Several third-year pharmacy students at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences said they were involved with COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts, including organizing mass vaccination events and testing patients in their communities.

For example, although he lives further away from the main campus in Spokane, Trevor Schultz said he has gotten involved through his internship position. Schultz said he has worked with his mentor to launch vaccination efforts in his community and added that he volunteered over winter break to get the first clinic up and running.

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Pharmacy Students Were Crucial to COVID-19 Testing, Vaccination Efforts

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on their experiences in pharmacy school, students at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences said the pandemic has also opened their eyes to the important roles pharmacists play in health systems, communities, and throughout the country.

Third-year student Shayne Fontes said that in addition to reminding him of the importance of pharmacists, the COVID-19 pandemic made the public more aware of the services pharmacists provide. Not only are pharmacists drug experts, Fontes said, but they can also perform COVID-19 testing and vaccinations alongside physicians and other health care providers.

Shannon Patterson, another third-year student, said the pandemic completely changed her outlook on the pharmacy profession. Prior to the pandemic, Patterson said she was feeling burned out and a little defeated, but the pandemic showed her firsthand how people can engage with and learn from their pharmacists.

Not only are pharmacists drug experts, but the pandemic demonstrated that they can also perform COVID-19 testing and vaccinations alongside physicians and other health care providers.

Pharmacy Students Say COVID-19 Pandemic Has Opened Their Eyes to the Value of Pharmacists

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on pharmacy students’ educations, according to a group of third-year students from the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in a 

The students’ coursework went entirely online during the pandemic, according to Shannon Patterson. She noted that she learns best in a hands-on environment, so shifting to online has been a challenge. Staying focused and participating in online classes can also be more difficult than participating in an in-person discussion, and Patterson said it is easier to get distracted.

Shayne Fontes echoed Patterson’s challenges with the pandemic, although he added that the online learning has made him a more independent student. Similar to Patterson, third-year student Misty Lefler said moving the simulations online has presented challenges, since students would normally learn how to handle syringes and perform basic tasks in a lab environment.

“That’s probably been a little more difficult, but I think the faculty have really come together to make this an easy transition for all of us,” Lefler said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on pharmacy students’ educations, according to a group of third-year students from the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Pharmacy Students Discuss Challenges of Online Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic

Student Café series, we asked students at the Washington State University (WSU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences what drew them to study at WSU. Shannon Patterson, a third-year student, said she was drawn to the family atmosphere and close relationships within the program.

“When I first walked on campus, I engaged with many fellow students of many different years, as well as faculty, and I immediately felt a part of the family,” she said.

Trevor Schultz, a fellow third-year student, said he was drawn to the unique teaching style at the school, because professors use a flipped-model classroom in which students watch lectures and do required readings before class, leaving more time for discussion. Finally, third-year student Shayne Fontes said attending WSU has given him the chance to explore more of Washington State while still staying somewhat close to home.

In a recent Student Café series, we asked students at the Washington State University (WSU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences what drew them to study at WSU.

Students Discuss What Drew Them to Pharmacy School

Vaccinating more than 328 million Americans against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will take many health care professionals. To accelerate the national vaccination campaign, Husson University (HU) in Bangor, Maine, has announced that it will provide training to any pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy intern, regardless of whether they are enrolled at HU.

Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and interns are authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the public under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. HU is offering 2 nationally approved educational options to support these professionals in their vaccination efforts.

The first option is a 6-hour course designed for pharmacy technicians that teaches them how to administer the vaccine and respond appropriately to different emergencies that may arise in the pharmacy setting.

The second option is a 20-hour course available to licensed pharmacists and interns. This course also educates its participants on how to administer the vaccines and respond to potential emergencies. Additionally, it includes information on the use of the different vaccines available, as well as their indications and contraindications.

"Husson University has traditionally worked with our clinical partners to provide flu shots in past years," said Kelsie Snow, PharmD, an assistant professor at Husson University's School of Pharmacy, in a prepared statement. "This year, we are working in much the same way to provide the COVID-19 vaccinations to as many people as we can."

Each course of study has an asynchronous self-study component that should be completed before attending the in-person component. An evaluation of the ability to vaccinate is later completed by Snow, who is licensed and authorized by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to ensure adherence.

