PK: You cannot do it in isolation. The most important thing about long-term success in pharmacy, or probably in any business, evolves around the mentoring issue. You need to know people that can point you in the right direction and network with you; people who can then send you on your way when you need that. Certainly, it is important to get to pharmacy meetings, both local, state and national. In addition, read everything you can in the pharmacy profession-not just clinical activities, but other things that are going on in the profession. These are two key areas for success.

PNOW: What types of services does Owen provide for its facilities?

Well, there are hundreds of sites in the United States today. Many times people finish programs and need a bit of a boost as to what needs to be done to run a department or to be a clinical manager. Owen provides these types of services very well. I am involved in a combination of putting tools together for pharmacists, writing activities, as well as visiting the sites and assessing safety concerns.

PNOW: Are there some things that Owen has in place now that illustrate a mentoring mechanism within their operation?

PK: I actually have not thought about it in those terms, but it really is very true. Owen has a method to get information to all of their pharmacists, both on the clinical waves as well as the internet. This brings people up to speed on changes in the pharmacy practice, which is certainly a way of pharmacy mentoring.

PNOW: At the ASHP Mid-year meeting, we were very lucky to be able to attend the labor session you were coordinating. What was your aim with that program?

PK: Well, so many of the things that we do are dependent on human resources. People have tended to think in the past that we just need a body to fill a slot, which is not the case. We really need skilled practitioners in all levels of practice.

PNOW: You made an interesting point at that session about having fun meetings with colleagues. Have you found it beneficial to get together with your professional colleagues on a local or regional basis?

PK: Before the consolidation of hospitals, when there were a lot more hospitals in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the directors of pharmacy routinely met once a month or so for breakfast. We had a pharmacy or business topic of some sort that we discussed. We invited folks to talk from Human Resources. We had speakers come in and speak informally to help us understand the process; this really helped form camaraderie among those people as well. We even discussed some of the more unsavory things one has to do as a director. Today, we have a very active local hospital pharmacy group that meets every second Tuesday night. Everybody knows that eighty or so pharmacists will be getting together. There is a lot of networking that goes on in those meetings that transcends the ages of the practitioners-these meetings are attended by brand new practitioners and students, as well as seasoned practitioners.

PNOW: I’m impressed that you are able to get up to eighty people to attend these meetings!
PK: Interestingly enough, it is not just pharmacists-there are a lot of technicians and students that show up at the meetings for very good clinical topics. So, we have future practitioners, as well as faculty members from the schools. There are directors and staff level people from each of the hospitals in the area. It really is a very good group to network with, and we all know what is happening in the area that way.

PNOW: OK. I can picture our readers right now. They’re thinking: they've got Patti Kienle behind their operation. Of course it’s going to be successful. What can we do in our city?

PK: Well I am so on the peripheral sidelines of that group now but I certainly support them. There are enough folks in this area to continue the process. That is part of mentoring as well; we need to develop future leaders. We sometimes need to give people a little bit of a push: “Gee, you would be a good officer in this organization,” or “You would be a good person to take on this project.” It does not need to be director level people. We just need people who are interested; people who have just a little bit of time, because nobody has a lot of time. With a lot of people helping, you can certainly develop talent in your own area.

PNOW: The gathering together of professionals is such an important part of mentoring. Have you been mentored in your career?

PK: Sure, but I don't know if it was a deliberate thing. I think it was just relationships, that go as far back as pharmacy school, that have developed over the years. However, if I could point to one person in my career who has pointed me in the right direction, it's John Gans who taught me in school. He is now the executive vice president at the American Pharmaceutical Association; subsequent to that he was president of our state hospital pharmacy society. He really convinced me to run as an officer in that organization. John was also president of ASHP and got me more involved in that organization than I had been before. So there is somebody who, over the course of a number of years, has pointed me in the right direction. I still go back to him and ask questions.

PNOW: As a twenty-five year veteran, you continue to consider him a mentor to you?

PK: Absolutely. And there are certainly many other people too. I can think of a person who was a few years ahead of me in school, Ruth Brown, from the Philadelphia area. We still depend on each other for information, both socially, as well as professionally.

PNOW: How is the dramatic increase in new drugs affecting the pharmacy profession?

