An investment mentality

Recently, I had the opportunity to write an article for the February issue of Transitions, titled “Finding your best ‘yes’ as a new practitioner.” Shortly thereafter, I was asked to write a version for Student Pharmacist, since juggling responsibilities and opportunities is something that I struggled with far before adding the PharmD to the end of my name. My hope is to encourage you to make the most of your time as a student pharmacist. The approach I took during my 4 years of grad school is not the only approach, but it wound up working well for me.

Make the most of it

My pathway to pharmacy school was marked by some detours and shifts in career trajectory, so I began my program as a post-baccalaureate with a few more years of life experiences under my belt than many of my peers. As a result, I approached this next phase of education with a specific goal: to make the most of my last opportunity for student experiences and schedules because I knew that once pharmacy school was over, reality would set in. My biggest advice is to look at your time as a learner as an investment.

1. Invest in leadership opportunities. I got involved in organizational leadership early on because I knew that it would have a ripple effect in my professional development. I learned so much through trial and error, failure, disappointing people, success, and networking. For all of you introverts out there, leadership does not have to be an official position or require getting in front of a big group of people. Start small and see where it takes you.

I always encourage my students and mentees to just give it a shot—what’s the worst that can happen? You don’t secure the position you attempted? Some of my best learning experiences came from applying or running for a position that I ultimately was not successful in obtaining. You have a 100% chance of being unsuccessful if you don’t try.

2. Invest in service opportunities. Being involved in a rigorous academic pursuit can create a very insular perspective. It is easy to become obsessed with grades and classroom performance to the extent that you sacrifice opportunities to serve your community. The return on investment on your time spent studying versus serving requires a long-term perspective.

By sacrificing a couple of hours studying, you likely are having a negligible impact on your grades. By investing a couple of hours serving your community alongside your peers, you could be making a profound impact on someone’s health and mental and emotional well-being. In the grand scheme of things, serving your fellow humans will make a more profound impact than scoring a few points higher on that cardio exam.

3. Invest in your learning. Whenever you can, tailor your learning experiences to allow for personal growth. When I approached my APPE schedule, I tried to schedule rotations in experiences I was interested in as well as areas I knew I was weak in, because I knew this would be one of my last opportunities for unrestricted learning prior to taking the NAPLEX. Avoid the tendency to take the path of least resistance. Cultivating a mindset of a lifelong learner starts now because it certainly does not get easier once you become a practitioner.

Build your foundation

I recently came across the saying “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything,” and this is good to tuck away. If you find your responsibilities, relationships, and mental health suffering, you need to scale back. There were several times during pharmacy school that my friends had to stage a “busyness” intervention that, while not enjoyable, was needed. Find people like that and keep them in your life.

Maximizing your time as a student pharmacist also requires a good amount of introspection and decision making. Choosing activities just to pad a CV will get very old very quick. There were certainly times that the choices I made meant that I had a crazy schedule and a lot of stress, but those choices were also intentional investments into the career path I was pursuing and my own personal priorities, so to me, it was worth it.

Your time as a student is unbelievably short, so use those years as a foundation for the practitioner you want to become.