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Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

New Practicioners Network
Dear New Practitioner, Commit!

by Bryan C. McCarthy Jr., PharmD, MS, MJ, BCPS - Director, Adult Inpatient Pharmacy Services, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL

commit¹ (verb)
com·mit | \ kə-ˈmit \
Definition of commit
1: to carry into action deliberately: PERPETRATE

The new practitioner must be willing to dedicate time, energy, and themselves to become a truly fantastic pharmacist. Believe in your heart that your professional success depends on your ability to sharpen every single clinical and leadership pharmacist skill set available. Therapeutics, pharmacoeconomics, emotional intelligence, advocacy…Go all in!

There are several other professions that are potentially more lucrative or can offer more significant personal gain including (but not limited to): medicine, engineering, or real estate. It is easy to daydream “what if” when the road gets tough during pharmacy school or residency or other early steps of a career path. If you have committed to pharmacy, which hopefully you have, then time spent beholding other opportunities is time wasted.

It is increasingly challenging to distinguish oneself in this increasingly saturated pharmacist market. Ask yourself, “What makes you different or unique?” Do you have an “I-have-to-get-it-done-now” urgency with studying, group projects, networking opportunities, continuing education, or organizational leadership? Privilege and responsibility comes with being the pharmacist member of the patient-centered care team. What makes you more deserving of this privilege and responsibility than any other new practitioner?

ICHP is a volunteer-based organization that welcomes and thrives with new practitioner commitment. Beyond the ICHP New Practitioner E-board, there are several outstanding divisions and committees offering new practitioners opportunity to learn and contribute. Take a look at the website and contact the Division/Committee chair if you want to know how to get involved. And what’s more, ICHP has countless phenomenal mentors that are eager to share time, energy, and themselves with you. Take advantage now, with urgency. Your professional success depends on it.

1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commit