Pharmacist in Charge
Aids Health Care Foundation
Las Vegas, NV
Cutting edge medication regardless of ability to pay. The mission statement of a company dedicated to fighting the disease known as HIV. After high school, I explored different careers in health care because both of my parents were nurses. I was inspired by their dedication and selflessness. Unfortunately, after a stint with shadowing my parents, I didn’t think I was cut out to be a nurse. I still had the passion to be in healthcare but I didn’t resonate with any field of medicine until I started work at CVS. As a pharmacy technician, I exposed myself to the world of medications, diseases states, insurances, and patient interaction. After 6 years, I applied to Roseman University of Health Sciences. I finished my pharmacy doctorate degree in 3 years and became the pharmacy manager for AHF Las Vegas.
The first year of being a manager was a very rough experience. I was constantly stressing out because of the staff, trying to meet deadlines, and living up to expectations of the company. I was constantly working on the weekends just to keep the store a float. For a moment, I thought I was doing the right thing for the company but what was I doing for myself? I started to dedicate my life to the pharmacy and started to let other things in my life slip away. At the time, I wasn’t able to recognize my actions, but my regional manager recognized and recommended a program called Leadership Development Institute or LDI. At first, I thought “oh great, another program to help me cope and keep me away from the pharmacy.” After my first session with LDI, I was gravely mistaken because I was starting the path to learn more about myself and how I lead others.
LDI has provided numerous tools and resources to support my growth as an emerging leader. LDI created an environment where I tested my beliefs and learned new ways to change my perception about my role as a manager. The topic I remember the most is the “Dip”. I believe the dip is very important to any leader because the dip creates a healthy obstacle for a leader to test their grit. The usual response to an obstacle is ignore or retire at the obstacle until the goal becomes irrelevant. With LDI, I learned the dip is a natural event in which a leader is challenged to use his grit to keep pursuing goal without stopping. I used my grit from session 3 of LDI and found a great project to work on.
The project I have chosen was to learn and train in martial arts. I always believed I couldn’t learn martial arts because I didn’t have time. As a child, I was inspired by martial artists because they protected the ones they loved and inspired others to build their inner-strength. I want to use martial arts as an avenue to express my inner-strength and inspire others to recognize their inner-strength. I started my journey by convincing my team to join a martial arts class. Our goal as a team is to stay fit and exercise our minds and bodies to help cope with the stress of the pharmacy. I am also enrolled in a class to earn my certification to one day become an martial arts instructor. With LDI, I feel confident in my ability to use the tools I have learned to develop and inspire other people to find their inner-strength.