Enforcing Boundaries & Making Time to Learn Something New: Meet Kristi.

The transcript of this interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. If you prefer to watch the interview, you can do so on the Health Writing for Health Professionals YouTube channel.

Megan: Kristi, to kick us off, I would love to hear: how did health content writing get on your radar and what made you interested in pursuing it?

Kristi: Thank you for having me. I used to dabble in blogs. I would do a little piece on different medications based on questions that I got from my friends. But because I was doing so many other things, blogging was not the top thing on my list.

As I got older — in age and in pharmacy — I wanted to have something I could enjoy doing that would still allow me to be a pharmacist. So because I did enjoy blogging and I do enjoy talking to people about their health care, especially older adults, this just was a good fit. So when I saw [health content writing] I was like, okay, this kind of makes sense.?

Megan: So you saw the commonalities between what you are already doing as a pharmacist in the ways that you were able to engage with patients and what people were doing as health content writers, is that correct?

Kristi: Absolutely. And more towards the beginning of my career because now, I've evolved to where I do less patient contact. But I started in grocery pharmacy, that was the one thing I loved. I loved talking to and connecting with people, so being able to do that in person was great and then you transition here and it's just a good fit.

I don't get to do a lot of patient contact now, so just being able to do that allows me to be the traditional pharmacist so to speak.

Megan: That resonates with me a lot because being a public health pharmacist, and not having that patient interaction, but still enjoying that patient education, I've always been able to get that fulfillment through health content writing.?

So what was it that motivated you to join the Health Professionals to Health Writers Accelerator?

Kristi: I had a brief stint with you where we worked together for about five minutes maybe. laughs I was really impressed with your background and some of the things that you had done as a pharmacist. I had a lot of respect for you when I saw you on LinkedIn and started following you, I was like, okay, this sounds like something that I'm really interested in or something that I think would help me explore health content writing on a larger scale.?

Then I had another colleague that actually went through the accelerator in the early stages. And she had wonderful things to say about it. So 1) it was you, and I’ll circle back to that, 2) I heard nothing but great things, and 3) it just seemed to fit.

Going back to you, I’ve always felt like when you promoted Health Professionals to Health Writers, it's always been genuine. It was never about you. It was about propelling the profession forward. It was about, hey, you're a pharmacist, but that doesn't mean you can't write, or you can't learn to write, or you can't be in this space.

And that, to me, was someone opening the door and saying, think about this again, because this is something that you can probably do. So I was very interested and I reached out.?

Megan: Thank you, that's really nice to hear, because it definitely is one of the reasons why I created the program. I knew how hard it was for me to transition into health content writing, and I was already a medical writer!

And so, I'm like, well, I want other healthcare providers — and pharmacists in particular — to be able to do this, but knowing all the roadblocks that are ahead and also knowing how pharmacists tend to be perfectionists and needs to know all the answers upfront… laughs

I'm like, I got to help my people because they can do this, but they don't know they can do this yet.

So yeah, I appreciate that message gets across effectively, because that's exactly what I've tried to convey. So you made the decision to enroll in the program, and a lot of times when you make that kind of decision, some of the doubt starts to creep in before you actually get a chance to get started.?

For you, what were the concerns or the doubts that were like, oh man did I mess up? What was it that was going through your head before you started the accelerator? And maybe even in some of the early months because the early phases are still kind of like, “Do I know what I'm doing? Why did I sign up for this?” laughs

Kristi: So for me it was, “Am I doing too much?” because I can be a busy body, right? I'm involved in other things outside of work. You can really pack 24 hours if you want to and absolutely get no sleep.

At the time, I was also working on a certification and so I wasn't sure how hard that was to ramp up and study. So for me initially the first thing was excitement, then, “Oh, wait a minute, did I pick the right time?”

And then with writing, it was “Can I be this?” I didn't know what to expect. Like you said, we like to be in control, we like to know the end result. So I was just wondering if I would be successful.

Megan: How did you navigate the time concerns as you were going through the program? Because there are times when you're learning a lot, but it's a manageable amount. And then there's a period where I tell y'all, okay, the accelerator is about to accelerate. So get ready. And I know the middle part of the program can be very intense. So how did you manage that with your busy schedule?

