UHCOP Pharmacy Council

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Join the student organizations at the UH College of Pharmacy for a showcase of all that the positive impacts we have made throughout the years, including during the COVID pandemic! Every attendee and presenter will be entered into a raffle to win the items mentioned! Our first annual Organization Showcase will be held on Friday, April 16th, 2021 from 10:30 AM-12:30 PM via Zoom. Contact Isabella Serrato, Lacey Gotcher, or Michael Toraño with any questions. We would love to see you all there!

Kazim Mir, the rising Vice President of Pharmacy Council, is already showcasing both his sense of humor and clinical skills to the world.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”
-Andrew Carnegie

Here are few updates on what student organizations have done this week to get one step closer to reaching their goals on this PharmD journey.

Fall 2020 started with its classes and organizational activities transitioned online. As students have been navigating the virtual platform, here are a few highlights from this week!

Non-Traditional Pharmacy Careers

AMCP’s & IPhO’s Pathway to Industry Fellowship & Managed Care Residency Series Part 1
February 24, 2020

Photo Courtesy of AMCP: Dr. Asadi (Front left), Dr. Geissinger (Front right)

On February 24, 2020, AMCP and IPhO held the first session of the three-part series on non-traditional pharmacy careers. Two UHCOP alumni shared their journey to Managed Care Residency and Industry. Dr. Asadi is currently in her PGY1 Residency at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, where she mentors junior members and processes insurance claims for hundreds of patients. Dr. Geissinger is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he focuses on the field of oncology and expands on his role as a Field Medical Scientist. Both shared their leadership and networking experiences during their time as UHCOP students while focusing on developing their clinical knowledge.

There are many different paths to non-traditional pharmacy careers, and two more direct pathways are residencies and fellowships. Having gone through the tedious process of applying and getting accepted, Dr. Asadi and Dr. Geissenger shared how their persistence got them where they are today. After cold calling several fellowships directors, pursuing and maintaining relations with managed care directors, and actively networking at conferences helped them earn their current positions.

To enter the managed care residency, Dr. Asadi made several cold calls before attending Midyear, took notes after each conversation for later reference, and strategically sought out opportunities to network with directors during various social events. She did her due diligence to the point where directors were expecting her to come to their booth during the AMCP NEXUS conference. Now she primarily works to ensure patient's insurance claims at Kelsey-Seybold are being processed accurately and in a timely manner. Her largest piece of advice was to keep networking because “it’s who you know, not only what you know.”

Likewise, to attain his Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Dr. Geissinger kept up with the latest clinical developments on FiercePharma, rigorously prepared to level up through several rounds of interviews, and thoroughly mapped out information for each company that peaked his interest. He cold called several directors to inquire about the program and got his name out as well. One piece of advice Dr. Geissinger provided was to apply to several programs. He applied to 10 programs while others often only applied to 3, but he suggested a number “around 7 would hit the sweet spot.”

Overall, both alumni have walked paths that allow them to start making a large-scale impact on the patient population, while attaining flexible work hours, and creating opportunities to move up within the company. If you’re reading this and are curious to find out more about non-traditional careers in Managed Care and Industry, Dr. Asadi and Dr. Geissinger have kindly offered to answer further questions via LinkedIn. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your alumni!

If you would like to share more information about an UHCOP experience or beyond, email us at [email protected], or contact Carine Opsomer or Grace Prathusha Bethala.