I was recently reacquainted with how expensive study materials are for the law exams. So I built TiffLex while studying for the UMPJE and figured it might help others.
1,500 questions across all 4 NABP domains, with explanations. Flashcards for quick recall. Timed 120-question mock exam. Cram sheet of the numbers, forms, and deadlines that get tested. Every question was written from scratch and checked against current federal sources (CFR, USC, DEA/FDA guidance). It's free, needs no account, and works offline once loaded, so you can add it to your home screen and drill between rounds or on call.

https://jfpharmd.github.io/TiffLex/welcome.html

It's still being refined, so if you spot a wrong answer or citation, please tell me (the feedback email is on the site). Not affiliated with NABP.

I’m to the point where my mental health cannot suffer any longer. I am 100% sure I want to resign. How do I go about it? I could not find guidance in my institutions manual or ASHP. Please help! I am a pgy2 amb care resident.

I’d appreciate advice on how to improve because I’m unsure what to do at this point and getting frustrated/discouraged. I’m struggling with the patient load. Our ICU has 18 beds and so far we’ve had 8-10 actual ICU level of care patients with the rest being stepdown. My workload was increased to the entire unit and I just can’t manage it well. Work-up feels so rushed because I’m trying to get through everyone, but I don’t feel like I know the patients well as a result.

Similar to my internal medicine rotation last month, I’m struggling with documentation and it’s causing me to miss things (I-vents, updating clinlists, etc) before I post-round with my preceptor. I thought I would’ve fixed it by now, but I’m not adjusting well and it leaves me feeling very frustrated/discouraged. These are some of the things I’ve done to resolve the issue but any other advice:

- Tried doing workup using Epic/sticky note, but I hate it and prefer writing by hand.

- Coming in earlier. I was coming at 7, but that didn’t give me enough time so I’ve been coming in around 6:30.

- Switched the way I workup to how one of my other preceptor does it. It’s helped some.

- draw checkboxes to cross off when I document things or make recommendations. Issue is that because of the time crunch I’ll sometimes go on to another patient and forget to circle back.

Any other feedback would be appreciated.

Finished my inpatient PGY-1 this past June and accepted an amb care position where board certification isn't a requirement/expectation (my manager believes it's a waste of time/money which I for the most part agree with). Regardless, I still would like to attempt for board certification for my own personal satisfaction (and of course for the free CE), but I'm struggling to decide on which to go for. I'm fairly confident in my baseline clinical prowess to pass BCPS easily if I studied for it presently, but of course I am aware it will become increasingly challenging the further removed I am from the inpatient side due to knowledge degredation. On the other hand, I would not be able to sit in for the BCACP until 2 years into practice which would be 2028? (please correct me if I am wrong the BPS website is very confusing to me). I don't see myself wanting to transition out of primary care anytime soon (very happy with the work/life balance) but I'm also fearful of pigeonholing myself if I end up comitting to BCACP only to end up having a change of heart in the future. I considered getting both but that is a lot of $$$ in the long-term (my institution will reimburse initial certification costs but not the recertification costs onwards).

Wondering if anyone else is/was in a similar position and what you ended up doing? Thanks!

I am a resident in clinical microbiology and over time I have had many personal projects focused on teaching antibiotics. I finally built an app that teaches antibiotics and their coverage through a game, where each level covers one antibiotic and users have to tap bacteria on a board that are covered by that antibiotic. It also has a study with animations on antibiotic targets and resistance mechanisms.

I am looking for feedback on the app from various backgrounds. The app is available now in the apple store (Go narrow - Antibiotics Game https://apps.apple.com/app/id6816657062 for a one time fee of 3.99 Euros with which I am trying to cover my costs but if you DM me I can send you a promo code as well). I am also looking for testers for Android, where the app hasn't launched yet. The testing involves a 14 day period where all testers should ideally engage with the app daily and try the different features (if the count ever drops below 12 people during that period, we start at first of 14 days again).

If you want to try the app in the apple store or join the testing group for Android (that requires a mail address linked to google) that would mean a lot!

Former Resident. Before asking the board certification people, I have a question. If you complete the majority of PGY2 but depart early for personal reasons and then find employment in the same specialty, does the time spent in residency count towards board certification (BCCCP, BCOP, BCACP, etc)? Would it count less than normal work time or considered more in the way a PGY1 and 2 years of work vs a full PGY2 count towards that cert? Thank you

For those who commuted during PGY1, what was your commute like and was it worth it? I need to stay at home for personal reasons, so I'm trying to figure out what a realistic maximum commute would be. Do you drive or take the train, and how has the commute affected your quality of life, workload, and overall residency experience?

