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by Priya Amin, P4

Drug shortages have been a pressing concern in pharmacy for the past couple years. In 2010, there were about 178 drug shortages reported to the FDA, and this number has only increased within this past year. Recently, the shortages include medications such as those used for cancer, anesthetics used for patients undergoing surgery, as well as antibiotics and nutrition drugs administered by sterile injection. There are various reasons as to why drug shortages occur. A major reason has been related to quality and manufacturing issues. Furthermore, shortages have also been due to production delays, which include interruptions in receiving raw materials and components from suppliers. In addition, discontinuations can occur by companies when there are newer and more profitable drugs that are released. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration cannot require companies to keep manufacturing older and

of potential drug shortages, expediting regulatory reviews that can help prevent shortages, and examining whether potential shortages have led to illegal price gouging. These additional steps for early notification will help achieve some of the goals of the bipartisan legislation backed by the President, which would require all prescription drug shortages to be disclosed, and give the FDA new authority to enforce these requirements. Hopefully, collaborative efforts between the FDA, manufacturers, and the Obama Administration can diminish and prevent future shortages from taking place. For more information about drug shortages, go to www.fda.gov.

R e f e r e n c e : h t t p : / / w w w. f d a . g o v / D r u g s / D r u g S a f e t y /DrugShortages/default.htm

Drug Shortages and Obama’s New Executive Orderless profitable drugs. To remedy this problem, the FDA has been working with companies to address these disruptions in production, and to help increase manufacturing if they are willing to do so. When US manufacturers are not able to resolve a critical drug shortage immediately, the FDA can search for overseas companies that are willing and able to import the critical drug during the shortage. At this time, regulations do not require that companies notify the FDA of shortages, and the only requirement is that companies inform the FDA six months in advance for discontinuations of sole source, medically necessary drugs. Because of the minimal regulations, on October 31, 2011, President Obama issued an executive order directing the FDA and the Department of Justice to take action. The order instructs the FDA to broaden reporting

brought to you by Pharmacy Governing Council

ERNEST MARIO SCHOOL OF PHARMACYVOL. 1 ISSUE 2NOVEMBER 29, 2011

by Stacy Lee, P1

The fast-paced, work-balanced lifestyle our society endures has taken a tremendous toll on overall population sentiment. Most individuals immediately identify their feelings as stress and depression, rather than sadness. According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, anti-depressant medication usage has risen dramatically in the past ten years, up almost 400%. The study suggests multiple reasons for this rise in medication usage. Data show that 11% of Americans above 12 years of age are taking antidepressant medication. What’s more surprising is that eight percent of Americans, who don’t display symptoms of depression, are taking antidepressant medication. This implies that patients may be taking these medications

for reasons other than depression, or have failed to discontinue their medication after successful treatment. It is also noted that less than a third of those patients on antidepressant medication have seen a mental health professional in the past year. These statistics expose a major compliance issue and opportunity for pharmacists to step up their role in medication therapy management. The specific problem that must be addressed is inefficient use of these antidepressants. While the American Psychiatric Association recommends medication as the preferred treatment for depression, patients must be counseled on when to take these medications, and more importantly, when they should follow up with their doctor.

Reference: Pratt LA, Brody DJ, Gu Q. Antidepressant use in persons aged 12 and over: United States, 2005–2008. NCHS data brief, no 76. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db46.htm

Antidepressant Use Jumps 400%

EMSOP

Table of Contents

Drug Shortages......................................1

Anti- Depressant Use Increase ................1

Rx Drug Abuse........................................2

NIH Proposal of NCATS.........................2

Inhalable Caffeine? ...............................2

School News...........................................3

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by Smita Jaggernauth, PP1

Prescription drug abuse has long been a major concern for health officials across the country; however, a new government report exposes just how dire the situation actually is. According to the Center for Disease Control, (CDC) the number of deaths from painkiller overdoses has risen drastically in the last decade. In fact, mortality has tripled from approximately 4,000 people in 1999 to 15,000 people in 2008. This significant jump reflects the increase in amount of painkillers, specifically narcotics, prescribed each year. The demand for more optimal pain management, and the constant emergence of new painkillers on the market have pushed doctors towards writing more and more prescriptions for these medications. The inevitable increase in the use of these drugs has, in turn, amplified the rate of painkiller abuse, with 5% of Americans over the age of 12 claiming to have abused painkillers over the last year.

