The following is an excerpt by David Lorms reprinted with permission from a chapter titled “Professionalism and Professional Socialization” in Preceptor’s Handbook for Pharmacists, Lourdes M. Cuellar and Diane B. Ginsburg, eds. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Bethesda, MD 2005

The objectives of this excert are:

• Describe how to help students identify professional skills that can be developed through community service activities.

• Explain how involvement can broaden students’ understanding of professional organization opportunities.

• Describe a process for students to determine their own community service interest areas.

Community Service: The Broader Role of Professionalism

by David Lorms

Volunteer service is the rent we pay to our community. Anonymous

Other parts of this handbook have addressed the various roles of the preceptor in direct relationship to the students under their tutelage and the practice of pharmacy. By addressing professionalism and professional socialization, this chapter recognizes an underappreciated but essential overarching aspect of the pharmacist in society.

As much as pharmacists play an important role in public health policy and its implementation and development, it is imperative that students see themselves actively engaged in this important role. Regardless of their practice site, pharmacy as a profession—through the involvement of its individual practitioners—has been instrumental in its support for a variety of public health issues

at the local level. For the rent to our communities to be continually marked paid, an important responsibility you have as a preceptor is to ensure students have a broad exposure and see themselves as integral to the success of volunteer service of any sort.

My first association position in New Mexico exposed me to pharmacists active in their respective community, using their individual talents to move forward the agenda of a state component of a national health association. One of these provided essential linkages to different connections to the community previously inaccessible to those in formal leadership positions. The second,

through his role as a state representative, provided guidance to this group in the ways of legislation and political connection.

To be certain, students will not have this depth of capacity to offer as they come directly from school; however, they should be led by you to find their own respective niche in the world of volunteerism—a niche that they might be able to grow with as they progress in the profession.

Tom Peters, in his treatise The Brand You 50, suggests that one can assume responsibilities for many of those smaller, less glamorous tasks in organizations and turn them into success steps in your career. These tasks can be found in churches, almost any nationally focused health agency, or the public school system as Phil Johnson, a past president of the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists, found. Johnson uncovered a simple truth that the school systems are a large provider of health care to our children. Today he is the chief volunteer leader for a nationally known and respected program that FSHP sponsors called Medication Use in Schools.

In the current vernacular, “What’s in it for me?” has significant weight for volunteerism. Students must be shown how the pay for volunteer work translates into a sense of accomplishment and feeling of achievement and how the exposure to new audiences (or activities) can engage their spirit and provide recognition. Then essential threads in the warp and woof of the communities in our professional and public lives will be strengthened.

Students’ appreciation for their time and effort can be engaged by illustrating how their skills in communications, facilitation, planning, speaking, writing, or delegating (when paired with characteristics of accessibility, team play, goal-orientation, vision, sense of success, and personal commitment to a cause) can indeed make a significant and positive impact on their community.

Pointing students to opportunities of interest should be easy. It is important to help them see a personal stake in their first few ventures to ensure the experience is a positive and profound one. Aside from the major health agencies, smaller community groups also need assistance. As a preceptor, you should also consider focusing their interest as it warrants to the political process for both state and federal elections. This last group of opportunities will undoubtedly open their eyes to further interest in societal environmental factors that impact their profession.

Student interest should be directed to professional organizations as well. No matter the students’ practice interest, there are at least one or two organizations to support their short- and long-term professional development. It is these groups where their professional commitment can be   hardened, preparing them for a career rich in professional connections and community.

 Reference

1. Peters, T. The Brand You 50: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an ‘Employee’ into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion! New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; 1999.