas A&M University – Kingsville Irma Rangel School of Pharmacy
For the student more content to remain in South Texas, Texas A&M in Kingsville offers the perfect choice for pharmacy school.  The school is small but attracts a large population of students from the southern area of Texas and has additionally ballooned into a university that has multitudes of degree programs.  The pharmacy school is relatively new to the university but offers students a new option within Texas.

Texas Southern University – College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Another Houston university, TSU is a historically black university that was originally designed with the goal of promoting urban education.  The pharmacy school merged with the department of health sciences in the 1980s and was renamed as a result, allowing students to dabble in both realms of the health industry.  Once again, because of its location in Houston, students are able to view first-hand what the pharmaceutical process leads to within large hospital systems. 

The original pharmacist who marketed Tylenol into becoming what it is today passed away last month, a blow to the pharmacy world, but he remains an inspiration to many students of pharmacy.  Robert McNeil was a third-generation pharmacist and immediately went to work for his grandfather’s company, McNeil Laboratories, after graduating from pharmacy school in 1938.  The once small-town drugstore morphed into a large company within only a few decades of hard work by McNeil’s father and grandfather, presenting McNeil with the perfect environment for a recent pharmacy graduate.  At this time in the pharmaceutical industry, it was not essential to receive a masters or a PharmD, and as McNeil’s story indicates, it remains unnecessary for most pharmacists to receive further education unless they want to teach or continue scholarly research.

After joining the company, McNeil immediately began work on the company’s product line and the development of new prescription drugs, taking an interest in the analgesic prescription drug which was a pain-reliever and yet contained none of aspirin’s negative side effects.  The drug was approved by the FDA and McNeil came up with the drug’s generic name of acetaminophen, which was later shortened to Tylenol.   Only a few years later, McNeil and his brother sold the company to Johnson & Johnson in 1959, after which Tylenol was approved for over-the-counter sale, thus becoming one of the most widely recognized brands, effectively turning Johnson & Johnson into a top pharmaceutical manufacturer.

The rest is history, as Tylenol continues to be a widely recognized symbol within Western culture and has led to new discoveries within this class of drugs (such as the benefits to heart-attack sufferers).   The subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson continues to employ several thousand workers to this day and remains a highly profitable business, again proving that students do not need further years in pharmacy school to become successful in the industry.  While this is a new era in technology and pharmacy programs, most students agree that pharmacy school itself more than adequately equips them for a lifelong career in the industry.  If anything, this story helps to indicate what else students can do besides work in a pharmacy after graduating from pharmacy school.  It is helpful for many students to realize that they do not have to confine themselves into one sector in the pharmaceutical industry, but are free to conduct research for a variety of leading pharmaceutical companies.  

For years, scientists have discussed the 100-calorie mark that means the difference between losing and gaining weight. Just 100 fewer calories a day can help you lose weight, while 100 extra calories will mean you’re packing on 10 pounds a year. It’s easy to set long-term goals about eating right and staying healthy, but day by day it can be hard to resist the temptation of the office birthday party treats, free cheese samples at the grocery store, and surprise happy hour. Whether you lead a crazy busy life or are the stuck-in-a-rut type, there’s no way you can control food and drink in every situation, but there are ways you can cut calories in your daily diet just by taking a closer look at what you consider your normal eating pattern.

The easiest way to cut back is to adhere to portion size. Realistically, we pour more than the suggested portion of cereal, add extra butter (or even margarine), and eat more Triscuits than the portion size listed on the box. Start measuring out portion sizes until you’re able to more accurately estimate realistic amounts just by eyeballing them.

Finding satisfying substitutions is the next step in cutting daily calories. Make a commitment to find at least one substitution per meal, as in finding a different type of cereal, loading your sandwich with veggies instead of spreads, swapping out fatty salad dressings for light versions, and limiting your use of olive oil and butter when you cook. For snacks, use salsa instead of bean dip or ranch, light yogurt instead of ice cream, and look for low-calorie desserts endorsed by weight-loss programs like Weight Watchers. They’ll usually give you a chocolate-y fix with a sensible portion size and calorie amount.

Other suggestions:

• Drink diet soda or water with lime, lemon or frozen raspberries instead of sugary juices and regular soda.
• Use a smaller plate when you eat to control portion sizes.
• Eat salads or a side of veggies before your main meal. You’ll start filling up on the good stuff faster and hopefully won’t clean your plate of mashed potatoes or bread.
• Drink low- or nonfat milk instead of whole milk.
• Choose unsweetened varieties of snacks and teas rather than sweetened versions. You can always add Splenda to taste.

