Pharmacy Grad Returned to School With a New Perspective

Which do you think would be more difficult: Learning to speak Japanese or returning to pharmacy school after taking a year and a half off?

How about doing both? That's what Jordan Yim, a May 2016 graduate of the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, decided to do. She says the 18 months she spent in Sendai, Japan as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—between her third and fourth year of pharmacy school—better prepared her to become a doctor of pharmacy, or PharmD.

While in Japan from June 2013 to December 2014, Yim taught English, volunteered in nursing homes and provided religious education to residents of the city of Sendai and neighboring rural communities that were hard hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. 

 "It was an opportunity to serve and learn about people different from yourself," says Yim, adding that the experience "definitely influenced how I looked at things?to learn what it's like to put someone else's needs above my own, which has helped me become prepared to take care of patients."

Taking a year off of pharmacy school is not a common occurrence, says Andrea Wall, RPh, associate dean for student and alumni affairs, but exceptions can be made such as with Yim and other student situations like parental leave or call to the armed forces. 

 "The approvals are dependent upon the point in their studies when they take a leave of absence. They may need to repeat a course in preparation for future courses. They might be asked to present patient cases to confirm that they have retained what they have learned prior to starting clinical rotations," says Wall.

Since Yim returned to her fourth and final year, a year of rotations, Yim says she got up to speed by taking a capstone course, but it's not something she would recommend for everyone. 

 "Coming back to school was hard for sure. I loved it and it was right for me, but I would not necessarily recommend it. It's definitely easier to go straight through school."

But the great thing about the profession, Yim says, is that there is always more to learn and the experience taught her: "I can do hard things!"