So now it’s over

It’s been a little over a week since Great Expectations…I must admit I am already beginning to have difficulty recalling all the great things I learned and heard and experienced. They say the olfactory sensation is the best trigger for remembering, maybe we could all have computers that emit certain scents to help trigger memories or to encourage us to get back to work, whatever it is…I would have a trigger of the Chicago night air, the smell of a hotel conference room, and some coffee.

Mmmmm..... breakfast.

And at the end of all that it would remind me that I took away great things from a great conference.

I think that hard thing about conferences is the surrealistic environment that permits us to escape work and focus on learning is the same surreality that prevents us from fully translating our findings back to our work place. They feel like completely different learning examples. The other thing is that, quite simply, life is busy. We are all involved in our careers, our homes, our families, and our lives – where does one find time to really contemplate how to bring it all home? Some things are easy, like fitting a colleague’s protocol to your workplace kinetic conundrum, but other learning is harder to figure out exactly how to integrate into your site. I think about some of the things I heard other people doing and saying, even Lloyd’s message – how do I make that work where I am? Even this blog, how do I make this work? How do I fit it into a normal day? How would other practitioners fit it into their day?
Maybe ya’all out there have suggestions?

A couple of things I want to say about the conference:

• Yes, I would go back (but attend different programming) – it’s worthwhile.



• Speed-networking was my favorite.

New practitioners speed-network with ASHP President Janet Silvester. Pretty cool.

• Thank you to my two dinner companions on Saturday evening - I really enjoyed our conversation.



• Susan Goodin was awesome moderating Clinical Pearls!
  
  

Susan Goodin cracks a joke while moderating Clinical Pearls.

I thought overall the conference was pretty stellar. Thank you to the ASHP staff for a job well-done (you know who you are). Thank you to Henri Manasse Jr. and Janet Silvester for your time and encouragement!

Thank you to everyone who attended and made the conference great. Thank you for your feedback so this conference can continue to get better.

Hope to see you at the Midyear Clinical Meeting in VEGAS BABY YEAH!!!!

Don’t Know About Perseverance

First, go check out this blog by Seth Godin: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/09/two-kinds-of-do.html

After you’ve read about the two types of “don’t know” it puts the Saturday morning motivational session in an even larger light. I left the morning session on Saturday with a whole host of things I could do better in my life. Thinking about how Lloyd Bachrach had overcome so much and there I had been, sitting at breakfast whining about getting out of bed that morning.

This man (Lloyd) is amazing! He has overcome so many adversities. I was amazed by the way he has not simply walked through his life (like his mom’s obstetrician said he would never do) but he has accomplished so much. You’ll have to hear his story or Google-search him for all the details, but this guy rocks! He had some general words of advice that I think are applicable to all people as well. For example, the idea that “we’re all ‘differently abled’ – we all do things in our own different ways” is appropriate whether you are trying to figure out how to run to second base with legs ¼ of the size of other people’s legs or attempting to provide safe and effective patient care without all the tools you need.

Lloyd also adds another dynamic to our perspective stating that, “If you are passionate about what you do success will chase you – however you define it”. How apt! As New Practitioners (NPs) we are all trying to be successful and so often we are not exactly sure what that looks like. I found a certain solace in that fact that however I decide what my success looks like; if I believe in it I will find it (or it will find me). For some that may be clinical care in a hospital, others a retail pharmacist position, maybe ambulatory care, or administration. The point is the passion. Passion is what drives us to succeed.

There are 5 keys to Lloyd’s success that he shared and I enjoyed them so much I felt compelled to write them down, but I will share them with everyone out there in TV-Land;

1) BUILD
2) FOCUS
3) SET
4) PERSEVERE
5) MAINTAIN

BUILD, as in build a high self-esteem; FOCUS, with a positive attitude. What we think will be what we attract in our lives, good thoughts = good things; SET, powerful goals. Insisting on not simply setting a goal, a way to get through the day, but setting goals that are lofty, taking the high road; PERSEVERE; and MAINTAIN, as in maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit. Be good to yourself.