Remember to check nutrition labels at the grocery store and commit to eating healthy when you eat out, too.

The word pharmacology comes from the Greek for "study of drugs" and that is exactly what this discipline entails. It is the study of drugs and their interactions with the human body. It also includes the study of drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities. By definition any substance that displays medicinal properties, like fever reduction, pain reduction, and germ growth prevention, is called a pharmaceutical, a drug. Typically the practice of pharmacology can be divided into two areas: pharmocadynamics and pharmacokinetics. The former studies the physiological effects that pharmaceuticals have on the human body. The latter category studies the exact opposite, the effects the human body has on drugs.

The origins of this biomedical study can be traced to middle ages. The oldest and most valuable of the historical material relating to pharmacology is Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica. Dioscorides was an ancient Greek physician and botanist that studied the medicinal properties of plants. William Withering, an English botanist, chemist and physician of the 18th century in England is known for the same studies. He discovered digitalis, also known as foxgloves, and studied its active ingredient, cardiac glycosides, on conditions of the heart. Pharmacology didn’t see any significant advances again until the mid 19th century. Prior to this many physicians and pharmacologists only knew that such drugs as quinine and morphine had serious and potent effects on various parts of the body, but few know to why or how this happened. The first department of pharmacology was created by Rudolf Buchheim in 1847 at the University of Giessen to combat this lack of knowledge. Buchheim was a German pharmacologist that has been credited with turning the discipline from a mere study of medicine into an exact science and for creating a methodology for determining the properties and medicinal aspects of chemical substances.

Today, pharmacology can be categorized into 12 divisions: clinical – medication effects on humans, neuropharmacology – medication effects on the nervous system, psychopharmacology – medication effects on the brain, pharmacogenetics – genetic variations and their differing responses to medication, pharmacoepidemiology – medication effects in large groups of people, toxicology – harmful and toxic effects of medication, theoretical pharmacology – metric studies, posology – medication dosing, pharmacognosy – medications derived from biological origins, behavioral pharmacology – medication effects on behavior, and environmental pharmacology – effects of drugs on the environment.

The field of pharmacology is wide and varied and can be credited for making this world and our lives much more healthy.

Everyone’s tired of talking about the tanking economy, and while the job market may brighten soon enough, there are still certain industries that are healthier than others. One of those industries is health care, due in part to President Obama’s recent stimulus package and also to the increase in baby boomers-as-patients over the next few years and into the next decades. Doctors, general practitioners, nurses, lab technicians, physical therapists, long-term caregivers and other health sciences professions are in desperate need of young, energetic, well-educated individuals to join the industry, but while colleges and universities are struggling with funding issues so that they can keep up with registration, employment remains unbalanced. If you’re thinking of going back to school because of a layoff or to pursue a more profitable career path, or if you’re a high school or college-aged student trying to decide on a major, consider these health sciences professions which are supposed to grow dramatically over the next several years, no matter how the economy stabilizes itself.

DailyFinance.com points out that "17 of the 30 fastest-growing occupations identified by the BLS are health-care related," and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ own website reiterates that "healthcare will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry." The facilities experiencing the highest job growth in health care are home healthcare services, health practitioner offices, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and outpatient care centers. Nursing homes are still expected to increase jobs by over 20%, and public and private hospitals by about 10%.

Many of these job openings will not require four full years of education and training, though the highest paying jobs will certainly pay more. Nursing continues to create the most new jobs in the health sciences, from entry level nurses and assistants to registered nurses. The actual health care occupations expected to expand through 2018 are: physician assistants, physicians and surgeons, registered nurses, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, pharmacists, and dietitians and nutritionists.

Pharmacy school is a big commitment to a specific education field and involves dedicating yourself fully to the program while additionally understanding the intricacies of the pharmaceutical industry.  California has emerged as one of the leading contenders in pharmacy school and has attracted students around the world to its many programs and stellar reputation.

Atmosphere
Aside from anything else, the atmosphere that you find in California is one of the best for attending pharmacy school.  Instead of being distracted by the beautiful scenery and lifestyles, you will instead concentrate more on graduation so that you will be able to live in this type of paradise after graduation.  Furthermore, the lifestyle in California helps students relax throughout school and revel in their surroundings.

Reputation
The major pharmacy schools in California have built up a name for themselves and remain among the top in the nation.  California has the most pharmacy schools within the state as compared to other states and additionally has some of the oldest pharmacy schools.  This level of prestige comes with years of experience and faculty that is committed to ensuring the excellence of their students. 

