Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 10/1/2022 12:00:00 AM

Meta Diekstra, PharmD, PhD, Hospital Pharmacist/Clinical Pharmacologist, Prinses Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Leiden, The Netherlands

What Are You Looking Forward to as a New Vice Chair of the Student & Trainee Community?
Last year, I was invited for a discussion with Chimnonso Onuoha, PharmD. She told me that a new Community had been established within ASCPT: the Student & Trainee (ST) Community. As the inaugural chair of the Community, Chimnonso set up a wonderful mission and brought together an ambitious team to support the professional development of students and trainees and to provide a unique opportunity to engage with the membership of ASCPT. Her great enthusiasm and drive to fulfill this mission made me interested in joining the Steering Committee.

I love working with colleagues from all over the world and from different professional backgrounds with the common goal of inspiring new young members. In 2021, I joined the ST Community Steering Committee, and this past April I started in my role as a co-vice chair with Patty Maglalang, PharmD, and Shravani Etrouth, PharmD.

I look forward to working as part of this wonderful team to offer my fellow student and trainee members an absolute added value within the Society. We want to get a good idea of the desires and needs of our student and trainee members and offer activities and programs that meet these needs. We aim to provide our members, who are still at the beginning of their careers, the opportunities to easily connect and build their networks within ASCPT, to collaborate with other members, and to learn from each other. We hope to help members easily find their way in the Society and help guide them in shaping their career paths.

What is the Most Important Leadership Lesson You Have Learned the Hard Way?
While I was training to become a hospital pharmacist, I was a member of the Board of Young (Hospital) Pharmacists. I had a great time working as part of this team where we had the perfect combination of delivering results and having fun. On this Board, I gained the experience on how to develop a vision. However, the vision, which we believed was well thought-out did not seem to directly appeal to our members. It was a disappointment but also a real eye-opener! I realized how important it is to involve our members throughout the process to implement changes that everyone truly supports. We organized meetings and activities for our members and listened carefully to their ideas and also to their input on what they were not looking for. This stimulated group discussion. I have noticed that members appreciate being regularly informed about activities and progress of the group and it keeps them involved. We have actively involved students and trainees as part of the ST Community and will continue to do so.

How Do You Keep Focused and Motivated?
I am currently working as a hospital pharmacist/clinical pharmacologist and as a postdoctoral researcher in the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht (The Netherlands). I really enjoy the combination of clinical practice and research. It is always a challenge to keep switching between meetings, research, and patient care. The risk of a full agenda is that you no longer have control over your daily activities. I have found that it helps me to take a moment to think again about what goals I would like to achieve and then plan how I will organize that during the week or month.

For me, the real energizers at work are the moments when I am inspired by other colleagues, and also when I can explain something to a colleague or teach them from my own experience. The true team feeling starts for me as soon as we really want to understand something together, when we share ideas, and when we dive into our research together to get to the core and let our creativity run free. That often leads to achieving a great result together and keeps me both focused and motivated.

Do You Have a Favorite Tip or Trick for Clinical Practice or Research That You Want to Share With Fellow Members?
When you are at the beginning of your career, anything is possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what you want to do “when you grow up.” Within pharmacology, you could work as a pharmacist, a researcher, a clinician, or in industry—there are endless possibilities. Maybe you have known for a long time what you want your future to look like, or maybe you are just happy that you can get a job somewhere after your studies. Whatever your situation may be, my advice is the same: “Follow your heart!” There is no one who can explain to you what you like best, only you can! Once you know that, it is only a matter of finding the right place and the right team with whom to share your passion. The future is yours—never let anyone tell you that you cannot achieve a certain goal. If your hunger and commitment are big enough, you can do anything. Aim for the sky! This has always helped me in making my choices in both work and in life.

The question that helps me every time I have a big decision is, “Would I regret it if I did not take this opportunity?” I always start with the premise that as long as I can justify it to myself, then I have made the right choice. Of course, it always helps to hear from the experience of others, so that you can think about whether you want to follow in their footsteps or if you want to do it in your way. Above all, if you are a student or a trainee, join the ASCPT ST Community! Please ask us for help if you want to develop new knowledge. If you have great ideas that you want to share, if you want to discuss your future plans, or if you just want to talk to your fellow students and trainees—we are here.

Dr. Diekstra has been a member of ASCPT since 2014.