This summer I had the opportunity to attend the 2018 TPA Conference & Expo as a P4 intern. Having actively participated in the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) throughout my P1 to P3 years, I was already familiar with TPA but had not been able to go to the previous  conferences due to schedule conflicts.

I was told that the TPA annual conference is an important opportunity to network with other students from different colleges and active pharmacists, and I intended to make full use of it. While helping out at the registration desk, preparing exhibit booths, and scanning badges for CE credits, I interviewed more than 80 TPA members—ranging from emerging P2 students to retired pharmacists—to see why our members joined TPA.

With their membership offered at no cost to student pharmacists, many students told me they joined TPA to help with advocacy and legislative efforts. TPA student  directors shared their experience with implementing the Student Pharmacists Advocacy and Relations (SPARx) Program and educating the communities about the roles pharmacists play in daily life. Though we were educated under different curricula, it was great to see that we also worked for the same goal.

It was also great talking to both new practitioners and veteran pharmacists. Not only did I receive much-needed guidance and encouragement, but I also got to hear about experiences with diverse specialties of pharmacy practices. Many were employed by chain pharmacies, but I also met compounding pharmacists, independent community pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, and academic pharmacists including deans of other colleges across Texas. It was a humbling yet inspiring experience to hear the accounts of various practices.

More than 50 percent of TPA members said they joined “to advocate and support profession of pharmacy.” Despite different pharmaceutical backgrounds and specialties, many TPA members want to advance the profession of pharmacy and to be able to provide additional services to their patients.

I was once again reminded that we may vary in our pharmacy practice settings, but we are all pharmacists at the core. IPPE projects, back-to-back exams, and long nights—we all have been there before. Whether it is medication reconciliation in a rehabilitation hospital or medication counseling in the drive-through at a community pharmacy, we are all professionals taking care of patients. We are all in the same boat together, and Together Pharmacy Advances.

Nam completed a six-week rotation with the Texas Pharmacy Association during July and August of 2018.