Meet Alexandria Gallien, PharmD., currently a Pharmacy Manager at a local pharmacy in the greater Houston area. Today we get to learn more about her journey to where she is today as a young professional.
Jerren Willis (JW): Alexandria, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Alexandria Gallien (AG): Matriculating through pharmacy school was one of the greatest and most challenging experiences of my life thus far. The volume of information I needed to learn comprehensively was an arduous quest, yet it was extremely rewarding. Despite the load of classes and information, I took on several leadership roles. My most challenging and rewarding was being Regent of Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. This role required me to balance my extremely challenging academic load with the value of networking, planning, coordinating events, and collaborating with other professional organizations and pharmacist within the area; to produce a experiences for its current active members and future members.
These various experiences honestly prepared me for the role I have taken on in my career. I have had the honor of opening 3 community pharmacies in Washington, D.C., Cypress and Sugar Land, Texas and continue to grow my community outreach efforts, relationships and professional temperament in an ever changing healthcare field.
JW: What kind of challenges did you have to overcome?
AG: Being a young female in charge of a pharmacy has come with many micro challenges. The common nature of pharmacist involves long hours on your feet, an open “kitchen” style work environment, the management of people and their expectations, and for me specifically the challenge of starting 3 pharmacies from scratch and building a patient and community base of trust around a new face that was once an older male dominated field.
Somehow, the saying “respect, begat respect” rings aloud in my head. I have learned over time to continue to treat everyone I encounter with kindness and respect. Often times listening more than talking can get to the root of the matter. This allows me to ensure I can provide a level of care that may be beyond a patient’s expectations. Taking on the harder tasks and various opportunities has opened up many doors for me as a pharmacist over the past 6 years and continues to be a light of hope for me along my journey.
JW: According to Data USA, Black pharmacists make up 7% of the professionals in their field. Can you tell us more about of the impacts you’ve made on others like you who want to follow in your footsteps?
AG: Howard taught me “You will have to work harder than everyone else. You will not get the privilege of the benefit of the doubt.” Professionalism is something we will always need to exhibit. Someone will be waiting for us to fail and surprised when we don’t and even more surprised when we can turn your setbacks into a comeback. We don’t know how to not be faced with challenges and sit idle; we overcome!
I tell the students I encounter regularly that we need more faces like ours to firstly, educate and inform others of our importance and existence in the medical field and secondly, to give hope and restore trust in our own communities that may be looking for a familiar face that they can communicate their health needs. Black professionals in the pharmaceutical field can impact the relationship African Americans have with health care, especially for men. For many, finding a way to identify with us (pharmacist) if major. Many patients see their pharmacists monthly, far more often than annual visits to their medical doctors, creating more opportunities for supportive care which can be life changing. Encouraging more young black professionals is a valuable opportunity to create safe and informed conversation spaces for black Americans in our quest for healthier lifestyles and longer lives. Being a part or organizations like Minority Women’s Pharmacist Association aids in getting those important conversations started.
JW: What has inspired you and continues to inspire you in your personal and professional life?
AG: My patients inspire me each day. I learn from each and every one. Life doesn’t deal a fair hand to everyone. There are so many things we take for granted while we are here on earth and forget that time waits for no one. I have patients that have gone through so much, but still have the ability to demonstrate gestures of gratitude—gratitude for life. No matter how devastating a diagnosis may be, they still have internal gratefulness for a chance to see another day.
The experiences and interactions afforded to me as a pharmacist is honestly humbling. I look forward to the opportunity to share moments with my patients as they entrust their care in me and in return, they share their lives. Professionally my patients have kept me grounded as a pharmacist while I provide a necessary service to a series of families, children, parents, grand parents alike. Personally, these same patients keep me motivated as a young African American woman to continue to inspire growth for myself as well as each person I touch daily.
Alexandria Gallien, PharmD, has used her platform as a pharmacist and manager to change how pharmacists are seen. She has taken charge of the rhetoric of dispensing, to show the value of the pharmacist, as an integral part of the healthcare team. Alexandria goes above and beyond for her patients to create a helpful and educational experience as well as meaningful clinical interventions. As a young leader in her field, being a visible and trusted healthcare professional is essential for health progression in the various communities in which she serves.
Alexandria is a graduate of McNeese State University, where she discovered her ability to promote health and wellness through outreach. She also holds a Doctorate from Howard University College of Pharmacy which allows her to educate various communities about diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other common conditions through consultations and health events. She is experienced in culturally competent care and has worked in various areas in Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia and Texas.
Growing up in Louisiana and being one of eight children, Alexandria understands the value of family, beliefs and interpersonal communication. This ties into the care she provides to her patients resulting in improved outcomes.
Connect on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/alexandria-gallien-pharmd-8051b6103.
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