Letters to a Young Pharmacist: Sage Advice on Life & Career from Extraordinary Pharmacists

Most of us have received very little, if any, formal training on how to manage our lives and careers. In Letters to a Young Pharmacist:  Sage Advice on Life & Career from Extraordinary Pharmacists, find expert advice and guidance for the choices and challenges you will face. Written by 35 leading pharmacists, these very personal letters offer sound advice and insight for seizing or creating opportunities, balancing career and family, avoiding mistakes, and overcoming setbacks. 

Gain from the wisdom and practical advice offered in these letters on such topics as:

• Finding the right job or residency
• Developing productive partnerships
• The importance of networking
• Thinking creatively to design new therapies
• Working well in the culture of your organization
• Understanding your strengths and weaknesses    

Letters to a Young Pharmacist: Sage Advice on Life and Career from Extraordinary Pharmacists
By Susan A. Cantrell, BS Pharm, CAE, Sara J. White, MS, FASHP, Bruce E. Scott, MS, FASHP

 ,
 , ,
 
MedInfoNow:Doody’s Review Services


[REVIEWER'S EXPERT OPINION]
Melissa M. Ranieri PharmD(Temple University School of Pharmacy)


 Description
This is a unique compilation of writings by experienced and accomplished practitioners in the field of pharmacy that offers invaluable advice on how to manage a young professional's
pharmacy career, and the end result does not disappoint.
 
Purpose
This is a guide to navigating the professional challenges and opportunities pharmacists encounter. While pharmacy education is comprehensive and rigorous, there is no formal training on how to manage one's pharmacy career. This book fills the gap and offers practical advice for young pharmacists. The authors are willing to share their own heartfelt stories with the hope their experience can help new professionals. The book is captivating and provides invaluable lessons. As a practicing pharmacist, I agree with many of the sentiments shared by these extraordinary pharmacists. This wisdom can certainly help young pharmacists embark on a successful career path.
 
Audience
The letters are written specifically for young pharmacists or for pharmacists seeking a new career path. However, the book is interesting for any pharmacist regardless of their experience. Perhaps the key is that readers be open-minded and determined to become successful leaders in the profession. This is a prevailing theme of the book: that all pharmacists are in a position to lead and to effect change. In order to do so, one must be motivated to accept various opportunities as they arise. Another common theme is the importance of mentoring and teaching other pharmacists; these pharmacists are certainly willing to mentor in terms of sharing their personal stories.
 
Features
Perhaps what is most intriguing about this book is that it provides an insider's view of the life stories of 35 accomplished pharmacists from various settings. Much of the advice they offer comes only from personal experience or in very close, professional relationships. Therefore, the life lessons and secrets to success are essential to a young professional. Some of the topics they cover include overcoming adversity and challenges, the importance of professional relationships and mentoring, working to effect change and finding the right job fit. Each chapter opens with the pharmacist's background and one key piece of advice. Their letters are written openly and discuss some very important strategies to succeed and to be happy as a pharmacist. Perhaps most importantly, all of the authors speak positively about the profession and the opportunities that lie ahead for their junior colleagues.
 
Assessment
I found this book an enjoyable and inspiring read, a must-have for new pharmacists hoping to be leaders in the field. Ever present themes are a passion for pharmacy, a motivation to effect change, and being true to one's professional and personal beliefs. Young pharmacists can learn critical life lessons, both good and bad, from those who have experienced them and have triumphed.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 
Weighted Numerical Score: 100 - 5 Stars!
  (Melissa Ranieri, PharmD (Temple University) MedInfo Doody's Review Services 2014-07-25)

Susan Cantrell , BS Pharm, CAE,
Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DIA Americas. As the first regional Director for North America, Susan works with the Advisory Council of North America and its Content Advisory Committee to develop DIA’s overall strategy for this region. She is also responsible for outreach to regulatory and other government agencies (such as the FDA and NIH), and related associations, and will divide her time between worldwide headquarters in Horsham (PA) and Washington, DC. As a regional director, Susan also serves on the Global Management Team, responsible for helping to coordinate DIA enterprise resources and policy from an operational perspective.

Prior to joining DIA Susan was with the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, a professional society for whom she worked for 19 years in a series of progressively responsible positions. She most recently served as Vice President of Resources Development, where she led the Society’s efforts in domestic and international business development. Prior to this, she served as Managing Director, ASHP Advantage, a division of the society that developed and implemented accredited educational programs to assist pharmacists and health professionals. Susan brings significant experience in pharmacy practice, health care delivery and policy, and association management, including a substantial background in professional education, large meetings, business development, and volunteer engagement.

Susan is a member of the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the American Society of Association Executives, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the International Pharmaceutical Federation. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Mississippi, and has completed a residency in hospital pharmacy. She is pursuing graduate training in public health at the University of North Carolina. Susan’s numerous honors include the 2010 Alliance for Continuing Medical Education President’s Award.
 
Sara J. White, MS, FASHP
Sara is  currently Faculty for the Pharmacy Leadership Academy.  Since retiring in 2003, she has published a series in the American Journal of Heath-System Pharmacy entitled Success Skills and co-edited the ASHP Pharmacy Leadership Field Guide, Cases and Advice for Everyday Situations (ASHP 2011). She has developed and recorded Conversations with Health-System Pharmacy’s Most Influential Leaders through the ASHP Foundation’s Leadership Center. In 2004 Sara was an ASHP Foundation Scholar in Residence on Pharmacy Leadership. From 1992 to 2003 Sara was Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Director of Pharmacy and Clinical Professor, UCSF School of Pharmacy. She was Associate Director of Pharmacy and Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center from 1972-1992.  Sara completed a BS in Pharmacy from Oregon State University, MS from Ohio State University and an ASHP accredited Residency at the Ohio State University Hospitals and Clinics.  Sara has been active in local, state and national professional organizations having served as President of the Kansas Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the Greater Kansas City Society of Hospital Pharmacists She has served on the ASHP Board of Directors, Chairman of the House of Delegates and ASHP President. Her contributions have resulted in the ASHP Distinguished Leadership Award and the Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award.
 
Bruce E. Scott, RPh, MS, FASHP

Bruce currently serves as President of The CADENT Group, providing consultative services to health care business and provider-related organizations. He has served in executive roles at Allina Hospitals and Clinics, McKesson Medication Management, and Medco Health Solutions. Bruce is a past-president of both the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He is a recipient of the John Webb Lecture Award from the Northeastern University College of Pharmacy