We had the pleasure of rotating for six weeks with the Texas Pharmacy Association during August and September of 2023. During our elective rotation, we had the chance to assist with TPA’s membership recruitment campaign, with the specific task of increasing student membership. Our work took the form of multiple videos highlighting the various opportunities that student pharmacists have as members of TPA. While working on this and other projects, we had the opportunity to participate in TPA’s Fall Leadership Retreat in Austin and the H-E-B Pharmacy Conference in San Antonio. We are beyond thankful for the opportunity to work with TPA. Following are individual reflections on our experience.

Leadership Opportunities Abound

Throughout my pharmacy school career, I always knew what TPA was. I knew it as the pharmacy organization that just goes to the Capitol every other year and represents community pharmacists. However, I soon learned that TPA does so much more for Texas pharmacy that student pharmacists do not realize. TPA represents not only community pharmacists but ALL Texas pharmacists. As a student, they represent you, your pharmacy faculty, your preceptor, and anyone involved with Texas pharmacy. TPA is the VOICE of Texas pharmacy that is elevating the profession and advancing our practice to expand our roles to care for our patients.

I learned as a student pharmacist that you have the opportunity to hold a leadership position(s) not only in the TPA Academy of Student Pharmacists (ASP) but throughout the Association. For example, you could be a member of TPA’s Association Affairs Council or serve on the Texas Pharmacy Foundation Board of Trustees. These positions can enrich your pharmacy school experience and directly translate to your future pharmacy career.

I am grateful to have been a part of a recruitment campaign that will make a lasting impact on student pharmacists. This project educated me that TPA does so much for Texas pharmacy and has inspired me to advocate for our profession. Also, witnessing the operations of a pharmacy association and the leadership displayed by my preceptor and TPA CEO, Debbie Garza, has shown me the responsibilities required that I plan on carrying into my future pharmacy career as a U.S. Navy officer and pharmacist.

I highly encourage all students to get involved with TPA! The networking and knowledge I gained from my rotation are invaluable. If you want to be the voice of Texas pharmacy, be part of an organization making a meaningful impact on the profession, and make yourself a well-rounded student pharmacist, then join TPA!
     –Jose Perez

There’s So Much More to Pharmacy

My six weeks at TPA were one of the most eye-opening and informative experiences of my time in pharmacy school. I chose this rotation to experience a different side of pharmacy, something away from the bustle of customers and workflows. I knew that this would be unlike any other pharmacy setting in the state, yet knew almost nothing about TPA.

I had thought that TPA was a lobbying organization for pharmacy, which I now realize was like saying the Pacific Ocean is a body of water. My prior assumptions about this organization changed soon after starting, as I saw just how much time and effort beyond fundraising goes into advocating for pharmacy. Even right after the biennial legislative session, the office was abuzz with work for TPA’s Fall Leadership Retreat, planning for legislative interim charges, and membership recruitment.

This rotation showed me that there is so much more to pharmacy than counting to 30, giving shots, and selling medications to customers. Funny enough, I never thought about how pharmacies get paid for filling prescriptions, why independent pharmacies were becoming harder to sustain, and how lasting pharmacy legislation would be implemented or advocated for. I now understand what terms like PBM, vertical integration, and DIR mean, and just how important they are to the future of pharmacy practice. Now that I’ve seen firsthand the hard work that TPA and its members put into pharmacy advocacy and advancement, my technical knowledge on the state of modern pharmacy has soared.

My favorite thing about this rotation was meeting so many amazing people. TPA’s staff is truly a joy to work with and really made me feel seen, welcome, and useful during my rotation. My attendance at events also helped me to network with so many great pharmacists and reconnect with old preceptors and friends who were in practice.

This rotation showed me just how important advocacy is for our profession. As a student, all I cared about was passing my classes and making my resume look good. But if no one is advocating for why our jobs are important, there will be no pharmacy jobs to enter into after graduation. Advocacy is one of the best ways to contribute to and enrich this profession that I love.
     –Jacob Vera

Perez and Vera each completed a six-week rotation with the Texas Pharmacy Association during the late summer of 2023.

While working at CVS Health before the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act for COVID-19 was declared, I saw many patients turned away from the pharmacy due to age restrictions for most vaccinations. One patient interaction stuck with me: I was working with a mother who did not speak English and her daughter was translating on her behalf, stating that they were not able to see a primary care provider due to financial circumstances. Financially, providing her child with the vaccine at the pharmacy would have saved them a lot of money and time.

I had the opportunity to participate in Texas Pharmacy Day at the Capitol on February 28. The event was an incredible experience, providing me the chance to advocate for policies including expanded pharmacist immunization authority with state legislators.

