MRMs have always been special to Nancy Alvarez: as a student, APhA–ASP leader, faculty member, and on the APhA Board of Trustees. Here she is pictured with students from Chapman University during the 2017 Region 8 MRM.
By Nancy Alvarez, PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA
Thinking about “what if” can be easily linked to regret. However, it also can be linked to reflection of gratitude for having made a seemingly insignificant choice in the present that is positively impactful beyond measure well down the road. Perhaps this reads overly dramatic, but it is entirely true and frames my thoughts around the APhA–ASP Midyear Regional Meetings (MRM).
In fall 2018, I attended the APhA–ASP MRM for Region 8 (coined as “Region Great” by a former MRM Coordinator a few years back) in Stockton, CA. As I was visiting with student pharmacists in attendance, it occurred to me that this year marked 30 years since I attended my first Region 8 MRM in San Francisco, CA. I was overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings that set off a cascade of memories and related contemplations in the months that followed.
You see, as we continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of APhA–ASP this year, MRMs have not only played a crucial role in the history of the Academy, they have also been a meaningful part of my life as a student pharmacist and career as a pharmacist.
The hot pink flyer
So “what if” I did not know anything about pharmacy except what was required to get into the University of Arizona? So “what if” I did not know I was not done with chemistry coursework? So “what if” I did not know I would need to conduct a PharmD research project during my fourth year of pharmacy school? Sophisticated student pharmacist readers may scoff at the naiveté I embodied the first week of pharmacy school in August 1988. These realities conspired to result in a cataclysmic meltdown of epic proportions in my young life. I cried and cried until I was dehydrated and inconsolable. This was only week 1. “Oh, whatever would I do?” was the worry that weighed on my mind.
It is said that everything “bad” can look much better in the morning after a good night sleep (and binge eating and shopping, in my case). At the time, Arizona was the only pharmacy school in the state and admitted not more than 50 people per year. It occurred to me in the dawn of a new day that there was likely someone out there managing disappointment that she was not admitted because I was. I returned from the weekend resolved to have a different experience for week 2 even if I had no idea what specifically I would do.
There it was, posted on the wall outside the lecture hall. A hot pink flyer communicating the first APhA–ASP meeting of the semester, where travel to San Francisco for the 1988 MRM would be discussed. It caught my eye. Perhaps attendance at this meeting could help me, I thought. I needed to do something, because I took someone’s seat in the Class of 1992.
San Francisco, 1988
The student experience I encountered was well beyond what I imagined. I was able to meet and be seen by the APhA–ASP National Officer in attendance (Carol Giltner). I was able to meet APhA staff. I learned about the policy process, pharmacy’s version of School House Rock’s “Bill on Capitol Hill.” I saw examples of how running for regional office looked. I saw how sophisticated the regional officers appeared, especially the MRM Coordinator Michael Pavlovich. I met students from all over the region.
Career trajectory successfully shifted! Sign me up for APhA1989!
Something old, something new
While the APhA–ASP mission and basic framework largely remain the same, programming comprising the MRMs has reflected the rich and diverse offerings of APhA–ASP as the Academy has evolved and strengthened over the years. Over the course of about 40 hours, the meeting delivers a plethora of opportunities for individual professional growth, and for the collective, advances both the Academy and pharmacy profession. The presidential theme for the year is threaded throughout and serves as the energy for the meeting and connection between the eight regions.
Today, student pharmacists are exposed to programming around career development where they hear from pharmacists engaged in various career roles and postgraduate training such as residencies and fellowships. Students also learn from each other how to successfully execute patient care projects in their communities.
Leader development has always been a hallmark of the MRMs, and it has taken shape in the past decade in the form of the APhA–ASP Leadership Training Series. Student pharmacists interested in serving as a regional officer engage in campaign activities; numerous future leaders of the profession have gotten their start at MRMs over the decades. The APhA–ASP policy process also unfolds at MRM, where chapter resolutions are discussed, considered, and voted upon.
Above all else, student pharmacists have had the opportunity to broaden and deepen their community of friends and peers. Students who take a “road trip” from their home chapter have a chance to know one another better during their travel time outside of the fixed schedule/location of school. Upon arrival at the meeting, they can meet students from other chapters across the region and forge relationships with APhA staff, other chapter advisors, and national and regional officers, APhA Board members, and other pharmacists in a more intimate forum in most cases.
For repeat attendees, the MRMs have served as a reunion to reconnect with individuals met previously. It is a joyful sight to see students from the same region meet up again, particularly if they agreed to meet at the MRM when last they saw one another.
Blink and 30 years pass
Exhilarating. Stimulating. Satisfying. Exhausting. Fun. Five words to describe what an MRM weekend can be. Oh, and add an Escape Room and you will have a line of sight to my MRM2018 Region 8 experience! However, I did find myself merrily daydreaming once or twice during the weekend wondering “what if” today’s programming was offered during MRM1988, MRM1989, and MRM1990, and how I might have benefited. Hmm ...
It is 30 years later, and it is my opinion that the MRMs continue to be the essential, driving force for student pharmacist development. I wish for every student pharmacist the chance to be exposed to the regional world of pharmacy outside of their school or college of pharmacy sphere. While attending an MRM can feel like a whirlwind and possibly a little stressful, particularly if there are assignments/exams/quizzes awaiting the attendee in the subsequent week, the impact that attendance can have is remarkable. Not convinced?
Ask a student who has attended. Ask those who are currently serving as regional officers. Ask a new practitioner who has returned to the MRM to present or facilitate a session or simply to connect to others in attendance. Ask me should I have the good fortune to meet you face to face. I will do what I can not to overwhelm you with my enthusiasm for MRMs.
Other reflections I have from that time include my second MRM, held in Salt Lake City, where there were fewer than 20 people in attendance, including officers, staff, and guests. I was elected as a Regional Delegate and again my trajectory shifted positively. Further, as a member of the 1991–92 APhA–ASP National Executive Committee, I attended four MRMs and could not believe how large the Region 3 MRM was—a mini APhA Annual Meeting!
I want every student pharmacist, especially those who might relate to my story, to experience the MRM weekend. Through the lens of an APhA Trustee and as a faculty member, I can still relate to the MRMs because they provide a point of shared connection between myself and student pharmacists. I can learn with and from them. I offer to them an example of how sustained, career-long participation in APhA can look. My community has been enriched and expanded, particularly as students grow into new practitioners and beyond. I can feel great pride in seeing how other MRM peer attendees I trained with or who came shortly after I did have risen in their chosen paths.
In short, the MRMs continue to be the only meeting designed specifically to focus upon delivering value to student pharmacists and to showcase the varied facets of the Academy in one action-packed weekend. “What if” I was well-versed in all things pharmacy when I entered pharmacy school? “What if” I did not attend my first APhA–ASP meeting in response to a hot pink flyer? “What if” APhA did not invest in hosting these meetings? I wonder how different my career trajectory would have been. Curiosity quickly changed to gratitude that I never have to know the answers to these questions.
So how about you? It’s time to register for MRM2019. Go to https://mrm.pharmacist.com and maybe I will see you in Region 8!
Nancy Alvarez, PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA, is Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Academic and Professional Affairs at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy–Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, AZ.