A valuable lesson in this work has been to realize the importance of challenging the status quo and to continuously look for creative, innovative solutions. Has being a woman in leadership/pharmacy impacted you in any way? As a woman of color, from the outset of my career, it was apparent that I would be held to a higher standard than many around me. I wouldn’t be where I am, who I am, and with the skills, I have today, without that additional challenge. I strived to always be well-read and well-informed. However, knowledge and expertise only get one so far. I developed my communication skills to be consistently articulate, clear, and direct. I also made it a point to observe successful female leaders around me and emulate their admirable qualities. Being a woman has shaped my leadership style to be more empathetic, inquisitive, curious, assertive, and open.
health literacy and equity. As one of the most trusted professions, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to significantly impact health equity at the front lines, at the population health level, and within the public policy arena. I’m very excited to see what’s next! Do you have advice for our current student pharmacists/pharmacists starting today? In addition to some of the advice mentioned in my previous responses, periodically re-evaluate your purpose. I believe our purpose is dynamic, and we may have multiple purposes concurrently depending on the stage of our lives and careers. It’s important to stay in touch with our purpose(s) to ensure we don’t veer too far off course. Remember, your title or salary doesn’t measure success. It’s measured by what is truly important to you. Align with your purpose, commit to your passion, and live up to your potential.
At the start of each day, four post-it notes affixed to my desk remind me to “be bold,” “be brave,” “be you,” and to “take chances.” Where do you see pharmacy/healthcare going in the years ahead, and what opportunities do you see for our current student pharmacists? Long gone is the era where pharmacists were only seen in the dispensing role. While that still remains one function, the profession of pharmacy has evolved dramatically over the past couple of decades. It will continue to evolve beyond our imagination with the older range of Generation Z at the helm. With innovation, creativity, and independent thinking written in their DNA, Gen Z will create healthcare delivery models that meet patients where they are by expanding
As a pharmacist, how can I best prepare to adapt to the inevitable changes in the next 20 years? The best piece of advice I can give to a budding pharmacist is to always remain flexible, agile, and open-minded. Commit to your passion wholeheartedly, whether it’s clinical practice, academia, public policy, or something else while remaining open to new, out-ofthe-box opportunities. Second, anticipate AND accept innovation. As human beings, we are often resistant to change. In the face of change, our first instinct is to question it, resist it, and dismiss it as being short-lived. Those who anticipate innovation, embrace it, and evolve with it are the ones who will be successful long-term.
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We can provide you the language to include the University of Illinois Foundation for the benefit of the college in your will or living trust and also custom language for a beneficiary designation via a retirement plan, whole-life insurance policy, or payable on death (POD)/transferable on death (TOD) account or to further designate your bequest in a way that is meaningful to you. Please contact Associate Director of Gift Planning Geoffrey Hammond, JD, for more information on how to invest in the future at the UIC College of Pharmacy. Office of Gift Planning and Trust Services University of Illinois Foundation 1305 W. Green St. (MC 386) Urbana, IL 61801 217.332.5714 | gh15@uif.uillinois.edu
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