#PharmacyFutureLeaders

Kevin T. Hope, RPh is a Clinical Education Specialist with the PharmCon team in Conway, SC. He’s served as an adjunct faculty member for the South Carolina College of Pharmacy. Most recently, Kevin directed the pharmacy technology program at Horry Georgetown Technical College in Myrtle Beach, SC. He’s received the Pfizer Leadership Award and the Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award from the South Carolina Pharmacy Association and serves on the professional advisory board for Paradigm Publishing. Kevin's passions lie in helping students, pharmacists, and technicians surpass personal educational goals.

Everyone’s leadership road is a little different; tell us what you are doing now and how you got there.

Right now he’s working with http://freeCE.com which is a subsidiary of PharmCon. They offer continuous education credits for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses. His path began with pharmacy school, retail with Eckerd, then a career in nuclear pharmacy in Charleston, SC.

It sounds like you were really flexible and open to opportunities coming out of pharmacy school. How did you get that nuclear pharmacy opportunity? So many people are looking for that specialty pharmacy opportunity. What happened that this opportunity came to you?

Kevin shares ideas about stepping out of the box, even though he knew very little about nuclear pharmacy at the time. Thirteen years later, he had no regrets. He says it’s about stepping out of your comfort zone.

What do nuclear pharmacists do on a day-to-day basis?

Nuclear pharmacy is a niche within our profession that combines the skills of radiology with the skills of pharmacy. Most of the time we are looking for an agent that is being used as a radiotracer. Kevin gives a great detailed description of this niche profession.

But no insurances and no drive-through?

No, the customers are hospitals, cardiology clinics, endocrinology clinics and so on.

You went from working as a practitioner for 13 years and then you decided to become an educator. Tell me a little about that transition. What attracted you to the pharmacy technician educator role and how was it making that transition?

Kevin says that in every case he stepped out and made the decision to say “I am going to do what I want to do” and put those other variables to the side. I have never regretted it..

Now your work-day is education everyday on a different level, a national level. You are able to articulate all of the skills you have acquired over the years since starting in pharmacy in high school. Tell us about your role now with freeCE and how your path was evolved. There is the path that you think you are going to take and there is the path you actually take. Tell us about the path that you actually took.

Kevin outlines what he did when adversity struck and his position was no longer available at his college.

It sounds like the creativity component is really satisfying to you. How did you learn or get the training for the creativity/design component of education?

Kevin talks about the trial and error process that sometimes comes with a new career, but the satisfaction of progress.

Now you have autonomy and this creative component. What would you tell someone who is coming out of school to get into a position like this?

I would tell students coming out of school not to fear going forward. It may mean taking a job that you might not want or have envisioned for yourself at the time. He goes on to discuss the value of intrapreneurship.

Tell me about your involvement with South Carolina Pharmacist Association and how the association helps pharmacists in South Carolina?

What is the best way to get in touch with you?

Kevin.Hope@freeCE.com