House Bill 1105 by Rep. Four Price and Senate Bill 749 by Sen. Pete Flores aim to expand access to vaccines by authorizing pharmacists to order and administer CDC-recommended vaccines to children 3 years of age and older, with the consent of their parent or legal guardian, and to delegate vaccine administration to a certified pharmacy technician. I believe this legislation will support higher vaccination rates since pharmacies are generally accessible to the public and often have extended hours of operation. Such increased access to vaccines can help limit the spread of preventable diseases.

One of the highlights of Pharmacy Day at the Capitol was the opportunity to meet with our legislators. We spoke to them about the importance of expanding access to vaccines and how pharmacists can play a crucial role in achieving that goal. Hearing and sharing different perspectives and experiences with my pharmacy colleagues empowered me to voice the significance of pharmacists.

In addition to meeting with legislators, the legislative briefing afforded students the opportunity to learn and to gain a deeper understanding of the issues affecting our profession. Overall, the presentation provided valuable skills that we were able to use when meeting with our legislators. It helped us to feel more confident in our ability to present our ideas effectively and to build relationships with legislators that will be beneficial in the future.

We learned about the importance of being concise and clear in our messaging. We were taught to identify the key points we wanted to make and to frame them in a way that would be easy for legislators to understand. We also learned about the importance of using data and statistics to support our arguments and how to present them in a way that would be compelling.

The presentation also covered how to build relationships with legislators and their staff. We were encouraged to be respectful, polite, and to listen actively to their concerns. We were taught to encourage discussion and to use our conversations as opportunities to educate legislators and their staff about the important role of pharmacists.

Pharmacy Day at the Capitol was an important event for us as student pharmacists, and it highlighted the critical role that pharmacists play in the health care system. We were able to advocate for the needs of our profession, learn from experts in the field, and build valuable relationships with legislators and other student pharmacists.

Attending the event was an incredibly empowering experience that has left a lasting impression on me. It has strengthened my resolve to advocate for the needs of my profession and has inspired me to continue to push for change in the future. Witnessing the power of collective action and seeing the impact that our voices can have on health care policy has made me want to get more involved and make a difference in my community and beyond.

The experience has inspired me to continue advocating for the needs of our profession, both now and in the future. It has shown me the power that comes from speaking up and using our voices to effect change, and it has given me the skills and confidence to continue doing so as TPA-ASP Policy Chair next academic year.

Trinh is a P2 student at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and serves as Policy Committee Chair-Elect for the TPA Academy of Student Pharmacists.

If you had asked me to join the Texas Pharmacy Association during pharmacy school, I would have replied, “TPA? What’s that?”

When I realized right before starting my P4 year that there was an entire state association dedicated to pharmacy and that it was offered as an elective rotation, I knew it was going to be great experience and something very different than my other rotations.

During the first couple weeks of my TPA rotation I dove right into helping with the 2022 TPA Conference and Expo. After long hours in the office helping the TPA staff organize everything and put all the little details together, it was truly amazing seeing the whole conference come together in mid-July at the Hyatt Regency in Austin.

Seeing pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians come together from Texas (or even out of state) to show support for the pharmacy profession was really awesome, and it made me love pharmacy a little more than I already did.

In addition to the Conference and Expo, I was invited to sit in on board meetings and legislative hearings with my preceptor, TPA CEO Debbie Garza. That’s when it really sunk in that I had chosen a very informative elective. Getting to see behind the scenes in pharmacy was really eye opening and made me realize the amount of work that we don’t see happening in our pharmacy world when we are behind the counters. Being so accustomed to science-based courses, I didn’t think much about the government affairs side of pharmacy. Now I realize how important it is to this profession.

This rotation was both rewarding and challenging at the same time. Getting exposure to different pharmacy settings was my goal for my P4 rotations. This rotation gave me the exposure I was looking for, and more! I walked away from this rotation having gained so much knowledge about what the Texas Pharmacy Association does and what it stands for.

The experiences I had were so unique, and getting to work alongside Debbie was such a privilege. One of the main things that she talks about that has stuck with me is the need for pharmacists to unify as one and show up for the pharmacy profession. TPA sheds light on current events that happen behind the scenes in pharmacy, and there’s no better way to unify everyone and receive relevant news that applies to our profession than to be involved with the Association.

Kobeissi completed a six-week rotation with the Texas Pharmacy Association during the summer of 2022.

As a student pharmacist, it often feels like our pharmacist days are a million years away. We are hyperfocused on checking our boxes and getting the grades, never giving much attention to the world outside of our pharmacy school bubble. After all, there is already so much to learn and so little time! The thought of tackling government affairs and politics on top of the many hats we already wear presents a monumental challenge, so we leave it on the back burner until it is really important.

Like many of us, I had little to no regard for the importance of advocating for my profession during pharmacy school. However, I took advantage of the unique opportunity to do a fourth-year rotation at the Texas Pharmacy Association in an effort to learn something new and experience something out of my comfort zone. Ignorance may have been bliss, but watching TPA lead the efforts to unite and empower everyone in pharmacy, regardless of their practice setting, ignited a newfound passion for advocacy.

