Throughout the month of April, The Link will feature interviews with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who have participated in the ACP Leadership Forum. Nina Dueck participated in 2023. She discussed her experience at the event and hopes to encourage pharmacy technicians and pharmacists to consider applying for this year’s forum.
Why is leadership development important to you?
Leadership development is such an integral part of being a pharmacy technician because it makes us more well rounded in our profession. As pharmacy technicians, we work with multi-disciplinary teams and being able to excel in leadership skills like communication and self awareness and accountability allows us to contribute to our pharmacy practice in a more meaningful way.
What inspired you to apply for the ACP Leadership Forum?
I heard about the forum from my mentors and I’ve always wanted to apply. Initially, I was intimidated to apply and felt I needed to accomplish a few more things before I was ready. Being a mother of two young children, finding the time can also be very hard. But I’m always seeking professional and personal development opportunities and luckily my mentors encouraged me to apply by sharing what a great learning opportunity the forum was for them in their own leadership development. They told me it would be an experience I would never forget and they were right.
Describe your experience at the forum.
I had heard such great things about the leadership forum before I attended. These types of experiences don’t always live up to the hype, but in this case, my experience at the forum was truly transformative for my personal and professional development.
Being in a room full of passionate, talented pharmacy colleagues and leaders who were there for the same reason—to seek leadership development and support that development in each other—was an amazing experience.
What were some of your key takeaways?
We were able to discuss our leadership challenges and then work together to explore how we could each use our personal strengths to face those challenges. Those conversations had important takeaways for me.
Being able to leave the event with a new network of connections was also a huge bonus—I still keep in touch with at least nine of my peers I met at the event.
How can these types of experiences lead to personal growth?
The forum helped me identify my own strengths and develop a personal vision statement. I also learned about my own blind spots. This has helped me lead with my strengths and bring my vision to life both personally and professionally and has also motivated me to continue my path of personal growth and development.
I was fortunate that my mentors encouraged me to attend this event and I now look forward to encouraging others to apply to attend the leadership forum in turn. I’m very thankful to have been selected to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience and it makes me truly proud to be part of our pharmacy community.
Interested?
If Nina’s experience sounds rewarding to you, consider applying for the 2024 ACP Leadership Forum. You have until Tuesday, April 30, 2024, to submit your application and supporting documentation. Learn more about the event and how to apply.