PK: The profession has become intensively more sophisticated every year because of new drugs and adverse reactions that can occur. Also, the heightened awareness of consumers, in addition to more informational resources being available, have contributed to the complexity of the profession. There are now more sophisticated questions being asked of us, the biotech agents. There is an awful lot more today to pharmacy than just filling prescriptions or orders.

PNOW: Inasmuch as pharmacists are so busy on any given day, it must be difficult to get access to effective mentoring.

PK: I think that is true. There is a subset of folks who have done pharmacy residencies who are probably ahead of the curve; built into that pharmacy residency program is a mentoring skill. You have a preceptor who is expected to let you know what to do in your career and point you in the right direction. The people who haven't gone through residencies don't have that established contact, but need to develop that some way on their own. Again, I think meetings, whether they are at the local, state or national level, are probably the best way to establish that contact. You need to check out other pharmacists in your area that you admire; you need to find out where others think the profession is going,and ask what suggestions they have for you, in particular.

PNOW: Is there a connection between retaining staff and effective mentoring?

PK: People stay in positions because of doing a good job and having good feelings about what they are doing. If they don't have somebody there to give them guidance, they are going to move on and find something else because they will not be satisfied. We, definitely, as seasoned practitioners, need to find ways to bring new folks into the fold, whether they are brand new practitioners, or just people new to our practice site.

PNOW: Are you referring to tying them into the mentoring process somehow?

PK: Absolutely. It’s important to embrace new people in the pharmacy practice. We need to use the same process of reaching out that we use in our personal life, perhaps at your church, synagogue or community group, to bring people in professionally and make them feel comfortable-to help and guide them in the right direction.

PNOW: Can you think of a few examples of bringing someone into the fold?

PK: Whenever there is someone new in your facility, make sure that the ideas they bring from other practice sites are incorporated, or at least considered in your own area. It is important to help people feel welcome in a group. Also, working with pharmacy students is a great way to get new practitioners in your site. Actually, the access to students has changed from a big city focus to a practice site that could be anywhere in the United States; this allows more people to have the opportunity to work with fifth and sixth year pharmacy students.

PNOW: The educating of the pharmacy student population has moved to the rural areas?

PK: Yes. In the old days, students were really circumscribed primarily in university teaching centers and big cities, which is just not the case anymore. Because there are more pharmacy schools than a few years ago, the practice sites for the new, as well as the existing schools, have expanded. The pharmacy students are practicing in more rural areas; they have moved from existing pharmacy teaching centers to many community pharmacies throughout the United States. Therefore, people who were not involved in the more didactic and formal training of pharmacy students, now have the ability to get involved in teaching.

PNOW: What barriers to a mentor/mentee relationship have you experienced?

PK: Time and distance would probably be the two that come to mind. Whether you are a mentor or a mentee, you have to devote time to guide or to learn. Distance can be a barrier because so many times people are separated, but I think that problem is almost evaporating with the telephone, e-mail and video conferencing, in addition to all the other opportunities we have to communicate now. The video conferencing is almost mind boggling in terms of its potential. It is a great way to keep up with your practice, as well as turning into a wonderful way to communicate with people that you would not see on a daily basis.

PNOW: Can you identify some difficulties pharmacists are facing today that mentoring might help alleviate?

PK: I have sometimes heard from new pharmacists, who are one to three years into the profession, that they are not satisfied because the burdens are getting to them. I recommend you ask people for help, and get advice. First, see if there are things that can be fixed in your practice sites that will help. If not, don't stay in a position that you do not enjoy. There are a lot of pharmacy positions and opportunities out there. However, I am not advocating people moving for the sake of change; I stayed in one place for twenty-five years, so that is not my style. But, people need to know there are other opportunities. It is very important to have a position where you are happy to wake up in the morning and go to work.

PNOW: Some of our readers may see themselves as stronger clinicians, than communicators. What insights do you have for them?

PK: Everybody communicates differently. Some people may be more adept at teaching or doing things in a group; others may be much better doing things one on one. I have never run into anyone who is a total non-communicator; whatever it is you want, there are ways you can develop yourself, communicate your message, and reach out to somebody new in the profession. You do it one person at a time.