MentorView with Joyce Generali

“The best ideas are usually not difficult ideas.  They are simple ideas that just take a long time to implement.  Just stop and take the time.”

PharmacyNOW: Please tell us about the Drug Information Center and, specifically, your position.

Joyce Generali: Our Drug Information Center at Kansas University answers questions about drugs from health professionals all over the country. We are very typical in a sense that other drug information centers at other institutions or academic sites do much of the same thing. But we primarily are troubleshooters for drug therapy from pharmacists, physicians and nurses.

How did you come to this position?

It wasn’t until I got out of pharmacy school that I discovered drug information in a residency program and just fell in love with the idea of transmitting, packaging information and making sure people who need it have it.

Was the residency program something you were set on doing?

I wasn’t quite sure what it was I wanted to do and that is why I did a residency program. That’s why I am always encouraged by people who get to good places by default decisions. In the perfect world, you always have an idea of where you are going. But a lot of times we do not have a clear picture of the road ahead of us and that is OK. It is a nice thing to have a five-year plan, but if you don’t have one, good things can still happen.

Tell us about one of your typical days.

The day is filled with a lot of different types of activity. For example, today I had a class. I teach pharmacy students in their fifth year of a six-year program and I had a class in medical literature evaluation, how to read the medical literature. After that, I staffed the DI center for a while, helped man the phones along with sixth-year pharmacy students who come in for a month rotation and answer specific questions from health professionals. I had a couple of meetings in the hospital regarding some of the drug policy programs we have set and adverse drug reaction monitoring.

What has been your most difficult professional experience and how did you overcome the challenge?

I have been practicing for almost 20 years now and thought I really had a good idea of what it was I enjoyed and did not enjoy doing. I committed to a multi-year national project and about a year and half into that commitment, I really had to make a decision about whether I could continue. It was the first time in the middle of a project that I had to stop and say that I could no longer do this. It was very, very difficult for me to do. I really had a lot of anguish because I felt like I was failing in some way. I had to stop, process, and look at everything I was doing and decide what was most important. The best thing that I learned from that experience was, even though great opportunities are presented to me and it is a great ego booster, I always have to look at the opportunity and decide if it is something I really want to do. How does it fit into my goal? Can I commit time to it right now? If I can’t, I’ve learned how to say no.

What is the greatest joy you have ever experienced professionally?

Actually, I have two. I recently completed a book, which took me about 15 months to write. When it was all done, I felt like I had accomplished a big project. The second is from my residency program where I get to interact with young people who are excited to be in pharmacy and in drug information specifically. That whole process of working with someone who is beginning their career and really trying to develop is a big part of why I stay where I am and why I’ll continue to have a residency program.

How do you balance your personal life with your professional one?

I think balance is a funny thing. It is an illusion that we strive for, an ideal. It is kind of like a quest, the perfect quest. You have to really think about the word balance. It is something we all strive for and we all think we need, but for me the word balance is a static term because it denotes a scale that is equal. I have two issues with it. First, how do you measure it? If you are measuring it on a daily basis, I think I only have it for about 30 seconds -- when I get that first cup of coffee and I am taking that first sip. It feels really good, all is right with the world. And then I don’t have it for the rest of the day. If you measure it on a daily basis, you are crazy. Do you measure on a monthly basis or over a lifetime? I don’t always know when I have balance, but I sure know when I don’t have it. Sometimes my family takes more time than my work time or more time than I have allotted. It is never truly 50/50. Sometimes it is 10/90. Sometimes it’s 70/30. It‘s a process of what is best for you. Just try to do everything well; I think that is were the balance comes in.

Who has been the most influential person in you life?

I recently lost my mom, a year ago, so I have been thinking about her a lot. In that retrospection and thinking about someone you loved so deeply that you have lost, I have realized how she has truly touched my life in so many ways. In the way I look at things - I have a lot of her energy. I have learned how truly your parents impact your life, not only when you are in their house but when you are out of the house. Even when you are an adult, I really think that their touch is still with you.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

I tend to be a high-energy person and I use that positively, but it also makes me reactive. One of the things that I have worked on a lot is using that reaction in a positive way. The best advice I‘ve received was "this too shall pass," meaning that in all those stressful moments when you think you just don’t have that balance that we were talking about, it is OK.

What do you feel passionate about?

Whatever you are doing, give it your full attention. That is so important to me because it transcends so many other things. If you are in the moment and really giving your full attention to whatever it is you are doing, it solves a lot of problems. I think inattention to what we are doing boomerangs back on us down the road. I feel impassioned about a lot of things. Professionally I feel passionate about the job that I do and that I do it well.

What do you feel is the most important characteristic for success?

Perseverance. It relates to cleaning out your closet to a big project to relationships. There are some things that are really hard because they are difficult in nature, but a lot of things are really not that difficult. The best ideas are usually not difficult ideas. They are simple ideas that just take a long time to implement. Just stop and take the time.

 

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