The Top 50 Pharmacist Influencers on LinkedIn

Caution: I have a link or 2 below where I make residual income.

This week, I've been analyzing the top 50 pharmacist influencers right here on LinkedIn at The Edutainer Podcast.

• Episode 1 - Key niches of the Top 50 Pharmacist Influencers
• Episode 2 - Formal post grad education background
• Episode 3 - Certificates and Certifications

Below, I wanted to share how, or at least give some ideas, on how, you as a pharmacist or healthcare professional can find your niche....as we're all pushing the big reset button on the economy right now:

In studying the Top 50, I see that:

• You can niche by therapeutic area of expertise: such as antibiotic stewardship, contraception, oncology, or even down to a drug - like medical marijuana. Critical care is hot right now too. You can be the "Thyroid pharmacist" or the "Cat Pet Care Pharmacist" or pretty much any therapeutic area you like, if you care about it, study it, and have the desire to be known for it. (The COVID-19 Pharmacist? Maybe not, but at least it is a niche.)
• You can niche by area of practice: specialty, compounding, community practice, health system--you name it, you can find a niche.
• Furthermore, you can niche within a type of area within pharmacy practice. For example, are you a clinical pharmacist in a health system, or is administration within that health system more of your jam?
• You can niche around a function of pharmacy or support of pharmacy: like healthcare IT or tech, law/policy, pharmacy benefit management, digital health, associations, devices, or even delivery systems.
• A special note on academia: academics should really have a niche beyond "academia," because if they're teaching they frankly should be noted for something outstanding within the profession. (As a recovering professor, I am hard on my own kind : ).
• You can niche around areas of life too: like career development, fitness, wellness, burnout, finances, multiple streams of income and entrepreneurship, just to name a few. A lot of the Top 50 are known for something outside of pharmacy, but relatable to all of us.
• Leaders keep learning: A whopping 70% of the top 50 list either had a post PharmD degree, a certificate/certification, or both. And 12 of the top 50 had a degree after their PharmD, and also had one or more certifications and certificates. While your learning doesn't all have to be formal, there are officially no more excuses, as there are nearly 300 certificates and certifications you can niche down into.

In these crazy times, this is also the BEST time to re-evaluate where you are, and where you want to be, especially if you've been downsized, laid off, or furloughed. It's also been a great time to explore other areas of practice, as many associations like ASHP with their critical care board certification prep course have literally given away education to us!

Own your niche, or let it own you. I say, own it.

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Erin L. Albert is Pharmacy Benefit Practice Lead at Apex Benefits, a writer, and podcaster, inter alia. Her book, The New Pharmacist: 46 Doses of Advice describes career development as is nearly sold out. Opinions above are her own.