Master This One Skill

Author

Katrina Azer
July 25, 2023

The ONE skill you need to master to build your pharmacy career

know how to dispense..

I know how to talk about drugs and what to say..

I know how to solve medication-related problems—well, most of them anyway!

And bonus.. I even know how to "Communicate Effectively".. you know from that one lecture on effective communication we took at Pharmacy school..

It's great..

I graduated with the motivation and empowerment that I can change patients' lives for the better, I can review and optimize medications, I can improve the health outcomes of my patients by giving counseling and advice about the quality use of medicines... and the list of marvellous interventions goes on.

But then, I graduated, and I get a slap on the face by 'REALITY'.

I ignored reality for some time, and it kept turning up time in time to remind me of its message, but alas, I was too stupid to figure it all out!

The Purpose of Pharmacy is that it exists to empower and educate patients about the quality use of medicines.

The Reality is that that purpose is rather difficult to achieve in the pharmacy setting I was practicing in, in fact, it was kinda impossible!

For a start, all I was doing was pumping out scripts!

For an end, not all patients who had medicine problems knew they had them, and even if they did, I was not given a reasonable opportunity on the shop floor to 'communicate' to them how to optimize their medication use.. So, all my efforts at mastering 'effective communication' somewhat went down the drain.

If I did have time, it was enough to say, "Hi Mr X, this is your medicine, these are the side effects, have a great day!" .... I cringe when I think about it!

You see, there were three problems:

  1. I was unhappy and extremely dissatisfied with the way I was practicing pharmacy, it didn't align with my ambitions, and Reality was so right!

  2. We have a medicines-overuse or polypharmacy pandemic, so patients need advice from sources beyond being present at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy, because depending on where they go, they may or may not, get that advice.

  3. Relying on our usual 'effective communication' methods is not enough to target our patients.

So, in this article, I want to talk about:

  1. What is Digital Writing.

  2. Why mastering digital writing is the new 'effective communication' style of the 21st century.

  3. Why it is a key skill for any pharmacist if they want to grow their career and advance their cause of reducing polypharmacy, enabling quality use of medicines.

  4. How I grew my career through digital writing.

What is digital writing?

Just to be clear, digital writing is not the same as medical writing.

Digital writing and medical writing differ in their focus, purpose, and intended audience.

With digital writing, you create content for social media platforms, with the goal of communicating ideas, information, or stories to a broad audience. This type of writing often involves using elements like images, videos, and hyperlinks, to enhance the reader's experience.

On the other hand, medical writing involves creating written content for the medical, scientific or patient community, such as clinical research reports, regulatory documents, and scientific documents. This type of writing requires a high degree of precision and accuracy, as it often deals with complex scientific and medical concepts that need to be communicated clearly to a specialized audience.

Why is mastering digital writing so important?

There are approximately 4.5 billion people using social media every day, with 930 million of these on LinkedIn.

Can you imagine the impact you can make with your content if you put it in front of the eyes of 930 million consumers?

Now, you might tell me, but they don't all follow me. But that's what you achieve with digital writing:

  1. You write engaging, relatable, easy-to-skim content

  2. You build an audience, whether patients or colleagues

  3. You get followers

  4. You build a service to offer them (the ultimate goal!)

Most importantly, you deliver value, advice, and experience in a way that aligns with your intended purpose, whether that is summarizing a research article, providing information about medicines, or selling your latest deprescribing course. It needs to come in front of them, and they need to stop and read it, for it to achieve its intended purpose. Because that is what social media is about!

Yes, effective communication in a health setting is so important, but if your experience is anything like mine, people disconnect after 60 seconds, if not less than that, either because our lingo is too complex, we just haven't managed to capture their interest, or we just go on forever. So, what do they do? They go home and ask Dr Google about their medicines. And that's why WE, Pharmacists, must be present on social media everywhere, we need to meet patients where they are, and provide content that patients (and colleagues!) can digest, relate to, and consume quickly while they are scrolling. And most importantly, it must stop them in their tracks from scrolling!

Even in the context of providing MTMs or comprehensive medication management services, mastering digital writing, will train you to connect with your patient, simplify your language, and get your point across with ease and persuasiveness, because that is what Good Digital Writing does!