HU is offering the courses twice a month, although the university noted that it is willing to provide additional classes at a convenient time and location based on the needs of local pharmacies and hospitals.

"We are also looking into holding these courses in different locations around the state to minimize [the] need. to travel. Maine is an awfully large state, and we want to do all that we can to facilitate the response to the public health crisis," Snow said.

Additionally, the dean of the College of Health and Pharmacy at HU, Rhonda Waskiewicz, EdD, OT, explained in an interview with 

 that pharmacies provide critical access to health care for communities in Maine's rural central and northern regions.

"More than half of the 16 counties have a population density between 4 and 75 [individuals] per square mile. For many residents, pharmacies are the closest health care option, and [they] still may be a 45-minute drive. Additionally, Maine does not require pharmacy technicians to be certified, although many are, so being able to complete an [Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education]-approved certification course for vaccination is critical," Waskiewicz said.

For these reasons, HU School of Pharmacy chose to focus on training pharmacy technicians while also offering classes to licensed pharmacists and interns who have not been certified or who need recertification to administer vaccinations.

"We are currently holding classes on campus and are working with our regional partners to determine if and when we travel to more rural sites to provide training," Wakiewicz said.

The ability for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to administer vaccines was made possible by Congress in 2020 with the passage of the PREP Act. Before the PREP Act, pharmacy technicians were not authorized to administer vaccines to the public. Today, pharmacy technicians can receive the training necessary to provide this critical health care service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, recent legislation has expanded the types of vaccines that pharmacy personnel can administer and order. Now pharmacy personnel can give routine immunizations to children, which previously was done only at pediatrician offices.

"Husson University has provided pharmacy students with training in providing immunizations for years. Now we're expanding the training to get students involved earlier," Waskiewicz said. "Being educated as a health care professional in such a turbulent, unprecedented time is both challenging and rewarding. This process to take a more active role in patient care. One of the major challenges posed by the restrictions of COVID-19 is restricted access to care, and this is one of the ways Husson is working to eliminate those barriers."

, Snow explained that HU will remain dedicated to providing these training options for as long as necessary and that faculty are willing to travel to participants to ensure they have access to the course.

"In addition to providing the accredited APhA programs for vaccination certification, we also work to put together educational materials that are more focused, if desired," Snow said. "For instance, my colleagues Drs Brian McCullough and James Singletary are [holding] an educational talk specifically concerning the COVID-19 vaccinations via Zoom."

Although there is the possibility of attending a portion of the courses virtually, there remains a required in-person, hands-on component that must be demonstrated in order to become certified.

"This typically entails having a pharmacist [who] is already certified to observe and evaluate the injection technique of the participant," Snow said. "APhA has issued specific guidance and instructions that must be followed for remote participants."

Waskiewicz noted that HU School of Pharmacy's dedication to train and educate a COVID-19 vaccination army is mission driven.

"Husson University School of Pharmacy's mission is to educate and mentor future practitioners in a collaborative and supportive environment to deliver and improve regional health care," Waskiewicz said. "In this care, it translates to our faculty and administration collaborating with university, community, and regional colleagues to shape the profession's ability to respond to COVID-19 through education and preparedness."

For more information on enrollment and the necessary course components, contact Kelsie Snow at 

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To accelerate the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Husson University in Bangor, Maine, has announced that it will provide training to any pharmacist, technicians, or intern.

University Offers COVID-19 Vaccination Training to All Pharmacists, Technicians

I clearly remember the day I received the email informing me of my acceptance into the pharmacy school of my dreams. The first person I called was my husband, and I cried tears of joy as I spoke to him about my acceptance. I had reached my goal. Many of my peers and coworkers said, "Getting into pharmacy school is the hardest part." However, what none of us could have known was that the next chapter of my life would be far harder.

During pharmacy school, it was incredibly difficult for me to not only wake up every morning for school, but also stay awake for at least 8 hours of lectures. Sometimes, it was even hard to stay awake for 4 hours. Despite societal preconceptions of this being a sign of my laziness, it was actually just a part of my life living with an autoimmune disease; I received a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease during my second year of pharmacy school.

Autoimmune disease occurs when the body's immune system is unable to distinguish between the body's own cells and foreign cells, causing the body to attack its own normal cells inadvertently. There are approximately 80 different types of autoimmune diseases that can affect various parts of the body.