Kristi: I had to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with myself and the people that were in my life. So I had to make a commitment to myself to say, okay, I'm going to do this. The only way that I wouldn't be here is if I had a work commitment or something that I could not get out of. But I wouldn't choose brunch over this or the movies, or watching TV…?

And then I had the conversation with my family. I shared with them what I was about to do, what it entailed. And you would hear “no” from me.

I had to be okay with saying no and then sticking to that. I had to be okay with missing things. And then also saying no to myself, because sometimes the battle is with yourself, right? It's like, I had a long day, work. Now I gotta go to class. Are you kidding me? I had to piggyback off when I went to school after pharmacy school. I went back and got my masters and I went at night. That was already ingrained in me and had been a while, so I just pulled that back out.

Now, you talked about when things got a little fast. I mean, it was like, whoa, look I need a break. laughs And it was like, we had had a break. Then it felt like all of a sudden, it was like 85 things to do.?

It's so funny as I sit here now and you know, just having turned in a first edit on something… All the things that I think about from that whole journey; it’s funny now, but back then it was intense.

Megan: Yeah, I appreciate that you're able to look back and see and say, I understand why she did this. I understand why it has to be this way. Because I tell ya, I'm tired too! Honestly, sometimes I’m like, “Ugh, we got class tonight. Okay, I gotta be there, we're gonna show up.”?

I don't necessarily love having to give y'all such tight deadlines, but I know that it's for a reason. I know how the experience is gonna be when you're working with a client. I know that you're gonna have to be juggling this and that. So everything is designed the way that it is for a reason, but it does get intense.?

I appreciate you sharing how you not only established and enforced boundaries, but prior to that, you established expectations upfront. Like, “Hey, this is what you can expect from me over this next, you know, six months, four months, however long.”?

I remember on the kickoff call, when I go around and I ask everyone what they need to personally see or feel or feel in order to show up in the experience wholeheartedly. And I remember you saying those expectations, those boundaries, and that commitment. You said that on that first day, and I saw nothing but that throughout the program.

So that was something that stuck with me — to see you actually exercise that for six months, it was like, yeah, she's in it, and it paid off!

How did you feel as you were going through the program? What were one or two things that stuck out to you where you felt like, “I'm feeling more confident, I'm feeling myself growing, I noticed myself moving towards this goal…” What were those moments for you?

Kristi: I would say when we wrote the very first blog post. After I did that and we got the edits, I said, “Yes.” The didactic part — that was fine for me because I'm a student and I love to learn. Being able to be interactive was great for me. So having the quizzes, having the videos and then the talks after… all of that was great for my stimulation because I'm a visual person and so that works for me.

Once I turned in that blog and got the edits… Initially I was nervous, I'm not gonna lie. Was it right? Did I do it correctly? It was like all of a sudden you forgot everything. But when I got the feedback from my editor, it made me say, oh, I can do this!

Megan: What about the tougher moments? What kind of energy or sources of motivation did you muster up when those moments did get tough, whether it was like imposter syndrome creeping in, or deadlines, or whatever those tough moments were for you, how did you get through those? (Those do happen and I think it's important to talk about those, not just because they happen during the accelerator, but because they happen as a freelancer.)

Kristi: One thing I didn't mention is I had very high expectations of myself. I said I’m making this investment in myself, so I expect this. And not so much a [monetary] figure, but you expect the best from yourself. You’re at a good place, you feel confident, you feel ready to pick up the pen or the laptop and go.

In writing that first blog, I drew a blank. I had a whole meltdown. I even felt like I lost my knowledge as a pharmacist. In moments like that, I would take a step back and say, “Okay, let me walk away from this, let me figure this out.”

What I figured out was that it was the environment. I operate better with noise of some sort. So I thought being in my normal [noisy] environment would be good for me when writing. It's not.

I’m now Ms. Lo-Fi Beats, Hip hop, Classical. As long as it's that, I can get in a groove.

The other thing is, I have moments where I had imposter syndrome — either from not being able to write or forgetting something or having a whole mishap with potential clients or with the class — and I literally cried. I'm still human.

When you have such high expectations and you don't meet them for yourself, right? Or for you! Part of what we do and our success inadvertently does come back to you.

