Personal Note from Rachel
April's 6P Focus is 'Professional.' This is a broad ranging topic. I hope you enjoy the professional development resources included in this newsletter, whether you are a pharmacist, coach, mentor and/or leader.
One professional competence that unites these different disciplines is reflective practice.
Another factor that unites these different disciplines is busy-ness.
AND .... the busy work environment is a barrier to strategic thinking and reflective practice.
For this reason, unless a practitioner consciously chooses to prioritise and schedule dedicated time for reflective thinking, it is unlikely to happen, EVEN when it is critically important and EVEN when the consequences of not doing so mean we are destined to continue to repeat the mistakes of the past on auto-pilot.
This is why the busiest, most productive and and most inspiring professionals schedule regular time for reflective practice.
They are
- less prone to burn-out,
- more fulfilled in their career and
- have fewer blind-spots when it comes to wisely navigating challenges and dilemmas.
It is also why, left to our own devices, almost all of us struggle to prioritise time for activities (such as reflective practice) that we perceive to be important but not urgent. And we get 'stuck on the hamster wheel,' gradually draining our energy, enthusiasm, motivation and health of ourselves, and those around us.
As most of you know, in addition to being a wife of one, daughter of two and Mum of three teenagers, I am honoured to be an Irish Pharmacist, an ICF-MCC Master Certified Coach, an EMCC Credentialed Mentor/Coach and Credentialed Super-visor. Life is fulfilling and rewarding. But it wasn't always that way. The pivot point that inspired my evolution to become 'The Pharmacist Coach' was because I had become too busy, too over-loaded, too exhausted to pause and reflect on whether what I was doing were actually the most important things. Over the past 10 years, I have learned more and more about the value of reflective practice through personal experience and through holding that space for others to reflect.
I believe that as healthcare professionals, coaches or super-visors, active reflection is even more important, because we have a profound ripple effect in the lives of the people we serve, the teams we lead and our families and friends (who frequently get what's left over after we have spent the best of us on other priorities).
Bill Gates opened his TED talk by saying 'Everyone needs a coach'.
A workplace culture that values reflective practice is also called a coaching culture, a growth mindset culture or a learning culture. A workplace culture that remains reactive rather than reflective may be referred to as a traditional culture, a fixed mindset culture or a 'know-it-all' culture. The human, financial and business consequences of these cultures are starkly different. Which is why future-focused leaders in all professions, all businesses and of all sizes are transitioning to shift the workplace culture. Listen to the 'Coaching for Leaders' podcast below if you'd like to explore more!
I invite you to actively consider taking me up on one or more of the opportunities below. I'd be honoured to partner with you and your team as you optimise your professional practice through reflective practice and intentional action.
4Front’s 6Ps of Positive Practice focus on Mastering Six Inter-Connecting Factors – Purpose, Personal, Professional, People, Products & Services and Prosperity.
This Month's Focus: Professional
In today's dynamic healthcare landscape, the role of community and pharmacists is evolving. To navigate this evolution, for community pharmacists to thrive, we must adopt a proactive, evolutionary approach that considers both the individual and the broader healthcare system. 4Front's "6Ps of Positive Pharmacy Practice Focus Tool" is a vital guide, encompassing Purpose, Personal, Professional, People, Products & Services, and Prosperity. Within this tool, each of 48 key behaviour statements align with evidence-based practices drawn from Pharmacy, Healthcare Leadership, Wellbeing, and Positive Practice disciplines.
Here are some resources to explore, aligned to today’s statement featured in the image.
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Pharmacy: "Pharmaceutical Care Practice: The Patient-Centered Approach to Medication Management" by Robert J. Cipolle, Linda M. Strand, and Peter C. Morley - This book emphasises the importance of reflection in pharmaceutical care practice.
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Healthcare Leadership: "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't" by Simon Sinek - This book discusses leaders' role in creating environments that allow for reflection and strategic decision-making.
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Wellbeing: "The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation" by Thich Nhat Hanh - This book introduces mindfulness as a tool for clarity and decision-making.
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Positive Practice: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner, died in the past week, aged 90yr. His seminal book explores the two systems of thinking and the role of reflection in decision-making. Click here to read more.
Your CPD Focus: My Learnings from Conducting Community Pharmacy Assessment System On-Site Visits
 As ‘The Pharmacist Coach,’ one of my roles is to empower, enable, equip and engage pharmacist-led teams with the mindsets, skills and behaviours to continually evolve their performance, for the benefit of all they serve.
