Aisa Mrkulic is a final-year PharmD candidate at the St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Just 6 months ago, the combination of an APhA membership and unwavering determination afforded me the opportunity to share my work far and wide. It was courtesy of this very platform, Student Pharmacist, that I met a milestone: amid an ongoing pandemic, my written words had reached a national audience. I was officially a nationally published author! In terms of the editorial process, COVID-19 may very well have been harmless; for my experiential education, however, the virus proved virulent, persistently interfering.
Recently, I eagerly accepted an invitation to serve my first-ever APPE at APhA. Under the preceptorship of Brian Lawson, PharmD, associate executive director of the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS), I was to complete an elective rotation in association management and leadership. I looked forward to walking the halls of APhA Headquarters and making DC my home for 4 weeks.
COVID-19, however, had other plans. Instead, I mastered the art of email etiquette from the comfort of home.
Navigating association work
With the guidance of a supportive Dr. Lawson, I walked away with richer experiences than I imagined, even if they were virtual. While rotating, there was no pastime more enjoyable than picking the brains of board-certified psychiatric pharmacists, the chair of the Specialty Council on Psychiatric Pharmacy and Council members among them. Conversations with these key leaders ultimately inspired the BPS leadership blog post for the month of June. This was a first for me, as I had never written for a blog before.
Another first: navigating association work. From weekly huddles to less-frequent gatherings of pharmacy leaders, I was there for it all. It was quite the immersive experience. It was also not long before I adopted the BPS spirit of promoting the value of board certification. Research around pharmacist employer perceptions of board certification was of particular interest. The opportunity to discuss scant literature on the subject took the form of a formal journal club. BPS staff made quite the receptive audience. In attendance were friendly faces, old and new—all equipped with words of encouragement. Attendees posed thoughtful, pointed questions, which made for meaningful conversation. I walked away with an even greater appreciation for the open exchange of thoughts, opinions, and ideas, a hallmark of effective association work.
Seeing the profession in a new light
In the end, I was able to see pharmacy in a whole new light. Today, the need for self-advocacy as a profession is as clear as day. The pharmacy profession is only as valuable as it is perceived by others—be it the public, patients, fellow health care professionals, or employers. At the same time, we often stand in our own way. Practicing at the top of one’s license is a ubiquitous talking point, sure, but it is not without difficulty.
That said, seeds of self-doubt regarding postgraduate training and board certification have no place within the profession. There’s more to pharmacy than what’s behind the counter, and there’s just too much at stake.