Rajan Vaidya with APhA Immediate Past President Nancy Alvarez (left) and APhA President Nicki Hilliard at APhA headquarters.
By Rajan Vaidya, PharmD
If someone had asked me when I started pharmacy school, “Do you see yourself working and living in Washington, DC?,” I would have laughed. But a few years and a move later, as a newly minted PharmD, I found myself living in the nation’s capital and training as the APhA Foundation Executive Resident.
Understanding my responsibility
Throughout pharmacy school, I positioned myself to be ready for a specific career path, which entailed completing a PGY1/PGY2 and working my way up pharmacy administration. Through my initial interactions with pharmacists, I was convinced that there were only a few acceptable paths that a student pharmacist should consider and that a residency or fellowship was the only way to move forward. I share this at a time that many final-year student pharmacists are going through the process of identifying the next step in their professional (and personal) lives.
A combination of a fortuitous road trip with an inspiring pharmacy leader and challenging myself to truly identify my passion led me to understanding my responsibility. As a pharmacist, I need to serve my patients in a position that embraces my personal values, skills, and strengths. I realized my true path as a pharmacist is directly tied to my ability to help other pharmacists serve their patients better. Although I may not deal with patients on a day-to-day basis, the projects, programs, and research I participate in directly impact the pharmacy profession by ensuring that pharmacists across the nation enhance their ability to care for patients.
Inspired by students
As I reflect with a few months under my belt, I realize how fortunate I am to teach and learn from some of the most inspiring and compassionate student pharmacists in the profession. Whether they are final-year student pharmacists on rotation or a first-year student pharmacist looking to learn about APhA, each person offers professional and personal growth for myself. Also, I gain insight on how and where the profession is advancing by working with an incredible APhA staff and leadership. As these individuals enter my life, I cannot help but be proud of where pharmacy is headed. Each of these pharmacists and student pharmacists have their unique passion and strengths that make them perfect for the roles and paths they have selected.
As for me, the position has taken me across the country from places I never thought I would visit to places I used to call home. Places like Fargo, ND, to work with a phenomenal group of students at the Region 5 Midyear Regional Meeting, to Anaheim, CA, to recruit for our next executive resident. The APhA Foundation Executive Residency in Association Management & Leadership continues to deliver on its promise of building leaders throughout health care. A quick search will find that our executive residency alumni take on amazing opportunities that enhance the profession. One of the common questions I receive daily is: where will the experience at APhA take me?
An advocate
As I consider the next step in my professional career, I am certain of one thing: my pharmacy calling is about making my mark on the profession by being an advocate for patients’ advocates—pharmacists. I hope to continue serving pharmacists and patients by understanding the challenges that patients face and enhancing patient outcomes through optimizing pharmacists delivered care. My role is to ensure that each of you can be the best pharmacist possible for your patients.
Through policy and regulations, health care delivery and patient experiences can be changed for the better. Most individuals go to pharmacy school to work directly with patients, however, the skills learned can be used in a broader sense, as long as pharmacists always put patients’ needs first. The health care landscape is rapidly evolving and pharmacists need to challenge the status quo and be active participants in the discussion. Pharmacists all play different kinds of roles within the profession, but collectively have the responsibility to define the profession’s future.