Jamila Negatu / Monday, January 22, 2018

The start to your LEGACY

Image created by Alyssa Hopsicker.

The dictionary ultimately defines “legacy” as something that is passed down or conveyed from one person to another. To me, legacy is more than that. It is a way to make meaningful, lasting contributions to the communities that pharmacists serve with the goal to make them better. To achieve these goals, professional conferences such as Midyear Regional Meetings (MRM) provide opportunities to share ideas, get inspired, and continue to improve the lives of patients.

Each meeting provides leadership and learning sessions, themes, chances to network, opportunities to advance the profession of pharmacy, and policy development sessions.

“L”eadership/”L”earning

MRM2017 started off with an interactive discussion on the national theme “Begin Your Legacy.” Creating a vision, listening to the voice in your head, and including three components—career, community, and wellness—can help create your legacy. A TED Talk by Laura Vanderkam, a time management expert, was shown to introduce a discussion on practical strategies to find more time for what matters and to “build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.”

Another theme discussed at MRM2017 was the phrase “Pharmacy is a small world, it is not just what you know but who you know,” during the Leadership Training Series presentation. Networking is not always easy and meeting someone new can be a worrisome experience. This presentation put networking in perspective, stating that, “If you don’t take the risk, you will know for sure that it will not lead you anywhere.” Attendees learned and practiced their “Twitter Pitch,” coined by author Daniel Pink, to use during the meeting and in future networking opportunities. This “Twitter Pitch” can eliminate the worry about bragging about success and focus on self-introduction with possible goals for the meeting addressed.

Them“E”

Each MRM is unique for its

networking reception theme. The regional themes for MRM2017 included:

Region 1: Ancient Olympic-themed games

Region 2: CITYSCAPE

Region 3: Hidden treasure

Region 4: IndyRX 500

Region 5: Carnival

Region 6: Harry Potter

Region 7: Great Gatsby-inspired party “Great Pharmsy”

Region 8: “Pharma-Con”

Networkin“G”

“But first … let me take a selfie.” Throughout MRM, there was a selfie challenge to network with attendees. The weekend was not only about networking socially, but also professionally. Chapter officer breakout sessions were provided to discuss what works and what doesn’t work within each chapter. Through discussion, each chapter shared ideas that challenged and inspired each other to advance future chapter events in addition to personal growth.

“A”dvance

One can directly advance the future of pharmacy by providing services and education to those within their community. In addition, the advancement of pharmacy can come from initiating a change that would benefit those around us. At MRM2017, patient care project awards were given to chapters that went above and beyond over the last year within their community. Awards also were given to recognize those APhA–ASP team members of each chapter that have made a difference in advancing the chapter and profession.

Poli“C”y

Another way to advance the profession is by participating in the policy process. For the policy process, student pharmacists came together as a collective voice to discuss policy proposals from each chapter. Avital Gurman, a first-year student pharmacist from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, stated: “My favorite part of the weekend was when each proposal was read and everyone had the opportunity to approach a microphone to ask questions or clarify proposals.

“Y”early

Now that you have attended MRM2017, it has to be exciting to see the advances and legacies created within the pharmacy profession. What are you waiting for? Begin Your Legacy now and do not regret missing out on an MRM. See you at MRM2018!

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