Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Hays, Class of 2013

Ryan Hays

Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Hays, Class of 2013


Learn what our PharmSci Alumni Ryan Hays is up to and where his educational journey has taken him

Why did you decide to major in PharmSci at UCI?

I initially came into UC Irvine majoring in chemistry with the focus of pursuing pharmacy as a future career. It wasn’t until my 2nd year at UCI when I found out about the Pharmaceutical Sciences program and decided to change my major. I found that the PharmSci program was a great balance between the chemistry and clinical and really helped to prepare me for my future in pharmacy school and a pharmacist.

What are you doing now?

Currently I am a 3rd year student at USC School of Pharmacy. While in school I work as an intern pharmacist at a hospital in Orange County. For my job as an intern pharmacist, my duties have a pretty wide range of tasks depending on my shift. Many of my common tasks include compound of sterile products within the IV Clean Room and non-sterile medications, delivery and organization of medications within the hospital, purchasing of medications and supply stock from the hospital wholesaler, and obtaining medication histories from patients within the Emergency Department. In addition, I also work closely with the pharmacists in dosing of various medications such as vancomycin, aminoglycosides, heparin, and electrolyte replacements.

Were you a part of any student organizations during your time at UCI?

During my 2nd year at UCI I joined the Pre-Pharmacy Society (PPS). I found it a great way to learn about the different avenues that the world of pharmacy has to offer. In addition, PPS has many leadership opportunities for its board and members that range from developing yourself to serving the community.  PPS allowed students to start developing relationships with pharmacists who are currently working in the community, and who will most likely be your future colleagues.

What advice would you give to today’s students?

The best piece of advice that I have for today’s students is to explore as many avenues of pharmaceutical sciences as you can. There are so many different paths that each person can take, and each one offers something different. One may call more to one persons goals more than the other. It’s one of the main reasons I went into this field because if I ever feel like changing paths in the future, there are opportunities available to me.