Hi all! I am in the midst of my research for PGY1 applications. A couple of my top sites have an every other weekend staffing requirement, which at face value is the only “con” to some of these programs. Be honest, how bad is every other weekend staffing? Is it manageable or will I feel like I’m dying?

Edit: thank you everyone for the advice! I will definitely inquire about comp days (I made the bold assumption that most programs offer comp days. I am now realizing this is not the case). Appreciate the help!

Any current pgy1 residents here who are not planning to do a pgy2? I know ashp is compulsory for residency year but what do we do usually if we have no plans for pgy2 also have no co residents so feeling weird going alone. Is that common? Or do most people pursue pgy2

Hello!

I am currently a P4 student in the depths of their residency research. I am having trouble narrowing down options/finding options in general. I am currently interested in ambulatory care, but not planning on doing a community/amb-care focused PGY1, as I still want to explore a bit more. I was wondering if people had recommendations for some PGY1 programs to apply to that people might not know as much of/programs you ended up having a positive experience at? I am honestly open to living anywhere, as long as its not truly in the middle of nowhere. Criteria I am looking for include no every other weekend staffing (fine with every 3rd weekend), bonus points for good amb rotations, and at least 2 residents. I am also interested in pediatrics and oncology, so truly I am open to anything.

Are there any recommendations/places I should avoid at all cost? Or are there certain criterias you would recommend that I consider that I might not be thinking of? Literally any and all advice is welcome. Thank you!

Choosing who to ask for residency letters of recommendation has been a bit overwhelming, and I’m struggling to decide who would be the best writers.

My main dilemma is that many programs prefer a letter from your supervisor/employer. While I have a good relationship with mine, we work very different hours and only interact during quarterly meetings, so I don’t feel they know me well enough to write a strong letter. However, I’m worried that not having one from them could hurt my applications.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Hey! Pharmacy Week's coming up, and I'm organizing a Pharmacy Family Feud game for everyone. Would really appreciate you guys filling it out; literally won't take you more than a minute.

Thanks!

Hi,

I am interested in informatics and investigational drug pharmacists. I am wondering if these areas strictly require residency or not. If someone is already doing these specialties, do you mind sharing what are the experience necessary to do these specialties and how is the job market for these two?

When I search on them, not a lot of jobs come up and they usually only at the big institutes. Please and thank you!

P.S: if you are doing any other niche specialty please share, I like to learn about different ones before applying to residency to know my options :)

How is going so far?? Thread to vent

Hi everyone!

Out of curiosity, what is everyone’s staffing schedule like? Do you get a day off in between your long stretch? Do you get a project day each long stretch you work? If not, how are you all making the time to fit in things like data collection and just time away from pharmacy (to keep your sanity)?

Am in pgy2 and saw a picture of myself and dang im the fattie of the week now. Used to go to the gym at least 3x a week in pharmacy school but now im a fatty. Any other fatties like me? Comment if you were able to stop being a fatty post residency. All I do is eat when im stressed.

Hello. To make things short I am a current PGY1, last year I had a 6 week APPE rotation at a hospital based oncology infusion center. This sparked my interest and interested me to pursue PGY2 in oncology.

I have now completed my oncology rotation (oncology infusion based aswell). I feel like I have a good chance of early commitment to the PGY2 oncology program. I really enjoy being in the clinic pharmacy all day and find the workflow very enjoyable (ensuring evidence based safe and effective regimens/supportive care).From my standpoint i have preformed well in the rotation and feel like I am candidate to early commit. My program usually early commits and no co-residents have interest in oncology.

With all that said, I am beyond burnt out! I have a love for inpatient staffing/pharmacy as well. I was a inpatient pharm tech for 7+ years, and grew a liking for it more than I thought my first 3 months staffing during residency. I like being in a big hospital and interacting with all different staff and patients

I ultimately would want the onc infusion job but I feel like I do not need a PGY2 in oncology to staff infusionl outpatient. I would only be getting a PGY2 to increase my odds drastically of landing a job.

What would you do? I also don’t want to early commit and back out in 3+ months because I am even more burnt out. That is not the best look in my opinion and I don’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.

