We were lucky to catch up with Ahunna Freeman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ahunna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment in my pharmacy career was the evening we almost got robbed at gunpoint.

Prior to that evening, I had a decade-long experience of working in a community pharmacy. I’d worked with team members who shared their encounters with pharmacy robbers; I worked for companies that trained on what to do in the event of a robbery. I understood the associated risk of working in a community pharmacy but I never imagined that I’d live to experience such event in my pharmacy career. I definitely never imagined that I’d experience such horrific event as a mom of 2 toddlers (three years old and one year old), a new pharmacy owner, at a new pharmacy that existed for the community, and at a pharmacy that barely housed high risk medications until it happened!

That defining day started like any other day. Business was very slow as it was 3 months into our grand opening – right after Halloween. I was with another pharmacy associate when a man walked in with his face covered and shakily demanded that we give him “all our narcotics” as he pointed a gun at my associate. His nervous statue appeared familiar to me – as if he was one of our patients. I ran out of the pharmacy screaming for help. Just as fast as he’d appeared, the response prompted him to dash back out into his vehicle and he sped off leaving us with the traumatic memory of the event. When the cops arrived, they reviewed pharmacy footages from weeks leading up to the robbery. I also mentioned and pointed out a suspect but that was dismissed. Fortunately, the armed robber allegedly drove home, shot himself on the foot and reported to one of the city’s hospital. Upon arrival, he was questioned at which time he confessed and was arrested for the crime.

The days following the event were a blur. The traumatic event caused my associate to leave the pharmacy profession. It caused me to question my own career choice in pharmacy. Each day I arrived at work, I silently said prayers for strength and protection along with words of affirmation to myself to remind me of my love for pharmacy, my commitment to my community, and my faith in God. I am very grateful to my parents for teaching us how to trust God in all circumstances.

This defining moment in my career not only reassured me of my faith in God, it also prompted me to appreciate life while revisiting my purpose as a wife, mom and pharmacist.

Ahunna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Nigerian-American. My family and I moved to the United States of America when I was in high school. As a child, I was always told that I’d become a lawyer one day. My aspirations to become a lawyer changed once we relocated to a new country with different requirements that consisted of things I was not fond of – American history, American government etc. I pivoted into a career in healthcare. I was attracted to pharmacy due to the versatility of the profession and the opportunity to serve diverse communities with compassion.

Currently, I work as a community pharmacist and a consultant pharmacist under two business operations – Southside Discount Pharmacy and Aligned Care LLC.

My husband and I own Southside Discount Pharmacy, an independent community pharmacy in Winston Salem, North Carolina. As an immigrant and a minority woman, I am aware of the barriers and challenges of navigating the US health system. So for over nine years at Southside Discount Pharmacy, our team has focused on preventive care and health literacy that empower members of the community to engage in their care at any stage of their health journey. My passion for community pharmacy has also allowed me to understand how existing differences in communities can impact and complicate patient care outcomes. For that, we pride ourselves on the clinical services we’ve implemented to support our mission(s) at Southside Discount Pharmacy that is beyond medication dispensing.

Aligned Care LLC is a professional healthcare consulting company. Aligned Care LLC was created to combat inefficiency in patient care, risk of provider burnout, and poor collaborative care in community practices. We provide variety of preventive care services that is tailored to the needs of each unique healthcare provider or medical practice. We utilize a team-based approach to offer clinical services that include remote physiologic monitoring of patients, chronic care management of hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, obesity etc. and lifestyle change/weight management programs. We pride ourselves in our efforts to provide community healthcare providers a trusted access to a pharmacist’s expertise in medication management, industry insights, safety use of medications, and affordability from anywhere in the United States through our different consulting packages.

I wear my community pharmacy badge with honor as it continues to provide me with many opportunities to serve purposefully. I regularly share my pharmacy knowledge with student pharmacists as a preceptor, teach my pharmacy experiences to healthcare colleagues as an instructor/speaker, and encourage strong (in-person or virtual) pharmacist-patient-provider care teams.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

One thing that matters in terms of succeeding in the community pharmacy field is the ability to be personable. Training and knowledge are great but being a personable professional allows the patients and clients to be honest with their needs so you are able to be of better help to them.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Pharmacy ownership and entrepreneurship come with many challenges and lots of self-doubt. It is also very easy to fall into the comparison trap or become eager to “make” it where in fact, understanding one’s purpose, trusting the process and enjoying the journey should be the focus (as long as the bills are paid!). I had to quickly unlearn what I thought pharmacy ownership an entrepreneurship were about. I accepted that it’s okay to be sometimes doubtful of my potentials, but very important to be open to learning new things and always remember that God strategically places us in places that we are meant to be while granting us the wisdom to serve His purpose for us. Not only has this allowed me to move past the traumatic event we experienced when we opened, it has also helped me see a language barrier not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SouthsideDiscountRx.com www.AlignedCarellc.com
• Instagram: SouthsideDiscountPharmacy
• Facebook: SouthsideDiscountPharmacy
• Linkedin: Ahunna Freeman PharmD, BCGP