The East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy came into existence because of pharmacists and community members who advocated for a pharmacy school in northeast Tennessee. Advocacy helped establish our college and will change the way we practice when we graduate. Our APhA–ASP Chapter has found ways to inspire student pharmacists to become advocates one step at a time at the local, state, and national level. This course of action led us to
receive the 2013–14 APhA–ASP Chapter Policy And Legislative Award at APhA2015 in San Diego.
Locally
Advocating in your community is a great place for student pharmacists to start. American Pharmacists Month (APhM) in October is an easy first step to become an advocate by spreading the word about the profession.
Each October, our chapter reaches out to the community and students at the ETSU undergraduate campus through a billboard, radio commercials, sidewalk chalk messages, and signage. All of our patient care projects host events where student pharmacists can talk to patients about what pharmacists can do for them. We also coordinate a mayoral proclamation recognizing
October as APhM in Johnson City.
Statewide
Establishing a relationship with your state association gives your chapter another outlet for advocacy. The Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) and the Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists (TSSP) have provided our members with opportunities to attend conferences and learn about advocacy and professional development. Through TPA and TSSP, many student pharmacists have spoken with state representatives about state and national issues. The student pharmacists also conducted office visits and participated in health fairs at the state capitol to engage representatives and senators.
Letter-writing campaigns are an easy way for student pharmacists to become advocates. Most campaigns use a basic template and a personal statement that can be easily added to send a meaningful message to elected officials. Our chapter participated in a campaign for collaborative pharmacy practice in Tennessee, where our Legislative Action Committee assisted APhA–ASP members with writing their letters. Across the state, student pharmacists sent 503 letters, 75 of which came from ETSU chapter members.
Nationally
Our chapter believes every student pharmacist should attend at least one APhA–ASP Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM) or APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition. It is inspiring to meet others who are passionate about policy and to witness how students impact the profession.
Hosting policy events with food is a great way to get members engaged in the process. In early fall, our chapter hosts a “Policy and Breakfast” event to talk about advocacy and the policy process, and brainstorm for policy resolution topics. It is important to understand that policy ideas do not have to be extraordinary; policies come from everyday things that can be improved upon, such as sharing between states with prescription drug monitoring databases and pharmacists’ stance on tobacco products. We also have a “Pizza and Policy” event before MRM, where the whole chapter comes together to discuss their opinions about all of the policy resolutions in the region.
Another easy way to engage your chapter is participating in the APhA Back the PAC campaign. Our chapter fundraises primarily through lunch fundraisers. These fundraisers are a huge hit and allow our members to educate student pharmacists, faculty, and staff about current pharmacy issues.
Taking it to another level
This summer, our chapter submitted its first ever TPA policy proposal focused on overuse of opioids. Our Generation Rx committee has been working with Project REVIVE! in Virginia, an outreach program that provides training to laypeople about the administration of intranasal naloxone to patients who have overdosed on opioids.
Tyler Finocchio, a final-year student pharmacist at ETSU and TSSP delegate, wanted to take our chapter’s regional efforts further and emphasize the role pharmacists can play in preventing opioid overdose deaths in Tennessee. Chapter TSSP members-at-large and delegates wrote and submitted a resolution to TPA during the organization’s annual meeting in July, which passed in a unanimous vote. “Our resolution became the first TPA resolution submitted by ETSU student pharmacists. To me, that was very exciting and goes to show the need for student pharmacists to become even more involved in policy and the impact we can have in shaping our profession’s future,”
Finocchio said.
Advocacy is something everyone should play a part in and our APhA–ASP Chapter has worked hard to inspire members to contribute. Seeing the impact we have made shows that hard work, at any level, pays off!