TOASTMASTERS: A GUIDE TO ACHIEVING CLINICAL EXCELLENCE By Salma Shyboub
TM Salma as MC at the Toastmasters Annual Conference - Div E (TAC E)
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ucceeding as a clinical pharmacist in medical and healthcare requires a range of core skills. The role of a pharmacist is important. So, professionals who enter this field need to be well-trained and have good communication skills, multitasking skills, and analytical skills. For this reason, I took the opportunity to join toastmasters international to develop my skills and help my patients choose the best medication for their needs. In addition, to avoid any potential drug interactions by having good patient-pharmacist interaction. Toastmasters International had improved my communication skills. Effective communication with patients is essential and improves health outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) report entitled “The Role of the Pharmacist in the health care system: preparing the future pharmacist” identified the pharmacist as a “communicator’’. More recently, the role of the pharmacist has been expanding in a patient-centered way, making communication between patients and the community a vital component of daily practice. Good communication skills are needed for complex activities such as conducting medicine reviews, motivating people to adhere to medicines, and health promotion. 22
As a Clinical pharmacist, I need to have excellent analytical skills if I want a successful career over the long term. I improved my analytical skills as a toastmaster. I became more successful in assessing the condition of a patient and their medical history, which will allow me to deliver the best treatment plan. Moreover, I’ll need to be analytical when patients have problems with their treatment. In this instance, a highly skilled clinical pharmacist would need to suggest an alternative medicine based on research to solve the dispute. As a clinical pharmacist, I need to approach my work with both an investigational and analytical mind and take a logical approach to my decisions. Above all, with the right balance of skills and knowledge, I can grow my career as a pharmacist and become highly successful. Multitasking is all about being able to switch between tasks with ease and efficiency, without sacrificing productivity. It is one of the important skills that I gained as an Excom member of the Toastmasters club. As an ExCom member, I was handling many tasks at once. On the other hand, as a healthcare professional, I will have to be a multifunctional person, many of which will have a direct impact on people’s lives. I’ll be developing medication plans, assessing the results of treatments, and advising patients about their medicines. Therefore, pharmacists need to be exceptionally organized and know how to handle different responsibilities and ensure dayto-day tasks are completed on time.
On the whole, the biggest gift I surprisingly got from Toastmasters is the community. Being around people who are similarly driven builds a safe space for you to fail and learn. Toastmasters give you that. You get to meet new people every meeting & Learning becomes more fun! The skills you learn early in Toastmasters will help you in many ways. And the more you continue to practice and improve in your club, the more success you will experience in your career and real life.
