Pharmacy schools have become as commonplace as medical schools, and as a result, students have become extremely confused as to what school is the best suited for their future.  With the advent of online education, choosing a pharmacy school has become even more of a hassle with the added influx of schools from around the world that are easily accessible through a modem.  How can a student be expected to sift through all the paraphernalia and pharmacy school websites on their own?

The first step is to sit down and organize your goals.  Pharmacy school may give you the same degree, but different schools can lead to widely different career paths.  If you want to choose a path that is more research-oriented, your initial research into pharmacy schools should look into schools that are accredited and highly reputable in the research industry.  Most pharmacy schools have superb research facilities, but there are several that produce many research graduates every year at a higher rate than typical pharmacy schools.  These research institutions additionally offer students the added advantage of interning and working at nearby pharmaceutical companies and hospitals where they can hone in on their research skills.

Location is another factor to take into consideration when applying for pharmacy schools.  While hospitals and clinics are not as essential to the program as they are in medical school, it is still important to have a hospital nearby where you can gain valuable residency hours.  If you choose to earn your pharmacy degree online from your hometown, this is an important factor to take into consideration.  Depending on what you are going to do with your pharmacy degree, it might be wise to enroll in a traditional university if you want to practice in a large city.  If you simply want to become a pharmacist in your hometown pharmacy, then online education is the perfect solution to your schooling needs.

Other pharmacy schools boast of their accreditation and their recognition within the pharmacy world.  There are countless lists and ranking systems throughout the education industry – enough to make your head spin!  While no one list is better than the others in the long run, it is important to browse through several lists to gain an understanding of what each pharmacy school has to offer, the cost of tuition, and the course listings.  You do not have to follow or even believe the ranking systems, but each one offers more insight than the other into potential pharmacy schools.  Accreditation is of course, the most important part of the research/application process.  Determining that your future school is accredited should be step one in the process.  Most pharmacy schools are accredited by reputable institutions, but online schools are still not entirely reputable, which makes it all the more important to research into the school’s background.

Pharmacy school is a big change in your life, no matter what school you enroll in, and taking the proper steps to finding the perfect school for you will make the process less confusing and more rewarding. 

Childhood obesity has become a major problem in the U.S. today. The land of the free moves at such a fast-pace that it has become quicker and easier to give our children unhealthy kids meals from fast food restaurants than to plan healthy meals. We have such little free time that we allow our children to veg out in front of the TV or computer playing video games so we can have a smidgen of peace and quiet at home. We send our kids to school, where unhealthy food is often being served in the lunchroom. However, as parents, if we want to stave off the health and social problems associated with a child that is obese, we have to begin to fight the rising tide of childhood obesity.

First, realize that making sure your child is living a healthy and active lifestyle is a counter-cultural idea these days. After all, the most popular gifts for teens and tweens are no longer bicycles like when we were kids. Instead, the most popular gifts are gaming systems, such as the Wii, Xbox 360, or Playstation 3, all of which are very sedentary forms of entertainment. While playing age-appropriate games is harmless fun, it can contribute to dangerous inactivity and childhood obesity if not balanced out with more active fun.

If your child has become inactive, it is a good idea to meet them where they’re at. Wii has introduced a great product called Wii Fit, a fun exercise program that is helping some children get active by allowing families to exercise in their homes together. You can customize the programs to be suitable for your child’s fitness level, and monitor their progress.

Another good idea is to prioritize outdoor exercise. Take your children on a brisk walk three to five times a week. Not only is this a great opportunity to hear about their day and spend time with them, but it also gets their blood moving and contributes to their weekly physical activity needs. Find out what kinds of sports your child is interested in and make a point to play with them over the weekend, whether it’s soccer, basketball, tennis, or something with less rules, like Frisbee. If you’re not up to the task, encourage your children to play sports with their friends instead of spending all their time indoors on their cell phones, computers and gaming systems.