Across the country, health officials have been attempting to manage this growing crisis. A new federal program that forces states to keep track of drug plans is close to be being approved across all states. Some states, such as Ohio and Florida, have been cracking down on pain clinics that are functioning as “pill mills” to allow for patients to abuse prescriptions. CDC official, Dr. Thomas Frieden advocated limiting painkiller prescriptions to 3-day supplies and prescribing narcotics only in special circumstances.

In light of these new, shocking statistics, the position of a pharmacist in patient advocacy cannot be stressed more. The role that pharmacists play in patient education is crucial to the proper use of medications and therefore, a key component to stopping this escalating problem in its tracks. Pharmacists that dispense these prescriptions must be able to clearly send out the message of how dangerous painkiller abuse can be, while being alert for the warning signs of prescription misuse. Through the collaborative efforts of everyone in the healthcare community, painkiller overdose and abuse may eventually, and hopefully be under control. “Deaths from painkiller overdose triple in decade”. Yahoo Health. 1 Nov 2011. http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_painkiller_overdoses.

by Lauren Sparrazza, P2

The pharmaceutical companies are cutting back on the amount of research they complete. It costs over $1 billion dollars for a drug to be brought to market and the FDA is not approving as many drugs as they did in the past. Pharmaceutical companies spend exorbitant amounts of money on research and development. If their drug isn’t able to start human clinical trials or come into the marketplace, they become less interested in discovering new entities because of the monetary risk that is involved. The National Institute of Health plans to open a new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) that will stimulate development of new medication entities. This institute will be working in partnership with the public and private sectors to innovatively reduce the costs of creating a drug. The goal is to speed up the delivery of new drugs, diagnostics and medical devices so that patients can utilize these advances quicker.

NCATS plans to do as much research as it needs to complete in order to attract pharmaceutical companies to invest. The center will find beneficial chemicals, perform

by Stacy Lee, P1

AeroShot delivers powdered caffeine through an inhaler—and strangely enough—tastes like lime. The inhaler will provide three puffs on the tongue, giving the consumer 100 mg of caffeine, which is comparable to a cup of large coffee. Similar to many caffeine-drink counterparts, AeroShot markets its’ product with vitamin B6, B12, and a zero-calorie sweetener, stevia.

Functionally, AeroShot is no different from a cup of coffee, but its creator, David Edwards, says it is, “bringing [the idea of inhaled drugs] into a new way of eating.” Data show that the inhaled caffeine has a rapid effect, much faster than a cup of coffee, despite its unconventional administration.

NIH Proposal of NCATSRx Drug Abuse

Ditch Your Starbucks Fix: Inhal-able Caffeine Available Soon

animal tests, and begin human trials. More than $700 million existing research projects from various institutes and centers will be combined through NCATS. This will bridge the gap between basic research and new drugs. Their focus will help to speed up the drug development and help to create more therapeutic drugs. NCATS would be created by primarily uniting existing NIH programs that have played an important role in translational sciences in the past. There is no intention in creating competition in the private sector. This agency is not intended to be a drug company but to focus on using science to create new technology used by researchers in both the private and public sectors of drug development.

Translational Science is the key to deliver new and better ways to detect, treat, and prevent disease. This National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences is the proper action to transform translational research into achievement.

Yap D. New NIH Center to Help Create Drugs. American PharmacistsAssociation. 22 February 2 0 11 . h t t p : / / w w w. p h a r m a c i s t . c o m / A M / Te m p l a t e .cfm?Section=Home2&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=25433

As for regulations, AeroShot did not require an FDA approval because caffeine is a legal substance in foods. It will be on the market as an energy supplement and is not intended for people under 12 years of age, sensitive to caffeine, allergic to ragweed, taking medications, who are pregnant, or who have a serious medical condition. The label also warns customers from taking more than three AeroShots a day, or nine puffs total.

AeroShot will be available in stores in the New York City and Boston areas, beginning in January 2012. Additionally, consumers will be able to purchase AeroShot online. The retail price is currently set at $2.99, which is, “cheaper than a Starbucks latte.”