And so even though I may have my personal “why” for doing the accelerator, I had the expectation of making you proud. I don't want you to have a cohort of pharmacists and healthcare professionals and then we aren’t doing anything or we go through the whole thing and nothing happens. Luckily we did have someone that we could connect with in the cohort that we could talk to. I had a couple of people that I could go to when I was feeling down or frustrated or felt like I made a mistake and they were able to kind of help talk me through it.

It's not going to be perfect. I don't care how smart, how talented you are, things are going to happen.

And you said something: “What’s for you is going to be for you. Cry, scream, do whatever you need to do but then move on. We have to move on. We can’t get stuck in that part of time.”

Megan: One of the things I enjoyed the most about working with your cohort is the fact that you all really leveraged each other as sources of inspiration, learning, sharing, venting, crying…

I appreciate being able to share what I learned and what I know what I've experienced with y'all, but being able to have those people that you're able to be vulnerable with, who are in the same boat as you, in the same experience, I think it's invaluable.

And I encourage all my cohorts to build those relationships, but I think they really stuck with y'all, like I really saw you leverage them. I felt like a proud mom!

If you have to think back to one or two things in your experience — whether during or after the program — what are the things you're most proud of having accomplished?

Kristi: During the accelerator, definitely, my portfolio. I thought I picked some unique topics and feel like my portfolio was pretty strong and has done well for me. After the accelerator, it was being able to talk to so many people and seeing the power of the things you told us to do, that you pushed us to do…?

Megan: …that y’all didn’t want to do laughs...

Kristi: laughs It's funny now because things you used to look at as a chore all make sense. I love the schedule that I have, the discipline that I've grown with this part of my life. I've always had discipline at work, but having discipline in being a freelance writer has been really good for me and it's proven to be productive.

I've had several conversations and been able to enjoy some early successes coming out of the cohort.

Megan: Congratulations. What would you say to other pharmacists or other health care providers who are considering the accelerator — any words of advice that you would give them?

Kristi: You definitely want to make sure you're not doing two things at once. I would not have tried to do this while doing my certifications. I think that's a lot. It pulls you in two different ways.?

Make sure this is something that you really want to do. Talk to some different writers. That's what I did. I actually talked to my coworker, asked about it. Ask those questions. Ask questions that you may not feel comfortable asking [Megan].

I would definitely ask other freelance writers or other people that have been in the program or do write what are some of the things that they enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about being in this program.

I recommend it to people who are already passionate. And I'm like, this may be for you.

You know, you want to definitely check out the videos. Because you can't really tell from one post something you want to do, but you have a library of videos, so I always tell people to check out the videos.

But if you are passionate about talking to people, telling stories… I love telling stories. I'm very open. I like to see people be healthy, do better… And if you like being able to take information that is difficult to navigate and make it easier for people to read, this is definitely something that you'll want to get into.?

And we should! We're pharmacists. Why should we be able to write about health, about medications we know?

Megan: Could not agree more. That was really good advice. Can you let us know a little bit about what kind of writer you are? What kinds of companies are you excited about working with? And what are you excited about moving forward to 2024??

Kristi: I currently write blog posts on chronic health conditions for adults. My parents are older adults so I really do appreciate having the opportunity to tell stories and make that information easier for people to read and know more about. I’m currently working with GoodRx on some chronic conditions content as well, so I'm excited about that.

I have a couple of other calls in the works and am working with some other clients behind the scenes. I'm excited to see what may come of that.

So hopefully some new news next week on something that I have going on. But right now, just contributing to GoodRx.?

I like to share stories about different health conditions that's going on. Right now the big things are the weight loss injections. So you'll see me write a lot about that as well as things that my mom actually wants me to write about because she enjoys this as much as I do. That's probably who I work for: my mom.?

But in 2024, I'm looking to continue to extend my client portfolio and create some more content around health and chronic health conditions.

Megan: I love that, Kristi. Thank you so much for joining us. I’m inspired by your journey, your story, your excitement, your enthusiasm for what you do. It was an honor to work with you and I look forward to staying in touch as you continue to grow as a writer.

Kristi: Absolutely, thank you so much. I would not be here if it was not for your guidance and leadership, so I do appreciate it and I look up to you. Thank you so much, Megan.

Megan: Thank you, Kristi.