July 19th will now go down in history as the day the New Practitioner Network (NPN) hosted its first-ever “Get Mixed in with NPN” networking social. This event was held at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC, during the APhA–ASP Summer Leadership Institute (SLI). For days prior to the event, I was telling all my friends about it! I couldn’t have been more excited.

When I was in pharmacy school, there were events almost monthly where I could network with pharmacists, and more importantly, gain their valuable insights. Since graduating in 2011, I realized that these opportunities were hard to find. It is actually one of the reasons why I remained actively involved in pharmacy organizations such as APhA and my state pharmacy association. I think that networking and being involved in organizations is important for a New Practitioner like myself —it provides opportunities to get advice such as what to do in tough “real life” situations and how to stand out at work, as well as open opportunities and explore potential new pharmacy career paths.

So when I heard about “Get Mixed in with NPN,” I couldn’t wait to attend. Outside of an Annual Meeting, it is rare for a national pharmacy organization to host a networking event just for New Practitioners. It was a great evening filled with many recent graduates, along with some final-year student pharmacists who were attending SLI. The event was also a great chance to catch up with our APhA New Practitioner Advisory Committee officers, including Chair Mark Angeles and Vice-Chair Veronica Vernon.

I for one would like to see similar events in the future. How about you? What pharmacy networking events have you attended recently?