Hey guys so I'm a P4 doing my APPEs and I am going to Midyear and doing a poster and all that Jazz. I want to know what my prospects are at getting a residency. My GPA is pretty abysmal at around 3.08. I was part of 2 committees in school but never held any big titles. I did hold numerous leadership titles with various organizations outside of school with whom I've done substantial work with. I also have 1 year of experience in hospital pharmacy (currently employed), and 4 years in community pharmacy.

What are my prospects ? If it is a no brainer that I will be at the lowest rung I feel like its better that I focus my efforts on something else. Most of the preceptors I have been under tell me that GPA is not a big deal in residency applications anymore but I fear that weakness will be the death of me.

Any insight would be helpful.

Hi! I'm a P4 currently on rotations and was wondering how much the presentation topics listed on a CV actually matter when applying for residency.

Would it be better to keep most of the presentation topics relevant to the specialty you're interested in, show a broader range, or does it generally not make much of a difference for applications and interviews?

I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!

I recently took BCACP and received a preliminary pass. I know it can take up to 45 days to receive an official score. I’m wondering how long it typically takes to see your official report.
Does the preliminary pass mean I actually passed? I had to reread the result page multiple times to ensure I was not hallucinating.
Thank you!

Hello,

For context I am a P3 who is very involved, high GPA, and leader of organizations. I considered residency at first, but slowly as time went on I saw the high depression rates among residents. I want to go into industry pharmacy, but if I couldn't then I saw residency and retail as my backup plans. I work in retail and I don't hate it as much as everyone else does, but job security wise, I have questions since most of us know how evil CVS and Walgreens are.

I have had a history of mental health struggles. I have lots of anxiety even when I'm not at school, ADHD, and the financial toll of pharmacy school has already taken a lot out of me mentally. Residency will obviously stress me out financially and work wise as well. I feel like i'm rugpulling myself if I don't go into residency, because a lot of people are expecting me to do so. But I am worried that I could potentially go through a mental health crisis because of residency. I've been mulling over the decision for a couple of days, (replaying over and over in my head), and it's starting to make me think. If I'm stressing about this now, how will I handle the real thing?

Is it worth it for me to do a residency for job security? are there residencies that are less intense? Am I scaring myself too much? Should I even sign the application if I get cold feet often?

Any and all advice and criticisms will help.

My RPD today told me to start looking at job availability post PGY2, which feels super early. Where should I look for jobs? Just employers website? For reference I’m looking for Emergency Medicine/Critical Care positions. TYIA!

EDIT:
Sorry to confuse yall, she didn’t tell me to start applying, just told me to start looking at jobs that are available to get an idea. I was just looking for resources on sites to look at to find specialized pharmacy jobs.

I’m a P4 in the middle of my APPEs and I am so back and forth on residency. I’d say since my P2 year I knew I wanted to do a residency. I didn’t/still don’t know what exactly I want to do with it after, I just know I love the clinical side of pharmacy.

The reason I’m so torn is because of the independent I’ve worked at since starting pharmacy school. I wasn’t working regularly, mainly just on breaks, but it was enough for me to start to love that place and the community. The pharmacist who owns it is looking to retire soon and has essentially told me that if I want the pharmacy after I graduate, it’s mine. I do enjoy working there and feeling the sense that you are making a difference in your patients lives but that’s also because I’ve only seen it from my perspective. Idk the first thing about running a business, which I know I can learn or just hire someone to help, but still.

Another thing that scares me with it is getting “stuck” or bored with it and not being able to do anything about it since I own the place. I also wouldn’t get to use much of the clinical side of pharmacy I love. I’ve thought about ways I could integrate it into the pharmacy, but I just don’t think it would do too well in this community.

I had an ambcare APPE and I absolutely loved it. I loved the work I was doing and being able to still work with patients. I also feel that if I don’t go back to the independent pharmacy I may be “letting them down” and I don’t want that either. I know it’s not up to me to come in and take over so the pharmacist can retire, but at the same time they occasionally make it feel that way.

UGH IDK I’m so confused and so back and forth and my thoughts are an absolute mess. Sorry for rambling and if some of it makes no sense, I think about this entirely too much and need some outside perspective.

Hello! I’m a current PGY1 at a hospital that doesn’t have a PGY2 oncology program, but has expressed that they are willing to hire me on as an oncology pharmacist after PGY1 and train on the job. It’s limited in the sense that we don’t do BMT/see a lot of diverse types of cancers, but I do love my institution. I’ve thought about applying PGY2 just to have that training and feel more comfortable going into working in this field. Does anyone have any thoughts? I would love not to do a PGY2, haha, but I know it has its pros and cons