At a first-of-its-kind campus networking event on Friday evening, ACPHS students heard from alumni and other professionals working in the specialized field known as specialty pharmacy.
Eight specialty pharmacists participated in a panel discussion organized by the campus chapter of the Student Association of Specialty Pharmacy, a new professional organization at ACPHS. They highlighted that the field allowed pharmacists to work as critical members of treatment teams, directly counseling patients on essential but atypical medications, while providing exceptional work-life balance.
“Patient care is the main goal as a pharmacist, and this is a way I have found I get to do it every day,” said Dr. Jessica Debach ‘10, a clinical pharmacist at Shields Health Solutions.
Dr. Amelia Persico ’17, manager of clinical services at Shields Health Solutions who has a full-time remote position, described the field as a combination of community pharmacy with “high-touch patient care” and a more amenable lifestyle.
Specialty medications are those that present some complexity in administration or monitoring, sometimes for smaller populations with rare conditions, and that often result in a higher cost. Dr. Scott Guisinger ’04, the vice president of pharmacy at Northeast Shared Services in Schenectady and chairman of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, noted that while specialty drugs constitute less than 2% of all prescriptions, they account for more than half of the cost of prescriptions drugs nationally.
Professionals talked about some nitty-gritty aspects of their work – the importance of shipping and storage considerations for expensive medications that need to be kept at a controlled temperature, for instance – and also offered students more general tips on navigating their careers and living their best lives.
Several ACPHS alumni on the panel also received their MBAs while getting their doctorates in pharmacy through an agreement with Clarkson University Graduate School (formerly Union Graduate School). The dual degree helped them move quickly into management positions in specialty pharmacy, they said.
Others emphasized the importance of networking. Dr. Guisinger said networking through NASP helped him not only make connections but also build the specialty pharmacy for Northeast Shared Services, which serves Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops markets.
Dr. Anthony DiSpirito ’10, director of pharmacy at Albany Medical Center, encouraged students to explore many different workplaces and locations during rotations and residencies. And Dr. Allison Trawinski ‘09, assistant director of operations, specialty pharmacy at the UR Medicine in Rochester, NY, urged students to consider leadership coaches to help them home in on the area of pharmacy in which they might excel.
Billy Duffey, a pharmacy doctorate student in his P2 year, said he appreciated the personal and professional perspectives offered at the event.
“I liked hearing about the ability to pivot in pharmacy careers,” he said.
The event was held to “highlight an undiscovered world of pharmacy that we don’t learn too much about in school,” said Janany Jeyakumar, the professional development chair of SASP and a P3 student who helped organize the event.
Students Tajae Evans and Lydia Hylaab were instrumental in forming the ACPHS chapter of SASP about a year ago.
Other pharmacists participating were Drs. Mekala Paparian, director of operations at Shields Health Solutions; Joe Palmer, manager of community-based specialty pharmacy at Walgreens in Albany; and Ji Yoon "Angie" Kim, an ACPHS ambulatory care pharmacy resident at Community Care Physicians in Albany.