Reference: Szalavitz , M. (2011, October 25). What we’ve been waiting for: Zero-calorie, ‘inhalable’ caffeine. Time, Retrieved from http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/25/what-weve-all-been-waiting-for-zero-calorie-

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by Priya Amin, P4

Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS) is the pharmacy leadership society at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. All members are elected into the organization by their peers for recognition of their leadership and commitment to pharmacy. The main goals of PLS are to ensure the continuing availability of student and practitioner leaders for the profession of pharmacy; acknowledge leadership achievement and award membership to leaders recommended by the Society; enhance the talent, skill, and effectiveness of leaders for the profession of pharmacy; and support and encourage sustained leadership commitment. The Lambda Chapter encourages all students to apply to become a part of the society in the fall of their P2 or P3 year.

Over the past few years, the Lambda Chapter at Rutgers University has continued to generate new ideas and events to foster leadership development at the school of pharmacy. The organization hosts an advocacy event annually to engage students in discussions about current issues in pharmacy and how they can be resolved. Two years ago, PLS started a Professionalism Series that takes place each spring semester, where various pharmacy organizations host events related to pharmacy professionalism, including speed networking, interview workshops, and more.

Last year, PLS collaborated with the Pharmacy Governing Council to create an annual Advocacy Month and Advocacy Certification Program. The month started off with an event similar to the traditional advocacy event, except on a much larger scale and it included a poster session, where pharmacy organizations could showcase important issues currently affecting pharmacy. The rest of the month included events related to political advocacy and ways to promote the profession of pharmacy. Students who attended a certain amount of the events became “advocacy certified.”

At the end of last year, the PLS Lambda Chapter was honored for the first time nationally, receiving the National Chapter of the Year award and the Charles Thomas Leadership Challenge grant award. These were two big achievements that the chapter is very proud of and continue motivating PLS to help promote leadership and advocacy in the profession.

The Phi Lambda Sigma induction ceremony took place on November 16th at the New Jersey Class Lounge in the Douglass Campus

PLS Inducts Thirteen New Members to Society

Center. This year, the Lambda Chapter inducted 13 new members: Nisha M. Bhide (2014), Ashley R. Brower (2014), Eric H. Chang (2014), Michelle R. D’Andrea (2013), Andrianna Guo (2014), Beatrice E. Ho (2013), Vani Kumaran (2014), Bhaumik B. Patel (2013), Meena Ramachandra (2013), Alyse Scaffidi (2014), Doris Tran (2013), Jentora A. White (2013), and Abel Zhu (2014).

The ceremony attendees included the new members, their family and friends, current members, alumni, faculty, and deans. The night started off with a letter from the new chapter advisor, Dr. Mary Bridgeman, who could not be in attendance. Dean Joseph Barone then gave opening remarks before dinner was served. After dinner, the keynote address was given by Dr. Samantha Llanos, a past PGC president and current fellow at Genzyme. The words shared by all the speakers were very inspiring for new inductees and current members of PLS to continue advocating leadership in pharmacy. Next, the new member initiation took place and the 13 students were officially inducted into the society. Cont. page 6

School NewsPharmacy Organization News and Events on Campus

Table of ContentsPLS induction........................................3A Day in the Life of a Student ................4LKS Wins National Award....................5APhA Operation Diabetes Report.........5PDC and Bioethics Society....................6Student Achievements...........................7 Student Achievements...........................8Importance of Being Ernest................9

Photo Credit: Kim Le

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by Fiona Chao, P2

On the morning of Saturday, October 22nd, I arrived at the New Jersey Pharmacist Association (NJPhA) annual convention being held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City at 7 A.M.. Since I arrived extremely early, before the student programming, I decided to attend a continuing education session for pharmacists on the “hot topic” of Pharmacogenomics. It was inspiring to see so many licensed pharmacists and technicians this early in the morning learning as much as they can for the betterment of their patients.

After this session I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit hall that was offered from 9 A.M. to 11 A.M. The participants in the exhibition included representatives from independent pharmacy owners, pharmacy advocacy groups and organizations as well as the retail community pharmacy companies. I took advantage of the educational opportunities and learned about many different products from the pharmaceutical companies. One such company representative helped me answer a homework question. A drug wholesaler called Rochester Drug Cooperative (RDC) gave a Blues Brothers themed performance that had everyone in the audience dancing and clapping their hands. I was also fortunate enough to win a raffle at the program during the exhibition for a traveler’s bag, that definitely made my day and was advantageous to carry items and reading materials home that I received.

