3 Professional Accomplishments at Green Valley Pharmacy

Walter Wong, PharmD, owner of Green Valley Pharmacy in Rancho Cucamongo, CA speaks to Pharmacy Times about 3 professional accomplishments he and his business have achieved.

Walter Wong, PharmD: So, I think the first [professional accomplishment] is opening our independent practice. Providing the quality and the kind of care we want has always been a goal, but without the bureaucracy and having to deal with corporate. We have a lot more freedom to provide the kind of care we want. And also, like having a practice of our own, we have a platform to start a movement, to try something new, and to innovate, you know, to try to share our experiences with the next generation of pharmacists. The second accomplishment is that I just got certified as an advance practice pharmacist, so I see it as being a specialist, besides having your general practice, in a community pharmacy setting. And the third one is not really an accomplishment per se, but I do lecture at the Loma Linda University and the Western University schools of pharmacy. I felt more that school curriculum focused heavily on the clinical, but somehow discouraged community practice while most of us actually work in community. Somehow, community was viewed as inferior or the bottom of the pyramid, with the clinical being on the very top. I don’t necessarily think that means mediocrity, and I get that because we don’t need additional training to be in a community. And maybe it’s the lack of enthusiasm, or the lack of meaning community pharmacists find in their job, but I believe we can change the culture by showing pharmacy students the true positive impact of a good community pharmacist to his patients and his community.