Rebecca AxsonAuthored by Dr. Courtney Dawson, PharmD, MBA, MPH, BCPS of the Mayo Clinic Health System
Phi Lambda Sigma member Dr. Courtney Dawson has always had a passion for pharmacy management and optimizing pharmacy operations to be their very best for patients. A previous Member-At-Large for our Society, Dr. Dawson graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy where she completed her PharmD. Dr. Dawson went on to complete a PGY1&2 in Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency with the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon where she also earned her MBA from Oregon State University. At the conclusion of her training, Dr. Courtney Dawson accepted a job offer as the Senior Pharmacy Operations Manager with the Mayo Clinic Health System. Now, Dr. Dawson balances her time between her Mayo Clinic site and professional commitments like serving as our Society’s current Programming Committee Chair.
Interested in a possible career in health-system pharmacy administration? Check out a day-in-the-life of Dr. Courtney Dawson!
7:30 AM: The Day Begins!
Most mornings, I aim to get to the office by 7:30 AM at the latest. This gives me a half-hour to settle in, check emails, and prepare for the day ahead.
8:00 AM: Morning Huddle
At 8 AM, our local pharmacy team gathers for the daily huddle. Our team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians gathers around a whiteboard in our central pharmacy to review any “need to knows” for the day, any important reminders, and any other relevant information. This is also a time for staff to share new questions or concerns.
Following this, I connect with the other members of our local leadership team. This includes my regional director of pharmacy, our senior clinical manager, my counterpart, another senior operations manager, and our two technician supervisors.
8:30 AM: Regional Department Huddle
The next huddle of the morning includes leaders from all departments, providing a comprehensive overview of various topics, from power outages to bed flow. Our local pharmacy leadership team rotates who reports out at this meeting each week, so regional leaders get a chance to hear from all of us!
9:00 AM: Tackling Tasks
Following the morning huddles, I like to use the remainder of the morning to tackle various tasks and emails. I have always been a morning person, and I work best in the earlier hours of the workday! Some days, this slot gets filled with meetings, either scheduled by me to work through a project or larger group meetings.
For example, every week pharmacy leaders across the entire Mayo Clinic enterprise get together to discuss proposed Epic changes. This is because every site is on the same instance of Epic, meaning that any change impacts us all!
Most recently, we discussed creating an order panel for bowel preparation orders to provide clarity on how to dilute the power and the correct dosing information and timing. This was done to prevent providers from needing to free text in all that information each time they place an order for a GoLYTELY.
11:30 AM: Lunch
Sometime between 11:30 am and 1 pm, I eat lunch, usually while listening to a meeting or going through my emails. Occasionally over the lunch hour, we have dedicated educational programming such as Pharmacy Grand Rounds, Reporting and Analytics Super User Workgroup, and Pharmacy in Leadership Learning – to name a few!
1:15 PM: Afternoon Huddle
Our second local huddle of the day occurs at 1:15 PM. By that time, our evening crew has started to arrive, and the same information is reviewed, with the option for additions or questions. Once a week, I follow this with a huddle of my own with our medication history pharmacy technicians. This group of five technicians reports to me, and we meet weekly as a group to discuss any updates I have, as well as any questions or feedback they want to share with me. Following the weekly huddle, I meet with each member of the team individually on a rotating basis.
With 17 employees reporting to me, comprised of a mix of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, I dedicate time to monthly one-on-one meetings with each team member. This ensures open communication, allows me to answer questions and address any concerns, and provides support to staff.
2:00 PM: More Meetings
As I move into the later part of my afternoon, days are generally filled with more meetings discussing a variety of topics. Some examples include how to best provide medication assistance program resources to our patients, discussion of how to distribute medications to boarding patients throughout the hospital, and conversations about our pharmacy student rotations – just to name a few!
4:00 PM: Off I Go!
My day ends promptly at 4 pm when I hustle out of the office to make it to my 4:30 pm workout class across town. That is a part of my routine that is absolutely essential. It helps me clear my head and provides a clear distinction that I am done with work for the day as I prepare to wake up and do it all again!
Interested in writing a PLS Pill? Reach out to Marketing Intern Haley McKeefer at haley@philambdasigma.org to submit!