Flexibility
Pharmacy school does not have to confine you into one small square of a future, but can instead mean many different options for your future degree.  While the obvious career choice is that of pharmacist, most California pharmacy schools encourage students to study different topics to prepare them for a career in research, or a career working with a large corporation as part of their medical staff.  This allows students the freedom and flexibility to try different classes without straying outside the pharmacy world. 

University of California
Frequently ranked the top school in most pharmacy school rankings, the University of California in San Francisco captures students’ imaginations in the world of pharmacy.  Rather than solely focusing on a future at Walgreens or CVS, the University of California looks to the future and what coming technological advances hold for the field of pharmacy.  The school better prepares their students for a future in the pharmacy industry without confining them to the pharmacy counter; the school instead focuses on novel treatments for diseases and the best use of therapeutics for individuals and populations.

The Need
Despite the wide array of pharmacy schools that abound in California, the state always has a need for pharmacists, especially during a time where most students opt to go to medical school rather than pharmacy school.  There are many opportunities for students of pharmacy throughout the state, which serves as an even greater incentive for future pharmacy students. 

California is one state that has been ahead of much of the nation for quite some time in recognizing constitutional violations.  The beginning of the Haight-Ashbury crowd in San Francisco spawned more than just a neighborhood for the delinquent runaways and drug-users of the 60s, but in fact developed into a new lifestyle that was more accepting of change than the rest of the nation.  As a result, California became the first state in the union to recognize medical marijuana as a pharmaceutical for chronic pain sufferers and cancer patients. 

In 2003, the Medical Marijuana Program was established in California as the result of the passing of Proposition 215, an extension of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.  Patients must obtain a medical marijuana card from their physician before purchasing medical marijuana from one of its distribution centers and must demonstrate an extreme need for this type of pain relief.  The past seven years have led to a whirlwind of change within the state of California and the nation itself, as federal agents have confiscated and disrupted many of the medical marijuana locations within the state due to the federal ban on the drug.  However, last year saw the transition to a new nation with the executive “ok” to allow states to have the initiative to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana in their state. 

For the first time in history, Californians no longer have to fear federal agents bursting into their medical marijuana distribution centers and instead can focus on more important things like getting rid of their chronic pain or other related symptoms.  This all ties back to pharmacy students because of the fact that so many Californian pharmacy students are now taking courses in medical marijuana.  The drug has proven to be vastly effective in reducing pain for many patients around the nation and as a result, small pharmacy schools have cropped up around the state (not recognized by pharmacy boards as of yet) that teach students the proper growing technique for medical marijuana.  While most medical marijuana is now purchased from federal or state sources, some centers grow their own in order to treat specific types of pain.  These “pharmacy schools” allow students to learn the best techniques in this growing industry.  While medical marijuana has yet to be fully recognized by most of the country, California continues to pioneer ahead and has thus far helped many cancer patients and other disease-ridden patients experience a better quality of life.

What most of the nation does not realize is that medical marijuana is a new type of pharmaceutical that has the potential benefit of aiding many patients to a better standard of living: it is used for patients undergoing chemo, for patients with mental illnesses, and for patients recovering from a critical accident.  Now that the federal government has virtually “ok-ed” the industry itself, we will begin to see a wider onset of the benefits the drug can offer in the medical community and the spread of this new type of pharmacy school throughout the nation. 

Earlier this year, we heard the good news that many of the smaller towns around the country were going to do just find because of the thriving health care industry.  While this was all well and good (I mean it saved many steel and mining towns), the underlying message is not as uplifting.  By becoming more reliant on the health care industry, we are essentially telling ourselves that our health in general is on more of a downward spiral (although we now have pricey, profitable machines to save us!).  While health care has also evolved with technology, and enabled us to live to a much older age than we were previously able to, it has also evolved with poor health care habits, almost encouraging patients to continue on their unhealthy ways.  The health care industry has only reached the levels it has because of poor health care, which in turn has led to increased numbers of patients in hospitals, forming a “parasitic” effect that is hard to get out of.  Pharmacy school fits into all this by caring for the outpo
uring of health care and growing at the same exponential rate as the health care industry.

Many health care commentators have noticed this growing trend: as the health care industries essentially save our economy from running into the mud, they are at the same time partly responsible for the increase in child diabetes and other diseases that come from being overweight, a major problem in our society.  Instead of putting billions of dollars into the health care industry, we could instead be pumping this money into education and infrastructure basics.  The health care industry has become the “safe” realm to get a job into, because there’s a constant need for doctors, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, and the many other types of health care professionals.  This fact is directly reliant on the number of sick people, a number which is continuously rising due to our poor health care habits. 