There was a lunch program titled “Build Patient Trust and Engagement by Building Belief” by Maria Guida. Ms. Guida spoke about how to engage with patients and shared some sound advice on how to improve upon existing communication skills. She showed great enthusiasm in her work and not once did she use filler words (like, um, uh, etc.). I learned that having good communications skills as a pharmacist can only result in a successful relationship with potential patients. Following lunch was the Self-Care Challenge for student volunteers from various schools and colleges of pharmacy in the tri-state area. The program was set up like the television game show “Jeopardy.” Throughout lunch I watched as the student teams sitting around

me looked through their notes and prepared for the challenge. I remember thinking to myself, “Oh, how difficult could it possibly be? Questions are going to be asked of over-the-counter drugs.” Little did I know that the next hour and a half would be the one of the most exciting programming events for the students.

The competition was an eye-opener, and I learned about all the different products that are offered over-the-counter and their counseling points. It was a great event at which I hope to participate as a contender and represent the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in years to come. I think it would be a great idea to host another competition that is similar for practicing pharmacists.

The next presentation for students. That afternoon emphasized “Health Literacy.” This topic is a very important issue that needs to be addressed by all health care professionals. There is a disparity of knowledge between health care professionals and their patients. I learned that some people have trouble understanding something as basic as how to take their medication and the conditions or diseases they had been diagnosed with, a concept that I would otherwise take for granted.

A Day in the Life of a Student Attending the NJPhA Convention

RU EMSOP Self-CareTeam. Left to right: Melannie Soriano, Chelsea Price, Jamie Gomes, and Esther Lee

The student programming concluded with a Q and A session which consisted of a panel of licensed practicing pharmacists. They represented a variety of experiences, ranging from a hospital pharmacy resident in her post graduate year two (PGY2) all the way to the president of the New Jersey Pharmacist Association (NJPhA), who is a consultant pharmacist for long term care facilities and geriatric patients. Students were able to get candid answers on whatever questions were raised. The panel was very helpful and showed that there are many different paths one can take as a pharmacist in health care. The panel also emphasized the importance of work ethic, networking and getting involved in a pharmacy organization/association as a student.

The NJPhA Annual Conference showcased many different aspects of the pharmacy profession. I learned a great deal, met some magnificent people, and had a wonderful time. I personally recommend that every pharmacy student should attend it at least once. I look forward to the annual conference next year. Hope to see many of you there!

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by Sonia Lee, P1

The Pi Chapter of Lambda Kappa Sigma (LKS) proudly accepted the Chapter Professionalism award for their professional accomplishments in the 2010-2011 year at the LKS convention held during July 28th-30th, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.

The Chapter Professionalism award is given annually to one of the 28 collegiate chapters nationwide for the quality of professional events organized throughout the year.

One of the major events LKS hosted last year that merited this award was “The Working Woman: A Balancing Act,” which allowed students to interact with professional female engineers and pharmacists and learn about the struggles that women still face in balancing their careers with their personal lives. The twelve guest speakers were divided into six pairs, and attendees rotated from group to group in 10 minute intervals to talk to each speaker, hear her story, and ask questions. Donations were also collected at the event for Women Aware, Inc., a local emergency shelter that has been helping women suffering from domestic violence for

30 years.Two other notable professional events hosted by LKS last year were “De-Stress Factory” and “A Sweet Diabetes Event. At “De-Stress Factory,” a Rutgers psychologist was invited to conduct a relaxation and meditation experience for students. She answered

LKS Wins National Award

Lisa Lu (P3), Efe Ighodaro (P2), Nicole Cammarata (regional supervisor), Tracy Ngo (P2), and Jessica Lui (P2) at Detroit, Michigan with the professionalism award.

questions about how to best relieve stress commonly experienced due to school, family, or relationships. Each attendee parted with a stress-relieving favor, such as bath salts, candles, and snack packs.

cont page 6

APhA: Operation Diabetes Report

APhA’s Operation Diabetes is the largest patient care committee the EMSOP chapter of the organization has to offer. The goals of Operation Diabetes are to conduct more glucose screenings, increase awareness about the risks of diabetes, and to educate patients

on the management of diabetes.

