“An Ode to a Clinical Pharmacist”
*Sticking with a theme that many people can relate to during the pandemic, this piece has been significantly delayed! Thank you for your patience Dr. Ashley Maister, BS, PHARMD.
For those of you who don’t already know this, Ashley has been a dear friend of mine for the past 7 years. However, despite our longstanding friendship, it was only until more recent years that I have come to recognize the importance and complexity of her educational background/ job description. Although I am also a healthcare professional, I am guilty of generalizing pharmacists as people who dispense medications typically in retail and/or hospital settings.
My intention for this interview was not only to recognize the importance and significance of all pharmacists (especially during the pandemic), but also to educate and inform my readers about different, “non generic” paths that one can take as a pharmacist.
In our interview, Ashley informed me that from a young age, she felt drawn to helping others. She shared that she has personal ties to the mental health field, stating that her grandmother was a psychiatrist, she witnessed family members suffer from mental health issues and she experienced her own battle with anxiety from a young age. At the age of 16, Ashley worked at a family run pharmacy where she operated the register. Although she took on the gig to make a few extra dollars, she also saw it as an opportunity to learn. During this time, she watched pharmacists counsel patients on their medications, one of the first times that she observed a pharmacist in a “helping role”. Ashley shared, “I remember thinking to myself, these are skills that I have, I am a good communicator”.
Ashley went on to West Chester University, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in “Pharmaceutical Product Development” also known as “Pre Pharmacy”. During her time at West Chester, she worked in the pharmacy at Wegmans. This experience solidified her desire to go on to pharmacy school, which involved another 4 years at Thomas Jefferson University. During her time at Jefferson, Ashley became clear of her vision. Ashley knew that she wanted to work directly with patients to make a more personal impact on the lives of others.
After 4 rigorous years of pharmacy school, Ashley was not done. She moved on to residency, a 2-year path to gain experience and specialization in mental and behavioral health. Ashley entered her first year of residency at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center feeling confident in her desire to specialize in psychiatric pharmacy. However, very quickly she learned that no psychiatric pharmacy rotation existed there. Ashley indicated that she was determined to work with the team to develop a position in psychiatric pharmacy for herself and she was not going to take no for an answer! Due to her passion and persistence, Ashley was successful in creating her own position and began her work as a psychiatric pharmacist in the detox unit.
During her second year of residency, Ashley was employed by Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University. She worked in both their inpatient psychiatric unit and their outpatient integrated behavioral health clinic. Due to the lack of funding that exists for psychiatric pharmacy residency programs (and fierce competition), Ashley was selected as the sole resident for the year (there was a total of 9 candidates). During this year, Ashley sometimes commuted close to 4 hours per day to follow her dream. During this time, Ashley became seasoned in running psycho education groups on medications and side effects, stabilizing patients using antipsychotic drugs, initiating medications and monitoring lab results. Ashley noted that during her residency program, she felt like a respected member of the multidisciplinary team, however did note some challenges as well. Ashley was successful in building relationships with her patients and supporting them in their recovery process. Ashley reported that being an agent of change in her community (a community that serves vulnerable and underserved populations) was the greatest investment of her time.
8 years of schooling and 2 years of residency later, Ashley officially reaped the benefits of her hard work and dedication. In November of 2020, Ashley obtained her dream job as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. Despite a short 2 months on the job, Ashley was able to verbalize (with great confidence may I add), that it has all been worth it.
Ashley reported that her job feels extremely rewarding. Ashley indicated that she feels grateful for the opportunity to work in a progressive healthcare system, one where she can advocate for her patients and engage in best clinical practices. In our interview, Ashley made it a point to say that not all healthcare systems are progressive (not many at all), a sad reality for many clinical pharmacists. Ashley stated, “It is important to have a pharmacist or “medication expert” on the team, especially if an acute illness is present or if a person is unstable. If there is not a pharmacist on the team, important details such as correct dosing, drug-drug interactions or inappropriate prescribing may be missed”.
In the last segment of our interview, I asked Ashley, if she could share one thing about pharmacy to the community, what would she share? Ashley answered, “Traditional routes for pharmacists in retail or hospitals are not the only options. If you desire to be a member of the inter professional health care team or if you are passionate about an area of practice, taking the residency path is the best opportunity to fulfill your clinical aspirations”.
After my interview with Ashley, I took some time to reflect on her experience as a Clinical Pharmacist, the beauty of the many healthcare disciplines that exist (and most importantly) our friendship! I love that Ashley and I are able to engage in thoughtful and professional conversations around mental health, behavioral health and substance use treatment, despite our different educational backgrounds. Although we may come at things from different angles, it is evident that we are both working towards a common goal, to help people, connect to people and ultimately treat their mental/behavioral symptoms. After leaving discussions with Ashley, I often think about what type of care could exist for patients if clinical pharmacists and clinical social workers worked more closely together in outpatient settings. What benefits would exist if we took a more integrative approach (physiological and psychological) to treatment. Although it is not common at this time (at least not in outpatients settings), I hope that we can move in a direction where collaborative and integrative practice is the norm!
I look forward to future conversations around mental and behavioral health, SUD, the barriers that exist in our health care system and ways that we can create a positive impact in our communities (all while eating cheese curds of course).
Much love & respect,
a clinical social worker/ friend
