|
 |
|
|
MentorVIEW With Amy Olin,
Director of Programs for the ASHP Foundation
You need to prove yourself, show you can be trusted, that your opinions are based on something factual and that you can contribute to the conversation. It may not be just the way you sound or the way you look, but it may be to show you can be a professional, that you can develop things and do things.
Amy Olin
PNOW: What would you say you like best about your job?
AO: It always changes. It's very interesting. I'm never going to be doing the same thing every day. I manage all the program offerings for the Foundation so I've got my hands in developing educational sessions for pharmacists. The next day I'll be developing promotional material for a grant program and managing applications that come in from that. Then we'll be taking applications from an awards program and giving awards for literature in pharmacy and managing donations that come in for specific programs. What's even more interesting about it is we don't charge money for any of the programs we offer, so it's a very idealistic way of helping out the profession. And I'm a very idealistic person so it matches what I like to do.
PNOW: What would be your most surprising or unexpected experience so far as a professional?
AO: The unexpected thing I found was that not everyone thinks like me and not everyone has the same beliefs or the same approach to work. It sounds very naïve, and that's what I was when I came in. It's very different for each generation. You can see the differences in each generation which ends up shaping how you approach work and what you believe is important. No matter what age you are, that's always going to be an issue when you're working with different people, different cultures or different age groups. You're going to have to understand where they come from.
PNOW: Can you tell us about a time you encountered ageism as a young professional and what you did to overcome it?
AO: I was involved as the Executive Resident here in planning and was participating in a consensus conference. All of the experts in the field and intelligent practitioners came together to talk about what pharmacy needed to do in a certain subject. We had to break up into smaller groups of ten people with a person who would facilitate our conversation, take notes and have fifteen recommendations of what pharmacy should do to enhance the safety of medication use in hospitals, for example. A mentor of mine, Melissa Muir -- executive director of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board - along with some practitioners who were identified as experts in the field were in my group. I would share my suggestions and the facilitator would not write down any of them. Five minutes later, someone at the other end of the table said the same thing I said and everyone thought it was great idea! I was really down and very frustrated at first. I talked to Melissa and some other people at ASHP during the conference and said 'I'm sitting here trying to participate and be a professional and give some recommendations, and they're just ignoring it.' They said there are people who are going to ignore me. If there's a recommendation that someone else repeats, at least my recommendation got out somehow. They're not going to always take you as seriously as the most seasoned practitioner just because you are younger. We're not here to prove ourselves, we're here to make something happen. I know in 20 years they're going to listen to me. At least I'm participating and I know my ideas are good.
PNOW: Are you OK with that?
AO: What I would have wanted to hear was they'll listen to me and they'll respect me. But that may not always happen. That's part of growing up in a profession that has a ton of seasoned practitioners. As young practitioners, we're open to everything and enthusiastic and excited about new ideas. I can look at the end product and know my idea is in there and that I'm thinking in the right direction. In a couple of years they're going to realize I have some good ideas.
PNOW: Do you have any tips for young pharmacists who are looking to overcome that bias, or at least make it less blatant?
AO: I think it's how you carry yourself. Put yourself back 20 years and the young professional would have had to dress to the "T" and look perfect in their suit, act in a certain way and be very serious about everything. That's not my nature. I like to have fun and I like to be energetic and do things with a lot of enthusiasm. You need to prove yourself, show you can be trusted, that your opinions are based on something factual and that you can contribute to the conversation. I think that ends up coming out more in your actions than your words. I'm more idealistic. I say your age shouldn't matter as much as what you show you can do.
PNOW: What was your greatest challenge when transitioning from school to work?
AO: Learning to leave your work at work. When you're in school, you're constantly in school. Your whole mind is set around school, your schedule, your studying after class. You're eating, breathing and living your studies. When you come to work, one of the easiest things to get into is eating, living and breathing work. You need to sit down and be able to relax and cleanse your mind, and you'll be more productive at work because you're rested. I was so enthusiastic and wanted to take reading home and then come back to work the next day and work on something else. I had to decide that even if I have to stay an extra hour or two at work, I'm going to go home and keep my mind about work at work.
