Originally, my November rotation was supposed to be a medical mission trip to Jamaica. However, because of COVID, the whole thing got cancelled. While I was disappointed at first that I was not able to go on that trip, this rotation was amazing, and I really learned a lot about myself.
This rotation was designed for us to be as independent as possible. We were tasked with creating a new pharmacy product or service. Throughout the whole rotation, we worked on this project and presented it on the last day of rotation. I’d give you my idea, but then you may steal it, and I actually might act on it in the future.
We were also tasked with choosing a book on innovation to read throughout the rotation and come together weekly to discuss what we learned from the book with the other students and our preceptor. I chose “The Innovation Stack” by Jim McKelvey (co-founder of Square credit card readers). This book was a great read and made me think a lot about what it means to be truly innovative in a world where we are trained to copy.
We also each watched an episode of Shark Tank and summarized it to the group. I think this was critical to the process in that we could see how people were really able to sell their products just based on their pitches and how some flopped for the same reason.
Overall, this experience was great and something that I definitely needed since I would like to own my own independent pharmacy in the future. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of creating a new product, business, or service and rolling it out.
I’m excited to finally have a month off of rotations, and I know I’ll be well rested and ready for my Oncology rotation that starts in January.
Stay Safe and Stay Golden,
Emily
Gluten Free PharmD 