ePortfolio

To fulfill my Self Awareness co-curricular and learn about myself I attended three of the workshops hosted by Luiza Mikayelyan and Gerry VanBooven. The first topic was Reading Strategies. I attended this session on February 22, 2022. My first Drug Actions exam was coming up and I did not know where to begin or how to begin studying. Listening to the strategies for effective learning and reading helped me prepare for this exam. During the workshop I learned to take the long transcripts and divide them into sections that make sense to me, highlighting what is important. Once I finish reading the entire document and repeat the important concepts I have highlighted. When I go back to review all of the material it is less overwhelming because instead of looking over everything I can quickly identify what Using this method has improved my retention and made the course less stressful. The second workshop I attended was Motivation on March 1, 2022.. I worked really hard to get where I am today because I always had my end goal in mind, but for a long time just getting into a PharmD program was the goal. It has been hard for me to study and focus during virtual learning so I was losing sight of my goal. This workshop reminded me that when I find it hard to motivate myself, instead of becoming overwhelmed with my main goal to create smaller achievable goals and tasks to help me get where I want to go. The third workshop I attended was Active Learning on March 2, 2022.. Again, with virtual school it has been nearly impossible for me to remain focused. This workshop recommended ways to keep myself engaged in the lecture and even when I am studying alone. I like to hand write my notes but I usually have my lecture slides in front of me while I do this. Now I have begun writing my notes from memory which will aid in retention and conceptual understanding. All three of these workshops were very informative and I liked that they were interactive yet concise. Being on Zoom during your lunch hour can seem very intolerable but these were a nice way to reflect and learn.

To fulfill my co-curricular requirement for Professionalism:Pharmacy Advocacy, I attended a legislative advocacy event hosted by California Northstate University. At this conference I learned from leaders of different pharmacist organizations. The conference featured APhA president Sandra Leal, who I was able to connect with on instagram; chief executive officer of CPhA Susan Bonilla, and vice presidency of the NACDS Foundation, Sara Roszak. I learned a lot during this conference regarding the importance and value of pharmacy advocacy. The goal is to increase recognition of our clinical service models, improve reach to medically underserved populations, and recognize pharmacists as providers. A lot of these topics were discussed at WCU Legislative Day, but at this conference I was introduced to NACDS Foundation which essentially funds research studies which are performed at various academic institutions. They also are involved in Grassroots Advocacy and I was given the information I would need to schedule a training and be involved. After this event I reached out to two of my professors to see if WCU could be involved but they were unsure and directed me to research out to other faculty which I plan to do soon.

This conference was engaging because I have a better understanding of the profession after completing my first IPPE rotation and experiencing WCU Legislative Day. I learned that there are four main ways to participate in advocacy: join state and national pharmacy trade associations, regularly contact local/state/federal representatives, attend state/federal legislative days, and participate in programs that keep you in the loop on efforts. This was a very inspiring conference and I am glad to have had the opportunity to take part.