Alumni Visit School of Pharmacy to Share Career Advice

Student chapter of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy organizes roundtable event that allows students to hear directly from alumni about career options after graduation

Students and panelist gather to discuss careers in managed care pharmacy, research, the government, and industry.

By Miah Jung, AMCP Ch. Pres.
April 15, 2011

Students from the School of Pharmacy gathered in Pharmacy Hall Atrium on April 4 to participate in a student-organized program focused on careers in managed care pharmacy, research, the government, and industry. The goal of the program, hosted by the School’s student chapter of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) and the Student Government Association (SGA), was to educate students on the various career options available in the pharmacy field.

More than 50 students broke into small groups and rotated around the 11 panelists, similar to a “speed dating” environment. Students had the opportunity to interact candidly with the guest panelists who provided brief descriptions of their career, experience in the field, training, degrees, and general advice.

Anna Hung, a first-year PharmD student, was impressed by Kazeem Idowu, PharmD, from MedImmune. “He is a recent pharmacy school graduate and had just completed a fellowship at MedImmune,” she says. “He was very open about this fellowship experience and it was really great to be able to ask him questions. Talking to someone who just went through the entire process is very helpful.”

The panel was well represented with professionals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the pharmaceutical industry and managed care, as well as faculty from the School’s Departments of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR) and Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC). Featured panelists included: LT. Mathilda Fienkeng, PharmD ‘08, LCDR Marco Bennett, PhD ’03, and LT. Hobart Rogers, PharmD ‘04, PhD ‘10, Wendy Wilson, PhD ’04, all of the FDA; Kazeem Idowu, PharmD, of MedImmune; Phillip Wiegand, PharmD, of Pharmerit; James Polli, PhD, Ken Bauer, PhD, and Andy Coop, PhD, all from PSC; Fadia Shaya, PhD, AMCP chapter advisor, and Ilene Zuckerman, PhD, from PHSR; and School of Pharmacy Dean Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS.

Nikunj Patel, a third-year PharmD student, says, “I appreciate AMCP and SGA’s leadership in organizing this networking event for student pharmacists who are either unsure about their post-graduation plans or simply want to learn more about opportunities in the drug development arena, including pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory agencies. Lt. Hobart “Bart” Rogers, a pharmacist and a clinical pharmacologist at the FDA, stood out the most to me. I was particularly impressed with his motivation and ability to balance three different facets of pharmacy: clinical pharmacology, community pharmacy, and public health services. His experience exposed us to many possibilities pharmacy has to offer.”