From Big Pharma to Main Street

Ahunna Freeman

I’m meeting Ahunna for the first time, and our interview seems to be taking place in the comfort of her owned and operated Southside Discount Pharmacy. Ahunna and her husband, whom she met at college, started this community pharmacy ten years ago after she decided her time in corporate had come to an end.

A deep desire to meet the patients’ needs more effectively was a driving force behind her decision to leave the safety and predictability of a big pharmacy chain and step out on her own, carving out a less travelled path into the world of small community pharmacies.

With one child in tow, Ahunna describes those early years of business operations as flying by the seat of your pants.

Ahunna talks about this point in time with a slight chuckle at herself, outwardly smiling about her initial gaps in knowledge and skills. The smile doesn’t leave her warm face for our whole conversation. Her resourceful and problem-solving approach to challenges is a recurring theme in Ahunna’s journey from graduate Pharmacist to business operator and entrepreneur serving patients and providers.

Born in Nigeria, Ahunna emigrated soon after her mother moved to North Carolina, USA, and completed high school as an immigrant teenager. She went straight into an undergraduate in Chemistry before entering her four-year Doctorate of Pharmacy. During her postgraduate studies, she embraced the opportunities of working as a pharmacy technician in a chain pharmacy, learning the ropes. Newly married after getting her credentials, she had roots firmly planted in North Carolina, so opportunities would need to be close, “My husband had his job here, and we’d just bought a house, so that decided things for me. This was home, although I wish it were a little warmer!”

Appreciating that our circumstances often dictate our professional choices, I was curious about her options straight out of her degree. What I’m learning is how different training pathways are across the world. So far, Ahunna has done eight years of university to get to the point of calling herself a Pharmacist, holding the PharmD credential in the USA.

“So our options here are that when you graduate, you can apply for a residency to focus on clinical pharmacy. A residency increases your chances of getting employed in clinical-focused roles, and our educators strongly encourage it. The other route is to work wherever you can and gain enough experience to prove that you are suited to a clinical role.” 

There was only one residency option close to where Ahunna lived, and moving was not an option then. 

She applied and was not successful. 

Rejection can really hurt. It’s a sense of personal failure and dashed hopes all rolled into one. I remember the first job I went for that I didn’t get. I was already working where the role was, and I knew I had the support of my colleagues. I was trying to change from being contractual to permanent. But I flunked the interview. It's not surprising, really. I’d never done a dietitian interview and didn’t seek any preparation advice. I wrongly assumed that it was a done deal because I wanted it badly and knew my manager wanted me for it. How naive. But I never made that mistake again, and I got every role I went for after that.

Ahunna gathered herself, bringing that positive ‘can do’ disposition. She orientated herself towards the corporate world, which allowed her to gain experience and confidence. 

However, as she approached the five-year mark in one corporation and during the maternity leave of her second child, she began to question her career direction.

The frustration she felt about not being able to meet the patient's needs and maintaining the demands of her growing family reached a tipping point, and hard decisions were required. So, this was the moment she and her husband took the leap, used what they had, and started their community pharmacy.

There are perks to being a business operator and owner. Ahunna spoke of how she enjoyed engaging with patients in the way she resonated with most. She could now collaborate with family physicians and specialists to solve problems for better outcomes.

The autonomy of being a business owner meant that when her third child came, five years into operating her business, and with no family around, she brought her newborn, or more aptly wore her newborn, to work. “I was so glad to be able to give more attention and time to having our third child. When working in corporate, I had to put them in childcare early and often was home after they were asleep. I missed out. So I was so happy to be able to do it differently this time”. 

She speaks of the flipside of more autonomy, too. The cons were that juggling the conversation with a patient gets challenging when you have a crying baby. Or when there’s less downtime during the work day, business administration often creeps into the late hours of the night. “We got through. My husband also has his own business, but we’ve always tackled the load together. And I still don’t get to everything for my kids, every match or rehearsal. But I do my best, and I’ve learned to be okay with that. This works for us”. She radiates confident ownership of her journey, devoid of arrogance or disregard for the unique paths others may need to take.

There’s a fierce yet gentle resolve to how Ahunna describes juggling all her balls in the air. It was unsurprising to hear about her latest efforts to tackle a problem that led to inefficiencies and compromised patient care at the pharmacy. She observed the substantial confusion, misinformation, and wasted time in the interactions between pharmacists, patients, and healthcare providers. Often, questions that a pharmacist is uniquely qualified to address were posed at random times, causing disruption, or were inaccurately answered through other channels. Healthcare providers, including family physicians and specialists committed to optimal patient outcomes and value, frequently sought her counsel.

From this, ‘Aligned Care’ was born, Ahunna’s step into the world of entrepreneurship. Riding the momentum of being a regular resource for providers and improving patient experience, Aligned Care emphasises a team-based approach to preventative healthcare. One key offering is MyPharmacist, a bold and valid assertion that a Pharmacist's time and expertise are valuable.

Ahunna aims to enhance efficiency for everyone while giving the patient the most appropriate and value-based option. She describes this phase of Aligned Care as slow-growing but exciting, as she’s learning so much and gaining new networks. She exudes confidence in her values and a humble attitude to always be in a position to learn from others. These two traits do not compete with each other but rather dance in tune with her aligned purpose and way of offering value. An example is when she shares her ongoing experiences with preceptorship with student Pharmacists.

She explains how students have been instrumental in developing material for Aligned Care, which benefits everyone involved. 

Curious about what lights up Ahunna's day, she says, “The conversations I get to have with my patients. I get to know their kids, pets, and personal challenges, not just their health struggles and wins. Even though I speak little Spanish, they are so gracious with me.” I could sense this warmth in our conversation, even through a monitor.

Operating her own business allows Ahunna to show her true self to patients and her family. Despite the early rejection that would end many people's chances at clinical pharmacy, she is a testament to courage against adversity that led to a pharmacy role that best suited her. She reiterates, though, that “I respect that business ownership is not for everyone. I take the good with the downside, and so far there’s way more upside”. 

Ahunna reminds us all that in the heart of healthcare, beyond the prescriptions and procedures, lies the capacity for human connection and the potential to make a lasting impact.

Ahunna’s Wisdom

1. Self-belief is crucial to moving on from setbacks. She thought residency was what she needed to succeed. She accepted the outcome and decided there’s got to be more than one way.

2. Find your tribe - Ahunna has gained support and belonging in her community of independent pharmacists. Now, in this entrepreneurial space, she seeks support and inspiration from new connections on LinkedIn and Humans In Healthcare.

3. Give yourself grace - we don’t always get it right, and none of us have all the answers, so be kind to yourself and avoid the comparison trap. 

You can connect with Ahunna via LinkedIn, email or her business website.

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