From APC’s President

Are they experienced?

Michael Blaire, RPh, FIACP
APC President

A professor once said to me, “You can read 30 books about skiing, but until you put a pair of skis on, you don't know how to ski.” That’s why so many trades and professions have apprenticeship — a system for preparing a new generation of practitioners with on-the-job training that accompanies classroom work and reading. Sometimes they’re even required to gain a license to practice in a regulated occupation.

Most of an apprenticeship is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade or profession in exchange for free labor. The concept of on-the-job training leading to competence over a period of years is found in any field of skilled labor. At one time, an apprentice would complete a final project — a piece to prove he or she was worthy of the title of “master”: a masterpiece.

In the pharmacy profession, it’s students who take on such apprenticeships — internships with local businesses. At least, the smarter ones will.

Recently I chaired the InformaConnect Compounding Pharmacy Compliance event. As I scanned the attendee lists for each day, I was surprised to find that there were no students in attendance, especially since this was a virtual event that required no travel. Likewise, at PCCA’s ACT event, I encountered only one student. Last week APC held three district meetings; I do not believe there was a single student in attendance.

To my way of thinking, there are two possible reasons for this: either we as business owners and pharmacy managers are failing to participate in experiential programs, or, if we are, we are failing to engage our students in advocacy for prescription compounding. We do both at our peril.

If you are not participating in experiential programs, you are depriving yourself of the ability to discover and train new talent at no cost. Colleges of pharmacy are constantly seeking new sites for interns to rotate through, and compounding pharmacies (especially those that specialize in a target population or disease state) are always in high demand. Likewise, community and vocational colleges with pharmacy technician programs require experiential sites for their students to gain proficiency. What could be better than having five weeks to train a new pharmacy technician, for free?

If you are taking on pharmacy interns or technicians, make sure to give them an opportunity to understand the challenges we face every day. Have them attend a board of pharmacy meeting. Bring them along on a “lunch ’n’ learn” or to a trade show. Most important, bring them to a professional conference like Compounders on Capitol Hill.

Abraham Lincoln is often credited with saying, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” We each have the opportunity to create our future every day by engaging students and helping them find their “voices” so that they can become the compounding advocates and leaders of tomorrow. We just need to put on those skis.

Michael Blaire is APC’s president, but his day job is vice president for government and regulatory affairs at Wedgewood Pharmacy in Scottsdale, Arizona. You can reach him at mblaire@wedgewoodpharmacy.com.

Letco Med offers two-pronged support for cBHT campaign

Thank you to Letco Med for its generous support to APC’s campaign to save compounded hormones — support it’s giving in two big ways, for which we're hugely grateful.

First, in the form of a financial commitment of $105,000 to the cBHT media campaign — $35,000 a year for the next three years, making it the first of our corporate sponsors to make an extended commitment.

Second, with a 90-day program (running through September 30) in which Letco Med customers can easily donate to the cBHT campaign when they place their orders with an option at checkout to contribute $3.00, $5.00, or $10.00 (or a custom amount) to the campaign.

Campaign contributions will also be available as an item in its online store:

If you're a Letco customer — and we hope you are — look for these easy opportunities to contribute to this critical campaign. We're still about $325,000 short of our fundraising goal, and every click here will help!

Speaking of which....

Media campaign now only $325,000 short

On Wednesday, Medisca’s dollar-for-dollar cBHT campaign contribution match ended, raising $113,545 before Medisca’s doubling (up to $100,000) — including more than $45,000 on Wednesday alone. Wow.

That puts us only about $325,000 short of our final goal of $1.5 million. We cannot thank Medisca enough for this effort — it made a big difference in just a short time.

And thank you to the more than 200 folks who have contributed to the campaign — especially those who who gave $500 or more — we are grateful for your investment.

That said, we've got something new to share:

APC has commissioned a marketing video that we think does a great job elevating your profession, and could even help grow your compounding practice. They are designed to be customizable for individual businesses.

Click below for an example; I think you’ll be impressed:

Here’s the deal: Every donor to the cBHT media campaign who gives $5,000 or more can receive a customized version of both the 30- and 60-second versions of the video FREE OF CHARGE. It will include your business’s name, logo, and contact information.

Use that video as a local TV commercial to promote your business. Run it on a monitor in your pharmacy. Share it on social media.

BUT you have to hurry: This offer is only good until APC raises the last $325,000 needed to hit that $1.5 million goal.

We still need signatures on the Cuellar/Dunn letter to FDA

We still need to get more members of Congress to sign onto the letter to FDA from Reps. Henry Cuellar and Neal Dunn — the letter requesting that the agency delay the MOU’s implementation so more states have the opportunity to sign it.

Help get more representatives to add their names: Please email, call, or visit your member of Congress and strongly urge — them to sign that letter. They need to hurry – the letter is set to be mailed July 7!

Vote for Steve!

APC member Steve Hoffart’s Magnolia Pharmacy in Magnolia, Texas, is up for the Good Neighbor Pharmacy of the Year Award — and your vote can make a difference.

Click here to support Steve and cast your vote for him as "a pharmacy that exemplifies what it means to be a pillar in the community [it serves]."