APhA Member News
A minute with...
Valeria Lasarovna Garcia
Third-year student pharmacist,
University of Florida College of Pharmacy
Member since 2021
"APhA was the first organization I joined during my first week of pharmacy school. From the very beginning, I felt so supported and so at home with my chapter, making friends with my fellow first-year student pharmacists. During a very difficult time, APhA stood by me and gave me an outlet for the recovery and grief I needed. I was able to push past my comfort zone and watch myself blossom into the leader I am today!”
How has APhA helped you establish meaningful connections?
While coordinating my first collaboration as the Substance Use Disorder chair, I met my best friend, who at the time was the local patient care mental health chair. This priceless connection allowed me to meet an amazing and supportive group of friends who have stuck by me during the most challenging year of pharmacy school. Both Midyear Regional Meeting and APhA’s Annual Meeting & Exposition allowed me to get close to those who I had only briefly talked to before, but who I can now call my close friends.
How has APhA helped prepare you for your career as a pharmacist?
Coming into pharmacy school, I didn’t realize how important advocacy is to the profession. Now after attending my first legislative days, I’m fully aware of the imperative nature that advocacy holds. We, as pharmacists, are constantly under fire and have been underappreciated for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed the public to finally see the crucial role pharmacists play.
Advocacy, advocacy, advocacy! APhA allows to me learn more and more about advocacy every year and has inspired me to begin advocacy in the SUD field.
What excites you about the profession of pharmacy?
The endless variety of pharmacy! There’s a field of pharmacy for everyone. Nuclear pharmacy, medication therapy management, psychiatric pharmacy, substance misuse treatment, community pharmacy, and transplant pharmacy are just a few of the many fields that pharmacy has to offer.
It allows you to be as hands-on or -off in patient care as you want to be. It allows you room to evolve, to change and to learn throughout your career.
Can you share a meaningful story about a time you interacted with a patient? Perhaps a time you felt like you really made a difference for them?
I work with a mostly geriatric population in community pharmacy. Most patients are on at least five different medications, if not more. To help keep track of the list of medications the patient is on, I set aside time during each visit with a new patient who comes into the pharmacy and accepts counseling so I can sit down with them one-on-one to discuss each medication.
They leave the pharmacy with a better understanding and more confidence in what they are taking and why they are taking the medication. I’ve had at least a dozen interactions with patients during the medication review when they do admit to being too scared to ask their doctors or are vulnerable enough to share their struggles with getting
regular check-ups. Simply taking the time to listen has improved the adherence rate and quality of life of the patients who choose to participate. ■
Well-being
APhA firmly stands for zero tolerance for any form of aggressive, abusive, or discriminatory behavior in the workplace or toward pharmacy personnel. A resource was created for pharmacies to display in their workplace discouraging any kind of harassment by patients against pharmacy personnel.
Pharmacists and pharmacy personnel have the fundamental responsibilities and rights to be treated in a considerate, respectful, and professional manner by patients and to be supported by employers and supervisors. Additionally, workplaces should be free of any form of harassment. This resource is an affirmation of those fundamental responsibilities and rights and is designed for pharmacies to promote to their patients and customers.
Visit apha.us/WorkplaceIssues for a downloadable PDF of the flyer. We encourage pharmacists to continue to report their experiences through the Pharmacy Workplace and Well-being Reporting (PWWR) tool allowing APhA to reflect the current needs of pharmacists caring for their patients. ■
Did you know?
Pharmacists can play a key role in educating adult patients about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and preventive strategies. To help you stay at the forefront of RSV, APhA offers practice tools to help provide education to patients about RSV infection and when to recommend vaccination.
Focus On RSV in Adults provides a brief guide on RSV and RSV vaccines in older adults, including sample scripts and FAQs to use with patients. RSV in Adults: What Patients Need to Know about the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a tool pharmacists can share with patients as part of the conversation. Dive a little deeper with Understanding RSV and Prevention Strategies for Older Adults Through Case Studies for patient case scenarios that address RSV disease burden in adults, the efficacy and safety of new RSV vaccines, and current ACIP recommendations.
Don’t wait! Visit the APhA RSV landing page at apha.us/RSV to take advantage of these free-to-use resources today. ■
Get involved
The primary purpose of the APhA–APPM Nuclear Pharmacy Practice Special Interest Group (SIG) is to serve pharmacists involved in the specialty practice of nuclear pharmacy by providing an avenue to fulfill individual professional goals and support the goals of the academy. With more radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic and diagnostic applications in development or newly released than ever before, the Nuclear Pharmacy Practice SIG provides education and shared practical experiences to aid in the daily treatment of patients. Join the largest gathering of nuclear pharmacists of any organization nationally, with members from national chains, independent nuclear pharmacies, academic institutions, and industry advancing the practice of nuclear pharmacy.
Visit apha.us/NuclearSIG to learn more. ■
Honoring leadership, service, and commitment to the advancement of the pharmacy profession
The APhA Awards and Honors Program is the most comprehensive recognition program in the pharmacy profession. Every year at the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition, pharmacists and other professionals are recognized and honored for their achievements and contributions in the community, the profession, and beyond. Among the many accomplished and deserving professionals honored this year, a few are highlighted below.
