Annaston Young is a third-year PharmD candidate at Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy.
As the APhA–ASP Chapter president at Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy, I was thrilled to host a watch party for the 2024 Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM) in November. MRM2024 was the second watch party hosted on our campus, and we were excited to bring back our neighboring colleagues from Belmont University and The University of Tennessee (UT)–Nashville. With the coordination of my president-elect, Seth Meyer, a second-year PharmD candidate, we created a collaborative event designed to foster our professional growth, expand our network, and deepen our connection to our profession while having a lot of fun and eating good food.
Keeping the MRM energy high
The day started with some fantastic MRM speakers, and our audience listened intently, soaking up the knowledge and tips provided. But for me, the magic really happened during the breaks. We organized networking activities and games between each session to keep the energy high, and promote connections and conversations among attendees from different schools. During these activities, conversations filled the room, ideas were shared, and career-long connections were made. One highlight was the minute-to-win games, where each school sent a representative to compete for a prize. The laughter and joy from these games were contagious and encouraged engagement as the day progressed.
During lunch, we broadened our network by hopping on a Zoom call with the UT–Knoxville and UT–Memphis campuses, where we learned about the advocacy opportunities within the Tennessee Pharmacist Association (TPA). TPA highlighted the importance of student pharmacists coming together to drive lasting change for the profession. For many of our first-year student pharmacists in attendance, this discussion, combined with greater insight into our professional identity, was a turning point. One student said that MRM truly demonstrated the common pharmacy saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know they makes all the difference.”
The most talked-about speaker of the day was Tina Bayuse, PharmD, RPh, FAsMA. As a NASA pharmacist, Bayuse had many interesting stories to captivate the audience. However, it was her inspiration to the many student pharmacists listening in that left an impact.
You couldn't help but walk away from her session feeling empowered to accomplish amazing things and pursue paths within the pharmacy profession that many don't even know exists.
Rewarding experience for the chapter
Reflecting on this weekend, I couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved and the connections that we made. Seth summed it up perfectly: “Hosting this event was a rewarding experience that reinforced my passion for leadership and collaboration within my future profession.”
MRM reminds us that the future of pharmacy is bright, and with a shared commitment and collaboration, student pharmacists have the power to propel this profession in a new direction.