Finally, talk with your child about healthy eating and keep healthy snacks around the house, like yogurt, string cheese or fresh fruit. Explain to them the consequences of drinking sodas and eating fast food. And most importantly, be the one to demonstrate a healthy lifestyle. After all, it’s hard to tell your kids the right thing to do if they see you sitting on the couch eating junk food too!

A relatively new field, online pharmacy schools have taken over the online education industry because of the large demand for pharmacists throughout the recession.  From California to Texas, online pharmacy schools have spread throughout the nation, stemming from the states where the pharmacy programs are already well known throughout the nation.  Due to the high amount of pharmacists that are emerging from these schools, the drug industry has also boomed thanks to the research that has developed simultaneously. 

One of the least known jobs of pharmacists involves the research they participate in, in developing new drugs and medications for patients of a variety of illnesses.  We mostly assume that pharmacists end up behind counters in Walgreens and CVS, but a large majority of them wind up in research institutions and other pharmaceutical industries.  Many students of online pharmacy schools are particularly adept at research and the processes involved because of the years they spend without direct instruction through online classes.  While some critics maintain that this produces students who are less likely to succeed and more reliant on instruction, many others maintain that online classes produce students who are more independent and therefore better able to excel at research on their own.

This has been a proven theory throughout online pharmacy schools because of the vast research many students perform during their clinical trials.  The drug industry has benefited greatly from this new influx of research students, especially compared to the past decades in which students have been pressured to join top pharmaceutical firms outside of the research sector.  Research is not a realm that most students are keen to jump into, although online education has fostered this new sense of working independently on projects and assignments, and as a whole has produced a new generation of researchers. 

While pharmacy schools may seem to be one of those entities that are ill-equipped to produce online classes, the schools themselves have attracted many students and have produced many adept pharmacists.  Most online pharmacy schools come from traditional schools that have sought to simply attract new students and therefore have a strong background in education and pharmacy studies in general.  As the next years unfold, they will undoubtedly reveal a newfound interest in drug companies and pharmaceutical industries and a slow move away from remaining behind the Walgreens counters. 

The decision to attend pharmacy school is not one which can be made overnight, but requires many months of research and deliberation before making an informed decision.  California has many of the oldest and most esteemed pharmacy schools in the nation, and most students start their research focused on this area of the country.  While there are many highly-ranked pharmacy schools around the nation, California continues to attract a large portion of students due to its research programs, top staff, and successful graduates.

University of California at San Francisco – School of Pharmacy
One of the oldest schools in the nation, the School of Pharmacy of the University of California in San Francisco was founded in 1872 as the California College of Pharmacy, the first pharmacy school in the West and only the 10th in the nation.  One of the primary reasons for the school’s success is its clinical program which became a requirement for its students in the 1960s.  The location of the school in the historical district of San Francisco is also a huge incentive for many students to enroll in its program.

University of Southern California – School of Pharmacy
USC was not far behind the University of California in creating its pharmacy school, opening its doors in 1905.  The school now boasts a large population of pharmacists in the area who graduated from the school and currently enrolls upwards of 750 students in its graduate program.  USC continues to be innovative throughout its educational programs and promotes dual degrees for pharmacy students in areas as diverse as law and public health.  The school remains a model for other pharmacy schools around the nation and is widely recognized for its stellar reputation within the pharmacy community.

California has also implemented many online pharmacy schools through the past several years which have attracted many students from around the country.  This allows students from small towns around the nation to earn their degree in pharmacy without the hassle of moving across the country or leaving their friends, family, and career.  Students in California also have the luxury of completing their clinical studies through top-rated hospitals in the area while still maintaining a manageable school schedule because of the ease of online classes.  Some of the more popular schools that offer online pharmacy programs in the area include Loma Linda University, Touro University, and the University of California in San Diego.  The small size of many of these online classes encourages students to enroll in the programs despite the distance.  The reputation of Californian schools alone attracts thousands of students every year to pharmacy schools within the state, whether they are online or traditional. 
 

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.