6/13/19
We just finished up the first day of the Georgia Pharmacy Association Summer Convention in Amelia Island, Florida! It has been a blast already and I feel so lucky to be here for the first time.
I arrived Wednesday afternoon in order to help set up “Student Central,” a new addition to the convention. It is a space for students only in which we host all of the student events throughout the week. As one of the directors of the GPhA Student Leadership Board, I have been communicating with GPhA staff for months in order to help coordinate all these events.
Alex and I then presented to the board of directors regarding the Student Leadership Board and everything we envision for the board over the next few years.
We went out for a quick seafood dinner at Shucker’s nearby, and spent the rest of the evening strategizing for the days ahead.
Thursday morning we awoke bright and early to get officially registered, add to the Student Central message board, and greet all the students before the 1st general session.
The opening session included a talk from CEO Bob Coleman who spoke about the 4 pillars of GPhA: Advocacy, Education, Engagement, and Information. The biggest advocacy wins this year have been passing HB233 and HB323. GPhA is offering 30 hours of CE credit during the convention this year, and offers education on point of care testing throughout the year as well.
We then heard from the 2018-2019 GPhA President, Tim Short, who gave an update on all things GPhA over the past year. Mahlon Davidson also gave an update about the PharmPAC which gave $146,000 to 80 Georgia political candidates last year.
Dr. Kinsey, one of my favorite professors at Mercer, received the Mal T. Anderson award as an outstanding regional president over the past year.
We also had a keynote speech from Terry Watson, who encouraged us as pharmacists to focus on the experience our patients have in order to offer more value to their lives.
We then went straight into the first round of student events, life coaching. We started with a discussion on the interview process from Hannah Head and Tim Short. Students asked questions and they shared their expertise with us.
We then heard from Mike Tarrant from Integrated Financial Group who gave tips for students on getting our finances in order, paying off loans, and investing.
We spent some time in the expo hall talking to all the awesome booth sponsors!
There was a business card swap where students from the 4 colleges of pharmacy were able to network with each other and get to know everyone in attendance.
We finished up the evening with a Mercer alumni dinner! We heard from Dean Crabtree and applauded alumni who won several awards.
Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