PNOW: What kind of things do you do to relieve stress and leave work at work?
AO: I love to blow bubbles. People say if you're really nervous, just take some deep breaths and settle down. I do that by blowing bubbles. It makes you feel so good - or at least it makes me feel good. It's something just to get rid of immediate stress. I also write. A lot of people say writing in a journal is helpful for them in clearing their mind. I do that a lot.
PNOW: Do you use any specific strategies to balance your home and work life?
AO: My husband is also a pharmacist. I work in associations and he works in management and community pharmacy. We have now come to a point where we're both working very hard and we can understand what the other is going through. It took time and a lot of communication to understand we're both working hard and when we come home, we're not going to talk about work. It's important to take some time for yourself and know that you can do that. Look forward to the end of the day when you can go out and do something completely different from work. It helps balance your mind.
PNOW: What do you think are some of the big issues in pharmacy right now?
AO: One of the things I see that's very important to young practitioners is the emerging pharmacist shortage. We need a ton of pharmacists to fill a lot of roles within pharmacy and young pharmacists are being looked at to do that. It's going to be very important that young pharmacists consider positions where they are not going to be working for the pharmaceutical industry and making a ton of money with a company car, but will have a great experience working for a college of pharmacy teaching young pharmacists, or working for a hospital doing a lot of great things for patients. The young pharmacists are also going to be looked at to fulfill a lot of manager and leadership roles. It doesn't seem that as many young pharmacists are looking to those administrative and managerial roles so that will be another void in pharmacy - which is all contributing to a pharmacist shortage in different areas. I think young pharmacists are going to be looked at to do a lot of great things very soon. That could put a lot of pressure on people, but it can also provide great opportunities.
PNOW: Do you have any advice for young pharmacists who are deciding whether to take a job where they will make less money but perhaps find more satisfaction?
AO: They're going to need to look not at the next year or two of paying off bills or getting that wonderful company car. That's not really why they studied six years at pharmacy school. You need to look down the line and decide what is going to make you happy, what's going to give you satisfaction and what's going to be a great job later. Another piece of advice is to not suddenly come out of school and focus on something very specific. People from generations before ours were taking one to two jobs during a lifetime. We're expected to have 11 jobs before we retire. So go out and get experience in all kinds of different things. You may discover something you really like that may not be the most high class or powerful job, but if you really like it you're going to succeed because you're enthusiastic about it.
PNOW: What do you like best about working with the pharmacy veterans?
AO: I ask a ton of questions. I'm not ever going to get most answers by reading things; I'm going to get them from asking someone who has been in practice and has experienced how things effected their job.
PNOW: Do you have any suggestions for young pharmacists on how to better relate to that veteran pharmacist?
AO: You have to balance your conversation and your objectives. Your boss is here to teach you as well as have you work for them. Approach it as if you're going to learn from this person while working for this person. I think that's one of the great ways to work with seasoned professionals and make them a mentor to you. Even if they don't offer it up right away, if you're talking to them and learning things from them, you're going to be influenced by that. All of a sudden you will look to them just as much as a mentor as a boss.
Favorite book:The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (and the Harry Potter series!).
Fun/leisure activities: I like to play with my dogs (I have two Australian shepherds), walk, shop, lay on the beach, and go to the driving range.
Person I most admire: Madeline Albright. She is really remarkable and respects herself as a woman.
Favorite musical group: U2 (right now!).
Favorite quote: "Live today like it is your last."
More from MentoringNOW
Every segment of MentoringNOW is archived at Pharmacynow.org. We encourage
you to e-mail our programs to your colleagues and peers and to send us
your comments to denise@pharmacynow.org
or paul@pharmacynow.org.
|
|
|
