EJF Speaking Engagement at Temple University School of Pharmacy in Philadelphia

I was thrilled and deeply honored to have the privilege of speaking on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation at Temple University’s School of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, on Monday of last week. I’m so grateful for having had this opportunity which was provided by my good friend Dr. Lawrence Carey, PharmD, who is an Assistant Dean and Professor at Temple.  I spoke to four separate classes that day, comprised of students at different stages of pursuing their doctorates in pharmacy (P1, P2, P3, & P4).  The lectures were an hour each in duration, back-to-back.

Shortly afterwards, all four classes were then invited to attend a 45 minute follow up Q&A session in a much larger room that could accommodate everyone. I immediately let those in attendance know that no questions were off limits or too personal, which always seems to open the initial dialogue well. Over the years, by simply being open and transparent about literally every aspect of my journey, I’ve learned it inevitably leads to some great conversations, as I’m pleased to say it did with all these students. This made for a very long day, but it also made the day very fulfilling for me personally, pushing EJF’s core mission forward by having the ability to reach so many students.  The reason I find days like these so gratifying is because I not only believe that these PharmD student’s strong and effective leadership exhibited throughout their careers will help lead the charge to help save countless lives from preventable medication errors…I also believe they are our future leaders in healthcare!

An extremely productive day, culminating in a wonderful dinner with Dr. S. Suresh Madhavan, the new Dean for Temple University’s School of Pharmacy, Dr. Lawrence Carey, and other esteemed faculty at Ralph’s in South Philly, which is recognized as being the oldest Italian restaurant in the United States!