By Christine Hong, PharmD
The pursuit of leadership and leadership development has been a significant part of my professional growth. My career trajectory began at the student pharmacist level through professional organizations, where I became very involved by taking on as many leadership roles as I could. However, a key part of my career path involved remaining active professionally as a newly graduated pharmacist. This was vital for me and the direction of my career, where I continued to network outside of my practice setting and further developed the advocacy and leadership skills I’ve gained through student-level involvement.
Organizing and directing professional events, being impactful in the community, working on sustainable projects, and being as motivated as I could be all contributed to growing different facets of my leadership as a new practitioner.
What you’ll find in your personal journey is that every stage requires hard work and people skills.
My leadership path
As a new practitioner, I work diligently to apply what I learned throughout the pharmacy curriculum at the Texas A&M College of Pharmacy to practice, and those efforts did not go unnoticed. At the same time as I was advancing in my career as a community pharmacist, I was also progressing with my advocacy and involvement with the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA) and APhA. With TPA, I began by being involved in the Public Policy and Association Affairs Councils for several terms and eventually became a board director.
With APhA, I was the chair of the Immunizing Pharmacists Special Interest Group Advocacy Committee for two terms, which then led to the role of new practitioner officer and chair of the Pharmacy Residency and Fellowship Standing Committee (PRFSC). Within PRFSC, I prioritized collaboration with other new practitioner groups to promote member engagement, residency and fellowship-focused communities, and resources. During this time, a few notable deliverables included holding APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition events on career paths for student pharmacists and new practitioners, and a residency/fellowship FAQ session, as well as resources such as CV strategy and LOI infographics.
Own what you do
There are many different faces of leadership, but one component remains consistent. What I advise all newly licensed pharmacists is that your own personal career path will depend on your importance of ownership, which is a key part of leadership. Own what you do, be proud of your vocation as a Doctor of Pharmacy, and put quality into your work because success will follow.
I believe it’s been the driver of my career trajectory and hope this proves impactful as you navigate your own professional journey.
Christine Nguyen, PharmD, is the regional pharmacy director of the North West Food & Drug Division at H-E-B Pharmacy in Dallas. She is chair of the Pharmacy Residency and Fellowship Standing Committee and the 2024–2025 New Practitioner Officer. She is passionate about pharmacy advocacy and new practitioner and student engagement, and is involved in her state and local pharmacy associations. Outside of pharmacy, she enjoys reading, painting, and traveling the world with her husband.