In this article, we will discuss using LinkedIn to keep your knowledge current.
Pharmacists have always prided themselves on our ability to continue our education. Now we must stay on afloat in the surging tide of new drug products and constantly changing recommendations.
I vividly remember one lecture in pharmacy school, when our Dispensing professor told us we were going to learn the “Top 200” drugs. He said we would be tested on all of them throughout the semester and the final would be “fair game” for anything that was covered in class. At the time, I was completely overwhelemed. “200 drugs,” I thought, “how can I possiby remember that many medications!”
Fast forward a few weeks. During an 8 hour study session one weekend, my roommate and I decided to count our index cards of drug names and indications. We began by guesstimating the number of index cards based on a package of yet-to-be-opened ones that were awaiting our use. By our estimation, not even, mid-way through the semester we had well over 400 index cards already learned!
Since then, I have long since lost those dreadful cards, but if I was still adding to “the stack” with all the new drugs coming out, I’ll bet my stack would be getting pretty sizable at this point.
It is amazing what we accomplished in school and how we are able to constantly build on that knowledge base.
Remember when we had to update our Drug Reference books each month by hand? Now everything has changed, it is all automatically updated and ready at our fingertips! And social media is making sharing information and new ideas so much easier. It is the only reason this blog exists!
Of course, I still enjoy reading the industry periodicals, but I am even more interested in the quick articles and new information that is posted each day by my network on LinkedIn.
When I think about it, using LinkedIn has helped me grow my network, keep my knowledge current and feel more connected to the industry than I ever have. To me, being active on LinkedIn has improved my business and my outlook on pharmacy. Thanks for reading and if you haven’t already, please connect with me on LinkedIn too!
In the rest of this series, I will teach you HOW to use LinkedIn for growing your network and developing your own ideas through writing.
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