Most autoimmune diseases are invisible, meaning the symptoms can't be easily "seen" by those around patients living with the disease. Although it can be difficult to explain any newly diagnosed disease to one's family and friends for a multitude of reasons, it can be especially difficult when that disease is not widely known or understood.

After my diagnosis and throughout my journey through pharmacy school, there were numerous times that I felt alone, lost, and misunderstood for this very reason. I was also afraid to be labeled or defined by my diagnosis if my classmates and teachers knew about it. I doubted myself and my goals. I wasn't sure how I could move forward in life, and I was worried I might need to change my dreams because of it. I questioned whether it would even be possible for me to still become a pharmacist.

Fast-foward 2 years: I have just graduated pharmacy school, and I am getting ready to take my board exam. Two years ago, I was still trying to figure out how to live with my diagnosis, which required that I determine my limits. However, in the process of figuring that out, I also learned that my disease doesn't need to define me.

Pharmacy school was hard, but I was able to overcome it. And here's why: My diagnosis gave me a greater purpose. It changed my goal—not away from pharmacy but toward it, by helping my pharmacy career become about much more than a degree. It's not about becoming the person I am meant to be: a rheumatology clinical pharmacist.

During pharmacy school, I was fueled by this clear vision of my future, and I became involved on campus by joining different organizations and running and volunteering at various health clinics. I joined a mission trip to Guatemala to pursue my calling abroad and expand my horizons. I made sure that it was my passion for my career and my desire to help others that defined me, not my diagnosis.

In the past, I felt compelled to hold back on sharing my story due to stigma and biases around preexisting health conditions. However, during my clinical rotations in school, my perception changed. I was fortunate to provide care for patients with autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and ankylosing spondylitis, and they helped me realize that it's my duty as a health care professional to make sure my patients are seen, heard, and understood. I am a patient too, and I understand that being seen and heard by health care professionals is incredibly important. I learned that I can be a voice to break bias chains.

The fear of being judged by an illness is heartbreaking. Why would we feel the need to hide an illness when it's human to be ill? For many, facing an illness and learning to manage associated symptoms can even help build resilience, which is valuable in our professional careers. For me, I am stronger because of my illness. I am where I am today because I have to overcome the challenges my illness has posed in my life.

During my journey, I have learned it's necessary to celebrate the good days, as this helps make the bad days easier. The bad days are OK too—we all have them. And when they arrive, my friends and family are there to help me find hope. They are what got me through the tough days.

My experience in pharmacy school helped me learn that it is OK to ask for help when I need it, and that it's OK to listen to my body and practice self-care and self-love. I also learned that this lesson is important for all health care professionals: Although it is critical that we listen to every patient we treat, it's also important to listen to the needs of our bodies first, as this will allow us to better care for others.

 is a 2021 PharmD candidate at Midwestern University, Chicago College of Pharmacy.

Although it is critical that we listen to every patient we treat, it's also important to listen to the needs of our bodies first, as this will allow us to better care for others. 

How I Overcame My Battle With Autoimmune Disease to Become a Pharmacist

I'll never forget the summer of 2016. During a 3-month break from college, my focus for many weeks was supporting my dad, who had suffered a stroke. My dad had never loved going to the doctor, partly from many years of medical distrust between the Black community and health care practitioners, so I could only imagine what his thoughts were during this crisis. However, some good did come out of this situation.

My dad was properly cared for and was allowed to go home, and I became passionately driven to pursue a career in pharmacy after seeing how pharmacists managed my dad's health issues. But that unfortunate trip to the hospital, along with other visits and experiences at various health care sites, made me realize there weren't too many people who look like my dad and me practicing pharmacy.

In my pharmacy class, which has upwards of 150 students, I am 1 of 3 Black students and the only Black male. Even during my exposure to various health care sites in the Chicagoland area, I rarely see any Black or minority pharmacists of under-represented ethnic backgrounds. This lack of diversity and inclusion has always worried me. Why aren't there more Black and minority individuals in pharmacy? What more can I do to help minority populations with my resources as a pharmacy student?

