PARO Newsletter #8 | English version
Unifying APhA-ASP In Difficult Times -- APHA APHA ASP ASP USA USA The COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States very hard and every facet of our lives has been affected here, with pharmacy being no exception. APhA-ASP chapters around the country have spent hours planning, adapting, and carrying out events and social media campaigns tailored to the virtual age we are in. Our anticipated annual pharmacy conferences were one of these projects that had to be adapted significantly, but though our Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM) was very different, it turned out to be a great success for all involved. The purpose of our annual MRMs is to provide student pharmacists with the opportunity to connect with each other and participate in educational sessions, explore career opportunities, and discuss chapter activities which can then be incorporated into their own chapters’ initiatives. Usually this is done separately in the 8 different regions, but when the event was decided to be virtual, we decided to only have one big meeting with the goal of unifying student pharmacists in these trying times. The planning of the conference fell upon 8 student officer volunteers who had been elected as their respective MRM Coordinators in 2019 as well as 7 other staff members. Planning included finding and booking speakers for programming, recruiting organizations to showcase at the Career Opportunities Exhibit, and the logistical aspects of Zoom to ensure the meeting ran smoothly.
MRM took place over the course of 5 nights. On the first 3 nights, attendees began their evening by participating in a networking event. Following the networking session, they participated in two different hour-long presentations over a wide variety of topics like virtual interviewing tips, creating a digital brand, and how to understand our implicit biases. We were also able to weave in some APhA-ASP leadership opportunities into optional sessions following the conclusion of the day’s programming. On days 4 and 5, attendees had the opportunity to virtually meet 32 residency programs, fellowships, start-ups, and much more. We presented 21 hours of content and reached 1900 student pharmacists over all 5 days. The meeting was very successful overall. This is an annual event that students look forward to, and this year was no exception. There was a great response to the programming lineup and students felt they were able to establish genuine connections with others across the country despite the virtual setting. Attendees were highly engaged and asked many insightful questions. The logistics of the event being on Zoom were no issue and transitions between sessions were effective, though the exhibition had a few hiccups due to the variety of presentations that programs and companies provided. Overall, we are very happy with how this event went and how we were able to connect pharmacy students across the country. While we hope our MRMs will be in person again this fall, we know how exciting a virtual MRM can be and we will be ready to put on another great conference for students again whether it be virtual or in person!
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