Student participants can volunteer at health fairs to screen patients and educate them on the disease. After going through a risk assessment, those with an increased chance of having diabetes are eligible to have their blood glucose level measured by one of

the trained students. This direct patient interaction is a very rewarding experience, which is the reason why so many students have gravitated towards this committee.This year, Operation Diabetes is led by two very friendly and inspiring students in their third professional year: Julia Chudnovsky and Esther Liu. The semester began with a very successful training session with almost 100 students in attendance. There, students learned about the basics of the disease, including counseling points and how to use the glucose test monitors.

Once they received their training, students were able to sign up for shifts at a health fair held in Wal-Mart on Thursday, October 20th. Students took turns either advertising their services throughout the store or sitting down with patients that came up to the table.

A subsequent successful event was American Diabetes Assocation’s “Step Out To Stop Diabetes” Walk in Bridgewater, NJ which was held on Sunday, November 6th.

by Liza Patel, P2 with Sonia Lee, P1 , & Kim Le, P3

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Students Increasing Dialogue on Bioethics on Campus

by Stacy Lee, P1

Fast-forward a few years. You are a pharmacist behind a counter and a 17-year-old girl walks in and asks for Plan B medication. As a firm believer against abortion, you hesitate although you are trained to dispense the product to your patients. In this position, you have the power to stop an abortion and follow your beliefs, or to provide the care that your patient needs.

This is ethics, a topic that Vani Kumaran, a current P3 in EMSOP, felt should be addressed and emphasized on campus. In the story above, the answer - though it may not be an easy one - is clear. As a healthcare provider who has sworn an oath, you must give the patient the care she needs. But what about other controversial topics that students will face in their profession, and what about ethical concerns that might presently confront student pharmacists?

To address ethics in the healthcare profession, Vani teamed up with the Rutgers Bioethics Society and Phi Delta Chi to host the event “Bioethics: Speak Up!” At the November 7th event, where different controversial topics were presented and discussed by the attendees.

“We decided to choose broader concerns in healthcare because we knew that it wasn’t

only pharmacy students that will partake in this discussion. We also chose this to generate more interest in ethical concerns revolving healthcare,” explains Vani.

After a brief introduction by Rutgers University Professor Dr. Patrick Hill on what ethics is and how it should be approached, the students were presented with multiple scenarios such as: who gets priority in

“A Sweet Diabetes Event” featured a guest speaker from the Regulatory Affairs Department of Novo Nordisk, who lectured on the disease state and prevention of diabetes. She also informed students about internships and job opportunities at Novo Nordisk for Pharm.D. students and graduates.

LKS President Rachel Baten noted, “I am so proud of my sisters for achieving these results through their enthusiasm and hard work over the past year. Being able to bring home the Chapter Professionalism award is not only an honor, but great motivation for our chapter to continue working hard and achieve further success.”

Lambda Kappa Sigma is a professional pharmacy fraternity that promotes the profession of pharmacy among women, encouraging professional personal growth and the cultivation of leadership skills. To learn more, feel free to contact LKS at rutgerslks@gmail.com or visit their website at www.rutgerslks.weebly.com.

LKS Wins Na-tional Award

cont. pg. 6

remarks by Rita Habib, the current chapter president, as well as dessert and pictures with the new members of the society.

Andrianna Guo, a new member inductee commented, “It’s humbling to be inducted by other pharmacy student leaders, especially because we have looked up to them for so long and know what they have been able to accomplish. It is an honor to be recognized for the hard work and effort that we put in throughout our years in pharmacy school. Even though many times it may be behind the scenes, it is certainly worth it.”

PLS Inducts Thir-teen New Mem-bers to Society

receiving an organ? Or, should a pharmacist disclose information about a patient in certain situations?

For the students, this event brought light to the situations that they will be exposed to as future healthcare professionals, and may have trouble with. Vani stated, “I chose bioethics [as the focus of the event], because this is about our profession—it’s like, this is your patient, how are you going to treat your patient ethically?”

