By Nimit Jindal
You never know when or where you will find your passion. For Charlie Broussard, BSPharm, MEd, FAPhA, it was in a sociology class at Memphis State University, back in 1970. “We were discussing the fact that we as a nation had become a ‘throwaway society.’ Basically, we were talking about the people who were referred to as addicts and how they were being ignored by society,” Broussard remembered. “I don’t know what it was, but something inside of me just lit up to start looking into this and start learning about where our throwaway society was in my area.”
His passion ignited, Broussard embarked on a prestigious career in the field of chemical dependency as an educator and counselor. Honored on the state, national, and international levels for his significant contributions to pharmacists in recovery, Broussard has become a beloved faculty member and co-host of the APhA Institute on Alcohol & Drug Dependencies. I had the privilege of watching him in action at the APhA Institute this past June, and it is an honor to include Charlie in our discussions as part of my “Embrace Your Calling” series.
Nimit Jindal (NJ): Tell me some more about finding your passion in the field of substance use disorders.
Charlie Broussard (CB): During pharmacy school, I always found myself doing peculiar rotations. One of them was in an autopsy lab, where we took tissue samples and screened for drugs. A lot of the deceased were ‘street people’ and so I really began to reflect a lot on what’s going on when I started seeing drugs and alcohol as a cause of death. Even when I worked as a pharmacist, I found myself spending a lot more time in the emergency room with ‘street people’. Something just clicked for me. I had this ‘Ah-hah’ moment and I wondered how I could help the people with substance use disorder. That is how it started.
When I finished pharmacy school, I actually worked for a year and then joined a Catholic religious order. There was something a little deeper than just a calling to help, and so I embraced my calling by moving up to Dayton, OH, from Memphis, TN, where I studied theology for 2 years, and then took vows as a Religious Brother. In that time, I was teaching high school and worked with young people who were in recovery. I actually ended up working with the National Clergy Council on Alcoholism and served on their Board of Directors from 1979 to 1983, where we worked with Catholic priests, brothers, and sisters who were in recovery. It was an awakening moment for me.
I ended up leaving religious life after 10 years, and then returned to the practice of pharmacy. Attending a CE program on ‘Addiction within the Profession’ is where I discovered the Pharmacists Recovery Network in Ohio. I have always, for some reason, felt comfortable with people in recovery, and I just find that I seem to be drawn to them. Being involved with 12 step programs is where I learned more about spirituality, which is a lot different than religion.
NJ: What does ‘calling’ mean to you?
CB: We are all confronted by a calling to step out of our comfort zone into the unknown in order to thrive, to risk to coming alive. A quote I used in my presentation at the APhA Institute, by Nancy Dallavalle, PhD, Vice President for Mission and Identity at Fairfield University, has helped me navigate my retirement, but I think it applies to anyone discerning their calling:
‘I am being called today to a future I do not recognize and cannot comprehend—and the choice to hear that call requires a loss of control that I find terrifying. This call … will break my pre-formed categories. It will break my carefully honed decision matrix.’
Calling really has to do with what’s in your gut. It’s like where do you feel comfortable. I went to school in Tennessee, the ‘Volunteer State.’ From the time I was small, my parents and grandparents volunteered in our churches and schools. They were always doing things to help others. If my mom or dad was going to visit or help somebody, I tagged along. It was just a natural part of growing up. They taught me to step outside myself.
In AA they use the term ‘There was a hole in my soul.’ When I went through pharmacy school, I learned a lot, but something was missing. Similarly, there’s something inside of each of us that’s calling us to step outside of ourselves, to fill the hole in our soul.
NJ: Is it easier to accept your calling if you’ve accepted a form of a higher power?
CB: In AA, Al-Anon, and NA, we talk about a power greater than ourselves. Some might say God. In AA, they say if you don’t feel comfortable with a God, try G.O.D. (Group Of Drunks). Once you let go and accept that you are not alone and not the center of the universe, you are ready to be part of something greater than yourself. In July, when I retired from the hospital, I knew that if I stayed open to possibilities, something was going to open up. By surrounding myself with people who have a sense that there is something greater than themselves, within 2 weeks, I started volunteering at church, coordinating outreach ministry to the homebound and those in assisted living. I really enjoy this involvement.
NJ: How did you know you had found your calling?
CB: It just felt right. A simple example was when I bought my townhouse; I was searching and searching and searching. But when I stepped into the one I have now lived in for 30 years, I just knew, this was it. It’s got to come from the gut. When you are doing rotations, you might come across something that doesn’t feel right and might not be something you want to do. But then you might get to one and realize this is it. This is what I want to do. In life, when I am moving toward change, there seems to be are a lot of doors I have to push against. Some of them open a little easier than others. There are times I have taken the wrong path and have taken jobs where it might not float my boat. But I always stay open to those, just to see where it might take me. Today, I see this with some new graduates who are looking for the perfect job. They might find something good, but maybe not perfect. I always say take it and see how you can change it. If it feels right, go for it.
And building off of the perfect job concept, it is important to know that there are jobs and careers out there that you may not even know exist, and that may not exist presently. When I go to an APhA meeting and I talk to attendees, I am amazed by the kinds of work people are doing. If you don’t network, you aren’t going to learn about these opportunities.
NJ: You have talked about breaking your carefully honed decision matrix when embracing your calling. That sounds terrifying to do, to relinquish control. How do you manage that?
CB: The quote spoke to me most recently as I was thinking about retirement. It’s scary when you’re retiring. It’s kind of like doing a trust fall (falling backwards hoping you will be caught by others). I am the type that has to sneak and look back. We look at the future based on today. So, the scary thing is that so many things will not unfold until the future.
There are so many things changing in pharmacy in a positive way. In the future, pharmacists will be working as a bigger part of a health care team. In your lifetime, you will probably be writing prescriptions for some medications. With so many changes, my gut was telling me it is time to move on. Make room for the new grads. So, I have to take the now and move on. I described earlier, if you push through a door, and the door keeps pushing back, maybe that isn’t a door you’re supposed to go through. There are a lot of times when you put yourself out there, like when you are applying for a job, and that can be scary.
All of us can have some level of fear, but we can’t let it paralyze us. If you are afraid, it’s important to talk to others. My advice to people is to connect with others, go to APhA meetings, and get involved. If you isolate, you will become paralyzed. Isolation can be my worst enemy. Fortunately, I have been blessed with some great mentors who reached out to me when I was beginning to isolate.
Over the years, I have found that there are four basic impulses of life:
1. Enjoy being who you are. 2. Grow into a fuller person. 3. Give, to be creative and productive for others. 4. Receive, for the sake of others. Receiving is as important as giving. If we do not receive, we deprive others their ability to give.
NJ: How do you anticipate you will allow your calling to guide you in your future?
CB: Retirement doesn’t mean that I am dead. All I am doing is staying open to the possibilities and just changing what I am doing. Facing retirement was scary. All of a sudden, this retired hospital pharmacist is having to navigate his own Medicare Part D, but I am not doing it alone, my primary care pharmacist is now one of my new mentors. Staying a member of APhA, I am staying open to future possibilities. I am also realizing the future of the profession is in good hands.