Right off the bat, I was immersed in all things TPA. I had the privilege of starting my rotation by sitting at the table as TPA’s Nominating Committee interviewed nominees for the Board of Directors. It was a great way to understand the roles and responsibilities of each position while learning from a group of passionate pharmacy role models.

Throughout the remainder of my rotation, I had the chance to experience the many aspects of TPA. From sitting in on various TPA meetings as well as a Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) Informal Conference with TPA’s Professional Recovery Network, I had the chance to observe TPA as the exclusive association leading the grassroots movement to drive our profession forward.

In addition, I was afforded the opportunity to sit in on multiple meetings with the Texas Department of State Health Services, where TPA was the first to receive the latest information on the rapidly changing COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations implemented in pharmacies across the state. Lastly, I had the chance to attend a TSBP meeting and watch as TPA’s CEO, Debbie Garza, led the way with testimony in favor of initiatives that would later be proposed rules regarding non-sterile compounding and patient counseling.

Despite all the wonderful efforts TPA is making, the Association’s greatest strength is its members’ presence. Unfortunately, the numbers do not accurately reflect our profession’s strength. With our profession evolving and the pandemic highlighting our value, pharmacy’s visibility and involvement are now more paramount than ever.

Of course, as pharmacists, we are the drug experts. Yet, the countless images depicting pharmacists as behind-the-counter pill counters do not accurately represent our profession’s expanding scope of practice. Despite our individual pursuits of different avenues within pharmacy, we all must unite to move our profession forward and overcome the outdated depiction of a pharmacist.

While my six-week rotation with TPA has come to an end, my efforts to stay involved and move our profession forward have not. My TPA rotation challenged me, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and showed me so many things I didn’t even know I did not know! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to meet the incredible team dispensing the prescription for change, and I am looking forward to applying everything I learned at TPA to my role as a pharmacist.

Chebat completed a six-week rotation with the Texas Pharmacy Association during the spring of 2022.

F or many Texans involved in healthcare, the coronavirus pandemic posed challenges that presented severe consequences: podiatrists unable to perform routine foot exams for patients in nursing home facilities; chiropractors altering the adjustment schedules of clients in the middle of therapy; surgeons delaying elective procedures in order to provide triage space for COVID-19 treatment, and nurses uprooting their lives to serve patients across the country; the list goes on and on.

Despite the strain that the pandemic placed on healthcare professionals in Texas, pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians have once again proven their worth as vital members of the healthcare community. In fact, COVID-19 may have been the greatest opportunity in decades to advance and secure the future of our profession.

As an older, non-traditional pharmacy student with a degree in agricultural economics, my perspective of pharmacy has constantly evolved since I began pharmacy school in 2019. After losing my mother to cancer in 2017, I began to look for a career beyond my family’s small business that would allow me to have the impact that my mother’s oncologist and oncology pharmacist had on my family.

My brother Cody and I were both accepted into the Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Tyler in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Since that time, we have learned that the profession is dealing with significant change.

From pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, community pharmacy workload requirements, the increasing need for pharmacy residency experience in order to provide clinical care at an institutional setting, the imbalance between new graduates and new pharmacy job creation, and the growing student debt load of the average pharmacy graduate ($175,000), our profession is faced with obstacles that are unique and require innovation to solve.

COVID-19 provided our profession with a platform to shine and a mechanism by which we can address the obstacles standing in our way. By taking the lead on immunization, pharmacists were able to showcase their worth each day by serving their communities and fellow Texans.

In my home of Smith County, student pharmacists from our college were able to volunteer for shifts with faculty preceptors to administer vaccines via drive-in vaccination hubs, administering more than 1,000 vaccines each day at our local fairground facility and convention center complex. Community pharmacies like Brookshire Grocery Company also dedicated multipurpose facilities with lots of space to administer vaccines to hundreds of Texans per day. Finally, institutions like Christus Trinity Mother Frances offered vaccinations to both healthcare staff and their families.

COVID-19 gave the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA) even more bargaining power to tackle PBM reform in the Texas Legislature last spring, addressing and mitigating one of our obstacles for the future of the profession. As a student pharmacist, this made me beam with pride knowing that those that have gone before me are sacrificing their time and lending their expertise to make a better future for my me and my brother as pharmacists.

Overall, COVID-19 has given me a greater appreciation of pharmacy and the adaptability of our institutions to continue to produce the most accessible and versatile healthcare professionals. With the nation now dealing with another variant (Omicron) and COVID-19 booster vaccines available to eligible patients, our profession continues to demonstrate its worth and resilience to fellow Texans.

Of the seven core values of my college of pharmacy, optimism is my favorite. Despite the unique obstacles facing pharmacists today, I truly believe the best days of our profession are still ahead.