With school just around the corner, we are kicking off our 4-Part Welcome Back Blog Series! Each week we will provide you with information to better different parts of UBC student life, from academics to health and wellness.

It is time to get back into the swing of things, so we are starting our series off with different ways you can become involved with the Faculty. Being an active member of the pharmacy community can help enrich your time in the Faculty of Pharm Sci. It provides an opportunity to connect with students outside of the classroom, improve your resume, and gain valuable event planning skills. This week, we asked two of the most prominent pharmacy societies to tell us a little about themselves, and what they have planned for the upcoming year.

Rho Chi Society

“The Rho Chi Society, founded in 1922, is an Academic Honor Society of Pharmacy with over 100 chapters across Canada and the United States. The Delta Gamma Chapter of UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences was established in 2009, and is currently the only existing Canadian Chapter.

Last year, as a part of our Sexual Health Awareness initiative, we collaborated with Nurses on Campus to educate UBC students about sexual health and safe contraceptive use, as well as with OPT Vancouver to inform Pharmacy students about how to communicate appropriately with patients regarding sexual health. Through our Community Presentation initiative (in collaboration with LKS), students had the opportunity to share their pharmaceutical knowledge with members of the community.

We received an incredible amount of support for our fundraising events, Pi Week, Pi Week Encore, and Trivia Night, from which we were able to donate $1,000 to BC Children’s Hospital!

With the Fall semester underway, Rho Chi is very excited to carry these initiatives forward and continue to provide students with opportunities to get involved, as well as enrich their experience in the Program, both academically and professionally. Stay-tuned in September to hear more details – we look forward to seeing you!”

–Renee Dagenais, President of the Rho Chi Honour Society

Make sure you have liked Rho Chi on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter to keep up with the awesome work they are doing.

PhUS

“The Pharmacy Undergraduate Society represents, liaises and advocates for the students of the Faculty, and UBC at large, along with organizing a collection of education and social events for students. Since our students are the future of BC Pharmacy, our goal is to foster optimal educational environment and contribute to overall integrity of the pharmacy profession through sponsorship, promotion, and coordination of academic and social activities. Our council organization is composed of elected students serving as executives, year representatives, general councillors, and representatives from all the clubs in UBC Pharmacy. A glimpse of some of our plans for the busy year include:

• First-Year Orientation Day – Formerly known as Phrosh Day, this inaugural event is organized and dedicated to first-year pharmacy students.
• Shoppers Drug Mart Welcome Back BBQ – A traditional BBQ lunch for first-year students during the first week back in September.
• Clubs Night – An evening session highlighting information about each club within the Faculty and opportunities for involvement.
• Sports Tournaments – Friendly student competitions between pharmacy teams including dodgeball, soccer, and basketball.
• Careers Avenue – In collaboration with the Pharmacy Alumni group, various companies and organizations spend an evening with students to network and share opportunities for beyond graduation.
• GALA – The most anticipated event of the fall season, students and faculty members dress to impress for a night of fine dining and dance at the Sheraton Hotel.
• Skits Night – Famous in the Faculty, Skits night is where students from each year spend weeks preparing to compete with each other for pride through hilarious, clever skits.

Other events such as BCPhA Speaker Series and lunch-time talks are held every month to educate pharmacy students with different aspects of pharmacy including industry, community, and hospital.”

— Yoshi Ito, President of PhUS

Many graduating students mentioned the memories that were made at Skit Nights as their favourite moments with the Faculty:

“My favourite memory is planning and acting in skits night. In third year we worked so hard to put on a great skit and we won! Skits night has brought the members of our class together and created many lasting memories.” – France Carriere

“My favorite memory with UBC Pharmacy would have to be skits night; it is incredible what the various years can come up with and the faculty performance is always a highlight. I’m sure very few students can say they have seen their profs doing a revamp of Glee or coming in on a wrecking ball. It is definitely a night to remember.” – Megan Tromposhe

To find out more about PhUS, check out their Facebook page and blog!

Many students say that joining extracurricular activities was one of the best decisions they could have made, as the friendships forged go far beyond the classroom. Make sure to also check out Main Mall during Imagine Day to see all of the non-pharmacy related clubs you can join!

What clubs are you a part of? Or what has been your favourite moment during Skits Night? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us at @UBCPharmacy

–Sukhman Perhar, Communications and Marketing