After pondering these questions, I decided I wanted to work on meaningful projects that would provide solutions to this problem. The first project came at the very start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In Chicago and around the country, civil unrest was simultaneously taking place as a result of the death of George Floyd. Many Chicagoans in areas heavily affected by the pandemic and civil unrest found themselves unable to go to the store and get essential groceries, personal protective equipment, or even school supplies for their children. With the help of my classmates and mentors, we were able to provide these materials to families, churches, and schools in need. That's when it dawned on me: These are the meaningful projects and impacts I've wanted to make.

Since then, I have been able to help create an educational platform to inform minority communities about the available COVID-19 vaccines, so that those who are being disproportionately affected by the virus are more inclined to get vaccinated. One of my proudest projects has been working to create a scholarship intended for students of underrepresented minority backgrounds—Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, and Native Hawaiian and/or Pacific Islander—to help them attend and afford pharmacy school.

I'm a son of 2 immigrant parents, both from Ghana, and we have had an uphill struggle when dealing with finances and finding helpful resources. So working toward reaching our goals in life has always been a lot harder for us than it has been for others in the United States. Being able to work on a scholarship that I knew could ease some of the weight associated with going into a professional school for a career and to give back to someone has been very valuable. I am still working on bringing this scholarship to life, and my goal is to one day award it to many different minority students who want to have a career in pharmacy, and do my part in diversifying this profession that is already giving so much back to me.

I will be starting my fourth year advanced pharmacy practice experience rotations shortly and have already come so far after 3 years of finishing up my didactic education. Pharmacy school has been a grind, but it has also given me so much opportunity and insight into the impact I want to make within the walls of my campus and the communities in my neighborhood.

Like most of us who pursue a career in health care, I want to help as many people as I can. I also want to continue to advocate for underrepresented minorities who would like a career in the field, especially a career in pharmacy where diversity is a real need. I want to keep lifting up minority communities, and provide a reason to dispel medical distrust between many minority patients and health care providers. I want to make a real difference in someone's life the way the pharmacists did for my dad when he was in the hospital. These may seem like tall goals, but thanks to pharmacy school and the individuals I've met along the way, they've turned into my calling.

 is a 2022 PharmD candidate at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he is vice president of the Underserved Medicine Club and is active in other campus organizations.

Like most of us who pursue a career in health care, I want to help as many people as I can. I also want to continue to advocate for underrepresented minorities who would like a career in the field.

Working to Increase Minority Representation in Pharmacy and Provide Care to Underserved Communities

During the summer after my second year of pharmacy school, I had the unique opportunity to create a veterinary pharmacy continuing education (CE) activity. Before this, my only veterinary pharmacy exposure was a short class lecture about niche pharmacist roles.

When I saw an email from my professor about writing a CE piece about cats and dogs, I was thrilled and knew I had to do it. Learning about people and pharmaceutical care is important, but when a chance to do something different fell at my feet, I just took a leap of faith.

I worked alongside 3 other motivated student pharmacists from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy: Heather Honor, Raquel Mateus, and Mia Sgamboti. I'm a cat person (who likes dogs too) and decided to focus my search on feline pharmacy safety. My partner and I made the "purrr-fect" duo and dove into our work, and our canine pals divided and conquered the world of man's best friend.

Our love for animals made the individual work a breeze, but the group effort was a bit more challenging. Our writing styles varied, but our goal was to write a piece that sounded like it was written by 1 person. Ultimately, we learned that writing with "1 voice" means writing with "1 approach."

1. Set Ground Rules and Make a Checklist. 

Before starting anything, we had to know who would work on which animal. Once topics were determined, we made a checklist, adding to it as needed. Given our busy and sometimes unpredictable summer schedules, we chose to pick subsections as we went and emailed the group about our selections.

Sometimes a group may find it easier to have everything preassigned. The choice is up to you.

Using active voice means having the subject perform an action. When a writer uses passive voice, the subject is not always clear, which may cause the reader to make inaccurate assumptions.

Authors can use passive voice when they believe the person or thing acted on is more important than the subject. In our case, we determined using active voice was best.

After finishing a section, we would send our drafts to each other. This allowed us to learn about personal findings, prevent redundancy, and familiarize ourselves with each other's writing styles.

The CE piece's audience included pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. As we wrote about our discoveries, 1 question helped guide what information to include or exclude: What should our audience know or woudl they want to know?

