Rely on your support system
FRIENDSHIP
By Kristine Nguyen, PharmD
Webster’s Dictionary defines a social support system as a “network of people, including family, friends, colleagues, or community members, who provide emotional, practical, or informational support to an individual, helping them cope with life’s challenges and maintain their well-being.” Yet, despite this, it can be said that a majority of new practitioners, whether it be those currently in residency or fellowships or those newly in the working field, are not using this system to the fullest.
And there can be many reasons for this.
Remember your reliable allies
Perhaps you are someone who does not like to ask for help due to your own innate self-reliance. Or maybe you are too busy with the many residency projects: monographs, medication utilization review, research projects, journal clubs, and case presentations, to name a few tasks.
As a current pharmacy resident, I am guilty of all of these reasons and so much more, thinking to myself, “They are just going to hinder my progress.” And frequently, I have caught myself feeling guilty about taking breaks because I cannot brush off the nagging that the time dedicated to leisure tasks could be well spent getting through my projects. Oh, but I was so wrong, because that plan sounded significantly better in my head than how it truly was. Instead of using that time toward my projects, I find myself distracted from the task or experiencing writer’s block more often than not.
During the toughest times, whether it be staying up to finish clinical projects after projects or preparing for a presentation or even learning new protocols, the most convenient fallback system is our social support system—friends and family who we may think we do not have enough time for due to our busy schedules.
The benefits
In reality, however, partaking in activities with your social network, away from work, has many benefits:
● Following a period away from the work, you now have a set of fresh pair of eyes to see the challenge from a different angle. This often leads you to conjure solutions that may not have been present.
● Different people have different perspectives, and if you are facing an issue that you cannot resolve or need an idea, asking your friends and family for a new outlook or insights may just help wriggle and loosen the knot.
● It can be a coping mechanism as you are able to de-stress from the day’s work and discuss your concerns or enlightened thoughts about a subject. While your social network may not have all the answers, attentively and patiently listening to one’s problem can serve as a form of therapy.
A pivotal key to your success
If you want to expand your social support system, here are some few available resources to explore:
1. APhA’s ENGAGE forum: It provides a space where new practitioners, student pharmacists, technicians, and pharmacists network!
2. Reddit community: r/Pharmacy provides a platform where new practitioners are able to ask questions to and provide answers for other pharmacy colleagues.
3. LinkedIn: It provides a space where new practitioners are able to network and connect with their colleagues as well as those outside of their profession.
Overall, a social support system, whether it be friends and/or family, can serve as a vital and a pivotal key to your success as a new practitioner!
Kristine Nguyen, PharmD, is a PGY1 pharmacy resident at Banner-University Medical Center South Campus, and a member of the 2024–2025 APhA New Practitioner Network Communications Standing Committee. When she is not working up patients and optimizing medication regimens, she enjoys spending her time with her friends and family, visiting historical landmarks and museums, eating, learning ballet, and watching live musical/dance performances.