In an effort to put ethics in line with leadership and advocacy, which are hot topics on campus, Vani and Phi Delta Chi will be holding another ethics symposium event with the Rutgers Bioethics Society in February.

Photo Credit: Francis Eusebio

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by Jazmin Turner, P1

Nisha Bhide, a current P2 student, had the unique opportunity to participate in the Ge-riatric Interdisciplinary Fellowship Training [GIFT] Program at Meridian Health-Sys-tem, an eight week summer internship that provided medical, nursing, and pharmacy students with the opportunity to gain more exposure to other health professions while working together as an interdisciplinary team. With prior experience as a pharmacy technician at Robert Wood Johnson Uni-versity Hospital in New Brunswick, Bhide wanted to learn more about the clinical side of pharmacy. “At my job I work with staff pharmacists, but during my internship I got to see a more clinical aspect of pharmacy practice. I was out on the floors with doc-tors and medical residents. I got to look at patient profiles and go to different meetings, such as P&T and medical safety meetings.” A big component of her internship was the completion of a collaborative research project with the medical and nursing students. Their re-search presentation was entitled, “Opioid Use in Geriatrics at Jersey Shore University Med-ical Center and Riverview Medical Center.”

The team of interns collected data on the use of opioids in the 65+ population and used an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the data in order to come up with methods to better serve the hospitalized geriatric patient popu-lation. On the physician side, they analyzed prescribing habits in terms of mild, moderate, and severe pain. With nursing, they assessed whether a pain scale of 1-10 was being utilized to address patient pain appropriately. On the pharmacist side, drug utilization, pain scale attachments, potential interactions with opi-oids, and opportunities for pharmacist inter-vention were assessed. The team also directly interfaced with the patients. After discharge, Bhide and her team would call the patients to ask how well their pain was managed.

One of their findings was that most of the time, a pain scale was not attached to a medi-cation order. Another yielding from their

research was the creation of a form by the interns to help patients that were being dis-charged on opioid medications. This “What to Look For” form included information on side effects versus adverse drug reac-tions, what patients should avoid while tak-ing opioids, what patients should monitor, when they should contact their physician, and when they should go to the emergency room. At the completion of the project, the interns presented it to the executives of Me-

ridian Health-System, their preceptors, and other health care professionals at a luncheon. Their work is in the process of being imple-mented at the hospital to help patients that are being discharged on opioid medications.

Besides the research component of the in-ternship, there were “experience days” where the medical, nursing, and pharmacy students got to learn about the other professions. On one experience day Bhide received medical skills training where she learned how to per-form venapuncture and place a 12 lead EKG, among other things. On “preceptor days” she shadowed her preceptor, Katie Militello, a clinical pharmacist at Jersey Shore Univer-sity Medical Center. At P&T meetings and medical safety meetings, she was able to see the administrative side of hospital pharmacy.

Additionally, Bhide went on rounds with other clinical pharmacists in different spe-cialty areas, such as pediatrics, critical care, and infectious disease. She followed patients to see the course of their therapy and their length of stay at the hospital. “I was able

“I was out on the floors with doctors and medi-cal residents. I got to look at patient profiles and go to different meet-ings, such as P&T and medical safety meetings.”

Nisha Bhide, Hospital Internto see a different side of hospital pharmacy practice,” said Bhide. “As a pharmacy tech-nician at Robert Wood, I prepare medications and IVs, fill carts, and deliver medications. As an intern, I had different responsibilities.”

One of the most rewarding aspects of the in-ternship was being able to educate the other students about pharmacy. “The medical stu-dent that I worked with didn’t understand the extensive training that pharmacists receive throughout their education,” said Bhide. “He didn’t realize how much work pharma-cy school is and he didn’t know how much pharmacists could contribute.” Similarly, the nursing students were unaware of how inte-gral pharmacists are to the health care team. Many nurses saw pharmacists as a hindrance because they took a long time to provide them with medications. “It was difficult at first, be-cause they didn’t completely understand my place in the team, until they were able to see what pharmacists actually did,” said Bhide. “Now, I hope, they have a better understand-ing of what pharmacists do. When they gradu-ate and are practicing, hopefully they will call on us and influence others to do the same.”