Have you ever read what you've written and misread it? It's probably because you read it the way you think you've written it. A fresh pair of eyes will help find your mistakes, and sometimes it even takes more than 1 pair. Throughout the project, our supervising professor, Jeannette Wick, was also our editor. She gave us feedback on content, grammar, and wordiness.

Everyone working in the science field wants the facts, including pharmacists. A repetitive article that contains unimportant filler information dulls the reader's mind to what's important. When you write, think to yourself, "What would I want to read?" Be concise.

We finished the CE piece after many hours of research, writing, and editing. We gained and spread knowledge on how to keep cats and dogs safer, learned from each other's mistakes, excelled as a team, and grew as individual writers.

My advice is this: Don't be afraid to take a chance and try something new. And remember the words of Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it's done."

 is a PharmD candidate at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Remember the words of Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it's done."

Paths Less Traveled: Writing a Successful Pharmacy CE Activity

Vaccinations, one of the greatest public health achievements, prevent more than 2 million deaths worldwide each year.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had a substantial impact on adult and childhood vaccination rates in 2020 by increasing interest in influenza vaccinations to avoid a dual pandemic. However, many barriers and concerns regarding vaccine administration persist, including limited accessibility and lack of safe care because of health care provider shortages.

Recognizing the need for patient education and increased opportunities to receive immunizations, the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) established the Operation Immunization program. Since 1997, more than 1.4 million individuals have been immunized by the over 17,880 certified pharmacy student immunizers from 121 schools. Methods codeveloped and implemented by pharmacy students at Idaho State University (ISU) in partnership with the Idaho Immunization Coalition were designed to effectively, safely vaccinate Idahoans against influenza, using a drive-through model of care.

PharmD students at the ISU College of Pharmacy, in partnership with health care providers across the state, led a charge to improve access to influenza vaccine, trialing administration strategies that support social distancing measures and reduce COVID-19 transmission. Planning of the 4 drive-through immunization clinics began in July 2020. The initial step involved development and approval of protocols by the ISU-COVID Workgroup. The ISU COVID-19 response team was responsible for ensuring that the proposed protocols, safety measures, and workflows mitigated risk to health care providers, patients, and students participating in the DRIVE-RX event.

Training videos, developed by the APhA-ASP Operation Immunization team, detailed step-by-step safety protocols and required workflows such as patient screening, personal protective equipment use, and emergency procedures in the case of COVID-19 exposure and/or protester involvement. Training videos and competency assessment questions were added to the online learning platform for students to complete prior to event participation. Each ISU student volunteer was also required to attend a live online meeting that outlined the organizational workflow of the clinic, responsibilities, and roles of each station and student, and addressed potential patient concerns and questions.

The website SignUpGenius was used to schedule volunteers to assist at the 4 strategically located vaccination events in Idaho: October 3, 2020, in Meridian; November 21, 2020, in Pocatello; December 6, 2020, in Caldwell; and December 12, 2020, In Nampa. Each site chosen was accessible, well known to the community, and supported directional traffic flow, allowing for coordinated entry and exit.

All organizations and students involved helped set up the event and participated in a mock drive-through prior to the start of the clinic. Upon entering a standard parking lot, drivers were stopped for COVID-19 screening and were asked to wear masks. Patients were then directed to the first parking spot, where they filled out consent forms and told student pharmacists which vaccine they would prefer. Once the forms were completed, cars would pull forward into the next parking spot for patients to receive the vaccine. All students were monitored by a preceptor according to state guidelines. If patients had not received the vaccine before, they were instructed to wait 15 minutes to monitor for any adverse effects, such as allergic reactions or fainting. Finally, drivers were directed toward the exit (see figure).

Idaho Governor Brad Little and First Lady Teresa Little were first in line for their influenza shots, highlighting the importance of getting immunized while encouraging community involvement. More than 650 immunizations were administered by the 98 students during the 9-hour Meridian event, 200 immunizations were administered by 20 student pharmacists during the 4-hour Pocatello event, 34 immunizations were administered by 9 students during the 4-hour Nampa event, and 140 immunizations were administered by 4 students during the 4-hour Caldwell event.

