Polly
at
Thursday, November 21, 2019
I really enjoyed this rotation. Not just because it was in
Chicago but because it is a pharmaceutical industry rotation. Most of the projects
I completed are confidential, and I signed a non-disclosure agreement so I cannot
say in detail what I did most of the time. Some of my projects include
designing a poster for a congress, a rare disease priority review voucher,
writing up press releases, and comparing clinical trials.A large portion of this rotation was completing research, writing, and attending meetings with my preceptor
Like the FDA, my day to day schedule was not structured. I found
myself becoming more adapted to an unstructured schedule because I had the freedom to plan out the day for myself. I was able to see a drug approved
for narcolepsy during the end of my rotation (Look it up, it’s called Pitolisant).
Although I did not work on this drug from the beginning to the end, I saw the
happiness and satisfaction of the employees to see their drug finally be
approved by the FDA. Having a rotation at the FDA gave me an insider look at
what the FDA considers for pharmaceutical industry. During my block 3, I was
able to see the other side of the coin.
Here are some tips about Chicago for those of you who got
chosen:
- If you are driving from Michigan to Chicago, go on the road that avoids the toll road. Saves you $20 and a headache. The trip is just longer by 30 minutes and I didn’t have much of a problem navigating the roads.
- Know which side of Chicago to avoid. The south side and the west side should be avoided. There are some pocket neighborhoods in these areas that are fine so it is not all bad. I don’t think I ever went further than Chinatown so I can’t say for experience how these areas are. Chicago is a great city but all big cities come with some risks. Just be smart! I had no problems getting around the city.
- My rotation was downtown, and I lived in a up and coming neighborhood called East Village on the border of Ukrainian Village just 15-20 minutes away from downtown. Beautiful neighborhood and VERY hipster. It was right on the blue line for the metro so I had no problem getting to my site. Parking is awful and very expensive downtown. My suggestion is to just get the 30-day metro pass. It was around $105 and I took the blue line the majority of the time. I had no problems! Parking for more than 8 hours could easily add up to 15-30 dollars a day. Public transportation saves money and it was nice pretending to be a local 😊
- BRING REUSABLE BAGS. The amount they charge per bag is borderline ridiculous.
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