Prescriptions for Success: Embracing Diversity and Entrepreneurship in Pharmacy

Series Introduction

Thanks so much to Dr. Alandra Mitchell for offering to do this series for us on the Pharmacist’s Connect Blog.

I know that as the COVID-19 pandemic marches on, some of us may not be thinking as much of the actual marches that occupied so much of our news spaces in June 2020. They’re still going on in many places, just not at the top of the news cycle.

The work doesn’t stop just because the news cycle moves on. To see the first post focusing on pharmacy professionals of color check out this podcast round-up. I’m grateful to Dr. Mitchell for offering to give us a series of posts to check out!

Check the end of this post for more info about Dr. Mitchell!

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Do you have a story you’d like to share or something you’d like to say to pharmacists and or students? If so, shoot an email to PharmsConnect at GMAIL.com with your pitch idea. We love to host unique voices and conversation.

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Wellness check!

Have you checked on your black, brown, and indigenous pharmacist colleagues recently? Whether they are “on the corner of [trying to be] happy and [not quite] healthy”; rounding on “patience” at a nearby hospital or marching along PhRMA lane, now is a good time to check-in!

In the midst of a pandemic that has caused a massive wave of fatalities, unemployment, and meat shortages – my fellow Texans will understand – some are forced to live in fear simply because of the color of their skin.

Trauma on the front lines

The deaths of Ahmaud Aubry, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others have brought scrutiny to the social injustices plaguing this country. As a result, voices are pleading for equal rights, equal opportunities, and an end to police brutality. These protests were held to reinforce the narrative that people of color are worthy… worthy of life, worthy of respect, and worthy of dignity.

Can you imagine the trauma facing this community? In addition to the disproportional death rates due to coronavirus, the horrific deaths of black men and women due to discrimination flash through our minds like a never-ending View-Master reel from the ’90s. 

As pharmacists, we encounter patients who are living this reality every day and we are always ready and willing to address them with empathy, but do we address our colleagues with the same empathy? Aren’t pharmacists going through the same thing?

Leadership responds

In a joint statement against racial injustice, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and other supporting pharmacy organizations encouraged the accountability of all parties to uphold social justice. Here are the closing remarks of the statement:

“Let us work together now to weave new threads that embrace our diversity, honor our humanity, and support people of color and any marginalized populations for the benefit and promotion of current and future generations.”

What’s next?

Pharmacy is a diverse profession, not only in the races, ethnicities, and cultures of those who practice but also in the roles, responsibilities, and career paths of those who carry the credentials.

In this series, I’m checking in! 

I am checking in on a few pharmacists who have embarked on a bold journey to entrepreneurship in an effort to promote health and wellness. My hope is that these stories will inspire you to embrace the diversity that already exists in our beloved profession. 

If you are fearful to embark on your own entrepreneurship journey, then READ ON for inspiration from these trailblazing entrepreneurs who married their passions with pharmacy.

We will begin the series with a pharmacist who utilizes her passion for nutrition to empower her patients to embrace healthy living.

So, keep reading! This series is a testament to the courage and tenacity of the pharmacists who live these stories.