Good-bye Winter, Hello Spring!
Spring’s arrival signals new life and opportunity. As I reflect on my time here as an ASHP rotational student, I realize how much of an opportunity it was to be here. If you are wondering what this rotation is all about, here are some of the main benefits and takeaways I got from this rotation:
- Become more knowledgeable on important topics affecting the pharmacy profession.This was my main goal coming into the rotation. Of course I learned a lot about the main ones (e.g. PPMI and Provider Status), but I also learned about others I was not aware: Track and Trace legislation, mHealth advances, informatics hot topics, and much more.
- Be valued for you opinion and use your creativity. Everyone at ASHP is very welcoming and will actively seek your input as a student. It’s a great place to be if you want to challenge yourself to come up with creative solutions to problems.
- Be Inspired. At most rotations, there may be only one or two ultra-engaged employees/preceptors that you are drawn to for mentorship and advice. Well at ASHP, everyone is like that! They are all champions for their cause and they all understand the importance of their work. They work hard on behalf of all health-systems pharmacists to ensure we are equipped with the tools and resources needed to positively impact our patients. It always comes back to how it will help our patients, and that is what I love so much about the ASHP staff.
- Realize the importance of considering each day in your life as a new opportunity to grow, develop, and experience life. One theme you learn as you talk to the various VP’s or directors is that no one planned on being in Association Management during pharmacy school but rather seized a unique opportunity as it arose.
The idea of “opportunity” is something that really hit home for me because I took a big risk leaving a stable occupation to go back to school for a pharmacy degree. But as I reflect about the last four years of pharmacy school, I am amazed at all the amazing experiences I have had. Not only did I roast marshmallows on an active lava flow and hike to snow-capped mountains in Hawaii (yeah, even Hawaii has snow sometimes! See pics below for proof), but I was also able to do a lot of community outreach in rural areas and gained a better understanding of the challenges our underserved face.
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I may have traveled a long distance to intern at ASHP headquarters, but it was well worth the effort and I very glad I applied for this learning opportunity.
If you're interested to learn more about my rotation experience and how I adjusted to the cold weather, feel free to read my earlier blogs:
1st Post
2nd Post
3rd Post