I haven’t sat down to write a blog post in almost a month and let me tell you I miss it! I love reflecting on my life and talking about the things that I love. Until very recently, I felt like I didn’t even have a second to breathe. I felt like I was running my body into the ground, running on too little sleep and too much coffee. It all pretty much started with prepping for finals, then actually taking finals, then traveling to Hilton Head for a conference, and then sitting through a 2-day immunization course back in Boston the day after we landed.

I’m excited to finally have some time to myself & to spend time with my family. Looking ahead, I feel like I won’t have a stable routine until maybe next summer when I start working full time and that stresses me out a little. However, I’m going to spend the next year learning as much as I can and making the most of my clinical APPE rotations.

Anyways, in this post, I really want to focus on the conference that I attended. First off, I HAD THE BEST EXPERIENCE EVER. I used to attend quite a few conferences before starting college including Peoples to Peoples, Junior National Young Leaders, HOBY, Future Business Leaders of America, and a few others. However, throughout my college career, I didn’t attend a conference until I went to the Independent Pharmacy Conference in Hilton Head. I honestly forgot how much I loved attending conferences and now I’m hoping to attend at least another one before I graduate.

The conference was 2-day /3-night conference and yet I wish it lasted a whole week. Not only was the weather perfect in Hilton Head but the people were even better. The staff members at the Independent Pharmacy Cooperative (IPC), along with the pharmacy owners, were all so welcoming and friendly. It was also really nice to connect with other students who had a similar interest as myself. In pharmacy school, we’re somewhat encouraged to pursue a residency and continue our clinical education instead of “settling” for a position in a retail pharmacy (this doesn’t represent my opinion but instead an overall view that I’m used to hearing). However, I’m passionate about independent and community pharmacy so it was nice to see that the independent spirit is very much alive and flourishing.

At the conference, we sat through CEs, listened to inspirational speakers, and attended a tradeshow. We learned a lot about finances, inventory, reimbursement, specialties, and constructing a convincing business plan. Sitting through the classes and continuing education sessions didn’t feel like a “lecture” at all. Instead, every activity at the conference was very interesting and inspiring. I honestly love learning about balance sheets, regulatory changes, and the future of pharmacy. I know they say that what you do for a career shouldn’t take over your life but you definitely should be passionate about what you do and always look for ways to learn and improve.

I cannot speak highly enough about both the members and staff at the Independent Pharmacy Cooperative (IPC). They treated us students with much respect and made sure we didn’t have to spend a penny of our own money the whole trip. The fed us amazing food, provided us with two really awesome books (Profit Mastery & The Seven Figure Pharmacist), and even gifted us each a gift card for our night out on the town. Additionally, they were very approachable and they shared valuable pieces of advice whenever they had the chance to. For the amount of pressure and responsibility that these people carry they also really knew how to relax, have a good time, and enjoy life (& made sure that we did too). The first night we spend a lot of time chatting with new friends at the poolside welcoming party and then on the last night we spent the night dancing and singing along with TSoul (from The Voice) under a beautifully decorated tent at the Port Royal Golf & Racket Club. I’d say we were pretty spoiled this trip and it really reminded me to give back to students/the younger generation when I’m able to.

Overall, what I really took away from this experience is we should do whatever we can to better ourselves, take the amazing opportunities that are offered to us even if they seem a little overwhelming (it was quite overwhelming to fit this trip in between finals & immunization training), and be passionate about what we do! Also, if you get the chance to attend a professional definitely say YES. They usually allow for quite a bit of personal and professional growth in such a small amount of time.

Just a little bit of quick background info: IPC provides buying power as the nation’s largest group purchasing organization for independent pharmacies. This basically means they provide services and products to independent pharmacies and advocate for them so that they are able to sustain success and compete with larger chain pharmacies.

XOXO ~

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  ~Steve Jobs