On April 18, I took a very early morning flight from San Francisco to Denver to participate in the Dean’s Convocation at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. The presentation I made to the 450 professional year (P)1, P2, and P3 students was “It’s an Exciting Time to be a Pharmacist.”

I also spoke at the Rho Chi Society induction ceremony that evening. Here's how I concluded my remarks:

Pharmacists are blessed with training that gives us a wide range of career options. The profession needs you to stay connected and involved. You are part of something bigger than yourself in pharmacy. You must innovate if we want to achieve our full potential in a system that values our patient care contributions. Our patients are waiting.

In general, the message was that today’s students must innovate and negotiate if we are to assume the roles we’re working so hard to create. And, together, we can do that!