This week at ASHP was momentous for multiple reasons. It not only marks the halfway point for my rotation, but the ASHP Strategic Planning Retreat also took place this week, and I have 3 weeks left until graduation!
The ASHP Strategic Planning Retreat is an annual meeting that lasts a day and a half where ASHP staff, ASHP Section and Forum Chairs, and members of the ASHP Board of Directors come together to discuss ASHP’s future strategic plans. This meant that pharmacists and technicians from across the country met at ASHP headquarters to discuss the future of pharmacy and I was able to attend!
The retreat was a mixture of presentations and break-out groups. I was initially overwhelmed by all of the past ASHP Presidents, directors, and impressive leaders I was meeting, but I soon learned how down to earth and personable they all were. The break-out groups were structured where we really had to work as a team to answer reflective questions to report back to the main group. I have never experienced such high-level thinking about the pharmacy profession, but at the same time, I have never felt more excited about where the future of pharmacy can go!
The ASHP Strategic Planning Retreat was admittedly intense and slightly overwhelming to experience as a student, but I am so glad I was able to attend and will remember this experience for years to come.