One of the services I offer is an on-site pharmacy practice peer review, using the PSI Pharmacy Assessment System (PAS) as the audit tool.
The Pharmacy Assessment System is a self-audit tool for pharmacies. It is intended to provide a practical way for the supervising pharmacist, superintendent pharmacist and pharmacy owner(s), with their pharmacy team, to critically review their pharmacy's practice, validate and record good practice and identify areas where improvements are required.
Completion of the Pharmacy Assessment System provides evidence, both to the public and to the PSI, of the commitment of all the pharmacy team to ensuring patient safety and quality of care, and is part of the broader PSI inspection project. Click here to download the full CPD pdf.
Is Now the Perfect Time for your 2024 Pharmacy Assessment?
Each year the superintendent pharmacist and supervising pharmacist ensure a complete a review of the performance of their Pharmacy against PSI standards, using the Pharmacy Assessment System is conducted and recorded. Both must confirm in the annual declaration to the PSI that it has been done.
As a superintendent and/or supervising pharmacist:
- Do you want the certainty and peace of mind of knowing the pharmacies for which you have responsibility have undergone a third party peer review and completed a legal assessment requirement?
- Are you constantly looking for ways to acknowledge practice excellence and continually improve the service you provide your customers?
- Do you want to feel engaged in a valuable, creative, collaborative process rather than a solo, tick-box, energy draining, repetitive task?
Would you like a peer pharmacist to:
- focus your day?
- partner with you to complete a thorough review?
- complete a regulatory compliance check?
- gain a third-person perspective and learnings?
- create agreed-upon action plans to address areas for improvement?
And all completed within one day? If so, click here to learn more about our Pharmacy Onsite Assessment package.
 Upcoming Opportunities for Coaches, Mentors and Super-Visors
The busiest, most productive and and most inspiring professionals schedule regular time for reflective practice.
They are
- less prone to burn-out,
- more fulfilled in their career and
- have fewer blind-spots when it comes to wisely navigating challenges and dilemmas.
If you are considering partnering with me to support you to prioritise and schedule dedicated time to hone your reflective thinking skills and practice by availing of group or one-to-one super-vision or mentor coaching CLICK HERE
Upcoming Events for Pharmacists
IPU Conference 2024 is being held in Athlone on 26th-27th April. I was honoured to be a speaker at the 2023 conference and intend to be an attendee at the 2024 conference. Be sure to text/email me if you too are attending, so we can arrange a coffee and chat together!
Upcoming Opportunities for Leaders, Managers and Supervisors
Bespoke 1-2-1 Coaching for Experienced, New and Aspiring Supervising & Superintendent Pharmacists.
As my client, I invite you to embrace coaching with wholehearted curiosity, as you navigate challenges and dive to the heart of what is truly most important for you (as an individual and/or team).
For Leaders, Managers and Supervisors to develop the Coaching Leadership Style
Our inaugural Lead with Coaching Core Skills (Foundation) took place in February and March.
We had twenty-four participants (mix of managers, leaders and directors), who completed all four in-person dates and the two days of mentoring and practice that followed online. We received very positive feedback. Participants come from a range of industries, which provides the opportunity for leaders to expand their thinking beyond the confines of their industry expertise and practices.
Our May/June and Sept/Oct cohorts are filling fast. Three companies, who represented nineteen participants (six, seven and six) of the twenty four from our first cohort are planning to send their next level management and teams on the courses coming up. We invite you and your leadership team to avail of the unique opportunity to join them, and us, on our next 'Lead With Coaching' Courses, in May/June and Sept/Oct.
LWC-CORE SKILLS COURSE TWO: May/June 2024 (6 Days - 4 In-Person, 2 online)
- May (In-Person) - Wednesday 15th & Thursday 16th (Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim)
- May (Online) - Wed 29th
- June (In-Person) - Thursday 13th & Friday 14th (Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim)
- June (Online) - Wed 26th
LWC-CORE SKILLS COURSE THREE: September/October 2024 (6 Days - 4 In-Person, 2 online)
- September (In-Person) - Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th (Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim)
- September (In-Person) - Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th (Landmark Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim)
- October (Online) - Wed 2nd
- October (Online) - Wed 9th
CLICK HERE for the full brochure, including
- Programme outcomes
- Focus for each module
- Why develop yourself and your team as leaders and managers
- Participant feedback
- Meet the 'Lead With Coaching' team
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