I am pleased to be here this morning to welcome you and jump start your STUDENT ACADEMIC TRACK and a very full day of programs, activities and events. I am especially pleased since one of the primary goals throughout my career has been to mentor pharmacy students, to guide them and engage them in a discussion of their professional role and the career opportunities within the senior care practice setting. For me, it has been an exciting and fulfilling journey ….. More than a half century sets us apart ….. I concluded a four year program with a BS in Pharmacy. Many of you have come to your college of pharmacy having completed several years of undergraduate classes and now seek a PharmD degree, then on to post graduate studies and most likely an internship or residency before you even begin your formal pharmacy practice. In the sixties, when most of you probably weren’t even born, the focus was on dispensing and distributive functions. Competitive pricing and fair trade marketing practices were major consumer issues and Pharmacy was just in the embryonic stage of crafting a model for gathering and assessing patient information. Today, the Pharmacist utilizes ancillary staff to assist them throughout the dispensing process. Today we focus on medication therapy management, nursing home resident medication regimen reviews and patient counseling services. Today, electronic patient medical records of all sorts are a standard of practice. We continue to seek a mechanism that will enable the pharmacy practitioner to separate the commodity from the clinical role and payment methods continue to evolve for the provision of these medication oversight and management services. Then we relied on typewriters (one might ask what’s a typewriter?) and hard bound reference texts. Today it’s the computer, the I Pad, the I Phones, digital, analog and all kinds’ of sophisticated equipment. Information technology is spontaneous, voluminous, in -­‐real time and changing as we speak. 1 When I first entered into pharmacy practice many of my colleagues were entrepreneurs and self employed. The neighborhood pharmacy was the focal point of the community. Now we see primarily chain pharmacies and mega corporate long term care providers ….. but….. it is encouraging to see a significant increase in consultant and clinical pharmacy practices and independent pharmacies throughout the country. All the while there is an ebb and flow in the supply and demand curve. My class of 1959 graduated fifty two pharmacists, seven were woman. The attrition rate was very high compared to almost none today. Most classes today are in excess of 100 students with well over 50% women who will enter an equal opportunity professional environment. There is no glass ceiling. The evolution of curriculum and teaching methods has been dramatic. There is a constant flow of new drugs into the market place albeit the pipeline has slowed appreciable for some of the pharmaceutical manufacturers. New information and new treatments continue to evolve. Continuing education is the key. It will be a primary factor that will empower you to sustain a successful professional career …… and this is the place to get it at the ASCP Annual, Mid Year and Regional meetings. I am now celebrating my 53rd year as a pharmacist. The path I have taken has been circuitous and I continue to enjoy the journey. I continue to remain Engaged with the profession ... Engaged with my University…. Engaged with the community. As a past president, through our Council of Presidents and with the aid and encouragement of our new and energetic executive director Dr. Vera Jackson and her outstanding staff I remain engaged in the activities of ASCP, all the while maintaining a balance in my life and seeking new interests. Fifty seven years or so ago I sat where you are today, not here but in the class room, dealing with a curriculum vastly different from the one you are faced with now, but no less challenging for that era. 2 The disappointments, the doubts, the sleepless nights, the late night study sessions, the anticipation …… while always present then, are now only vague recollections. The challenges, the successes, the camaraderie, the bonding with fellow classmates, many who are now long time colleagues and friends reflect only a few of those wonderful experiences that remain vivid memories. These bonds continue to this day as I remain connected and enjoy the many personal and professional exchanges with my ASCP family. I started my journey as an independent practitioner in 1974 and a few years later in 1977 became a member of ASCP. It was difficult to leave the business in the early days and finally in 1986 I attended my first meeting and not missed one since. I began then and have remained in the leadership of this association to this day. There has been nothing in my career more gratifying than being its President except for maybe working with you, the students. Each year the bar is raised and you continue to meet the challenge. I am impressed! For us to survive, we must nurture those coming through the ranks. We must grow from generation to generation. You are the future of the profession, you are the future of ASCP, you are the future and standard bearers of quality patient care and appropriate medication therapy management for the patients we care for. Focusing on a clinical role has always been a significant component of my pharmacy practice. Over this half century our profession has moved forward on many fronts. We now focus on the patient, seeking positive outcomes. The scope of our practice has dramatically evolved throughout the country. Numerous opportunities are emerging which will dramatically impact on the future role of pharmacists as medication therapy management experts. Collaboration with other health care professionals will further highlight that role and demonstrate our value every day. And that is a good thing! 