APhA Member News
A minute with …
Stephanie Schwartz, PharmD
Binghamton University, School of Pharmacy
and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Binghamton, New York
Member since 2018
Being a member of APhA has really pushed me out of my comfort zone to become a leader. As founding president of my APhA–ASP chapter, I have built leadership skills and confidence to start something new despite challenges. My membership will be valuable to my career because I will have learned essential skills through the organization that I can further apply in my profession upon graduation.”
How has APhA helped you establish meaningful connections?
APhA has helped me establish meaningful connections through the several conferences I have attended. My first APhA experience was the 2018 Summer Leadership Institute, where I met many incredible student pharmacists who welcomed me to the organization and were already willing to help me in any way possible. These pharmacists are ones I still reach out to and count on for valuable advice that I can apply to my chapter.
How has APhA helped prepare you for your career as a pharmacist?
APhA has helped prepare me for my career as a pharmacist in numerous ways. APhA has provided me oppor-tunities encouraging me to push myself to gain necessary leadership skills.
I have developed new patient care projects to serve as a foundation for future projects to come. I am very interested in pediatrics, and I created a project visiting a second-grade class to teach students the importance of learning math and science for application in the real world, and not just for classroom tests. This experience interacting with younger children taught me how best to reach them and make them feel comfortable.
What excites you about the profession of pharmacy?
The profession of pharmacy excites me because it is ever changing and evolving to improve health care as we know it. I am eager for new cures and treatments to help people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. I also feel enthusiastic about new laws allowing pharmacists to practice at the top of their license.
Can you share a meaningful story about a time you interacted with a patient? Perhaps a time you felt that you really made a difference for them?
I was at the register when a patient approached to pick up his medications. His English was poor, but he did his best to explain he came from the emergency department and was there for his prescriptions. This man was a new patient, and we could not find his insurance information in our system. When I asked for his insurance, I realized he did not understand me, as he spoke primarily Spanish. With technology on my side and a computer in front of me, I searched online for Spanish terms so that we could better communicate.
I learned he did not have insurance, and I began to research discount cards to reduce the cost of his prescriptions. I knew he appreciated that I took the time to find Spanish translations and watched his demeanor change as he felt more comfortable in the situation. I saved this patient money on his medications, but the bigger accomplishment was making him feel comfortable with the situation and his medications.
Even though it was challenging to communicate with this patient, it was vital to take that time and ensure he knew what his medications were for and that we cared for his health.
Did you know?
APhA has a complete resource for building vaccine confidence
Many people are turning to pharmacists and other health care providers to help them decide whether they should get one of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy in others is challenging unless you are confident in the available COVID-19 vaccines and can answer common questions patients have.
With APhA’s new Vaccine Confident website, you can get the tools and information you need to build vaccine confidence in yourself and others. Increase your own knowledge with information on how the vaccines work and how they have been developed and approved, and learn to understand what drives vaccine confidence. You can then share these resources with your entire health care team, patients, and communities, supporting them on the path to vaccine confidence.
Our Vaccine Confident website has been produced through a collaborative agreement with CDC and is designed to be a one-stop resource for you and your care team, arming you with the tools to overcome vaccine hesitancy with your patients and community. The site also includes educational webinars and CPE programs that address issues such as vaccine equity and how to reach different populations who may be more wary of the vaccine, as well as guidance on how to have empathetic and effective conversations with your patients that will enhance vaccine confidence and result in vaccine administration.
To learn more about our Vaccine Confident initiative, please visit vaccineconfident.pharmacist.com.
Get involved in APhA
APhA–APPM Compounding SIG
The mission of the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice & Management (APhA–APPM) Compounding Special Interest Group (SIG) is to provide a professional network for compounding pharmacists and student pharmacists to share ideas, educate, and advocate for compounding pharmacy.
Interested in getting involved in the Compounding SIG?
Learn more at apha.us/CompoundingSIG.
Members in motion
Monét Stanford joins AAM as director of policy
Monét Stanford, PharmD, recently announced her new position at the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) as director of policy. Monét graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy with a doctor of pharmacy degree and received a bachelor of arts in health policy and administration from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She completed a community pharmacy practice residency at Purdue University in collaboration with Fagen Pharmacy and an executive fellowship at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Her new role will allow her to leverage her clinical background gained through residency with the policy training cultivated by her fellowship to identify policy positions, draft testimony for federal and state entities, collaborate with external stakeholders, and oversee research opportunities to advance key policy initiatives for the organization.
In her previous position at Kaiser Permanente, Monét delivered pharmacy-based expertise during the pre-enactment evaluation of legislation and regulation; authored testimony to federal regulatory agencies, elected representatives, and national advocacy organizations; developed a comprehensive regulatory analysis index; provided senior leadership with budget forecast projections in response to passed proposals; and served as the external contact for pharmacy issues.