Regardless of your title as a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, student pharmacist, or allied colleague, leadership is a key ingredient of our profession. Patients view us as subject matter experts. Our words and actions hold great weight, and it’s a beautiful privilege to be a leader for our patients and communities.

How TPA Crafted My Leadership Foundation

As a first-year student pharmacist, I thought leadership was placed on the individual. Appointments and elections seemed to be the only path to being a leader, so I focused heavily on getting titles, like serving as my campus’ Student Director (a liaison-type role within the TPA Academy of Student Pharmacists).

My time that year taught me that leadership was much deeper than a title and doing the bare minimum asked of the role. It was late-night planning sessions, making sure my people had the resources they needed, and consistently reflecting on how things could improve. It was a profound sense of caring for the Academy and for TPA at my campus—a deep pride that convinced me to continue serving throughout school.

As I now transition into new practitioner status, I fondly look back on my time as Chair of the Academy of Student Pharmacists and as a student representative on three Association councils and the TPA Board of Directors. By participating in these opportunities, I gained a better understanding of how the nuances of major pharmacy issues can impact each sector of the profession. My leadership foundation was strengthened under TPA’s influence.

How TPA Elevates Pharmacy Leadership

My leadership story with TPA is not unique. Many lifelong leaders within TPA inspire students to step up and serve. There are numerous opportunities to give back within our Association. These opportunities with TPA have taught me and many others the basics of leadership—things like calling meetings, developing agendas, and project management. It has also taught the more “executive-level” leadership skills like effective communication, delegation, and the emotional intelligence to meet your team where they need you.

One of the ways TPA did this was through the inaugural Student Leadership Institute event in April. This innovative day-long institute combined leadership with advocacy so that student participants could effectively elevate the profession once back at their campuses. More than 60 students learned high-level skills from TPA CEO Debbie Garza and Executive Coach Debbie Platts.

We walked away inspired and better equipped to communicate prominent pharmacy issues to our peers and legislators. Most importantly, we left feeling empowered to inspire others to positive action. This is the power that TPA offers to its members.

We are all leaders, and TPA embraces that fact for us all.