From Overwhelmed to Ready: What I Watch Happen to Distance Students Every Year

Thursday, 16 July 2026

By Dr. Heather Jones, Assistant Dean, Distance Education Pathway, LECOM School of Pharmacy

Key Takeaways

• Distance pharmacy students at LECOM follow a consistent arc: initial adjustment in year one, growing confidence in year two, professional readiness by year four
• The first year is the hardest adjustment, as students learn to manage asynchronous video content alongside a structured synchronous schedule
• Faculty stay connected with distance students through regular Zoom advising, organized social events, and consistent engagement throughout the program
• Campus visits after years one and three build community bonds that carry through the rest of the program and beyond
• Watching students who struggled early cross the graduation stage ready for their careers is what drives the faculty who teach in this pathway

Every year I watch the same arc unfold, and every year it still gets me.

When students first come into the distance pathway, there is real confusion. They are figuring out how to manage hours of pre-recorded video alongside required synchronous sessions, building a new schedule, and learning how to study doctoral-level material in a format that does not look like anything they have done before. In those early weeks, the stress is visible and I can hear it when students reach out. Some of them are genuinely wondering whether they made the right choice.

And then something shifts. We keep the first-year schedule relatively consistent so students can find their rhythm, and by the second year the uncertainty is mostly gone. The format is familiar, the coursework is rigorous but manageable, and students are engaged in a way that looks completely different from month one. They are becoming pharmacists.

By the third year, a genuine excitement builds in the cohort. Students know they are close and they know what is waiting for them in year four, and when they come to campus for their final on-site visit before rotations, you can feel the confidence in the room. These are not the same people who logged into their first Zoom session unsure of what they had signed up for.

I want to be honest about what that campus time means, because two weeks after year one and one week after year three can sound like very little. But what happens in those visits goes beyond hands-on labs and skills certification, though that matters too. What really happens is community. These students have been in Zoom sessions together, in study groups together, and navigating the same program together. When they finally meet in person, those relationships become real in a way that carries through the rest of the program and often into their professional lives.

The faculty piece of this matters as well. Distance students are connected to faculty through regular Zoom advising sessions, social events organized specifically for the distance cohort, and the same ongoing advising relationships that in-person students receive. The connections are genuine, and the students know it.

What makes me most proud is not the students who came in and sailed through. It is the ones who in year one were barely hanging on, who figured it out step by step, who reached out when they were frustrated and let me help them work through it. When those students call in year four to tell me about a residency placement or a job they just accepted, it is a feeling I honestly do not have words for. That journey, from overwhelmed to ready, is the whole point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do LECOM distance pharmacy students adjust to the program in their first year?

The first year is typically the most challenging adjustment. Students are learning to manage asynchronous video content alongside a structured synchronous schedule. LECOM keeps the first-year schedule consistent to help students build their rhythm, and faculty advisors provide regular support throughout.

Q: How does LECOM keep distance pharmacy students connected to faculty and peers?

Faculty advise distance students through regular Zoom meetings, organized social events for the distance cohort, and the same advising relationships that in-person students receive. Campus visits after years one and three also create meaningful in-person community bonds.

Q: Do distance pharmacy students at LECOM feel isolated from their classmates?

The program is designed to address this directly. Required synchronous sessions, virtual social events, cohort-based learning, and two campus visits build genuine community among distance students and between students and faculty throughout the program.

Q: How does student confidence change throughout LECOM's distance pharmacy program?

Most students follow an arc from initial uncertainty and adjustment in year one, to growing academic confidence in year two, to genuine professional excitement by year three heading into clinical rotations. By graduation, students and faculty alike describe a readiness that is visible and earned.

Q: What happens during LECOM distance students' required campus visits?

Distance students come to campus for two weeks after their first year and one week after their third year. Visits include hands-on wet lab experience, skills certifications such as immunization training and CPR, and counseling and communication practice, as well as important time to build relationships with faculty and fellow students in person.