Alex Barker, PharmD returns to the podcast to talk about his pharmacist Career Coaching business The Happy PharmD, curriculum consulting, his podcast, his book and audiobook Indispensable, Ikigai, mindset, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and more.
Bio
Alex Barker founded The Happy PharmD to provide career coaching and career development classes, and since 2017, the company has helped over 1,500 pharmacists. His best-selling book, Indispensable: A prescription for a fulfilling pharmacy career, has sold around 4,000 – 5,000 copies and helped countless pharmacists love their profession again.
Links from this episode
thehappypharmd.com/care (Get the Happy PharmD Care Package!)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barker-pharmd/ Subscribe to Alex’s LinkedIn newsletter!
Indispensable: The Prescription for a Fulfilling Pharmacy Career by Alex Barker, PharmD
Jackie Boyle, Lead Coach at The Happy PharmD
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast ® Episode 174 featuring Alex Barker PharmD interviewing me about my new online course, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast (August 2022)
The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast Episode 94 featuring Dr. Erin L. Albert (April 2021)
When Organizing Isn’t Enough: SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Julie Morgenstern
Highlights from our conversation
The Happy PharmD helps pharmacists (both BS Pharm and PharmD) with their careers. Happy PharmD Coaches are all pharmacists, and they have a variety of backgrounds (community practice, pharma, research, etc).
Keep an eye out for The Happy PharmD’s First Annual Success Report in Fall 2022. It will include client career paths, how long it took to get a job, and more.
The Happy PharmD Podcast is available on all major podcast players. Some episodes include client success stories.
As a coach, Alex enjoys client transformations. According to Alex, when a client creates their indispensable career, their next job pursues them. Compare that to the desperation and frustration involved in most job searches.
Alex loves teaching. He develops curriculum for The Happy PharmD and academic institutions. Alex shared a story about teaching college students about acne meds using a scripted skit. Acting through scenes in front of a class full of peers is a challenge. We grow when we are challenged.
We discussed Ikigai. It’s a concept discussed in Alex’s book Indispensable. According to Alex, Ikigai means, “A reason for being.” It’s a mixture of four things:
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- What you love to do
- What you’re naturally good at
- What you can be paid to do (a physical job)
- What the world needs
The world needs pharmacists. When a pharmacist has an Ikigai career, they like what they do!
Mindset is important in career coaching. Mindset is baked into The Happy PharmD Program.
Topics include developing a 3-to-5-year vision, overcoming imposter syndrome, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, overcoming the fear of success, and fighting perfectionism.
Alex is gifting a free digital copy of his book to you, my podcast listener! Go to www.thehappypharmd.com/care now and claim this FREE offer! Other free materials are included, such as a chapter of the audiobook version of Indispensable, and more. Enjoy! THANK YOU, ALEX!
Note that Alex narrated the audiobook version of Indispensable himself! He has a great voice, and his performance is very engaging! Alex has also done a small amount of voiceover work.
Have you ever heard of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)? Alex would like to change the way the public sees pharmacists through the use of entertainment, specifically through the game Dungeons and Dragons. He wants to play a game of D&D with the theme, “Pharmacists battling the opioid epidemic.” He’s very excited about it. No start date is set. Participants have not signed up yet, but Alex will be the Dungeon Master. If you’re interested in joining Alex’s D&D game, message him through LinkedIn today.
Thank you for listening to episode 178 of The Pharmacist’s Voice ® Podcast.