An article on the health care industry in the Huffington Post relates the ironic scene at a local pharmacy: the pharmacist (who undoubtedly went to school to practice pharmacy), is on the phone with insurance companies, dealing with irate customers, and watching customers with diabetes load up their carts with candies for holidays.  Ironic to say the least.  The pharmaceutical industry is the least to blame for our poor health and have tried to maintain a healthy society, although they continue to provide us a crutch to lead on, no matter what our health care issue is.

We are thus left in a conundrum as a society: we can ignore our stress about the economy and begin to eat healthy together, work out, and lead healthier lives, or we can continue on the path we’re on, producing unhealthy populations, but promoting the economy at the same time through health care.  Pharmacists are on the neutral ground of this issue, continuing to provide their services in good or in bad times.  
 

Even if you have great health insurance, there’s no real reason to run to the doctor’s office every time you have a scratchy throat, or even a mild fever. Your medicine cabinet is probably stocked well enough with ibuprofen, band aids, and generic cold and flu or allergy medicine, but what about your kitchen? At-home remedies may not fix a broken leg or cure pneumonia, but they can alleviate uncomfortable symptoms and don’t require a co-pay or a trip to the drugstore. Try to keep a few of these items in your pantry at all times — or at least seasonally — for quick fixes when you don’t feel like spending extra on health care or feel too icky to venture outside of your home.

• Honey: Honey is used to help bee stings, poison ivy, dry skin and even acne. It’s a natural moisturizer that combats inflammation and relieves itch, too. Honey is also highly acidic, making it a useful agent for fighting bacteria and infections.
• Garlic: Garlic is a tiny, cheap little herb that is used for lots of conditions, including warts, gas, heartburn, and even yeast infections, if you’re brave enough to try this home remedy. Garlic is an antifungal herb, a blood thinner, and helps your immune system generally.
• Cumin: If you have indigestion, diarrhea or bad gas and are embarrassed to ask your pharmacist for a solution, try cumin. Boil the seeds and make a tea, which can also relieve morning sickness and clear you up when you have a cold.
• Ginger: Ginger is another multipurpose ingredient that is an anti-inflammatory agent. Make a tea to ease nausea or muscle pain, especially if the pain is due to spasms or arthritis.
• Whole milk: If you have a minor burn, dip a washcloth or bandage in whole milk — the extra fat is key — to help the pain and the skin heal itself.
• Vinegar: If you have warts, soak a bandage or cotton ball in vinegar or apple cider vinegar overnight. If the wart hasn’t died and fallen off by the next day, try it again for one or two nights, and it should work faster than anything you can buy at the drugstore.

The newly coined term “pharm parties” has been the topic of conversation for many news outlets in the past decade, as the prescription drug phase has reached American teens, eager to find a release in a drug they consider to be legal.  The Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm D) has helped to fight against this new war on drugs by enlisting greater barriers in obtaining prescriptions which are commonly used in these parties, such as Vicodin or Hydrocodeine.  However, with the prevalence of overdoses and online pharmacies steadily rising, the question has risen as to what kind of knowledge can combat this substance abuse.

Pharm parties are typically drug “get togethers” in which teens dump a load of their parents’ prescriptions into a bowl and then dig in, gulping down pills.  While this is still a skeptical setting, many news reports on the subject in general have indicated that teenagers have continuously stole prescription drugs from their parents and either swapped them with classmates or kept them for their own use.  Regardless of the way they receive the pills, the danger is obvious.  Many of these drugs have terrible side effects, including an addictive quality which manages to hook many young adults due to their inexperience in prescription medication.

As a Pharm D, your job consists far outside the ordinary realm of pharmacy, and into the world of overdoses and lethal addictions.  While there is little you can do about the easy accessibility many teens have to prescription drugs, you can work to get legislation past and tougher restrictions on the use of these medications.  Many states have lax prescription drug laws, and as a result, young teens flock to these states in order to stock up on their prescriptions.  Instead of helping cure an illness, we are feeding into a new illness that will only degenerate a future.  Doctors of Pharmacy are much more hands on than typical pharmacists and even work in clinics that cater exclusively to their pharmacy patients, rather than forcing the patient to go both to a doctor and then to a pharmacy.  In this way, the Pharm D has direct communication with the receiver of the medication and can warn them of the risks and the dangers should their children get ahold of their medication. 

Prescription drugs are a growing problem across our nation and while there is little that pharmacists can do on their own, many public policy changes are currently being implemented to save the youth who accidentally end up addicted at such a young age.