It’s June and summer weather is officially here. Thank goodness! I do not know about you but I am excited for a few months of warm weather to help forget about the long winter and wet spring we have had here in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.
The Board of Managers has been busy working on your behalf. We have coordinated a number of excellent continuing education presentations and are well above our goal for CE opportunities for this year. Have you enjoyed one yet? Keep a look out for future offerings. We had the opportunity to host an exhibitor booth at the first annual Spokane Regional Health District’s Vax Expo. Kendra Demaris and Steve Webbenburst represented the association. They were able to promote pharmacists and technicians and their role as immunizers and advocates in the community to a diverse group of medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and pharmacists.
We have also welcomed our newest student board member – Anastasia Corolenco. Anastasia was born and raised in Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe which is boarded by Romania and Ukraine. After high school, she attended Moldovan State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chisinau, the country’s capital. She studied pharmaceutical sciences and worked for a community pharmacy for two years. In 2010, she moved to Seattle, WA, where she began her career as a pharmacy technician after graduating from Renton Technical College. While working as a technician at a long-term care pharmacy, she was able to complete the prerequisite course work for admission to pharmacy school. Anastasia just completed her first year at WSU and is currently completing a three-week community pharmacy rotation in Seattle. She works as an intern at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in the outpatient pharmacy. She joined the Spokane Pharmacy Association to learn about the pharmacy profession, meet and socialize with professionals in the area, and improve her leadership skills. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, and shopping.
For me, summer is a time for barbequing and boating, but it is also a time for new beginnings. The late spring/early summer blooms of lilac always put me in a good mood. They remind me that no matter where we are or what we may face, a fresh start or new beginning is always possible. Graduation ceremonies from across the country have produced a group of new practitioners who are ready for their new beginning. They are ready to get out into the real world, practice pharmacy, and learn from experienced pharmacists and technicians such as yourselves! This is an excellent time to renew your commitment to help develop the future generation of pharmacists and technicians. We have an opportunity coming soon that will focus on preceptor training. Watch for updates through emails, Facebook, or the fax blast.
What’s the fax blast you ask? This is the association’s monthly newsletter which features current CE offerings, upcoming social and networking events, and other important announcements sent to business fax numbers. Not part of the “fax blast” or need to update your fax number contact? Please send us an email at info@spokanepharmacy.org.
I hope you all enjoy the summer weather. Be safe and remember the sun screen! I look forward to seeing you at future SPA events.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Czapinski, SPA president-elect
Spokane Pharmacy Association 