Careers in Pharmacy

Pharmacy Practice

Timothy W. Ames, B.A., B.S., M.P.H.,
Regulatory Health Project Manager
Office of Generic Drugs
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville , Maryland

Timothy W. Ames earned a bachelor’s in chemistry before entering pharmacy school at Wayne State University. His preceptor at Wayne State got him interested in the progressive pharmacy services offered by the Indian Health Service (IHS). He applied for a commission in the Public Health Service (PHS), in the hope of eventually being assigned to the IHS. He accepted a commission in the PHS; with it came the opportunity to do a residency at a hospital in New York City. He stayed in New York for two years. From there, he assigned to duty in Hawaii.

Ames made it the IHS several years later. He was a clinical pharmacist for a 125-bed hospital that cared for Navajo and Hopi Native Americans.

In 1984, Ames traveled back east to join the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a staff pharmacist. He then moved to the NIH pharmaceutical development center. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University.

Ames joined the FDA in 1992 as a consumer safety officer in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. He facilitates the review of abbreviated new drug applications. He is also the chief pharmacist for the PHS Disaster Medical Assistance Team. In this capacity, he deploys pharmacists in areas that have been declared disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ames believes that the federal government offers may exciting opportunities for pharmacists in clinical work as well as management. In many cases, he notes, exposure to the PHS may begin with participation in COSTEP, a 10-week summer training experience offered to junior and senior pharmacy students. He urges young pharmacists to consider a PHS career.

Grace Hayes, Pharm.D., BCPP,
Clinical Pharmacist
Atascadero State Hospital , Atascadero , California

Hayes worked in a chain drugstore while she was a student. She also worked in an independent pharmacy. Another early experience as an intern at Atascadero State Hospital, however, convinced her that psychiatric pharmacy was the career for her.

What should a student who is interested in this specialty do? Develop good communications skills, for one thing. They are especially helpful for pharmacists who specialize in psychopharmacy. She also stresses the need for on-the-job training, patient contact, and a good mentor. An ambulatory residency can provide a broad base of skills. The best way to “jump start” your career? A residency or fellowship in psychiatric pharmacy. Fellowship experience, Hayes believes, is a definite asset if you plan to work on a team with physicians.

Hayes sees several trends on the horizon. First pharmacists will become integrated with the health care team. Admittedly, it’s a slow process. Some pharmacists may find it best to have broad-based skills; others will carve out a distinctive niche in areas such as homeopathy. Hayes foresees the demise of chain drug stores that do not offer pharmaceutical care. Community pharmacists who provide health information centers, by contrast, will thrive.

John Parisi, B.S., CDE
Owner
Ivery & Dudley Pharmacy, Winsted, Connecticut

Parisi received his bachelor’s degree in 1971. Shortly thereafter, he and two colleagues purchased a community pharmacy. He slowly brought out his two business partners over the next few years.

Parisi’s practice was “fairly typical” until a few years ago, when he became energized by a presentation on how pharmacists can manage the care of patients with asthma. He transformed his pharmacy into a health education center. This required not only remodeling his store but developing a totally new mindset. He’s had remarkable success.

Parisi put together a program entitled “Together, We Can Manage Your Asthma.” He’s now trained over 150 people in Winsted, a town of 11,000. He offers free blood pressure screening and glucose measurement every Monday. He’s become a certified diabetes education and has developed a home management class on diabetes.

As an additional service to his patients with diabetes, he’s established referral links with an area dietitian, optometrist, and podiatrist.

Today’s pharmacists must “embrace change” and know what they want to do. “Don’t sell out for a few thousand dollars,” he advises. In other words, don’t take a position only because it offers a higher salary then another.

Parisi sees many opportunities for young pharmacists in health centers such as his. To continue the “ownership process,” he encourages students to get to know independent pharmacy owners. The keys to success in independent pharmacy? “Entrepreneurial spirit, the ability to communicate, and a liking for people.”

Greg Susla, B.S., Pharm.D.,
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda , Maryland

Susla’s dad was a pharmacist, and Greg worked in community pharmacy during his adolescence and pharmacy school. He earned his undergraduate pharmacy degree in 1980. After graduation, he returned to his hometown to enter community practice.

That experience lasted only three months. Next, Susla took a position in a local hospital. He realized he’d found his niche. After working for a few years, he returned to school to earn a Pharm.D. degree. He also completed a residency in critical care pharmacy. He moved on to a post in a larger hospital and then joined the pharmacy staff at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the mid-1980s.