Too often New Practitioners will say they ‘don’t know’ how to do chemo, or how to treat HIV, how to respond to a code, or evaluate psychiatric medications. So many things experience hasn’t yet taught us. But, Lloyd is just the kind of inspiration we need to remind us we do know these things. So I listen to Seth Godin as he says, “The answer lies in trial and error and motivation and in overcoming the fear that makes us avoid the topic in the first place.” And I combine it with Lloyd’s closing remarks, “The only limitations we have are the limitations we place on ourselves.” Then I take Janet Silvester’s challenge to translate it to health care and the challenges we face and be successful.

Go forth right?

Lloyd flexes his guns at the Opening Session.

Check out all the Saturday pics here.

I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!

Good morning! Holy geez! I am not a morning person. I swear everyday morning gets earlier and earlier…this morning wasn’t horrible though. I mos def appreciated the Starbucks coffee in my room though – Amen to mass marketing! Normally I like to try and support local business (as my cohorts who trekked with me to odd coffee houses in San Fran remember) but there is something to be appreciated about making coffee in your hotel in a strange city. Keeping in mind of course that it never really tastes like coffee should.

Running late, out the door, gotta get some breakfast! (and more coffee of course)

A Hard Days Night

GRRRR… possibly the most frustrating thing in the whole wide world…more frustrating than when you were little and your little sister (or brother) used to play the “I’m not touching you” game (if you know what that is) à losing your whole blog because Word has decided to have a runtime error and close in an entirely, as my one of my favorite mentors would say, ‘capricious and arbitrary’ manner.

That’ll teach you to save your files right?

So – Sitting at my makeshift workspace in my hotel room (which my roommate has decided is too hot and so turned the temperature down leaving me longing for my Minnesota winter coat) thinking about the night, hoping that everyone out there was able to appreciate just a small piece of what this city has to offer. I myself am still appreciating a full belly and the sweet taste of contentment, listening to Pinback playing in my iPod.

Admittedly, I was techno-impressed with the reception. Especially after arriving late – I mean seriously, it was probably the one time Henri Manasse will ever call me out by name and where was I? Oh yeah, on a plane sitting on the O’Hare tarmac. Way to go right? – I digress. Back to food…the “hor de oeuvres” were amazing and I leave that hor de oeuvres in quotes because I would argue that ravioli warmed and served with a butternut squash sauce right there before your eyes is a far cry from snacks where I’m from, but I also heard the poached lobster was fantastic and the seared tuna looked pretty great too. So a giant kudos to the meeting planners for that spread!

A giant thank you to the ASHP staff for their attentiveness and hard work! Another thank you to all the people who have traveled from so far just to attend this conference. And thank you to familiar faces from pharmacy school – you know who you are – for just being great and being involved. I hope all ya’all out there have a rockin time and I look forward to meeting you!

PS – now that my roomie is fast asleep I will be turning the temperature back to normal

Where's my suitcase again?

Please excuse the chaos and panic as I attempt to prepare for tomorrow’s travel plans…Does anyone else’s week seem like the tour de force of all weeks?

I am very much looking forward to this weekend in Chicago – what a nice break from the day-to-day…the thing I enjoy most about conferences and the like is the way it refreshes and revives me. I always come back from conferences with so many ideas and new processes to try. More importantly I always come back with new friends (and sometimes those friends come back to you).

There was this one girl I had met in New Orleans (pre-hurricane) and introduced her to a good guy friend of mine. They ended up dating for a bit, but we didn’t really ever chat often. Then I was walking down the hall of the hospital at my new residency and who should I pass? That same girl!!! Turns out she was completing her residency at a sister hospital – who knew??? Anyway, like my boss likes to tell me about 3 times a week, “Pharmacy’s a small world” right?

Okay, I gotta get home and pack and get ready for this weekend’s adventures!