Remington Honor Medal
Milap C. Nahata, PharmD, MD, FAPhA, FASHP, FCCP, FPPA, is the recipient of the 2024 Remington Honor Medal, the highest pharmacy honor bestowed by APhA. The award recognizes distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy during the preceding years, culminating in the past year, or during a long period of outstanding or fruitful achievement.
Nahata is the founding director of the Institute of Therapeutic Innovations and Outcomes and professor emeritus of pharmacy, pediatrics, and internal medicine at The Ohio State University (OSU) colleges of pharmacy and medicine. He was division chair of pharmacy practice and science and associate director of pharmacy at the OSU Medical Center for 15 years when the division was recognized for its pharmacy practices and residencies in ambulatory and community pharmacy; education and research programs; and partnerships with other health sciences, practice settings, and the community.
Nahata has published over 650 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters; his studies with azithromycin were pivotal in its approval by FDA for pediatric use. He is an author and coeditor of five books and is editor-in-chief of Annals of Pharmacotherapy. He has presented over 400 invited lectures in the U.S. and abroad.
He has received the APhA and AAPS Research Achievement Awards, ASHP Foundation Literature Award for Sustained Contributions, the ASHP Best Practices Award, and the ACCP Russell Miller Award for Sustained and Outstanding Contributions, among others. He is a Fellow of APhA, ASHP, ACCP, PPA, and several other organizations.
Nahata is a past president of AACP and ACCP and has served on the committees of APhA, ASHP, PPA, FDA, NIH, and FIP. He is among a select group of elected pharmacist members in the National Academy of Medicine.
Profession-wide awards
The Hugo H. Schaefer Award, presented to Rosalyn C. King, BSPharm, MPH, PharmD, FNPhA, recognizes outstanding voluntary contributions to the organization, the profession, and society.
King held pivotal roles, including as the first African American pharmacist employed by APhA. She was also a public health advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). King was also the first African American woman to be elected and re-elected to the U.S. Pharmacopeia’s Committee of Revision.
King led policy and program development projects for USAID-funded health care services, notably for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Romania, and Nigeria. Additionally, she was the founding director of the Pharmacists and Continuing Education Center (PACE) at Howard University’s Continuing Education Program.
King enhanced the training of community pharmacists in women’s health in Romania and her collaboration on crucial projects funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Nigeria. This work focused on strengthening pharmacists’ contributions as well as pharmacy systems and services for individuals with HIV/AIDS, STIs, and tuberculosis.
King has received the Seton Hill University’s Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award; the American Public Health Association’s Black Caucus of Health Worker’s Hildrus A. Poindexter Award for Outstanding Service in the Field of Health; the Chauncey I. Cooper of the National Pharmaceutical Association; and the Montgomery County, Maryland African American Living Legend Award.
King’s publications cover topics from pharmaceutical care to global health policy. Her insights continue to shape discussions and policies in health care.
In retirement, King remains dedicated to working with organizations focused on reducing health disparities, improving public health, and caring for underserved populations.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Award, presented to Kevin Musto, RPh, FAPhA, recognizes APhA members who have made major contributions in government and legislative service at the local, state, or national level.
Musto has served on several Delaware Pharmacists Society (DPS) committees and was DPS president from 1997 to 1999. In 2004, Musto founded the Delaware Pharmacists Educational Center, a nonprofit which aids Delaware student pharmacists.
Musto has led biannual potassium iodide distribution and hosted biannual DEA take backs. He was the lead pharmacist in the Delaware COVID-19 vaccine rollout and vaccine points of distribution efforts throughout Delaware.
The Good Government Pharmacist-of-the-Year Award, presented to Christopher Federico, PharmD, CDOE, CDE, recognizes an individual pharmacist who contributes to the community through their involvement in the political process. Federico is currently the president of the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association (RIPA) and serves as the vice chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board.
Federico developed a strong interest for advocacy and joined the Rhode Island Leadership Academy for Wellness and Tobacco Free Recovery and the Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, and partners with the RI Society of Health Systems Pharmacists to advance legislation regarding pharmacy practice.
At the onset of COVID-19, Federico and RIPA delivered over 50 town halls educating pharmacy professionals on relevant public health updates, which led to RIPA to be recognized with a 2021 APhA Immunization Champion Award.
In 2023, Federico successfully led three legislative efforts authorizing pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraception and HIV PEP/PrEP and modernize pharmacy-related licensures in Rhode Island. Prior to this, he worked with colleagues to expand education on these initiatives and pediatric COVID-19 immunizations.
Federico serves on multiple APhA committees and is a NASPA House of Delegates member. He is also a practicing pharmacist at Rhode Island Hospital and a senior medical science liaison with AstraZeneca. ■
Honorary membership
Honorary membership in APhA is conferred by the APhA Board of Trustees upon individuals either within the profession of pharmacy or outside of it whose activities and achievements have had a significant positive impact on public health, the pharmacy profession, and its practitioners. Please visit apha.us/HonoraryMembers to see the complete list of APhA Honorary Members.
Please also see www.pharmacist.com/awards for all recognized recipients of Academy Awards. ■