by Elizabeth Laswell, 2015 Pharm.D. candidate
Hello again! In my previous post, I began to explain the importance of connections through an example featuring Uncle Bob, whose good friend has a sister who works for your local Senator. While I don’t have an Uncle Bob (and you likely don’t either), I made a similar connection to Rep. Jim Stamas. A friend of a friend, who is friends with Rep. Stamas, initiated the conversation for me. I won’t go into detail about who is who, because you get the point, but it shows that you never know who you could connect with through the people you already know. Within approximately four hours of asking for this favor, I received a call from a staff member at Rep. Stamas’ office, and I was thoroughly impressed! We scheduled to meet several weeks later at a local coffee shop in Rep. Stamas’ hometown of Midland (and soon to be my hometown).
Ok, so let’s be honest here, I don’t have a political science background, and taking government/history classes in high school and college was as painful as pulling teeth for me. Needless to say, at the time, I had little understanding of the role Rep. Stamas plays in the Michigan House of Representatives. I like to ask questions and learn (my parents can attest to this.) As a child (ok, so maybe I still do this), I would always ask, “Well, why?” Before this meeting, I had never met a key political figure, and here was my opportunity to ask all the questions my little heart could think of. I started our conversation by asking about his role in Michigan’s Congress and, specifically, the House of Representatives. As majority floor leader of the House, one of his main roles is to schedule and organize the daily legislative activities that will occur on the floor.
According to the 2013-2014 House legislative schedule, Representatives are only at the capitol building (i.e., “in session”) for about 192 days this term (reminder: the House runs on two-year terms, or about 730 calendar days.) Since the start of the term on Jan. 9, 2013, there have been 1,700 bills introduced in the House, and this number doesn’t even include the Senate bills that have passed out of the Senate and were then introduced in the House! I would say that Rep. Stamas has had his hands full this term.
An important bill that was introduced in the Senate at the beginning of the term in early 2013 is Senate Bill (SB) 92. This bill would amend the Michigan Public Health Code to require pharmacy technicians to be licensed by the Michigan Board of Pharmacy. At the time, SB 92 passed out of the Senate with a 35 to 1 vote, and after discussion in the House Committee on Health Policy, it was passed out of the Committee with a unanimous vote of 15 to 0. Patient safety is the absolute No. 1 reason for this bill. In my experiences practicing in a community pharmacy, I am blown away by the amount of passion and time pharmacists and technicians spend advocating for their patients in one form or another. It didn’t take me long to acquire this same passion and devotion to my patients.
In my last blog post, I mentioned that advocacy is simply having passion for something and expressing that passion to others. My meeting with Rep. Stamas was to do just that. As a former technician, and now on my way to becoming a pharmacist, I understand that this change to the Public Health Code is critical for the safety of our pharmacy patients across the state.
Now it is YOUR turn to tell your legislator about what drives you to be the best pharmacist you can be! Stop making excuses and show passion for your profession! Utilize the links below to access information on the MPA Web site to assist you with making contacts and discussing key pharmacy issues.
Hello again! In my previous post, I began to explain the importance of connections through an example featuring Uncle Bob, whose good friend has a sister who works for your local Senator. While I don’t have an Uncle Bob (and you likely don’t either), I made a similar connection to Rep. Jim Stamas. A friend of a friend, who is friends with Rep. Stamas, initiated the conversation for me. I won’t go into detail about who is who, because you get the point, but it shows that you never know who you could connect with through the people you already know. Within approximately four hours of asking for this favor, I received a call from a staff member at Rep. Stamas’ office, and I was thoroughly impressed! We scheduled to meet several weeks later at a local coffee shop in Rep. Stamas’ hometown of Midland (and soon to be my hometown).
Ok, so let’s be honest here, I don’t have a political science background, and taking government/history classes in high school and college was as painful as pulling teeth for me. Needless to say, at the time, I had little understanding of the role Rep. Stamas plays in the Michigan House of Representatives. I like to ask questions and learn (my parents can attest to this.) As a child (ok, so maybe I still do this), I would always ask, “Well, why?” Before this meeting, I had never met a key political figure, and here was my opportunity to ask all the questions my little heart could think of. I started our conversation by asking about his role in Michigan’s Congress and, specifically, the House of Representatives. As majority floor leader of the House, one of his main roles is to schedule and organize the daily legislative activities that will occur on the floor.
According to the 2013-2014 House legislative schedule, Representatives are only at the capitol building (i.e., “in session”) for about 192 days this term (reminder: the House runs on two-year terms, or about 730 calendar days.) Since the start of the term on Jan. 9, 2013, there have been 1,700 bills introduced in the House, and this number doesn’t even include the Senate bills that have passed out of the Senate and were then introduced in the House! I would say that Rep. Stamas has had his hands full this term.
An important bill that was introduced in the Senate at the beginning of the term in early 2013 is Senate Bill (SB) 92. This bill would amend the Michigan Public Health Code to require pharmacy technicians to be licensed by the Michigan Board of Pharmacy. At the time, SB 92 passed out of the Senate with a 35 to 1 vote, and after discussion in the House Committee on Health Policy, it was passed out of the Committee with a unanimous vote of 15 to 0. Patient safety is the absolute No. 1 reason for this bill. In my experiences practicing in a community pharmacy, I am blown away by the amount of passion and time pharmacists and technicians spend advocating for their patients in one form or another. It didn’t take me long to acquire this same passion and devotion to my patients.
In my last blog post, I mentioned that advocacy is simply having passion for something and expressing that passion to others. My meeting with Rep. Stamas was to do just that. As a former technician, and now on my way to becoming a pharmacist, I understand that this change to the Public Health Code is critical for the safety of our pharmacy patients across the state.
Now it is YOUR turn to tell your legislator about what drives you to be the best pharmacist you can be! Stop making excuses and show passion for your profession! Utilize the links below to access information on the MPA Web site to assist you with making contacts and discussing key pharmacy issues.
- Find your legislators here.
- Find current bills that may affect pharmacy/pharmacists and tips for talking to your legislator here.
- Do you need help with the above or assistance with scheduling a legislative appointment? Contact MPA Manager of Advocacy, Governmental and Regulatory Affairs Amanda Lick at (517) 377-0254 or Amanda@MichiganPharmacists.org.
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