Student AchievementsSummer Internship Reports: EMSOP Students Exploring Different Fields of Pharmacy

Capsule Catch

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by Shana Jiang, P2

I was one of seven interns in the waiting room anticipating our orientation. We did not know it at first but all of us were INROADS interns that summer, all from different col-leges, with different majors and interests, from different backgrounds and heritages, at the largest health insurance company in New Jersey. I was going to be interning in the health care management pharmacy di-vision. The very first day we learned about the company, its history, its people, its cul-ture, and why it was known as Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. We met previous INROADS interns who gave us important advice on how to make the most of our time at the company. Then, we each introduced ourselves to our managers that summer as we were ushered into our respec-tive departments, where each of us were about to gain a wealth of insight into the cor-porate environment and health care world.

That day, I was fortunate to meet Dr. Jan, the Director of Pharmacy, and Dr. Novatski, the manager with whom I would be work-ing. I attended my very first weekly meeting, at which pharmaceutical company account managers come to speak about new drugs in the pipeline and about the disease state the drug is intended to treat. While I did not fully understand the context of the presen-tation the medical science liaison was giv-ing because I had not yet taken therapeutics courses, I listened intently and took notes.

Later that day, I was introduced to four sixth-years who were from the school of pharmacy on rotation and two pharmacists who were finishing their residencies that summer. I was the first intern in the depart-ment, and I was eager to get started and glean as much experience about managed care as I possibly could in the next ten weeks.

My main project this summer was with the health care literacy movement in collabora-tion within Dr. Jan’s division. I met with representatives from Pfizer and GlaxoS-mithKline and worked with Dr. Jan, her residents, and the sixth-years on rotation to build a multi-language toolkit to make avail-able for patients and their physicians to read. I discovered that health care literacy is more than just getting patients to understand how

to read the labels of their prescriptions. It in-volves educating them about their condition and how to self-manage with the aid of their health care provider. It involves getting pa-tients to understand the importance of medi-cation adherence and to not be inhibited in reaching out to their physician or pharmacist to question what they could not comprehend after visiting the clinic, institution, or hos-pital. Health care providers are highly edu-cated, but a lot of times it can be difficult for them to assess how much a patient takes away from a counseling session or if the patient is even taking his or her medication properly.

The initiative I participated in with the health care literacy movement culminated in working with the IT department to develop a website that provided and organized ex-isting educational materials for health care providers and patients to use. The sixth-year students and I were also invited to attend a resident-led workshop with account manag-ers of various pharmaceutical companies, EMSOP faculty, and Horizon’s Chief Medi-cal Director to brainstorm ideas about how to jumpstart the movement. Everyone was very enthusiastic and passed around multiple ideas from brown bags to awareness events. Dr. Jan’s role in spearheading the collaboration among pharmacists of various backgrounds made me realize that together pharmacists can make a greater difference in provid-ing care for a wide spectrum of patients.

In the first week of my arrival, I did not un-derstand what managed care involved, but I was able to learn a lot by asking questions to the residents and by first-hand experi-ences. During my internship, I interviewed the commercial formulary specialists and the Medicare formulary specialists sepa-rately. I observed clinical pharmacists per-form MTM services for the new star quality ratings that all health care insurance com-

Shana Jiang, BCBS Internpanies are required to present. I spoke with patients on the telephone scheduling their MTM appointments with our clinical phar-macists. I also helped update different pro-files on the pharmaceutical industry page.

Moreover, the other interns and I had the wonderful opportunity to learn about the many facets of Horizon through networking with the Director of Diversity, the Direc-tor of Communications, the Director of Le-gal, the Director of Casualty Services, and the Director of Strategy and Development.

The highlights of my internship came from meeting every other week with my IN-ROADS mentor through “lunch-and-learns” and, above all, from initiating a lunch-and-learn meeting with the Director of Health Care Reforms, Ms. Lindy Hinman. She taught me about the public policy and ad-vocacy side of health care, and provided me with more details about the Affordable Care Act and what it would mean to patients, pro-viders, and third parties in the next few years. This was information I knew could prove useful not only to me but to my fellow class-

mates and future pharmacists, and she ac-cepted my invitation for her to speak on cam-pus at a collaborative event this past October.

