Young Leader in Pharmacy Sarah Blythe: "Right from day one I knew I would be working in a community pharmacy in a small town."
Snapshot
Education:
University of Waterloo B.Sc.
University of Waterloo PharmD
Current role:
Owner, Director and Designated Manager of Mattawa Pharmacy
When you graduated, what did you envision for your future?
Right from day one I knew I would be working in a community pharmacy in a small town. The University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy co-op program gave me incredible insight into different practice settings. While I enjoyed working in a hospital setting as well as for the Canadian Pharmacists Association, my passion truly lay with a small town, community pharmacy setting. I enjoyed the lasting connections I was able to make with my patients. However, when I graduated, I did not think pharmacy ownership was in the cards for me. It was just a short three years later and I found myself doing exactly what I thought I would never do. It hasn’t come without its challenges, from a steep learning curve to the continuous battle against imposter syndrome, but it has been well worth it.
How has your career evolved since your graduation?
After graduation, I started off as a staff pharmacist, providing patient care and practising to my full scope of practice. I learned a lot from my boss at the time, as well as from the other pharmacists and staff I was working with. Then the pandemic hit. I think it is fair to say that everyone working in healthcare experienced some type of change in their career at this point. We were going full tilt, adjusting our workflow constantly to allow provision of new services, from learning to work with minimal person to person contact, to testing and injecting. It was certainly a time when we were all tested and goes to show just how resilient pharmacists and other pharmacy staff truly are. Since then, I have taken on a new role as a pharmacy owner. I moved north to work in an even smaller town than I started off in. I am currently focusing on working with the physicians in the area and expanding clinical services to best serve the needs of the patients in my community.
How important is mentoring in your career?
I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the countless mentors I have had who are still very valuable to me today. I was extremely lucky to have two incredible mentors for the profession back when I was still in high school, especially with one of these mentors being a female in an ownership position. I gained valuable knowledge and insight into the profession and they motivated me to pay it forward and take on a mentorship role as a preceptor for the University of Waterloo fourth-year clinical rotations students, as well as pharmacy technician students while I was still working in the Niagara area. I am now currently a mentee in the Waterloo Pharmacy Women in Pharmacy Leadership Program. While this is the first year this program has been offered, I have found it to be incredibly valuable and can’t wait to see how the program evolves. I am hoping to one day continue my role as a preceptor to help shape the future of our profession.
What advice would you give to new pharmacy graduates?
My best advice would be to make sure you make time for yourself. Unfortunately, burnout is a real risk in our profession and we cannot be at our best if we aren’t taking proper care of ourselves. Make sure you take your vacation time and days off when you can to allow your body and your mind to rest and recharge. Enjoy some fresh air, put down your phone and other devices and dedicate a few hours each week to being ‘unplugged’. Self-care isn’t selfish. We can provide better care to our patients if we are well rested and destressed. After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup.