In this episode, our guest is Cory Jenks, who earned his doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of South Carolina in 2011. Since then, he has practiced as a retail pharmacist, outpatient clinical pharmacist, and inpatient clinical pharmacist. His current practice is as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacy specialist, where he applies his passion for lifestyle interventions in the management of chronic disease.
In addition to his career as a pharmacist, Cory is also an accomplished improv comedian, having started on his comedy journey in 2013. Since then, Cory has coached, taught, and performed improv teaching other healthcare professionals how to apply the valuable skills of improv comedy to create a more adaptable, empathetic, and humanizing healthcare experience.
Cory lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, Cassie, their two children, and ten chickens. When he’s not caring for patients or making people laugh, Cory enjoys harvesting rainwater, playing racquetball, basketball, and golf, and exploring the science of disease management through lifestyle. Cory is currently working on his master’s degree in “Dad Jokes” with the help of his two sons.
Topics covered in the show:
Cory’s personal story of being burned out from long hours and difficult interactions with his patients
A new and innovative approach to customer service in your business
How to bring empathy and compassion back into the medical field
The frustration Cory was experiencing as a pharmacist, and how improv helped change his interactions with his patients
How the lessons of improv can make customer experiences better
How to build and retain high performing teams within your organization
The one improv secret that can improve and transform your work culture
How to find the time to have a side hustle when you work a full-time career
What is Permission to Care, and why Cory wrote this book?