In reflection, my internship at Horizon was not the culmination of my summer but the summer of many culminations. I have so much more to learn in pharmacy school but this broad experience gave me real life exposure of the health care sys-tem and managed care in practice that I will take with me for the rest of my career.

“I discovered that health care litera-cy is more than just getting patients to understand how to read the labels of their prescriptions.”

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by Priya Amin, P4

Vishal Amin is currently a CVS Cor-porate Community Practice Resident at the CVS headquarters in Woonsock-et, Rhode Island. He graduated in 2011 from Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. Q: How did you obtain your residency?A: A Rutgers student was actually on a drug information rotation at the CVS corporate headquarters in Rhode Island and his precep-tor at the time was the person in charge of the Residency. He told me their resident fell through and they had an opening for applica-tion. I had decided I wanted to do a pharmacy informatics residency too late in my sixth year and I did not have a full time job lined up, so this seemed like a very interesting one-year experience. Although it was listed as a drug information residency, I figured I would still apply and interview. When I went in to interview, I was honest about what I was looking for in my career and we compromised on the activities of the residency so I would meet their expectations and they would give me exposure to the IT side of their business.

Q: Can you give a brief description of what your residency entails and what a typical day is like?A: Most of my day to day activity is in the drug information (DI) realm. I support the field with clinical information and answer any DI questions they have. They can call or email questions in and I provide follow up with them. Also, I send clinical commu-nications in the form of a concise email to the 7200+ stores on critical clinical issues such as label changes, FDA MedWatches and drug shortages. I make sure to give them the clinical information they need a short and easy to digest format so they may make the best choice for their patients.

Q: What is the most challenging part of your residence?A: It has been challenging to learn a whole new set of skills. In the position that I am in now, everyone that I work with is an expert in being concise and communicating on a

whole other level. All my work will eventu-ally end up in all the stores across the coun-try so I have to take scalability into account. Where in school, the extent of scaling proj-ects and events would be limited to a few people or few different hospitals, in this po-sition I am in, any changes or communica-tions are going out to 20,000+ pharmacists. So you have new considerations that you may not have even considered or known about prior to working in this position. It is defi-nitely a continuous learning process as I go.

Q: What is your favoite part of your resi-dency so far?A: The fact that it has been a continuous learning process as I go, and the team that I am with is a big part of that. I can tell the goal of the clinical team is about making sure I am getting worth out of my experience here. Everyone is constantly trying to expose me to new elements and different people. I am de-veloping skills that I can use here if I choose to stay or can take with me pretty much any-where. Another part I like is that I am treated like a valuable member of the team. People ask for my opinion, all of my work goes di-rectly to be used for different teams in the building or to the field for the pharmacists to use so I can really take pride in my work.

Q: What are your main projects for the year?A: All of my projects are centered on what I am interested in. I have an interest in phar-macy informatics so they give me a lot of ex-posure to the IT side of the business. I have 3

longitudinal projects going right now. One is inspired by a meeting at the CDC I was at ear-lier this year, and it is looking at the prescrib-ing habits of prescribers and transcribing hab-its of pharmacists and technicians for liquid oral medication units of measurement. The second project is creating potential solutions to integrate REMS programs that will be com-ing out in the next few years into our work-flow and computer systems while balancing resources available. The third project is data analysis for a pilot being run at the call center. Q: What do you plan to do after your residency?A: Currently I plan to go to midyear and seek an informatics residency as I originally planned. However, I will have a much better idea of whether I will stay with CVS Care-mark in the next few months after I have more experience with these projects because I will get to work with the teams that I would want to work for if I ended up staying at the company.

Q: Do you have any advice to prospective student interested in the CVS Community Practice Residency?A: This is a great place to come if you are a retail minded pharmacy student looking to come into the corporate environment to make a difference that affects many phar-macies on a large scale. The team you work with in house is fantastic, really focused on developing you as a professional and the work you get to do is very anchored in the real world, very transparent to upper man-agement types, so it is worth checking out.

Vishal Amin, Class of 2011

Editors-in-Chief: Ashley Brower, Christina ZikosLayout Editors: Stacy Lee, Stephanie WangContributing Editors: David Salerno, Jennifer Kim, Andrea Kim, and Mamta Karani

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