There are as many different reasons that people decided to become pharmacists as there are pharmacists out there.  In other words, it is different for everyone.  However, choosing your own path as a pharmacist doesn't start when you finish pharmacy school and it doesn't end when you decide to retire.  I had a nice young lady sum it up this way, "Once I became a pharmacist, I quickly understood that I will always be a pharmacist."

Each pharmacist has to navigate, as best as possible, a life of pharmacy.  It has been our experience and the experience of many pharmacists that the better this is managed, the more fulfilling life after pharmacy will be. We believe this is best done through community pharmacy and by completing a pharmacist career path.

It is never too soon or too late to write a career path.  Joel Osteen in one of his books said you are never too old or young to strive to become a better person and professional.  He said that most of us convince ourselves that we are not the right age to do something before we even try.  (Side Note: I have had this feeling personally because I am 31 years old and I often work with 60 year old pharmacy owners.  It would be easy to let this difference in age convince me that I have nothing to offer or that I cannot improve in any way.)  Now, ideally, you would want to get on a career path at a younger age, but it is completely unuseful and unproductive to live in the past.  The Future of Community Pharmacy begins now.  The health of community pharmacy is dependent on you putting the past behind you.  This is the only way you can reach your full potential as a pharmacist and as a human being in a rapidly changing environment.

The truly successful pharmacists, and our most successful clients, are always looking towards the future and not living in the past.  Sure, things have changed in pharmacy, but ask anyone in any industry and they will tell you the same thing.  We all must acknowledge that change will happen and we must constantly adapt to it.  Let me repeat that for those that haven't bought into this concept: Change is inevitable and you must learn to live with it.  This should be built into any successful career path.

Now that we have addressed the elephant in the room, we can start to think about how to move forward.  This is where a pharmacist career path can help.  The following tips can help you get started on the career path for you.  We hope you step up to this challenge, because your pharmacy, and community pharmacy in general may be dependent on it.

1. Understand where you are - this is for obvious reasons
2. Focus on three year increments - it is almost impossible to manage things with a twenty or thirty year perspective.  You must have those long range goals but breaking things into three year increments can help keep you moving forward and make the proper course corrections.
3. Focus on your direction - it is important that you are heading the right direction no matter how long it takes.  Many people are so infatuated with time that they end up in a place they don't want to be because their eyes were only focused on the clock.

 One way to start is to identify where you are on the Community Pharmacist Lifecycle.

Where does this wisdom come from?

The content of this blog is inspired and substantiated by our experience helping independent community pharmacists enjoy financial independence during and after their life in pharmacy. When a pharmacist reaches out to us for information and help, we endeavor to give them as much free value as is possible. In addition to providing educational and strategic planning tools (like The Career Path Builder), we invite qualified pharmacists into our formal discovery process.

The first step of the process is completing The Inspired Goals Workshop. This 90-minute session enables us to deliver a detailed and personal Inspired Independence Blueprint. The blueprint provides a personalized roadmap for achieving your goals and enables you to fully understand the value of joining The Inspired Independence Program.

If you wish to learn more about any aspect of our work, the free value we offer, or to be considered for The Inspired Goals Workshop, visit our web site at www.waypointus.com or call 843.873.4420 and ask for Ben or Matt Coakley.

At Waypoint Pharmacy Advisors, we take care of you!