Chris Federico |
Rhode Island Pharmacists Association president
It’s a Friday evening and your family is getting ready to travel across the country for a week to drop your child off at college. You are going through your checklist and realize mom will be running out of her blood pressure medication and dad tells you not to bring his favorite snack because his “sugar is high” and he can’t afford more insulin.
Even worse, college housing requires certain immunizations prior to arrival. This scenario is all too common and seemingly impossible to resolve overnight. Or is it?
The health care landscape is dynamic, and pharmacy is no different. Pharmacists and technicians are an integral part of the health care team, providing medication recommendations, disease-state education, immunizations and demonstrating millions in cost savings.
Rhode Island has pioneered incorporating pharmacists into primary and specialty care. But we can do more, and here’s how I approach scaling our impact:
• Do not compare yourself to others; you’ll always be let down.
• Failure doesn’t exist – it’s only a temporary delay to your goal.
• When there isn’t a seat at the table, create one and bring value.
• Build and maintain genuine relationships, give without expectations.
• Surround yourself with positivity; ignore negativity.
• Ask “why” or “why not” often.
My approach to creating change is like how I run marathons; persistence to complete it and patience to overcome the challenges over 26.2 miles. The role of pharmacy is changing for the better, and we will meet patients where they are along their race to better health!