Our community is abuzz with energy now that the back-to-school dust has settled and we are establishing our routines. For some of you, this is the beginning of your doctoral journey; others are wrapping up years of hard work and looking towards graduation. Whether this is your first year, your last, or somewhere in between, it’s essential to take care of yourself and our community. This is especially important this year as we strive to slowly return to normalcy after two years of ambiguity, loneliness, and anxiety. I am focusing on a few principles I think will help us all.
Revisit your reason for being. During orientation week, I discussed the concept of Ikigai with the incoming PharmD class. Ikigai means the nexus of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Finding your Ikigai gives you a sense of purpose and a focus for your efforts that will sustain you through the good and challenging days ahead. On those tough days, remember that being pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists is hard work, but we are here because we can do hard things. Remember our entire community of mentors, family, and friends who have our backs and are rooting for our success. At the end of the day, we continue our work because it brings us centering in our communities. Each day gives us an opportunity to honor the oaths we took to uphold the standards of our profession and dedicate our lives to the service of others.
Show each other grace. We are human first, students and employees second. Having empathy and patience can be difficult when everyday life demands pile on. We spend a significant amount of time with one another and inevitably have instances of conflict and misunderstanding. Cultivate compassion and take the time to make real connections and friendships. Be patient with yourselves and with your peers. Being in our community and being with our community enables us all to draw from one another; it also places an obligation on us to sustain one another. As a College, we aspire to be a diverse and inclusive environment; let us all do the work to develop the tolerance and empathy necessary to meet that goal.
Invest in yourself—whatever that means to you. Run for a leadership position. Create a budget. Join a professional organization. Go to a local non-profit meet-up. Take a weekend trip to be in nature. Attend a professional development workshop. Create friendships with people who hold different ideologies. If you’re able, move your body every day. Download one of the university’s free mental health apps. Every conscious decision to increase your well-being, knowledge, and skills is a direct investment in your future.
Wishing everyone a productive and rewarding year ahead.
MEDICAL SPANISH BASICS COURSE. Presented by Global Health Initiatives. Begins September 28.
KYNETIC WEBINAR SERIES. Join us virtually for the Fall 2022 Translational Training Series. The second session is “Reimbursement 101” with Suneera Bhatia, High Mark Health on Monday, September 12 at 4:00 pm EDT. View the full schedule and register here. Curious about the KYNETIC program? Click here to learn more and request a consultation with a Project Manager.
ISPE WEBINAR. Is there a role for pharmacoepidemiology in deprescribing research? October 6, 12 noon. Register here.
HOMECOMING BASH. Save the date for the annual homecoming tailgate and reunions occurring October 14-16. RSVP here.
ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE. UKCOP will host an open house on October 22 for students interested in obtaining a degree from UKCOP. Registration is now open for the PhD and PharmD information sessions.
PAC SERVICE DAY. Hosted by PLS on October 29, 9 am-1 pm. This event is an excellent way for any graduate or pharmacy student, pre-pharmacy student, or employee to volunteer around the community! Sign up here.
UPDATES
Future Professionals of Global Health (FPGH) is an interprofessional healthcare organization that provides information and opportunities about health worldwide. Our goal is to understand various health disparities in the context of culture and environment.
In collaboration with Bluegrass Community Health Center (BCHC), FPGH is working to establish a volunteering opportunity for graduate health care students to accompany refugee clients to referrals from BCHC. With this opportunity, the aim is to improve follow-up and referral outcomes for this patient population.
EQUIPMENT PILOT DEADLINE. UKCOP is seeking applications for the equipment pilot as part of an effort to support faculty in their research. The College will commit $600K over two years to support key equipment/data infrastructure for faculty with a primary appointment in the College. The application deadline is September 16. Visit the Office of Research Operations website for details.
TEAM SCIENCE PILOT PROGRAM. The overarching goals of this pilot initiative are to enable impactful multidisciplinary team-based research, facilitate new collaborations, support team-based prelim data acquisition as a basis for large extramural center/program grant applications, and increase the CoP funded center/program extramural grant portfolio. The College seeks to support up to two new team science pilot projects during FY23-FY25. The maximum annual budget request per program is $100K. Programs will be supported for one year with the potential to compete for an additional year. The application deadline is December 5, at 5 pm. Click for more details.
We wish to remember and honor those who inhabited this Commonwealth before the arrival of the Europeans. Briefly occupying these lands were the Osage, Wyndott tribe, and Miami peoples. The Adena and Hopewell peoples, who are recognized by the naming of the time period in which they resided here, were here more permanently. Some of their mounds remain in the Lexington area, including at UK’s Adena Park.
In more recent years, the Cherokee occupied southeast Kentucky, the Yuchi southwest Kentucky, the Chickasaw extreme western Kentucky and the Shawnee central Kentucky including what is now the city of Lexington. The Shawnee left when colonization pushed through the Appalachian Mountains. Lower Shawnee Town ceremonial grounds are still visible in Greenup County.
We honor the first inhabitants who were here, respect their culture, and acknowledge the presence of their descendants who are here today in all walks of life including fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals.
