This
fall, I had the privilege of speaking at the white coat ceremony for the class
of 2019 at Harding University College of Pharmacy. As an alumnus of the school,
I was asked to speak on the things that I wished I knew as a pharmacy student,
what I would do over again, and the things I would have done differently.
While
preparing for this speech, I did a lot of self-reflecting. I certainly wished
that I hadn’t stressed out so much over the little things like a few points on
an exam or which internship I did or didn’t get. I thought about the many
projects I got involved with and the amazing people I met through various
organizations. Lucky for me, I met some amazing mentors early on in my career
that pushed me out of my little comfort zone and into leadership positions. It
is amazing how much influence a great mentor can have on the career path of a
fledgling pharmacy student.
Now
that I am in the position to mentor future pharmacists, I have realized how
important it is to have and develop resources to inform and encourage our student
pharmacists and residents in their professional development. One of the
resources that I have been involved with as a member of the ASHP New
Practitioners Forum Resident Advancement Advisory Group (NPF-RAAG) is a guide
to help residents during their transition from PGY1 to PGY2. The guide touches
on issues such as time management, board certification, and personal finance,
topics that both pharmacy students and residents alike can learn from. This
resource is in its final stages of preparation and hopefully will be available
in the upcoming months on the ASHP website on the New Practitioners Forum (NPF)
page resources section. Please be on the look out and share with your mentees!
#Resident #NewPractitioners