The Chapter of the Year formula at UNM: Part II
Annajita Rubio, PharmD, is a 2024 graduate of The University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Pharmacy and was the 2022–2023 UNM APhA–ASP Chapter president.
Before the start of the 2022–2023 school year, The University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Pharmacy APhA–ASP Chapter voted to adjust its executive team leadership structure so that we could better fit the leadership structure and duties recommended by APhA–ASP staff. This was one of the factors that led to us receiving the 2022–2023 APhA–ASP Chapter of the Year Award at APhA’s 2024 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, FL, this past March.
Leadership working at peak efficiency
These leadership structure changes included changing the international vice president and policy vice president to elected positions, as they were previously appointed positions. We also removed the elected position of secretary and transferred the duties of this position to the communications vice president. We changed the duties of the patient care vice president to no longer host the patient counseling competition but to now be the coordinator and main point of contact for the 6 national patient care projects. The patient care vice president would now serve to assist the executive team with securing outreach sites for patient care events, conducting trainings, and obtaining supplies. This responsibility was previously placed on the chapter president.
The first-year student pharmacist representative position was also added as an appointed position. The position of a pre-pharmacy student-at-large was kept within the executive team structure, but with an emphasis on involving them more in the future. They are a crucial point of contact to keep our chapter and student pharmacists connected with pre-pharmacy students at our undergraduate college. We anticipated these changes would allow our chapter to operate efficiently for years to come.
Getting SMART during retreats
Summer and winter executive team retreats were completed prior to each semester. New officers, chairs, and co-chairs were asked to complete SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals for the upcoming year specific to their roles. Types of expectations from officers, chairs, and co-chairs that were discussed included: effective communication, their role in helping coordinate Community Outreach Day, tips for organizing patient care events in the community, how to track their events to report in the chronological list, explanation of the chapter achievement report, and upcoming local, regional, and national meetings they could attend.
We also established our 2022–2023 chapter goals. We had StrengthsFinder training, a course that guides participants in identifying innate talents, from our chapter advisor so we could learn more about our own leadership styles, as well as those with whom we will be working on our executive team. At the winter retreat, executive team members were asked to revisit their original SMART goals from the summer and create an updated action plan for the spring semester so they could effectively plan their upcoming events and allow themselves time to prepare. This time was dedicated to reflecting on what went well during the previous semester and what improvements could be made as a team. The team analyzed what they were not able to accomplish based on their SMART goals from the beginning of the year and created action plans to execute those tasks during the time remaining in their positions.
Both retreats concluded with an executive team dinner and a fun team-based scavenger hunt.
Hogwarts comes to UNM
Our membership vice president led our chapter to surpass the chapter’s fall membership drive numeric goals by centering the drive around the theme of the Harry Potter universe. Each cohort was assigned one of the 4 houses, and members were entered into a raffle to win a gift basket in the colors of their respective houses. Students had the opportunity to earn 2 entries into the raffle: one for becoming a member of APhA–ASP and one for becoming a member of the New Mexico Pharmacists Association (NMPhA). The cohort with the greatest percentage of members based on enrollment earned an additional prize.
Exciting new member benefits and events
The chapter developed several new member-specific benefits, including the Friend-A-First-Year Program and the Pinning Ceremony. The Friend-A-First-Year Program paired first-year student pharmacists with second- and third-year students to provide them with mentorship. Interested mentees and mentors completed a Google Form, and efforts were made to match students with similar interests. The Pinning Ceremony was held after the fall membership drive. Returning members were asked to assist with pinning new members, and a celebration followed. Finally, the chapter helped facilitate registration fees through the university for as many students as possible for the APhA–ASP Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM) and the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition. This encouraged attendance despite registration fees being a financial burden to a majority of students.
The membership vice president also organized several social events throughout the year that were open to all student pharmacists but also included a few that were for members only to enrich the benefits package of joining our APhA–ASP Chapter. These events included a potluck, a bonfire, a holiday light show, and a paint-and-sip class. The chapter also provided coffee and doughnuts to student pharmacists during finals week. The back-to-school potluck allowed members to network with pharmacists from the New Practitioner Network and our chapter advisor. The bonfire was held at an off-the-grid location to provide students with the opportunity to take a break from their screens and relax while eating s’mores. Free tickets to the holiday light show provided chapter members with the opportunity to enjoy the holiday season in the week before finals. Free tickets to the paint-and-sip class allowed chapter members to get creative and socialize outside the classroom.
Student pharmacists were recognized in chapter meetings with the announcement of our “Member-of-the-Month” and “Executive-Member-of-the-Month” recognition. Individuals— anonymously nominated by the executive team using Google Forms—were rewarded for their exceptional involvement in the chapter over the past month.
