By Nimit Jindal
What a treat it was for Ami Simunovich, PharmD, JD, and I, two APhA–ASP National Executive Committee members who hail from Rutgers University, to sit down for a friendly conversation on embracing your calling and advice for today’s student pharmacists. Ami, the 2003–04 APhA–ASP Speaker of the House and current Chief Regulatory Counsel at Becton Dickinson and Company in Franklin Lakes, NJ, knows a thing or two about what it is like to be a busy professional, so students should take heed when she suggests that sometimes you have to “stop and smell the roses.”
The final installment of my Embrace Your Calling Q & A interview is below. I hope you enjoy it.
Nimit Jindal (NJ): What does “calling” mean to you?
Ami Simunovich (AS): A calling from a professional career perspective is work that aligns with your core values and personal mission in life. It’s something that energizes you and makes you feel good at the end of the day. It’s something that makes you feel like you made a meaningful difference or impact. At the end of the day, when you go to sleep, you feel like, “If today was my last day, I am proud about what I did and what I spent my time doing.”
NJ: It’s hard to know what makes you happy while you are in pharmacy school. So, when you were in pharmacy school, how did you go about trying to discover your calling? How did you know when you had found your calling?
AS: In pharmacy school, there is so much information that you must digest to do well academically that it is difficult to find time to reflect on what aspect of the pharmacy profession will ultimately make you happy. I kept focusing on what would allow me to use my talents and education to have the most impact on patients. That’s when I started to get involved in policy and advocacy. After witnessing how some pharmacists were not engaged in health care reform or educating others about the role of the pharmacist in a health care system, I was motivated to do something and get involved in the conversation. I thought I had a unique perspective to have a voice in discussions about regulating the practice of pharmacy and advancing health care for patients.
I found the more I learned about laws impacting health care and how to advocate for certain positions, the more I enjoyed it. I then found myself getting involved in APhA–ASP. That’s where I could think about topics outside of the academic environment and work with other students on how to make an impact. That’s how I found my calling.
I learned that if I didn’t speak up, somebody else would, and they might not be as well-informed on the topic. What began as a student activity or interest ultimately led me to pursue a law degree. I appreciated that being a decision-maker on some of these topics required having the right educational background to be in the room with others to say, “Hey, this is the right position for these reasons,” and to have the credibility, perspective, and educational and professional background to persuasively articulate what I felt was the right position to advance health care and pharmacists role in that advancement.
NJ: A lot of student pharmacists may have this plan about where they want to be in 5 to 10 years, but the pathway is very unclear. Sometimes we might rationalize certain career decisions as a “means to an end.” At what point is that a viable state of mind versus something we should get out of?
AS: It really comes down to what your overall life strategy is and how do you evaluate that at these different stages of your life. As a student, my path was not always clear. I actually had a law professor who told me, ‘Ami, you’re going to set a career plan that you think is right for you, but the most interesting paths are those that are not set out.’ Where I am today is a little bit of luck, a lot of hard work, a lot of guidance and mentorship, but by no means was it something I had penned out and created in pharmacy school. I never would have imagined where I am today. What I wanted for myself was to be in a place where I could enjoy my work, where I could give back, where I could be challenged, and where I could add value every day. I wanted to use the talents that I was given, develop those talents, and make a difference no matter how small.
You should certainly set goals and plans for yourself, but look at them as flexible and adaptable. For me, it was important to not only obtain certain academic credentials and experience, but also ensure that when I was in a room speaking on a topic, others would listen and consider my viewpoint. In order to have that type of influence or leadership impact, I knew I had to work hard. Part of my goal was to get to a certain academic stage so that I would be looked at as credible, intelligent, somebody who was thinking outside of the box, and somebody who had the CV to be picked for that activity or position.
If you are working at a job and you are consistently miserable, that is unacceptable. It is okay to try something and then decide it is not right for you. There is no right or wrong path or plan as long as you make it your own.
NJ: Student pharmacists are responsible for a lot. When you were a student pharmacist, how did you balance the feeling of fear that you may have felt?
AS: I think I was able to cope and manage that feeling of fear through a strong support system. Even though I recall being independent in college, I still remember having quite a few heart-to-heart conversations with my parents, my sister (who also went to pharmacy school!), and a core group of friends who were feeling the same way. We were able to talk through a lot of these things. The hard part of being a student is that on some days you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and you think that some decisions you make will define where you go. That is not always the case. Every decision is important, but what’s more important is your overall vision and your overall view of yourself. Taking the time to figure out who you are and staying authentic to you is more important than a single decision, or your performance on a single exam. You have to recognize that taking some detours are okay, as it may lead you to discover more about yourself.
As a student, relish the time to do fun things, to explore hobbies that may interest you, to spend time with family and friends that make you a better person, to enjoy life, and make sure to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments and all the hard work you have put into obtaining your Doctor of Pharmacy degree. It is in those moments you will find yourself, and it will be easier to face that feeling of fear you may be facing.
NJ: If you had to go back and do this again, or if you had to provide advice to student pharmacists, what would you say?
AS: The advice I would give to students is to find and know yourself. Take the time to know who you are and what makes you happy. Do not be overly influenced by everyone’s opinions, including even your family, friends, and mentors. They can give you advice, but at the end of the day, you have to digest it, make your own decisions, and be true to yourself. Nobody else defines your path in life. You do. Getting a lot of input is valuable, but you have to make your own choices that are right for you.
Students are doing a million things. It’s crucial to take the time to self-reflect. It’s important to take some time to figure out who you are and to make sure you are aligning yourself with the right support system—people who are supportive of your life mission whatever it may be. Take some time for yourself, and don’t be so hard on yourself.
NJ: You talk a lot about self-reflection. I hear it all the time that people should self-reflect, but what does a self-reflection seminar for you look like?
AS: You know, I used to be very cynical about this. My father (also a pharmacist!) would often tell me, ‘Ami, you need to take time to be quiet and just sit there in thought.’ And I would think that it wasn’t realistic. I would say that I never had that kind of time and there was always something more important I had to do. It was not until I started my career that I truly appreciated the advice. By taking time to self-reflect or attend a seminar that forces you to pause and think about yourself, you are able to critically think about whether you are aligning your career path or life path in the direction that is authentic to you and your core values. It also helps you to determine whether you are happy with your choices or may need to make decisions to change course to get back on path.
Most successful leaders I’ve met are advocates of spending time quietly, either reading self-awareness books, reflecting on your performance over the past year, or just sitting down and writing about what you did this past year and what it is that you wanted to do. Now I appreciate that this self-reflection helps to make sure that you are in tune with yourself and your core.