Women in Pharmacy: Community and networking to support pharmacists and owners

When Aimee O’Reilly opened the doors of O’Reilly Family Pharmacy in Worthington, Ohio, it was the culmination of about a year’s worth of pavement-pounding — as well as a longtime goal of owning an independent pharmacy — fostered through her work in independent pharmacies while in college, through internships and as a young professional.  



“Because I had experience in independent pharmacy, I knew it would be very hard for me to give up the benefits and “perks” that came along with it,” O’Reilly said. “I loved the idea of being able to call something ‘mine,’ and being free to try things, implement ideas and make changes along the way.  I knew that wasn’t something I could do in a chain pharmacy.”



So, O’Reilly made a chart of every pharmacy within 45 miles of Columbus, Ohio, made business cards that identified her as a future independent pharmacy owner and set out to talk to pharmacy owners about their ownership journey. Along the way, O’Reilly said she was supported by her expertise in the area — having literally written a manual called “How to Open a Pharmacy” for the Ohio Pharmacy Association, where she was the director of Clinical Entrepreneurship — and the network and community she encountered through Cardinal Health’s Women in Pharmacy (WIP) program.



Through her work at OPA, O’Reilly worked with WIP Director Eden Sulzer and WIP to create custom events for students at OPA. She also attended Mix, Mingle and Mocha events through the National Community Pharmacists Association and received guidance from the WIP Advisory Board about how to achieve her goal of opening her own pharmacy.  The benefit of these encounters, according to O’Reilly, was the ability to learn from other women who had gone through the process before and could offer advice on what worked best.



“What was really neat was how the program allowed me to network with other successful female owners from around the country,” O’Reilly said. “I was invited to join the WIP Advisory Board members during a conference call, where I was able to share my goals of pharmacy ownership.  The board members provided their feedback on how I could approach pharmacy owners who may be looking to sell their stores.”



Now that O’Reilly has become an independent pharmacy owner, she will pay forward the advice she received, participating in a WIP panel discussion at Cardinal Health RBC 2017 on Friday, July 28. She will join NCPA President DeAnn Mullins, American Pharmacists Association Trustee and Speaker of the House Theresa Tolle and “Pharmacy Podcast” Co-Host Erin Albert in a discussion that will be followed by a Mix, Mingle and Mocha reception.



This year, Cardinal Health and WIP will be partnering with NCPA for the organization’s “Expanding opportunities for community pharmacy; re-engineering for enhanced clinical services Pharmacy Bootcamp.”



From the bootcamp and the panel to the networking events, Sulzer said that these are all part of the larger WIP community, which also includes a thriving Facebook group where members share their stories and advice.



“We have people at all stages of their pharmacy career asking for advice, sharing stories, even celebrating successes within our Facebook community,” Sulzer said.



O’Reilly sees the WIP network as playing a key role in her ownership journey, and suggests that aspiring owners use the resources available to them through this community.



“Leverage the Women in Pharmacy network and make connections of your own,” O’Reilly said. “Because of the way I approached my pharmacy search, I have a group of pharmacists that I have in my network [who] I know want to support me and help me succeed. That’s invaluable.”