It’s October 1st and it’s time to Celebrate Pharmacists Month! Today we are discussing the WHY behind Pharmacist Month Stories, HOW we’re launching this campaign, WHAT to expect each day and my role as a Post-ICU syndrome critical care pharmacist!
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Mentioned on Ep 067: Pharmacist Month Stories Launch and Post-ICU Syndrome Critical Care pharmacist role
Welcome back to The Burnout Doctor Podcast, I’m your host Dr. Jessica Louie. Today is October 1st 2020 and we are launching our Pharmacist Month Stories campaign today to celebrate Pharmacists Month all during October. Before we jump into our celebration, thank you for your feedback on last week’s episode on how to declutter the internet and live simplify and intentionally. We had an amazing conversation with the co-founder of Idenati and had so many of you sign-up for our Digital Decluttering Workshop. Remember, we all write our own stories in our lives and homes. Let’s all bring joy into home and joy into work.
Today we are discussing the WHY behind Pharmacist Month Stories, what to expect each day and my role as a pharmacist.
WHY are we launching Pharmacist Month Stories?
Pharmacist Month is celebrated every October and Pharmacist Month Stories was born from an idea I had about sharing our profession with you openly and honestly. I envisioned pharmacists sharing their unique career paths, entrepreneurial journeys and talking openly about burnout, stress or simplifying stories. Just like the WHY behind this podcast, feeling comfortable and transparent to share my struggles and journey with burnout and simplifying is SO important to me. And I knew that fellow pharmacists had stories to share with you.
HOW are we launching Pharmacist Month Stories?
You will be hearing episodes EVERY DAY Monday thru Friday on the podcast from new pharmacists each day! We have 25 pharmacists sharing their journey this month!
This series is formatted so anyone listening can learn something new – from non-healthcare professionals to healthcare professionals to pharmacists to students or trainees – there is something for everyone. I intentionally put it together so that non-healthcare professionals can learn more about our profession and unique roles in healthcare. I intentionally put it together so fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals learn something new and feel a sense of community as people share their burnout stories. I intentionally put it together so students or trainees learn more about the unique career paths and do not feel alone as they face struggles or uncertainties moving forward.
WHAT to expect for Pharmacist Month Stories?
Make sure you are subscribed to the podcast to listen daily Monday-Friday. Make sure you are receiving our emails for our Weekly Saturday email newsletter recapping the week and behind-the-scenes stories. Make sure you are following on LinkedIn and Instagram where we will post daily and have weekly video recaps.
You are going to hear from a variety of pharmacists who work in academia like myself, in hospital, in administrative leadership roles, in ambulatory care settings, in pharmaceutical industry and ones who own their own businesses.
We also have previously talked about Pharmacist Month on the podcast last year! Go back to episode 22 where we talk about 10 Fun Facts about Pharmacists. We have also featured two pharmacists on the podcast. Please go back to episode 16 with Dr. Blair Thielemier and episode 44 with Dr. Erin Albert to listen to their stories now.
Each episode will feature the pharmacists’ journey into the profession, their entrepreneurial journey, their burnout or simplifying story, their advice during Pharmacists Month and any exciting projects they are working on right now.
During this month, we are also continuing donations on our Spark Joy in Healthcare shop to spread JOY to our pharmacists and fellow healthcare professionals. Pick up a badge reel or shirt or notepad to gift today!
Now that we have gone through the WHY, HOW and WHAT of Pharmacist Month Stories, let me share a little more about my role as a pharmacist.
I’ve talked about my journey into the pharmacy profession before and will reiterate that I chose this profession as a ninth grader after my mom found an article about pharmacists. I knew going into healthcare was likely as my twin sister went into medicine. I shadowed a pharmacist in high school and then applied directly into universities that had pharmacy programs – Doctor of Pharmacy schools – in addition to a strong undergraduate program. I was accepted into the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy TAP Program and entered my undergraduate education and then Doctor of Pharmacy program – graduating in 2013. I was very interested in hospital pharmacist roles and worked as an intern pharmacist throughout pharmacy school at Keck Medicine of USC – a tertiary quaternary hospital that had high-acuity patients. I loved my time with ICU patients, solid-organ transplant patients and cystic fibrosis patients. When it came time to apply for post-graduate training – residency – I opted to leave California for a new experience and go to a program that had opportunities in all of my interest areas. I matched at my #1 program, University of Utah Healthcare and completed my first year and second year as a critical care resident. It was the BEST training in hospital pharmacy that I could dream of.
I came back to California after my residency to take a Professor role at a new School of Pharmacy in Los Angeles. Educating was always a passion of mine and something I did in direct and indirect ways over the years. Now I’m able to educate on this podcast and reach beyond the classroom to all of you.
Now, my current role as a pharmacist and interest has shifted over the years. My interest and passion over the past few years has been on Post-ICU Syndrome and post-ICU recover clinics. For those who are not familiar with this concept, think about someone you know that has left the ICU after a prolonged stay (2 weeks or longer) and intubated (breathing tube helping them to breath). It wasn’t an easy transition, right?
Working as a critical care pharmacist, I realize that we have the technology and knowledge to save so many patients today compared to 20 years ago. And with that means long-term consequences that we didn’t see before. Just like PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder – we are seeing similar symptoms in our ICU patients. When you leave the ICU after a long stay (and intubated), you may have muscle weakness, hallucinations, difficulty sleeping, delirium, and pain. Along with LOTS of questions about what happened to you and why you have a brain fog now. It’s normal for some of this to happen, but we poorly prepare most patients and their families or caregivers for the recovery process.
That is my passion and interest in helping through this transition. The post-ICU syndrome recovery may take one month or 12 months after leaving the ICU and it’s important that you have the care team, including a pharmacist, to help you through it.
If you would like to learn more or talk about this topic, feel free to reach out! More information on SCCM on Post-ICU Syndrome and Post-ICU Recovery Clinics.
Getting back to Pharmacist Month, my biggest piece of advice for everyone listening is to think outside-the-box and use your training to the top of your license. Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professional and we can form relationships within our community and patients so we have the high-quality relationships that our dentists, physical therapists or chiropractors have with their patients.
If you’re not sure what a pharmacist can help you with, ask!
I’m SO excited for you to hear each of our pharmacists featured this month! Please share the episode that resonate with you on social media – Instagram or LinkedIn – and tag me in the post. I want more people educated about our profession and inspired to take action in their own lives.
Thank you for allowing me to share these stories with all of you. Remember, all of our episodes have podcast show notes attached to them, just click your app to get the link or visit our website, DrJessicaLouie.com/podcast and add the episode number to the end to see a bio of the pharmacist guest, links to the offers and contact information.
Until next time, Spark Joy my friends!
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Until next time, spark joy my friends!
*If you enjoyed this topic, will you take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram stories and tag me in the post. I’ll re-share it on my own stories. If you haven’t already connected with me, I’m most active on Instagram and LinkedIn – send me a friend invite and tell me what podcast episode has been your favorite!
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Note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s).
This podcast is for educational purposes only and not medical advice.
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