MPA POISED TO BUILD ON MOMENTUM: 2023 President Hope Broxterman Charts Path for New Year

BY MARY WARDELL, communications manager, Michigan Pharmacists Association

When Dr. Hope Broxterman was a kid, she admits that she couldn’t bring herself to look at the scrapes on her knee from falling off a bike – she even cringed at “sock fuzzies” in the bathtub. But now as the incoming President of the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), Broxterman notes that her career path took her unexpectedly into the heart of that childhood angst.

“Little did I know,” Broxterman said, “That when I became a licensed pharmacist, my interest would lie in cardiology, critical care and emergency medicine, where I thrive in code and trauma situations and enjoy being part of a team to ensure our patients are properly cared for.”

2023 MPA President Hope Broxterman shows off the chocolate bar she was awarded for having the fastest door-to-needle time for administering alteplase to a stroke patient at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

Broxterman graduated in a class of 18 students from Ellsworth High School in a small northern Michigan village not far from Traverse City. She started considering pharmacy as a profession early in high school.

“I really enjoyed math and science in school and knew I wanted to do something to help people,” she said. “When I was in junior high and high school, I went on a local church’s mission trip to Guatemala. During our time in Guatemala, we built houses, taught, and set up medical clinics where we assessed and treated people for various ailments. It was that experience that made me realize I wanted to go into health care.”

2023 MPA President Hope Broxterman poses for a Christmas photo with nurses and a unit clerk at Munson Medical Center, pre-pandemic.

While health care appealed to her, certain aspects were intimidating. She saw nurses doing tasks like starting IVs, placing urinary catheters and cleaning patients – responsibilities that make her appreciate nurses immensely, but brought up that childhood squirm. On the other hand, physicians’ education requirements were daunting – it can take 10 to 14 years to become a fully licensed doctor.

Then a high school aptitude test suggested pharmacy. Broxterman’s mother worked at the small local hospital and was able to set up a job shadow opportunity with the head pharmacist there. She observed pharmacists assisting in sterile compounding and dosing of various medications for inpatients.

“It seemed like a career path where I could make a positive difference for patients,” Broxterman said.

Broxterman attended Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City to complete her pre-pharmacy courses. It was there she met her husband, Tim, as he was studying at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. After two years of undergraduate study, Broxterman applied and was proudly accepted into Ferris State University’s College of Pharmacy. That day marked one of her proudest accomplishments.

2023 MPA President Hope Broxterman and husband Tim Broxterman

Tim and Hope Broxterman pose for a holiday photo with their beloved dog, Zeus, who passed away in March.

“I still remember the day I found out I was accepted into pharmacy school,” she said. “I was in my organic chemistry class on break when my dad called to let me know that I had received a letter from Ferris State University in the mail. I was ecstatic to learn that I was accepted into the college of pharmacy, especially after learning that over 800 people had applied for 150 spots.”

After graduating pharmacy school in 2010, her new profession continued to challenge her. Broxterman initially worked as a float

pharmacist with Rite Aid and later accepted a position at Munson Medical Center as a midnight pharmacist. After three years paying her dues on the graveyard shift, a daytime position opened up, and Broxterman was able to transition into a position focused on what would become her true calling – cardiology.

2023 MPA President Hope Broxterman takes a selfie with Erith Welch, CPhT, during COVID Christmas 2020.

While serving patients in this setting is hugely gratifying, Broxterman has also found connection and fulfillment through her involvement with MPA.

Her first year of pharmacy school, her professor Dr. David Miller offered extra credit to student pharmacists who became MPA members and attended the Annual Convention & Exposition (ACE). At the time, she knew nothing about MPA or what professional organizations did, but the experience made an impression.

“I remember being honored to be in the presence of such great leaders,” Broxterman recalled.

Since then – besides one year when the conference occurred during her first week at a job – she hasn’t missed a single ACE. As a P4 student, preceptors Drs. Michael Tiberg and Terry Bauman – members of the Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP) – invited her to attend MSHP’s Committee Day. That was when she knew she wanted to continue her involvement after graduation. It was clear MSHP and MPA offered many options for her to help advance the profession and continue learning.

MPA and MSHP’s success in reaching their goals, of course, depends on the time and dedication of its members, Broxterman notes – whether by helping educate pharmacy professionals through continuing education, serving on committees that address workplace burnout, being a regional delegate in the MPA House of Delegates or attending Pharmacy Day at the Capital to speak with legislators about topics affecting pharmacy.

From left, MPA Chair Heather Christensen, President-Elect Hope Broxterman, Jayson Zebari and MPA Past President and Executive Vice President for the Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists Ed Szandzik won first place at the Michigan Pharmacy Foundation Golf Classic in July.

As Broxterman prepares to embark on her term as president in 2023, she believes MPA has a great opportunity to build on the strong groundwork it has already laid. Just as her own career path led to places that felt uncomfortable at first, Broxterman believes advancing pharmacy means embracing new challenges.

“While COVID-19 changed many things over the last couple of years, some of those changes, particularly for pharmacy, have been positive,” Broxterman noted, citing expansions in vaccine administration and the ability to prescribe the COVID-19 antiviral medication Paxlovid. “Pharmacists are front-line care providers in our communities, and this is our moment to advance our profession’s capabilities based on what we’ve already demonstrated.”

2023 MPA President Hope Broxterman enjoys dinner with Rep. John Roth (R-Traverse City) while advocating for issues affecting pharmacy in June.

Broxterman will continue MPA’s work with state legislators to allow pharmacists to consult, prescribe and dispense birth control without delegation from a physician – yet another opportunity to expand care and positively impact communities.

“My presidential focus is to build on recent momentum,” Broxterman said.

Part of driving that momentum forward is telling pharmacists’ stories, she said – stories of how pharmacists deliver care to those most in need, make a difference in patient care, and have been reliable and dedicated members of the healthcare team. It’s time to “incorporate these achievements into our legislative message,” she said.

“Ambitiously, I hope to lead our organization, with many hands involved, to create a buildable framework that helps address challenges pharmacists face in their professional efforts to deliver care,” Broxterman said. “This is our moment.”