Susla says that the specialty residency was especially worthwhile because it enabled him to obtain a position in NIH. Each job, however, made an invaluable contribution to his knowledge base. For the classroom knowledge to which he was exposed in pharmacy school; it made that knowledge “real world.”

Pharmacy students, Susla believes, should be “well rounded.” Grades are important, but on-the-job experience and involvement in association work also produce payoffs. Postgraduate work fills in the gaps in pharmacy education and gives you special skills. Susla is optimistic about the future. Greater involvement in patient welfare, including service as a patient advocate, is the wave of the future for pharmacy.

Captain John D. Thomas, Pharm.D., BCNP
Chief of Nuclear Pharmacy
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington , D.C.

Thomas, who graduated from the University of Maryland College of Pharmacy in 1995 after previously earning a biochemistry degree, was drawn to nuclear pharmacy because “it’s different,” he says. It’s a small area in which you develop a real expertise.” As a student, he did a rotation at Walter Reed and discovered he enjoyed both nuclear pharmacy—the challenging environment at the famous army medical center.

He was commissioned in the U.S. Army and did a one-year residency at Walter before being assigned to his current position.

“Here we’re part of the medical team and our opinion is valuable—we do more then draw doses,” Thomas explains. “The chief of nuclear medicine sets the tone, and she likes for us to be part of the research and teaching. We’re involved in problem-solving and are expected to take the lead when issues come up.”

Because Walter Reed has an extensive training program, Thomas helps teach radiology residents, pharmacy students and residents, and nuclear medicine and technology students who rotate through the department. On an average day Thomas, a technician, and as many as four students are in the nuclear pharmacy. “The teaching aspects keep you fresh and demands that you stay on top of things,” Thomas notes.

“It’s rewarding, but you have to patient, and you have to adjust to different learning styles.” Qualities important for nuclear pharmacists, he says, are attention to detail and good “people skills” for dealing with medical staff, students, and patients. His advice to students sill unsure of their career choice: “Look into nuclear pharmacy, see if you like it, but look at other areas, too. Don’t limit your options.”

Leticia Van de Putte, B.S.,
Pharmacist
Davilla Pharmacy and
Representative of the state of Texas, San Antonio, Texas

Following licensure, Van de Putte landed her first position in a community pharmacy. Her employer, who was very active in local, state, and national pharmacy organizations, served as her first mentor. With her family growing, she needed to have flexible employment, so she purchased an apothecary pharmacy in the San Antonio barrio in 1988. She sold the pharmacy in 1994, when debated on Medicaid reform raised concern about conflicts of interest. She has served in the Texas state legislative since 1991. Currently, in addition to her legislative activities, she is a pharmacist in a San Antonio community pharmacy that specializes in serving special needs children; and she is nursing home consultant.

Van de Putte, when speaking to students, tells them to set priorities when they first graduate from school. “Choose a practice setting that is interesting. Don’t be afraid of new challenges or of a lack of knowledge in a specific practice setting or area of practice.” The mother of six, she has chosen practice settings that have allowed her to care for her children and still be professionally and monetarily successful.

In order to be successful as a pharmacist and a public servant, one must care about people, she says. In addition, they ability to inform strong personal relationships with people from all walks of life is a necessary skill. Pharmacists’ training prepares them to be good public servants, she notes. “Pharmacy teaches a person to be careful and accurate, to be a lifelong learner, and to communicate and listen effectively. Legislators are required to listen and then to formulate solutions to peoples’ problems.” These are the same skills that she uses every day in her practice. A good sense of humor is a definite assert, she adds.

How does a pharmacist become involved with public policy issues? The best way, Van de Putt says, is through being active in these channels, she began to realize the impact that legislation had on her practice. She saw that most legislators were attorneys who had limited expertise when issues on health care were being debated. She never intended to become a legislator, but she put her name up a vacant seat and won.

Van de Putte credits the need to continually update her pharmacy knowledge and skills with giving her the drive to keep current on the legislative issues that are important to her constituents and to pharmacy.

Van de Putt predicts that pharmacists’ future lies in the ability to fit a medication regimen to people and their lifestyles. Opportunities to deliver primary care will continue to deliver primary care will continue to evolve as laws are expanded to allow this practice. Reimbursement for coordination of care delivery will continue to develop over the next few years.