A Firsthand Look at Pharmacy Advocacy
For two USC College of Pharmacy students, a May trip to Washington, D.C., turned a once-abstract idea into something they now see as key to their future careers.
Walker Leadership Scholars Alex Wetherly and Noah Raganschmalz, both Class of 2027, traveled to the nation's capital for an opportunity to build their leadership skills by experiencing firsthand advocacy in pharmacy legislation.
"The WLS DC trip was definitely one of the highlights of pharmacy school so far for me," Raganschmalz says. "The trip centers around immersing us in advocacy and policy issues affecting pharmacy and how to support issues that can advance the profession."
Experiences like this help students understand that their voices matter and that they have a meaningful role to play in leading, serving, and advocating for patients, communities, and the profession.
Before the trip, Wetherly felt that advocacy was something students could only observe, not shape.
"It was difficult to see how change is truly made in pharmacy, especially as students, as we do not have the means to directly make change," Wetherly says. "Come to find out, this could not be further from the truth."
WLS Program Director Kathy Quarles Moore describes the program as leadership in action.
“Experiences like this help students understand that their voices matter and that they have a meaningful role to play in leading, serving, and advocating for patients, communities, and the profession,” she says.
Over four days, Wetherly and Raganschmalz visited pharmacy associations including APhA and NCPA headquarters, learning how each organization represents its members and pushes new initiatives forward. Meals with program mentors offered a candid look at long careers in policy work.
"I was surprised each time one of them took a genuine interest in our future career goals and how we want to impact our profession," Raganschmalz adds.
I didn't consider policy as something I was passionate about before, but getting to see the change that can result from small conversations with passionate people really shifted something in me.
The trip culminated in Capitol Hill meetings with staff for Representative Jim Clyburn and Senator Tim Scott, providing them an opportunity to advocate for legislation benefiting South Carolina pharmacists and community pharmacies. They met Representative Russel Frye and the late Senator Lindsey Graham and toured the Capitol with Scott's office.
"I didn't consider policy as something I was passionate about before," Raganschmalz notes, "but getting to see the change that can result from small conversations with passionate people really shifted something in me."
Wetherly agrees that the experience has reshaped their sense of what is possible.
"Nothing is ever out of reach,” he says. “Never doubt yourself or the potential effect you could have.”
Topics: Pharm.D. Program, Curricular Tracks & Special Programs, Walker Leadership Scholars Program