Alexander Wilson, Pharm.D., currently a PGY-1 resident at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, is probably exactly the type of student that Walter Jones would have hoped benefitted from his namesake fund, the Walter Jones Memorial Pharmacy Student Financial Aid Fund. Jones, a long-time ASHP employee who passed away in 1995, took great pride in mentoring students participating in externships at the ASHP national headquarters, often espousing bits of wisdoms that many of them still recall today. Through a fund set up in his memory, Jones continues to foster these student leaders. His fund provides a financial award to the recipients of the ASHP Student Leadership Award. Once you meet Wilson, a 2006 Student Leadership Awardee, you realize why the two would have hit it off immediately.
Built like a football linebacker and sporting shoulder-length dreadlocks, Wilson is a surprising combination of powerful presence and gentle manner. Most noticeable about him, however, is his passion. Whether he is speaking about his family, a former football coach, a school dean, or the profession itself, it is immediately apparent that this man surrounds himself with people and goals for which he cares deeply. His eagerness to learn is evident in his stories about the people in his life and what they have said that he carries with him.
“I tried a number of times to get into pharmacy school, and had been denied – all within a year-and-a-half,” Wilson recalls. He was advised to take three science classes in his next semester and to reapply after completing them. He couldn’t wait, and took all three classes during the summer break, earning an A in all of them. Still, he was denied entrance to the next class of pharmacy students. Determined, he made one last visit to the school of pharmacy’s associate dean. He said no – but the dean said yes. The following Monday, Wilson showed up for orientation at Hampton University’s School of Pharmacy.
“After orientation, the dean pulled me aside and said, ‘We’re expecting great things from you’,” says Wilson. “I always remembered that because I didn’t want to let her down. With the ASHP Student Leadership Award, I feel as though ASHP and the Foundation have said the same thing to me. I want to show them that their belief in me is not misplaced. Subconsciously, you push yourself more because you cannot let down the person who believes in you!”
He also recognizes that he represents other students like himself: “I want to show that a student coming from a small pharmacy school that is primarily African-American can be a success story, too. I’m not involved in this organization because my professors told me I should be – I was inspired to become involved because I saw how my professors’ connection with ASHP benefitted and encouraged them and made them better pharmacists.”
“Pharmacist” was not Wilson’s initial career goal. He first considered medical school and pediatric training. But then he learned that within pharmacy there exists a pediatric focus, and suddenly, his future became clear. “I really do love this profession,” he states. “A professor told me that pharmacists are really the last health care professionals that people can come to for immediate help, and that’s important to people.”
Wilson believes his current residency is an opportunity for him to mold the profession. One of his goals is to use discharge counseling as a way for pharmacists to reach patients. “Wouldn’t it be great if every single person leaving the hospital knew about the clinical pharmacist and had spoken to him or her about the medications they took in the hospital, are currently taking, and what they will be taking after they leave?” he asks. “I want us to be seen outside of the basement! We’re everywhere in the hospital, and we’re managing patients’ medications, and we’re making sure you are getting the best treatment in the hospital that you can get! We are a part of the health care team that is ensuring great patient care!”