Episode 15 - Meet P3 Carolina Davis who interned at TPA

In this episode, we talk with Carolina Davis, a third-year student pharmacist at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy who recently served as the inaugural Executive Intern at the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA). TPA is a membership organization serving all pharmacy professionals, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians in Tennessee and advances, protects, and promotes high-quality pharmacist-provided patient care in the state. Our student pharmacists frequently have opportunities to attend TPA meetings throughout the year, which are important for professional and leadership development. Transcript: Michele Williams Welcome to White Coat Radio, a podcast from East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee. Each episode, we cover a wide range of topics about the pharmacy school experience, from study tips to deep dives with faculty and student pharmacists. I'm one of your hosts, Doctor Michele Williams, and joining me today is my co-host, Stephen Woodward, our Marketing and Communications Manager. Stephen Woodward Hi, Stephen. Carolina Davis Hey. Good morning. In this episode, we'll be talking with Carolina Davis, a P3 at Gatton who recently served as the inaugural Executive Intern at the Tennessee Pharmacists Association. TPA is a membership organization serving all pharmacy professionals, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians in Tennessee and advances, protects, and promotes high-quality pharmacist-provided patient care in the state. While at the college, Gatton students frequently have opportunities to attend TPA meetings throughout the year, which are important for professional and leadership development. Carolina, welcome to White Coat Radio. Stephen Woodward Hi. Thanks for having me. Michele Williams So TPA sounds like a great place to be. Tell us a little bit about the Executive Intern position that you had. And you were the first one, right? Stephen Woodward Yes. I was the inaugural intern, so there were really no expectations for me when I was going in. And I tried to keep a really open mind. And they sure hit me with a bunch of stuff. My first two days, I felt like I was in a tornado, just learning all of the things that they needed me to do. But I had the most amazing experience. So one of my biggest projects that I was able to complete while I was there is I drafted the Fellows of TPA program. So it's a program for practicing pharmacists to become a Fellow of the association. So they’re just very committed to the association and kind of the mission of the association. So I was able to draft all of that, and it’s to be presented to the Board of Directors in September, hopefully for approval to kick off the first class of Fellows this year. Michele Williams Wow, that sounds really exciting. Stephen Woodward Yeah, that was great. Michele Williams How did you wind up in this particular role? How did that experience come about? Stephen Woodward So I've been a member of TSSP, so it's a student society within TPA, since I started at Gatton. I've loved it since I started. I have been a member-at-large for two years, so I've been helping kind of plan all of the meetings and all the student programming from the day I actually started. And so that was really awesome. And while I was at the Winter Meeting this past year in Nashville, the staff approached me and were like, okay, we think you could do this. You should do it. And I was like, oh, I don't know. That’s a lot. Michele Williams You’d have to move and, like— Stephen Woodward I don’t know. But like, is it paid? I got all of the information, and I applied, and I talked to my mentors about it. What do you think? Do you think this is a good opportunity? Is it really what I want to do long term? But what do you think? Can you do it? And they said never say no to an opportunity like that. And I’m so glad I didn’t. I’m so glad I said yes and went. So I interviewed, applied, and got the position. Michele Williams That’s great. Carolina Davis How long did it last? And kind of walk us through what the day-to-day looked like. Stephen Woodward Yeah. So I was there for two months, but moving forward it’s going to be a 12-week program. But I had my rotations already planned and scheduled for May, so I wasn’t able to start until the first week of June and stay to the end of July. Day to day is not the same when you walk in. So at the beginning, it was very much just getting my bearings, learning kind of how TPA operates. We learned a lot of the differences between TPA as the association and CPRS, which is the Community Pharmacy Research and Education Foundation, which is their 501(c)(3). So anything legislatively, money that goes into the foundation—that’s where all the grants go through. I was able to learn all of that kind of in the first few weeks that I was there—the history of TPA, who all was there at the beginning making those foundational steps. And I met a lot of people my first two weeks. Really sat down and met with the team and some of her colleagues. I met some pharmacists from across the board. I met with John Cerasuolo, PBM Director at the Department of Commerce and Insurance. So I was able to meet with a lot of people. Michele Williams And what is PBM? Stephen Woodward That is Pharmacy Benefit Managers—whose job is to regulate pharmacy benefit managers within the state agency. Michele Williams Wow. Stephen Woodward Yeah. So that’s really great moving forward with the practice of pharmacy. So hopefully we’ll get some more things straightened out through legislation. But later on, I started helping plan the Summer Meeting. So I was able to make PowerPoints, review slides, review scripts, all of that stuff. So a lot of just baby tasks moving forward. I was working on that Fellows program in the background, trying to get all that done. I had three presentations while I was there—very short ones, just to kind of get some more presentations under my belt, which were really fun. But yeah, a lot of fun laughs in the office. It was very laid back the whole time. Michele Williams Oh, that’s great. Cool. And so what did you learn? What really were the takeaways from this experience for you? Stephen Woodward Yeah. So I got really great project management skills and kind of like moving in time blocks and not just looking at something for 17 hours and hopefully getting it done. I really solidified that, like, you have two hours to work on it today. If it doesn’t get done, work on it the next day. So I was good at spacing that time out and learned how