Although drive-through clinics have been done in the past, this idea is innovative because it combined the use of pharmacy students to efficiently administer influenza vaccine safely to multiple individuals. To administer vaccines more effectively and reduce the spread of COVID-19, as well as waiting times, community pharmacies have encouraged patients to make appointments online. This has led many pharmacies to implement drive-through vaccination clinics. Furthermore, rural states, such as Idaho, have limited access to health care services. Therefore, using student pharmacists can mitigate structural inequities through the provision of health care services.

The ISU clinics administered more than 1000 vaccines in 21 hours during 4 events throughout Idaho. These influenza clinics reached underserved populations and guaranteed everyone an influenza vaccine, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Pharmacy students are an untapped resource that can be successfully used not only in vaccination efforts but also in future COVID-19 pandemic efforts, especially in vaccination administration. These events demonstrate that this model can be applicable in both large- and small-scale events in an effective and safe manner that broadens the availability of vaccines to our communities.

Anecdotally, we found that 3 students working in each immunization bay, with 1 students working in the consent form area, is the most efficient setup for this drive-through clinic. This allowed for less overlap of responsibilities and clearly defined roles. The number of students assigned per bay was further tailored to best fit the city/town in which the event would take place.

There remains an increasing need for health care workers who are able and willing to provide vaccinations, especially the new COVID-19 vaccine, to the public. Using student pharmacists in immunization efforts not only improves vaccine access for the public but also serves as a unique opportunity for students to gain clinical experience and use their skills as trained immunizers. The success of these student pharmacist-led drive-through clinics indicates that implementation of similar events may be beneficial for COVID-19 vaccinations.

This effective and safe model of care delivery showed potential for COVID-19 immunization efforts, exponentially increasing the workforce and expediting vaccination delivery. Since implementing the drive-through influenza vaccination clinics, pharmacy students in Idaho and Alaska—where ISU operates a pharmacy program in partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage—have been assisting in COVID-19 vaccination efforts in hospitals, clinics, and other community sites.

is a PharmD candidate at Idaho State University (ISU) College of Pharmacy in Pocatello and the APhA-ASP Chapter Operation Immunization chair.

 is a PharmD candidate at ISU College of Pharmacy.

 is a PharmD candidate at ISU College of Pharmacy and the APhA-ASP Chapter president.

 is a PharmD candidate at ISU College of Pharmacy and the APhA-ASP Chapter finance vice president.

 is an associate professor of pharmacy at ISU College of Pharmacy.

 is assistant dean and director of experiential education at ISU College of Pharmacy.

Idaho State University partners with the Idaho Immunization Coalition to effectively and safely vaccinate patients against influenza.

Pharmacy Students Lead Drive-Through Influenza Vaccination Event

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow people to share personal and professional content as well as communicate and connect with each other online. These interactive tools have completely changed the landscape of information exchange with 72% of US adults in 2021 saying they use at least one social media site.

In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the internet and social media play an even more crucial role in our daily lives. Pharmacists have had to adapt to meeting more frequently online instead of in person, while embracing new ways of delivering care and disseminating health care information.

An emerging avenue is through social media influencing, in which influencers help promote brands, enhance their own or an organization’s popularity, and create effective communication strategies to engage the public.

 Many pharmacists have also entered this space, creating a new nontraditional role of pharmacist social media influencers (PSMIs).

In 2012, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists published a statement encouraging pharmacists’ use of social media as tools to complement and enhance their relationships with the public, health care providers, and patients.

 Student pharmacists mostly use social media as a means to personally communicate with their friends.

A small percentage of pharmacists use social media predominantly or exclusively for professional purposes.

 For the pharmacists who have built an alternative career as PSMIs, their role is not well understood and has yet to be characterized.

As fourth-year University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) student pharmacist researchers, we surveyed 63 pharmacy students to understand their perceptions of PSMIs and compared this to what identified PSMIs described. The perception and attitude toward social media benefits and perceived outcomes predict social media usage and characterize the social media influence and career of PSMIs.

Observed differences between student pharmacist perception and reality may provide the necessary knowledge to boost the presence of PSMIs, encourage pharmacy students to potentially consider social media influencing as a career, and validate the importance of PSMIs. We believe this study to be the first, of hopefully many, detailing this emerging pharmacist role.

