Let me be honest with you for a moment. Being involved in your professional national organization is so important for not only the profession, but also for your own career. Let me continue to be honest with you. Residency is a busy time, and it feels like there is never a moment to spare. As I near completion of an association management rotation with ASHP, I am reflecting on how to merge residency with association involvement, and here’s my advice for you:
Step 1: Choose one way to give back to ASHP for all the helpful resources and events it provides to residents and pharmacists alike.
Think of all the helpful resources you have utilized from ASHP. Maybe you used the Biannual CV Review to prepare for residency applications. Maybe you attended a bunch a CEs, networking sessions, and other interesting events at Midyear. Maybe you find topic discussion or journal club articles from AJHP. These resources are here to help you grow and succeed as a resident and a pharmacist. Pay it forward by picking one way to help ASHP continue to provide for the profession of pharmacy.
Start by reading your ASHP emails. My suggestion would be to start with the *monthly* New Practitioners Forum Newlinks. It comes out the first of the month, and it is a condensed digital newspaper. It covers a wide variety of news, opportunities, and resources. The links make it truly effortless to catch up on the latest news, find *quick* ways to advocate for your profession, and find opportunities to get involved in small ways. It takes no more than a few minutes once a month.
One thing I learned while on rotation with ASHP this month is that they truly appreciate every level of participation from everyone. For example, if your one way to give back to ASHP is to participate as a CV reviewer during the upcoming Spring CV Review, you set the number of CVs you will review. If you choose to advocate to the government about a cause that affects you, you can choose to write your own personal letter to your member of congress, or you can use the existing template provided by ASHP. If even that seems like too much, consider supporting #GivingTuesday by sharing the template messages on your own social media pages. (You don’t even need too donate to get involved, although you can if you want to.) You can set your own level of involvement, which can fluctuate over time, so even if you feel like now is not the time to become a member of a New Practitioner Advisory Group, you can still contribute to ASHP. So I challenge all my fellow lazy residents to choose one way to get involved with ASHP now.