Consultant Pharmacist/Intern Pharmacist
New Oakland Pharmacy
Oakland
I joined LDI because I felt that the leadership development program would help in being able to find my voice and a newfound inspiration for my career in a new state. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought we would sit in classroom style and go home on our merry way. However, this program was more than that. It taught us self-sufficiency and accountability on our part and skills to apply to not only our professional environment, but skills that carried to the improvement of our own lives and personal relationships.
Through the VISN chart as our first assignment on our first meeting, I was grateful to have a place to share our needs, values, interests and strengths with our pod group. It solidified the theme of mine and my pod’s motivations and goals. It was truly a gift and special place to be able to share these thoughts and ideas.
The program surprisingly showed me that being introverted is not a weakness, and the thing to strive for is simply ‘being’. I learned from LDI that ‘being’ brings forth your authentic self, which makes speaking up feel natural rather than it being a daunting task. In this sense, LDI has helped me to be able to accept myself through self-compassion and compassion for others and to appreciate and encourage the strengths of others. This way, we can grow, learn and change ourselves and the things around us for the better.
Through the recommended micro-journaling, self-reflection exercises, and asking a ‘more beautiful question’, the program has helped me shift my mind in the ways I perceived things that uncovered blind spots, which I did not know existed. It also provided an environment of openness and safe place to talk which I found refreshing because I was never encouraged to speak so openly in my previous experience with pharmacists. This program was exactly what I needed in my life for support and inner growth and am very grateful for the experience.
My project idea was inspired by the openness and support of the program. After meeting other pharmacists from out-of-state and expat pharmacists from other countries, I decided to start an East Bay meetup group using online platform for pharmacists who are wishing to expand their knowledge for exam preparation, whether that is the BCPS or the CPJE for pharmacists who are new to California. In addition, I hope to use a online conference style study group chat to gather pharmacists from other states and around the world in one room to relax and de-stress. It will also be a providing source of support for exam studies or support for moving to the United States or to California. I hope to apply the knowledge that I learned with LDI to create a community of support and growth to members and new pharmacists to the area.
I am grateful for LDI giving me this space to be able to tell my story and offering a voice to everyone in the program because in the heart of change is the unceasing journey of accepting ourselves. This is the only way we can service our community, workplace, personal, and all areas of our lives.