Pharmacy school is a time of personal and professional growth. To be successful, you need to have a vision for your future. However, balancing work, family, and school responsibilities; managing personal finances and relationships; setting and achieving academic goals; and maintaining emotional and physical well-being can prove difficult. How can you achieve personal and professional balance and success?

Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People addresses this question. I’ve adapted the “7 Habits” to assist you on your journey as a student pharmacist. I hope these habits will inspire your personal and professional growth as you join one of the world’s most trusted health professions.

Campbell University students assemble naloxone kits for distribution to high-risk populations through the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.

One benefit of being a member of APhA–ASP is that student pharmacists automatically receive membership in the larger pharmacy family of the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF).

An inspiration to her chapter, Madeline Salsman (left; pictured with Ellie Nazzoli) has excelled in leading Operation Immunization events in the Kansas City, MO, area.

Sometimes it can be hard to sit down and home in on the piles of responsibilities that come with being a student pharmacist. With the global pandemic and feelings of Imposter Syndrome added to the equation, many days seem overwhelming. Having a team beside me that repeatedly perseveres and achieves their goals not only gives me hope, but also motivates me to get to work and continue pushing through those difficult moments. 

One of my biggest inspirations is Madeline Salsman, a third-year student pharmacist and our chapter’s Operation Immunization chair. During her tenure so far, Madeline’s efforts on our APhA–ASP Executive Board have exceeded my expectations for what is possible with the limited in-person opportunities available. Her work has reached classrooms, radio stations, and the Kansas City community as a whole.

WSU student pharmacists are ready to test students when they return from holiday break.

In early September, just after fall semester began virtually at Washington State University (WSU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the main WSU campus in Pullman experienced a dramatic increase in the number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19. The WSU APhA–ASP Chapter was called on to participate in providing COVID-19 testing for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. Over one weekend, Chapter Patient Care Vice-President Shayne Fontes and I collaborated to help organize a group of student pharmacists to perform testing over a 3-day period. 

At this time, Pullman was recognized as having the fastest-growing number of COVID–19 cases in the country per population size, and hundreds of students were confirmed to be positive in just 2 weeks despite efforts to socially distance while the majority of classes were held virtually. With the help of our Chapter Advisor Jennifer Robinson, PharmD, chapter members collaborated with WSU’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and health services to test 573 students and provide more than $70,000 worth of health care for our fellow Cougars. The tests were offered free through a drive-through testing site next to the university president’s home in the heart of campus. 

Write every day, and make it a point to read daily, too. Why? The answer is simple: to fill up on knowledge is humbling. It is necessary for aspiring student pharmacists to adopt such an approach to daily living. You have been told countless times that lifelong learning awaits. Regardless of practice setting, you can expect to be called upon for the latest in medication therapy. But there will come a time when there are no classrooms or required readings—you will be a self-sufficient pharmacist. 

Much like journalists are accountable for following developing stories, so too are pharmacists. Recognize that pharmacists are only as well-equipped to champion their causes as these health care heroes are up to date on the latest advances. Otherwise, the pharmacist’s availability provides patients with access to what, exactly? It should be the goal of every pharmacist to empower patients, for it is only then that patients are able to take responsibility for, and control of, their health. One way to look after patients is to read daily and write regularly.