Leading with Fitness to Script Your Brand

by Molly Gavin, PharmD(c)

Being a FitPharmacist means optimizing our own health which will ultimately allow us to provide the best care our patients are deserving of.

 Throughout pharmacy school, I have continued to use working out as a way to optimize my health—fitness is such a powerful outlet!

It can be difficult for us pharmacy students in such a demanding program to find time to focus on ourselves, but it is necessary. Even if it is just a 15-minute yoga session, spending just those few minutes fueling the day ahead or releasing the day’s stresses has so many benefits.

We started a Health Behavior Challenge during my first year of pharmacy school that has stuck with me throughout the summer and into my second year, and my focus through that has been running. Running has been so effective for me in keeping my cardio in check as well as providing an option to incorporate a high-impact exercise into my workouts. It also allows me to enjoy the views of the outdoors—and you can do it anywhere!!

I highly recommend incorporating outdoor workouts into your workout (weather permitting of course), as it can leave you feeling rejuvenated after taking in the fresh outdoor air!

The reason I shared my fitness story is that it formed part of my foundation for starting my pharmacy career. I have used this to grow three main areas in my professional development: leadership, my personal brand, and becoming a Gen-Z Pharmacist.

1. Leadership:

Coming into pharmacy school, I wanted to establish myself as a leader and was eager to gain as much leadership experience as possible. The first opportunity that arose, I went for it and I knew that it could be the first step of my leadership journey. After all,

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" – Lao Tzu

I applied for the Vice President position of my Pharmacy Class and got elected! I deem this a huge honor and was flattered that I have the privilege to be a representative for my class.

Although I was ecstatic to be elected as Vice President of our class, I knew I did not want to stop there. I was motivated to obtain an elected position in an organization that would allow for me to get deeply involved with other student pharmacists while representing an organization at our school. So, I applied and successfully got elected to the Women’s Health Vice Chair position in the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). In this role, we are working to educate women about Women’s Health topics such as contraception methods, preventive screenings, vaccines, healthy relationships and more.

The Women’s Health Patient Care Project provides a resource for women of all ages to learn about ways they can maintain and improve their overall health and well-being.

This is such a rewarding project to be a part of, I enjoy educating and serving any person that seeks to learn more about the many aspects of Women’s Health.

At this point back in my first year of Pharmacy School, believe it or not… I was still yearning for more involvement! I chose to focus my energy on an organization that had provided me with an abundant amount of shadowing opportunities, so I decided to apply for an executive position in the Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PPA). Long story short, I was honored to be chosen as the Executive Vice President for PPA. In PPA, we seek to bring in speakers from all different realms in the world of Pediatric Pharmacy. It gives current student pharmacists the opportunity to learn more on a subject that we are not exposed to significantly during pharmacy school.

Throughout my increasing involvement in our College of Pharmacy, I have learned how important it is to establish meaningful connections with classmates, professors, and other pharmacists outside of the college. After all, our current superiors as students will be our colleagues one day!

As a student we have the opportunity to learn from our superiors and ask them for advice they wish they were given as a student.

One thing I will never forget is some advice I received from a mentor that was, “pharmacy is a very small world, always remember that”, and that advice has proven to be true multiple times in my pharmacy journey so far.

It is humbling to find connections somehow to a person highly involved in pharmacy. It reminds us all how important it is to leave a positive impact on every encounter we have in the pharmacy world, as it may circle back to us one day and help us create a meaningful connection.

By beginning my leadership journey in pharmacy school, I plan to further improve my leadership skills by building those connections that are so important to each and every one of us in pharmacy.

2. My Personal Brand:

           Establishing your personal brand is crucial in pharmacy: first impressions are everything. By establishing your personal brand, you are promoting the best version of yourself.

Some ways I have established my personal brand include my worth ethic of being a dedicated student in and out of the classroom. School is one of my highest priorities and one thing that I have found to be very helpful throughout pharmacy school is giving your undivided attention during all class lectures. This includes putting my phone and any other distractions in my backpack and out of sight during class time. It is crazy how tempting it can be to check social media or respond to a text during class when your phone is visible.

By putting distractions away, they are out of sight and out of mind!!

My work ethic in and out of the classroom has allowed me to be recognized as a motivated, devoted student.

           In saying that…consider this quote:

“No matter how smart you are, if you never know how to work with people, you will never be successful” – Jack Ma

           Besides success in school being of utter importance in becoming a pharmacist, something that I feel is nearly as important is going into every situation with a positive attitude and being willing to work with others. In Jack Ma’s quote, he illustrates the importance of being able to work with other people.

Straight A’s in pharmacy school mean next to nothing if you are not able to collaborate and communicate with people.

In my future career as a pharmacist, I will be put into situations on the daily of working with other people and it is critical to embrace those situations in order to provide the best care to the patient, our ultimate concern. I have incorporated this quote into my life by going into settings that require collaborating with other people with a positive, uplifting attitude. In this way, I have further created my personal brand as one of positivity. Coming into a situation with positivity can do more than one realizes, as it sets up an attitude that encourages collaboration and enthusiasm.

I highly recommend going into each and every day with a positive attitude, and you will notice what a difference it can make in your own life as well as others.

3. Becoming a Gen-Z Pharmacist:

The book Gen-Z Pharmacist is a resource like no other. It provides powerful insight to student pharmacists like myself of how to script their dream career. Dr. Adam Martin has so generously provided us with his guidance of how us students can make the best out of our student pharmacist years.

One thing that I feel is such a great aspect of Gen-Z Pharmacist is the pages available to write down your thoughts and goals on that subject. The book is really a workbook to take the concepts taught by Adam throughout, and literally create an action plan to apply them to your life, which is what I have been doing as I read this book.

The power of writing your goals down is significant…

           “If you have a goal, write it down. If you do not write it down, you do not have a goal – you have a wish” – Steve Maraboli.

Gen-Z Pharmacist provides a space for you to put those goals into play and move them beyond just being a wish. It allows for an interactive reading experience, which personally, helps me stay highly involved in the book.

Another aspect that I find makes this book such an incredible read is how relatable Adam is in every chapter. While I am reading it, he makes a point to “reach out” to the readers about how they are feeling about something with a simple question, and it again seems to grab my attention even more!

If you have not read this book, read it! Read it now, and you will learn more than you could have ever imagined on how to make the best out of your pharmacy school career.

About the Author:

My name is Molly Gavin and I am currently a second year Student Pharmacist at The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. I am from a suburb of Chicago, IL but am currently in Iowa City, IA.

You can contact me through any of the ways below!

-Email: [email protected]

-LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/molly-gavin-86782a1b9/

-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/molly.gavin.50

-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_molly.gavin/?hl=en