to do that quickly. But I also really took away the power of networking and helping people. I think that is such a big, important factor of the profession, because everybody helps everybody in some way, shape, or form. So yeah, being able to network was really important. And I also really understood how important advocacy is. I always knew that it was important, but I really got into it this time around and saw what all goes into planning for the legislative year and how impactful it is to pharmacists and pharmacy and even patients. So I really enjoyed that kind of knowledge and what to do about it. Carolina Davis That sounds really cool. We’ll talk a little bit about why you want to be a pharmacist and what your goals are now after graduation. Stephen Woodward Yeah. So I wanted to be a pharmacist when I was like ten years old. My mom has epilepsy, so I have been involved in her care since I was very young. You see all the things that she’s had to go through and how many medicines she has to take. And so since I was little, I was like, oh, that’s crazy. To figure out how that works—I’m curious how that happens and why is this happening to her, and why can’t she just be fixed? You know, like all of those things. So that was one of the biggest reasons that I wanted to go into pharmacy. And those goals—how to get there—changed along the way. I kind of started with pharmaceutical research to the brain that way, and then I was like, no, I don’t really like the lab work. And I really like patient care and advocacy that way. Also, my aunt—she was really heavily involved with the opioid epidemic and things like that. So seeing how that played into her life and her children’s lives and then my family as a whole—those things, and just the things that Appalachia has to deal with—have really pushed me into the pharmacy profession. And I’ve accepted it fully. I love it. So moving forward, I’m working to keep as many doors open as I possibly can to see where the world puts me. But I’m really interested now in ambulatory care, family medicine, and just being a constant in a patient’s life and not having to jump in and out—really helping to find a regimen that works for them and advocating for the patient. So that’s what I’m looking at now, kind of family medicine areas. I’m also really interested in still being involved with TPA and working—not maybe as a staff member—but definitely as a volunteer leader within TPA. I’d really like to get involved there, hopefully more on the political affairs side and seeing how we can interact with legislators. You know, they’re not scary people. They just have a lot to do. Michele Williams Well, I know whatever it is that you decide to do, you’re going to be awesome at it. And what has been your favorite part of pharmacy school so far? Stephen Woodward That’s such a hard question. I love it all. Even if I say that I’m tired and want to go to bed, I really have loved it. Honestly, I think just meeting the people in my class and getting to know those people who have been such an impact for me. Seeing all the different walks of life we come from—that’s been something that I’ve really enjoyed, past all of the pharmacy things, I guess. It’s just getting to be really close friends with my classmates. That’s something that I’ve really enjoyed about the journey. Michele Williams That’s awesome. We really do have some great students. Stephen Woodward Yes, I agree. And the faculty and staff, too. I think just getting to know them and being close and in-person support from faculty and staff is really cool. Carolina Davis What was it that brought you to Gatton? Stephen Woodward Well, I did my undergrad here and played softball there, so I had been here for a hot minute. And I actually met with Julie Hurley when I was 15. She kind of got me into the Gatton loop, and I have loved it ever since. When I came to interview, the second I stepped over here into Gatton, I felt like people really care about you here. They don’t treat you like a number. They want to know who you are. So that’s why I fell in love with Gatton. It’s just the family aspect and the family atmosphere that’s here within the walls. It feels like home when you walk in—for me. Michele Williams Awesome. Carolina Davis Where’s your hometown, and where do you hope to go after you graduate? Stephen Woodward Yeah. So I’m from Englewood, Tennessee. It’s about an hour south of Knoxville. Really small town, foothills of Appalachia. Tellico Plains is the biggest touristy area around, but it’s not very big at all. So born and raised in Englewood. I’d love to go back there one day, but residency and things like that—I think I want to get out for a little bit, maybe get some highlights and then come back and serve the people of Appalachia. Ultimately, I want to end up back in the place where I was raised to help the people that raised me. Michele Williams That’s great. That’s terrific. And so, as you know, our P1s have just started. What advice would you give a P1 who’s just starting here at Gatton? Stephen Woodward I have so much to say in a few months, and I tell them every time I see them. But I think the biggest piece of advice that I would have for anyone coming into any pharmacy school ever is to do things that get you out of that normal pharmacy student silo. So take opportunities. Be involved in extracurriculars. Do things that would set you apart from just your normal pharmacy student. Because everybody can do that. Everybody here has gotten accepted. Everybody can be a pharmacy student once they’re here. It’s what sets you apart from those people. And I think, like I said, getting out of the pharmacy silo is something that’s really important—taking those opportunities when they come. Michele Williams That’s some amazing advice. I think that’s great advice. And I hope our P1s listen to this and take that to heart. That makes so much sense. Carolina Davis An opportunity like going to TPA and being the inaugural Executive Intern. Stephen Woodward Yeah, I know. That is one that’s on my résumé forever. Carolina Davis That’s pretty cool. Stephen Woodward I definitely think that that’s such a great opportunity, and it’s going to be there for a long time. So in your P1 summer or P2 summer, it’s an open opportunity to any of the six pharmacy schools across the state. So anybody can apply for the position. Michele Williams Well, you’ve got it off to a great start. Stephen Woodward I hope so. Michele Williams Thanks so much for joining us today and for sharing your experience with us. It’s been terrific. Stephen Woodward Yeah. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.