By Jill Donahue
I spent several weeks trying to figure out how to help people during this crisis.
I’m not a front-line medical worker. I can’t care for patients or perform life-saving procedures. I’m not a social worker. I can’t help those who are hurting the most from the impacts of the pandemic. I’ve never been any good at sewing. I can’t make masks.
I research. I write. I teach. I speak. But you can’t fight a pandemic with speeches. Can you?
As I spoke to friends and colleagues in biopharma, I realized that there might be something I could do. Everyone in our industry is struggling. For some of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the loss of people we knew and loved. For all of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted how we work, live and thrive. COVID-19 has brought uncertainty and fear which makes it difficult to be our best selves. While many in our industry are working around the clock searching for vaccine and treatment options, others are struggling with how they can help the HCPs and vulnerable patients they care about so much.
Of course, we can’t make right the deep loss that some have experienced. For those of us, however, who are struggling and frustrated, we made something to help.
I did what I do best. I started researching. And writing. And then I turned on my camera and started teaching.
Together with the Excellerate team, we crafted a program to help professionals in our industry prevail through our new reality. Using a research-based lens, the program provides eight concrete strategies to help biopharma professionals manage anxiety, regain focus, and take back a sense of control during this crisis.
We decided to call the program Stronger on the Other Side. After all, that’s the goal! I can’t change the reality of the situation, but I can equip my colleagues with strategies to prevail through this difficult time.
AND the icing on the cake—by taking this program you not only help yourself; you help our HCPs and patients! In lieu of a program fee, we’re inviting participants to donate to Americares, an organization providing PPE and training to HCPs on the front lines of the outbreak.
I can’t save lives on the front lines, but with the skills I have, I can provide strategies to help people prevail. And together, by providing PPE, maybe we really can save lives.
If you or your colleagues are interested in learning more about Stronger on the Other Side, please reach out. We would be happy to help you and your team prevail with these eight strategies that are already making a difference.
Praise for Stronger on the Other Side:
“This course is brilliant! I was reminded, with a short investment of time, to think about why I work in pharma and how to look after myself so I can keep fulfilling my why …during Covid19 and in the new après Covid19 world.”
— Denise Grimm, Territory Business Manager, Bayer
“As ever, Jill hits the mark with her practical ideas, timely plans and effervescent delivery. This is the perfect tonic for the challenging life that we’re all in the midst of. I’ve already begun making changes. Thank you!”
— Paul Simms, Pharma Provocateur and past Chair of eyeforpharma
“I LOVED this program. It is easily digestible, has very practical suggestions that are easy to implement, and includes enough data and resources that if people want to dig deeper, the information is all there. ‘Stronger on the other side’ resonates and also assures that we will get to the “other side” soon.”
— Wendy Erler, VP Patient Experiences, Alexion