Austin Brown, PharmD
Vice President, Advanced Care Provider Network
Luminary, CPESN of Michigan
Since I was first introduced to the Flip The Pharmacy program during the early phases of cohort 1, I knew it would be something invaluable to my growth as a community pharmacist. Our local CPESN team immediately began looking at how we could get involved. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a spot for the first cohort. We were down, but certainly not out.
Over the course of the year, our pharmacies watched from the sidelines as Flip The Pharmacy got underway. Even though we weren’t formally participating on paper, our sites were keeping up with the happenings of the program and bringing the best practice models into our stores. By the time cohort 2 came around, we felt much more confident in our abilities to be successful in the program. And wouldn’t you know it – four of our CPESN pharmacies were selected to participate! Now came the next major question: Who would be on our coaching team? Knowing full well that I would be heading into uncharted territory regarding my ability to lead new pharmacies, I apprehensively raised my hand.
With just 6 weeks of coaching under my belt, I can say with confidence that I’m happy with my decision to become a Flip The Pharmacy coach. The insight I’ve been able to gain from other coaching staff has been extremely beneficial not only for the pharmacies I’m coaching, but also for my own professional development. For anyone who is questioning whether or not participating in Flip the Pharmacy will help your practice, I will tell you now is the time to get off the bench and get in the game. Being a part of something larger than the walls of your pharmacy is empowering, and I will always encourage people to participate in this transformation experience.