Before arriving at the ASHP headquarters in Bethesda, MD to complete my final APPE rotation as a student pharmacist, it was unbeknown to me how heavily involved students could be within a national association. Then I met Megan, a highly accomplished PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration resident, who I was fortunate enough to be co-externs with during our shared time on rotation together. And boy, did we end up being quite the dynamic duo! As I learned about all of her SSHP experiences and involvement as a student (and now as a resident), I started to doubt myself. Should I be more accomplished by this early stage of my pharmacy career?
These feelings of inadequacy continued on as I learned about the StrengthsFinder assessment by Gallup. I’m a bit surprised that I made it to this point in my educational training without any prior knowledge of this beneficial, self-assessment tool. Luckily, my new friends at ASHP have reassured me that it is never too late to engage in self-assessment. So after some encouragement from our colleagues, Megan and I decided we would each complete the survey and then discuss our results together. And wow, were we in for a treat!
It turns out my co-extern and I ended up having entirely opposite results in our strengths. My top five strengths were Harmony, Developer, Positivity, Empathy and Connectedness; all of which are encompassed within the relationship-building domain of strengths. In contrast, Megan’s ended up being Achiever, Strategic, Futuristic, Competition, and Focus; which are all well distributed between the other three domains of strategic thinking, influencing, and executing themes. Perhaps the most ironic part to us was that my lowest ranked strengths were Megan’s highest ranked strengths and vice versa. Which I couldn’t help but wonder, is this why she is so accomplished in her professional involvement?
With all of these questions running through my mind, I built-in time to pause and reflect. After some introspection, I recognize that my strengths center on genuinely connecting with people. During my time at ASHP, I felt at my greatest when I was able to edit an article for my colleagues, when I sat down and coached P3 students transitioning into their P4 year, when I was able to provide meaningful feedback through my project assignments, and now as I write about my vulnerability through this post. What is the common thread? I am happiest when I feel that I am providing a service to others. You may be wondering how I transfer these skills to association involvement. Through the help of various mentors during my last rotation as a P4 student pharmacist at ASHP, I have been encouraged to get involved in the online CV review program, become a blogger for ASHP Connect, become a mentor for other students, and attend more than just the Midyear Clinical Meetings. The opportunities for giving back to ASHP and to the pharmacy profession are truly endless.
As I think about Megan and everything that she has contributed to ASHP as a new practitioner, it gives me joy knowing that she is using her strengths to be involved and advocate for our profession. I admire her drive and I hope that we get to work together again in the future. We need each other because of our complementing strengths and I hope other new practitioner pharmacists are able to recognize the significance in their strengths differences. As the “Developer” in me comes out, I want to encourage students and new practitioners who may be struggling to figure out how to contribute in a meaningful way, by saying, it is never too late to get involved. Don’t let fear get in the way of applying for that advisory group or council position that you have had your eye on. Hone in on your strengths, shoot for the stars, and never doubt your value in this profession.
