Better late than never?...
Spending seven days at the ASHP Summer Meeting had me quite
busy. I was officially “sworn in” to my position as Vice Chair of the Pharmacy Student Forum Executive Committee (PSFEC) and was energized with the passion
from students, residents, pharmacists, and fellows from around the country. For
those of you that haven’t had the chance to attend the Summer Meeting, I highly
encourage you to do so. It’s like attending a party with your closest friends
vs. showing up at a really loud, busy club where you happen to know quite a few
people (Midyear). Don’t get me wrong, I love both meetings, but there’s just
something about Summer Meeting that boosts my health-system pharmacy
enthusiasm! It’s probably the policy; the discussion and debate about what is
best for the organization and everyone it represents.
Debating policy was especially exciting for me this year as
I was a member on a Council and was finally able to see what it was like for
policy to start as a topic discussion and turn into something for all delegates
to vote upon. At the same time, the Pharmacy Student Forum had opinions on a
few polices that were up for voting, especially regarding medication
reconciliation and the expansion of pharmacy schools. Stacy Livingston, Chair
of the PSFEC and I both spoke during the Open Forum and Caucuses about how each
of these issues impact students. We knew it was important for everyone to know
we had opinions and wanted them to be heard! This was well received from many
delegates who approached me an applauded our involvement as students. I think,
in the future, it would be nice to see even more students involved with
speaking out to the delegates via ASHP Connect and at the Student Meeting!
During our first meeting with the PSFEC, Stacy Livingston,
Sarah Johannes, Diana Park, Jesni Matthews, and myself discussed our goals for
the Forum for the year and are excited to work with the Advisory Groups to keep
the ball rolling from last year. We were blessed to be joined by David Whitmer,
Vice President of Member Relations, who was our secretary and offered quite a
bit of enlightenment as an ASHP staff member. It is weird to still not have a
Director of the Pharmacy Student Forum, but I know ASHP is working hard to fill
the opening and Jill Haug, Director of Forums and the New Practitioners Forum,
is doing a phenomenal job handling two executive committees!
Upon reflection, I had a wonderful time in Denver and am
really looking forward to this year. I wanted to again congratulate the House
of Delegates on implementing wonderful policies, Stan Kent for his installment,
and Daniel Ashby for winning the Whitney Award. Here’s looking forward to New Orleans!