According to the American Influencer Council (AIC), social media influencers satisfy the following criteria: having an active and public social media presence, engaging in influencer marketing, representing or partnering with business-to-consumer or business-to-business brands, being publicly and industry-recognized as an influencer, and being known for personal branding, digital custom content, and follower integrity.

 However, our study showed that the only trait that PSMIs shared was having an active and public social media presence, while the presence of all other criteria varied among individual PSMIs.

Depending on the purpose of their social media use, PSMIs may not strictly meet all AIC criteria to achieve their goals. Consequently, defining a social media influencer is difficult and the potential negative connotation associated with “social media influencing” and varying definitions are likely reasons 27% of our surveyed PSMIs did not consider themselves as social media influencers but are considered by others as one. Lastly, out of more than 80 PSMIs that we identified and invited to complete the study, only 25 PSMIs participated.

Our study showed that most PSMIs (>50%) used LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or a personal website for their social media work, whereas most students (>50%) used Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for their leisure. Our data suggest that multiple archetypes of a PSMI exist. A majority of PSMI’s social media content involves education and advocacy, both of which are pharmacy- or health care-related. Additional content involves lifestyle, food and nutrition, fitness, finances, entertainment, travel, career, and technology.

Furthermore, a majority of PSMIs do not commit as much time toward their social media work as students perceive most PSMIs to commit. Most PSMIs spent 10 to 20 hours (38%) or 0 to 10 hours (27%) per week on social media for work as a PSMI, whereas most students believed that PSMIs commit 10 to 20 hours (41%) or 20 to 30 hours per week (35%) toward social media work. Interestingly, most students surveyed are heavy social media consumers who allocated 10 to 20 hours per week (45%) or 20 to 30 hours per week (35%) on social media.

We wanted to explore how satisfied PSMIs were with their job in social media and what their average yearly income was. In terms of job satisfaction, we conducted our surveys by asking Likert scale type questions related to various factors, such as career satisfaction, job fulfillment, appropriate workload, and value. For each Likert scale question, a numerical value of 1 through 4 was assigned with the ranges 1=strongly disagree, 2=somewhat disagree, 3=somewhat agree, and 4=strongly agree to determine how satisfied PSMIs were with their job.

Through our findings, we determined that PSMIs had a total composite mean score of 3.44. This was equivalent to the fact that on average, PSMIs had a positive outlook overall on the pharmacy profession as they somewhat agree that they are satisfied with their job.

In terms of income, PSMIs generated an average of approximately $31,250 from annual revenue earned from social media platforms. None of the PSMIs reported a net loss or did not make any money from their social media platforms. We also determined that most of the PSMIs’ main source of income came from sales of their own products and services (71%).

We also conducted in depth interviews with 6 PSMIs who provided additional insight into their social media careers. It is important to note that 83% of the interviewees did not consider themselves as PSMIs even though they were recognized as others to be a PSMI.

All the interviewees stated that they started using social media to share content based on their own experiences as a pharmacist and a third of the respondents created an online presence because they saw an educational gap and wanted to bring awareness to a certain niche of the profession. When asked if they ever found at any point that their social media presence has hurt their career, many of the interviewees mentioned that they were cautious about what they said on their social media platforms and maintained professionalism so as to not hurt their careers.

Half of the interviewees even stated that they set strict boundaries and never provided any medical advice via social media. Additionally, every interviewed PSMI defined success in their social media careers based not on number of followers but rather the value of the content. Finally, some advice PSMIs have for new pharmacists who want to establish an online social media presence include understanding your purpose and vision, identifying where and who your audience is, picking something you are passionate about, and finding something that makes you unique.

We hope that our study results are useful to both current and aspiring PSMIs. We observed a growing and supportive online community among PSMIs and their audience members and believe there is definitely a place in the social media realm for pharmacist social media influencers.

Grace Huynh, Tiffany Pham, Monica Vuong, and Curtis Yu are graduating student pharmacists from the University of California, San Francisco. Luke Tso PharmD, BCPS served as faculty advisor. For questions about our study, please contact Monica Vuong at monica.vuong@ucsf.edu.

Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. 2021. 

Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States

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Pharmacists have had to adapt to meeting more frequently online instead of in person, while embracing new ways of delivering care and disseminating health care information. 

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