Making our mark on campus, in the state capitol
Our chapter participated in national APhA–ASP initiatives such as the National Patient Counseling Competition and PharmFlix. We also had a chapter outreach visit in the fall from the APhA–ASP national president to assist our executive team in planning for a successful year and to inspire all student pharmacists at our school through a presentation during a general body meeting.
Our policy vice president hosted a variety of events throughout the year that involved legislative entities throughout the state with the aim of advocating for the profession of pharmacy throughout New Mexico. As the state’s only college or school of pharmacy, our APhA–ASP Chapter is uniquely positioned to advocate for and create change by legislative means, in a place where pharmacists have a wide scope of practice including the opportunity to practice as independent prescribers under a collaborative practice agreement.
For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we held our annual Legislative Day event at the state capitol. Our policy vice president, in coordination with the NMPhA president, arranged for student pharmacists to attend committee meetings and meet with legislators throughout the day to advocate for important health care and pharmacy-relevant bills. Additionally, a Pizza and Policy event was held for student pharmacists and other allied health profession students. The policy vice president discussed the legislative process at both the state and federal levels, in addition to discussing the need for legislative outreach, and the outreach APhA conducts nationally as well as APhA’s own policy process. The event was followed by pizza and a discussion among students about the ways in which they can support and engage in legislative efforts.
Chapter members brainstormed and proposed their own policy proposal ideas. Members unable to attend were also provided the opportunity to submit a proposal via an anonymous online form. Following submissions, a college-wide vote took place, and chapter policy proposal was crafted, which was submitted to the Region 8 regional delegate. Our chapter’s proposal was approved at MRM and was ultimately submitted to the national policy committee for approval. Thus, our chapter members were able to participate in the APhA policy process from beginning to end, and we learned about the importance of advocacy in their profession.
An active APhM
During American Pharmacists Month, our policy vice president, Kory Sillivent, coordinated multiple events for student pharmacists to get involved. During the October general body meeting, the policy vice president discussed current pharmacy-relevant legislation at the state and national levels. Additionally, the policy vice president obtained a signed declaration from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham designating October as American Pharmacists Month.
Furthermore, APhA–ASP, in coordination with the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists–SSHP and Walgreens, held an event titled “White Coats Across Montaño.” For this event, student pharmacists from across the college of pharmacy, staff, faculty, and pharmacists throughout the community came together to advocate for pharmacists everywhere. Participants wore their white coats, held advocacy and educational signs along a busy street during rush hour, and posted photos of the event to social media to raise awareness of the importance of pharmacists.
Raising funds
Fundraisers organized primarily by the finance vice president, Maydelin Rives Santiesteban, included selling dot.cards (a digital business card) and shirts with the APhA logo to students, pharmacy faculty, and staff; hosting a Halloween Bake Sale, a “Garage Sale” of various items from our chapter’s previous fundraisers over the years, a Valentine’s Bake Sale, and a flower bouquet sale during the Class of 2024 Pinning Ceremony. For the Pinning Ceremony, multiple local Walmart managers donated flowers to the chapter to create various sizes of bouquets to sell to guests in attendance.
Finding new leaders
Student pharmacists were recruited for chapter officer positions during the month of February when our chapter hosted an “Exec Q&A Breakfast Mixer.” Elected officers and chairs/co-chairs created informational boards about their respective positions and/or operations while enjoying breakfast together. Students interested in leadership positions walked around and mingled with others to learn about the different leadership positions available in our APhA–ASP Chapter. Current leaders were prompted to reach out to interested students on a one-on-one basis to encourage them to run for an elected position or apply for an appointed position, depending on their interests.
The power of mentoring
Our chapter was fortunate to have 5 New Practitioner Mentors (NPM) who played supportive roles in our chapter’s events and meetings. Our NPMs volunteered as judges for both rounds of the local patient care counseling competition. They were also chosen to be on a panel of guest speakers for one of our monthly chapter meetings where they shared with our students their experiences during pharmacy school, their involvement with APhA–ASP, and how the organization has shaped their lives as students—and now practicing professionals—and answered any questions students had.
Our NPMs also served as preceptors for many of our clinical outreach sites. Lastly, our NPMs volunteered to speak to the third-year students about the benefits of the transitioning membership APhA–ASP offers. While some had used the membership and shared their personal experiences, there were others who were not transitioning members when they were students, and they expressed regret for not taking advantage of the benefits offered.
Proud to celebrate our work
Being recognized as the APhA–ASP Chapter of the Year is a recognition of every one of our chapter members, and their dedication to the profession of pharmacy and APhA–ASP. Our chapter leaders and members dedicated their time, skills, and passion to improving the lives of student pharmacists and New Mexicans, and we are so proud to celebrate this work with all of APhA–ASP!