The Women in Pharmacy Leadership (WIPL) Alumni Mentorship Program pairs recent alumni who identify as females with working or retired professionals in their field of interest, to help them move towards their leadership goals. In this series, Waterloo Pharmacy spotlights their experiences.’
Rosemarie Patodia and Elena Salgado (Rx2015) were one of six mentor and mentee pairs who participated in the 2023 alumni mentorship program.
Salgado coaches pharmacists as part of the quality assurance program at the Ontario College of Pharmacists, acts as a clinical preceptor to PharmD students, and serves their local community as a certified diabetes educator.
Patodia is a consultant pharmacist serving as editorial director with Pear Healthcare Solutions. She has been a board-certified geriatric pharmacist since 1998, is a certified diabetes educator and held a management position in the corporate office of a national pharmacy chain. She has worked in long-term care, hospital, and community pharmacy.
Both Patodia and Salgado are regional clinical coordinators (RCCs) for Waterloo Pharmacy’s fourth-year patient care rotations.
After acquiring a repetitive strain injury Salgado’s plan to continue working in a conventional pharmacy role was no longer feasible. Patodia’s far reaching pharmacy background was the experience Salgado needed in a mentor to discover alternative pharmacy roles.
Talking to my mentor felt like talking to a friend. Rose provided so many different outlooks from all her experiences for me to consider for my own career.
Elena Salgado, 2023 mentee
Rose Patodia, 2023 mentor
Q&A with the mentorship pair
UW: What were your goals for the mentorship?
RP: I hope through our relationship that I can help Elena expand their professional network and to explore the lesser-known areas of pharmacy practice. I don't work in a traditional pharmacy role, and I have had many valuable experiences over the years that have given me a broad perspective on our profession. My goal was to share this with someone in their early pharmacy career.
ES: My career wasn’t going the way I expected because of my repetitive strain injury. I wanted to learn from someone whose career spanned many sectors of the profession and to learn from their experiences. I was curious to see what other pharmacy paths existed.
UW: What did you learn from the mentorship experience?
RP: On a personal level, I gained a better appreciation of generational differences and how we look at the profession. My time mentoring Elena has helped me become more open minded and to appreciate the unique challenges pharmacists early in their career are experiencing, and how those challenges compare to what my generation experienced. I recognize there are generational gaps and we all need to learn how to work better in consideration of our generational differences, appreciating what everyone brings to the pharmacy table.
ES: Pharmacy is ever changing. Rose’s past experiences made her very resourceful and gave me the opportunity to consider which avenues would be best suited to my professional goals. Rose gave me insights I would not have ever considered while navigating alternate pharmacy career options and she always knows someone to connect with to expand my pharmacy network.
UW: Has the mentorship changed any aspects of your career or personal self?
RP: The program has allowed me to reflect on how I coach students as an RCC. It’s opened me up to consider the unique challenges facing young pharmacists today.
ES: Since actively exploring new career option, Rose has helped me gain more confidence. I’m so grateful for her guidance and direction. Utilize the knowledge and experience of those who come before you. There is going to be a key piece of wisdom that you carry throughout your career.
UW: Do you have any recommendations for female pharmacists entering the pharmacy field?
RP: Measure yourself against yourself, rather than against others. Appreciating your own personal growth will help build your confidence in your career. I feel optimistic that our profession and healthcare in general is moving in the direction where everyone, regardless of gender, has equal opportunities.
ES: There are social and societal pressures that can blind us from our potential. As a person with many intersecting equity-deserving identities (assigned-female at birth, person of colour, visible and invisible disabilities) I have learned to work with them and embrace how they’ve played a role in my successes. Gender does not matter and should not play a role in what you wish to pursue in life. Don’t let others convince you otherwise. Follow your dreams.
We created the Women in Pharmacy Leadership Program to build leadership capacity and empower women in pharmacy to achieve their full potential. To learn more about our alumni mentorship program visit our webpage.