We need new ways of simplifying information so it is consumable and actionable on social media platforms. People just want simple, understandable, and concise language. They don't have time for your 1500-word pamphlet about Clopidogrel - and Digital Writing does just that!

Why is Digital Writing important for your career?

Simple, because you want a thriving career...

You want to flourish...

You want to grow in your career and achieve your aspirations..

Perhaps even build your own side gig, a consulting business, and even better Make More Money!

Well, how else can you do that, unless, of course, you go and buy a pharmacy, which sounds like the only other alternative to making money in pharmacy?

No, thank you!

Whilst I appreciate every single pharmacy proprietor out there, it's not a path that we all desire! It suits some, but not others. Plus, it's time we think about entrepreneurship in pharmacy in a different way (more on this in the next issue!)

When you learn to master good digital writing, you will:

  1. Grow your network

  2. Attract career opportunities

  3. Stand out from the pharmacist crowd

  4. Get speaking opportunities, e.g. podcasts, live events

  5. Diversify your income e.g. paid writing opportunities, create digital products, coaching services, consulting practice

  6. Get wealthy (ultimately.. if you wish to take it as far as you can!)

It is just the way to Grow Your Career in the 21st century.

Think of consistent digital writing as your 'virtual resume' .. yeah, throw your paper resume out the window, it's outdated.

When you're present online every day creating content, you build your personal brand. I know that word makes people cringe, but seriously, how do people tell what kind of pharmacist you are? what do you stand for? what interventions do you make in the lives of your patients? ... I could go on... a paper resume won't tell them that.. you need to consistently show up to do that. Otherwise, you're just 'another pharmacist.'

Digital writing is equally important for communicating with patients on social media as I elaborated above. If your aim is to reduce polypharmacy and enable quality use of medicines, you need to do that in a way that allows your patients to stop, read and digest your concise information.

Mastering digital writing will not just benefit your patients, it will open you up to opportunities beyond your dreams (ask me!)

How I grew my career with digital writing.

Ok, this is a very long story and all the opportunities and things I have built have happened over the span of the last 2 years (no, you'd be dreaming if you think it happened overnight!).

Here is a quick snapshot of how my consistent online presence transformed my career:

  1. In early 2021, left retail pharmacy, and had no idea what to do

  2. Resuscitated my LinkedIn account

  3. Started networking, by reaching out, connecting, and joining LinkedIn events

  4. Became fascinated by the concept of digital health and the delivery of virtual healthcare

  5. Attended every networking opportunity in the digital health industry

  6. In mid-2021, came across a digital healthcare provider. I cold-reached out to CEO on LinkedIn to explore telepharmacy services

  7. Was hired for a role as a virtual primary care pharmacist

  8. Grew in the telepharmacy field and became an industry voice

  9. Built coaching services to teach others how to do it (through LinkedIn)

  10. In early 2021 also read many posts on LinkedIn by colleagues, about pharmacogenomics.

  11. As a patient who suffers many drug adverse events, I became curious and got a PGx test done.

  12. My results changed my understanding of medication use and how there's so much opportunity for growth in the field

  13. In 2022, became the first certified pharmacogenomics pharmacist in NZ, and started my part-time consulting practice.

  14. Also, starting coaching other pharmacists to adopt pharmacogenomics and write about it consistently

  15. In that 2-year time period, I built a following on LinkedIn through digital writing and sold some digital products sharing the experiences from my journey (another income source)

You'll see highlighted above the multiple income streams that I created just by showing up consistently and writing online about my expertise and experiences every day.

The emphasis on the last sentence on the word 'consistently'.

Great digital writing skills + showing up consistently = a Great Career!

That's why I want every pharmacist to write online...

And that's why I am building a stellar product to help pharmacists master digital writing to grow their careers.

Join here.

We'll teach you all about digital writing, exactly how to write, what to write and how to get over your imposter and build your confidence.

You know you don't want to be stuck where you are, or lurking online with no purpose when you have a great opportunity to grow your career and build wealth!

I hope I've convinced you just how VITAL a skill it is... if you're over the status quo of pharmacy!

-Katrina

P.S.

  • If you don't want to miss an edition of this blog, then sign up here to get it delivered straight to your inbox.

  • And if you're after some help navigating a new career pathway - DM me!

  • For more information about my services visit my website.