Front Matter
Preliminary Material
Letters
Give to Others, and You Will Receive Tenfold in Return
Stay True to Your Values
Just How Do You Know When to Make a Job Move?
It Takes a Team to Create Change
You Need the Big E: Enthusiasm
Venture Out of Your Comfort Zone
We Can Have It All, We Just Can’t Always Do It All
What Are You Going to Do for the Rest of Your Life?
Love Being Exactly Who You Are
Life Is What Happens While You Are Busy Making Other Plans
Lessons Learned from Others’ Experiences Enrich Our Lives
Living with Imposter Syndrome and Knowing That You Belong in the Room
Don’t Fret about Career and Personal Life Balance—There Is No Such Thing
Serve Your “Every Patient”
Be Active, Shape Your Future, and Demonstrate Leadership for Others Following in Your Path
Be the Voice
Follow Your Heart, Seize Opportunities, and Realize There Are Always Trade-Offs
Social Relevance, Purpose, and Legitimacy
Build the Strongest Foundation of Knowledge and Skills That You Can
Learning to Ignore the Lies We Tell Ourselves
We Need More Pharmacists Outside of Pharmacy
A Mantra to Live By: Sí Se Puede! (Yes, You Can!)
Do Not Ask More of Your Staff Than You Are Willing to Give
You Can Only Control Your Choices
Networking Is Not Overrated, It Is Underestimated
Grow, Create, Lead
There Is No Growth in a Comfort Zone and No Comfort in a Growth Zone
Making Difficult Career Decisions
If You Don’t Have a Mentor, Get One
Find Your Passion and Pursue It with a Sense of Urgency
Pharmacists Finally Forged Their Place in the World of Public Health
My Cancer Experience Taught Me to Put Patients First
Planning for the Future
Nurture an Enduring Passion for Patients and the Profession
Final Thoughts

Pursuing Constructive Change in Pharmacy

in Letters to a Young Pharmacist
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37573/9781585287109.035
Restricted access

Guru is a Sanskrit term used to describe a mentor, guide, or expert in a field or movement. If health-system pharmacy had a master guru, it would surely be William A. (Bill) Zellmer. Bill spent four decades of his career as an executive at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). While he retired from his role as ASHP’s Deputy Executive Vice President in 2009, his impact on the pharmacy profession is still felt through his activities as a speaker, writer, and consultant. Bill is perhaps best known for his powerful, visionary writing that continues to inspire generations of pharmacists. As editor-in-chief of AJHP, Bill penned more than 200 editorials addressing contemporary—and sometimes controversial—issues affecting the profession. So powerful were his editorials that a compilation of many of them was published as the popular book, The Conscience of a Pharmacist—Essays on Vision and Leadership for a Profession, in 2002.

Bill received his bachelor of science in pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin and a masters in public health at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently president of Pharmacy Foresight Consulting, which supports clients in the areas of strategic and professional issues in pharmacy practice and education. As founding editor of the annual Pharmacy Forecast report published by the ASHP Foundation, Bill lectures frequently on trends and issues that impact pharmacy, health policy, and our healthcare system. He is passionate about preserving, sharing, and learning from the history of pharmacy and is a past president and engaged member of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. In his letter, Bill reminds us that pharmacy history can foster pride in being part of an endeavor that has a grand purpose in society, thereby creating a deeper bond with the profession.