Unscripted

Alex C. Varkey, PharmD, MS, FAPhA, serves as President of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and is the Director of Pharmacy Services at Houston Methodist Hospital-Texas Medical Center.

We talk through his involvement in APhA as a health system pharmacist and his goal for his presidential year of being all in and having APhA represent every area of pharmacy!

Jolynn Sessions, PharmD, CPP, BCOP, FHOPA, serves as President of the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA). She is an EXCLAIM Pharmacogenomics Pharmacist and an Oncology Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System in Asheville, NC. 

We talk through her top three priorities for HOPA this year. You’ll hear the top issues in oncology pharmacy and how HOPA is finding ways to solve them!

Ryan Mezinger, RPh, is Senior Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at MetroHealth in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Ryan and his team have built an impressive outpatient pharmacy strategy and have grown their footprint immensely in the last few years. We also talk through the automation they implemented to help increase their capacity. You’ll hear how successful they have been and get tips on how to justify a similar strategy with urgency in your own health system!

Stephanie Jean, PharmD, MS, BCPS, is an Assistant Director of Pharmacy at UNC Health. She oversees the Medication Assistance Program for both pharmacy and medical benefit teams and the Pharmacy Revenue Integrity Team.  

She has worked and managed teams remotely for the past four years, developing best practices along the way. Whether you lead teams remotely now or in the future you’ll hear great tips for engaging team members and building a cohesive culture. We also talk through ways to be successful as an individual working remotely. Remote work continues to thrive post-pandemic and here is to stay for many roles so listen in to hear ways you can be successful in it!

Champ Burgess, PharmD, MBA, is Vice President, Health System Strategy for Shields Health Solutions. 

You’ll hear about the Shields Care Model and their impact on health system specialty pharmacy. We also discuss top issues impacting specialty pharmacy. Dr. Burgess and I previously worked together so we talk through this career path including our time as Assistant Directors together. Enjoy all things specialty pharmacy in this episode!

Dr. Julie Kennerly-Shah is the Associate Director of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, the James Cancer Hospital. Dr. Kennerly-Shah and her team worked to develop and implement an oral drug repository program in which patients who have leftover oral drug - which could occur from switching treatments or finishing treatment - can then be provided to other patients in need instead of the traditional method of wasting the medication. You’ll hear the details of their program that won an ASHP Best Practice Award last year! 

Ryan Craynon, PharmD, MS is the Director of Pharmacy Operations at Cincinnati Children's. His team won an ASHP Best Practice Award for their innovative creation of a Pharmacy Technician Leadership Residency. You’ll hear the structure of the program including the requirements of it, the selection process, and how it has impacted their technician staff!

Dr. Ryan Forrey and Dr. Angela Yaniv are co-editors with me on ASHP’s Compounding Sterile Preparations, 5th edition book that was recently published. This was a labor of love as many hours went into the book as it includes all the updates from USP including <797> and <800>. Many thanks to all the wonderful authors and ASHP staff who helped bring it to life. In addition to the book, we reflect on our own experiences with sterile compounding and the new items to consider in this space. 

Ryan Forrey, PharmD, MS, is the Global Clinical Solutions Director for Surgery at Becton, Dickinson and Company and Clinical Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University, College of Pharmacy. 

Angela Yaniv, PharmD, BCSCP, is the Director of Sterile Products at the Cleveland Clinic. 

Link to the book: Compounded Sterile Preparations, 5th edition

Jo Ellen Rodgers, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP, FCCP, FHFSA, FAHA, CPP, is Professor and Vice Chair of Professional Education and Practice for the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She was also the recipient of the 2022 ACCP Cardiology PRN Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Rodgers has always been a joy to talk to and you’ll see why on this episode. We talk about how her clinical practice drives her research and teaching in academia and how she transitioned from UNC Medical Center’s acute care cardiology to ambulatory care cardio-oncology. As with any career, even those awarded lifetime achievement awards, there can be barriers to overcome and we talk through what those were for her and how your work life impacts your personal life and vice versa. 

We packed a lot into this episode and it’s one you won’t want to miss!

John Armitstead, MS, RPh, FASHP, is the System Director of Pharmacy Services at Lee Health and a Past President of ASHP. 

Throughout his career John has been an avid proponent of continuous professional development (CPD). We talk through CPD including goals to set for yourself and how they change overtime as well as some philosophies of practice. This is a great episode to start off the new year as you are planning out new goals!