3 I have worn many hats throughout my career: Pharmacist, supervisor, entrepreneur, instructor, mentor, advocate, volunteer and leader. Many of those roles were encouraged and born fruit through this association. I would imagine that many of you will travel similar paths as your career evolves. For me, I wouldn’t have missed any of those opportunities, extremely rewarding each in its own way. Mentoring students is one of the roles I have enjoyed most. During your academic journey, folks like me, from varied practice settings have already or soon will interact with you…. mentor you…. guide you and assist you in developing a professional model to effectively apply all that you have learned. Be assured that you will have many opportunities throughout this and future meetings to meet our members who will fill that role and become lifelong friends, mentors and colleagues. Throughout my career I have lectured to pharmacy students throughout the country in geriatrics and long term care. The intellect of our students and graduates never ceases to amaze me. I don’t know many of you yet but I am certain that you are no different. One of the most rewarding experiences and the culmination of my career was serving as President of this association, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, ASCP, the international professional association representing over 6,000 consultant and senior care pharmacists, with over 4,000 student members. It provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to advance the practice of senior care pharmacy and is the definitive professional organization for pharmacists who serve seniors. All the tools that you will need to succeed are right here! Did you know that according to the 2010 census by the year 2020 there will be over 55 million US citizens 65 and older. The demographics of the senior population are compelling and should not be ignored. I can unequivocally make the claim that you are in the right place to prepare you for providing pharmacy care to this growing and significant aging population 4 During my tenure in office my objective was to develop a student base for our society. A successful initiative accomplished by visiting and lecturing at numerous colleges of pharmacy throughout the country and developing university based ASCP student chapters. One of the messages that I tried to deliver, and by your presence I guess you have been listening and responded. Many of you have become involved in an ASCP student chapter. As you embrace this associations culture it will become an integral part of your professional life………………..…. Circumstances are not always as you would have them, nor do they appear when you think the time is right. But if you are patient … If you are patient … they will come your way. Two years after I graduated, I opened my first pharmacy. It was not a successful venture. You know that old saying..… If at first you don’t succeed, try again. That is the entrepreneurial spirit. That is my spirit. Well I did, and ten years later I began my exciting journey that has brought me here today. Life is a learning experience and will continue throughout your entire career, a lifetime. It took me ten years to grow and mature as a professional. It took me ten years to really know who I was and what was important to me. It took me ten years to clearly define the career path I wanted to follow for the rest of my life….. Be patient! In the early 70’s I began to more clearly understand what my mission was ….. Geriatrics and senior care …. I became a dedicated student of the profession of pharmacy and passionately embraced the specialty in every way possible. By the late 70’s I realized I needed to align myself with the ultimate resource in the field at that time. Who might that be! …. ASCP of course! The vision I have as I stand before you today is one of what was ….. What is ….. and what will be. I have travelled that path, you are about to embark upon it. There are many stages that you will move through, and while we all take this journey the path may vary. 5 You are now being driven by the promise of the future and an understanding of what you are called to do. Your dreams, aspirations, circumstances and events have inspired you and have provided hints and clues worth pursuing. It takes Preparation .. Perseverance .. and Passion .. to accomplish ones goals and assume the many responsibilities that go with the territory. You have met the challenge and now embark on the pursuit of your professional career. You are driven by your passion, qualities that make you unique and your quest to follow your calling. Questions about life, who you are and who you can become have led to a sorting through to find the ideas, lifestyles, values and career choices that fit you best….. In choosing pharmacy as your profession, You have made a wonderful choice. I would like to share with you a quote that has remained with me throughout my career. Having heard these words, first by George Bernhard Shaw and often paraphrased by others, I have often thought of it and included it in many of my presentations. In the Play, Mrs. Warrens Profession Shaw wrote, and I quote: ‘PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS BLAMING THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES FOR WHAT THEY ARE. I DON’T BELIEVE IN CIRCUMSTANCES. THE PEOPLE WHO GET ON IN THIS WORLD ARE THE PEOPLE WHO GET UP AND LOOK FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES THEY WANT, AND, IF THEY CAN’T FIND THEM, MAKE THEM’. End of quote. Remember, you never know what you are capable of doing until you try it! In closing, what is important is that you recognize that the patient is the center of your professional universe, whether an individual or family at the counter in the community pharmacy, at their bedside in an acute care or the long term care setting….. Or wherever your patients may reside! The patients you care for are your raison d’etre. The reason you are here. Please enjoy the ASCP experience. Good luck and my warmest wishes for a successful career in Pharmacy. ……… Thank you 6