P4 Class Update from Landon and Halen
Dear College of Pharmacy Supporters,
Our names are Landon and Halen and we wanted to share an update on behalf of the PharmD Class of 2025. We hope our stories and photos from the past year bring back good memories from your time at pharmacy school. Thank you all for what you have done for us and the college. With your help, we made it across the finish line!
Things We’ve Studied For Fun
We were so ready to be P4s! We thought we knew what pharmacy school was all about. But this year showed us how much more there was to explore beyond the classroom. Between rotations, career fairs, conferences and navigating our next steps, we pursued research and completed projects that truly excited us. We studied everything from cost-effective clinical initiatives to rare disease management.
Some of our classmates dove into data, analyzing medication errors or adherence trends. Others leaned into patient education, creating bilingual resources and adherence tools for underserved populations. A few of us got involved with faculty research teams, submitting abstracts, and experiencing the thrill of seeing our names as published authors for the first time.
It was so rewarding to see our final posters printed as proof of our hard work. What made these projects special wasn’t the academic credit - it was the feeling of getting to say, “I helped answer that question.” To anyone in the early years of the program and those who have been practicing for decades, we encourage you to follow your curiosity because it might just lead you somewhere surprising.
Panels, Posters, & Free Pens
This year we learned that posters don’t mount themselves, the world of pharmacy extends beyond our corner of the valley, and nothing beats the feeling of sharing your work with a room full of strangers who genuinely care and are interested in what you are showcasing. This year's pharmacy conferences gave us a front-row seat to the profession and a platform to be a part of it.
A number of us had the chance to present at ASHP, AMCP, ACCP, AES, and AHA. We discussed everything from medication access to transitions of care models. When we weren’t presenting, we were soaking in panels, networking like pros, and admittedly acting interested in a booth just for the free swag (Omnicell swag is undeniably the best). These conferences were more than just great experiences to add to our CVs, they reminded us why we chose pharmacy in the first place. They helped us find mentors, make connections, and clarify our goals for after graduation. Plus, let's be honest, they were a great excuse to dress up, travel with some of your best friends, and meet students from across the country who are just as passionate and tired as we are!
Prescriptions, Patients & Plot Twists: Where Our APPEs Took Us
Fourth year is a whirlwind. One minute you are nervously finishing your last final before walking into your first inpatient rotation, and the next you are renally dose adjusting medications for providers on rounds like you’ve been doing it for years. Our APPEs pushed us, stretched us, challenged us, and taught us more than we ever expected! Each of us had a different experience, a different story. Those stories range from caring for patients in rural towns where the pharmacy was the only point of care to rounding with ICU teams to managing anticoagulation clinics to helping build policies for health systems. We learned how to communicate with patients, advocate for their needs, and take ownership of the recommendations we made no matter how nervous we may have been.
Don’t get us wrong, there were plenty of moments of uncertainty, sometimes uncomfortable interventions, tough feedback, and the occasional mid-rotation identity crisis. But there were also plenty of rewarding moments this year. There were patients who thanked us personally, preceptors who believed in us, and journal clubs where we finally felt like clinical pharmacists explaining biostatistics. These rotations represented more than just the final phase of pharmacy school — they provided a valuable introduction to real-world practice.
Next Stop: The Real World
Suddenly, our four years at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy are almost over. With graduation on the horizon, we’ve been reflecting on the late nights, early mornings, mental breakdowns, and all the caffeine-fueled chaos in between, we have a lot to show for ourselves. We are getting ready to head in our own directions once we walk across that stage. Some of us matched with a residency program, some are pursuing or accepting jobs, some looking to the industry pathway, and others are figuring out where their hearts and minds will take them! We’ve survived patient case consultations, SOAP notes, OSCEs, endless group projects, back-to-back-to-back finals, and so much more. We’ve mentored younger students, led organizations, presented at conferences, and advocated for our profession. But more than anything, we’ve grown into the kind of people we once looked up to!
To our classmates: Thank you for being the best study buddies, incredible co-presenters, delivering Oscar-worthy roleplay performances, and for being a constant support system to get each other to where we are now.
To our preceptors and faculty: Thank you for challenging us, encouraging us, and believing in us even when we didn’t quite believe in ourselves.
To the next generation of pharmacy students: Dive into this journey with your whole heart. You will be surprised to find in the end that there is so much more to gain than just knowledge.
And to the alumni and donors: Thanks for supporting us along our journey and helping us reach this incredible milestone! We hope to be able to help the next generations like you did us!
This year and the three before it were not easy, but they were all worth it! Next stop? The real world and we are ready for it!
Warmest regards,
Landon and Halen
Doctor of Pharmacy Class of 2025, University of Utah College of Pharmacy