MPhA Welcomes Melissa Katzenberger

Hello Readers! My name is Melissa Katzenberger and I am the next of Julie Johnson’s fourth-year pharmacy student bloggers! This is my leadership and administrative APPE rotation as a part of the Leadership Emphasis Area (LEA) through the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Over the next five weeks, I will be keeping you updated and engaged in the latest activities at the Minnesota Pharmacists Association (MPhA). At the end of each week, I will post a blog to share my experiences and insights with you. Stay tuned! I am excited to work with Julie, her staff, and Ewald Consulting as I spend my time with MPhA engaging in public policy, attending executive committee meetings, participating in symposiums and events hosted by MPhA, and learning how to further advocate for the profession of pharmacy!  I have already met many wonderful people and I look forward to working with everyone!

To start, I would like to share my story with you!  I was born and raised in Waukesha, WI, which is located just west of Milwaukee. My father, Rich, is the owner of two independent pharmacies in Waukesha and my mother, Judy, is an OB/GYN nurse. My middle brother, Dan, is a second-year pharmacy student at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and my youngest brother, Dave, is working for UPS.  My family is certainly medically oriented, which makes the dinner conversations interesting! Throughout high school and my childhood, I was active in sports and band. I led our 200 member marching band in the 2004 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City as the lead drum major. I enjoyed playing soccer, basketball, and participating in track as a sprinter and pole vaulter.  This past summer I branched out to playing softball and had a blast!  In 2009, I graduated from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, with my Bachelor’s of Science degree in biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish. I love to travel and spend time outdoors! I enjoy kayaking, biking, roller blading, hiking, and skiing. I love to cook, especially new recipes, and one of my hidden talents is singing.

I am eager to learn about opportunities available for members of MPhA to become involved in advocating for our profession and advancing pharmacist-delivered health care.  Not to mention, I am super excited about having my own desk and work area! Until next time!

Alyssa Ferrie's Final Week

Hard to believe but my time at MPhA has come to an end. It has been a wonderful experience and I’ve had so many great opportunities. I was able to stay busy up until the very end! I attended the College of Pharmacy Career Fair and was able to explore many exciting career opportunities currently available in MN.  The staff and members are working hard to put together the next journal issue.  My article is finally in and I’m excited to work with the editors in the next few weeks.  I’m thankful that MPhA has a wonderful staff to help us amateurs out. I’m also thankful for accountants after sitting in on the finance meeting! The Annual Meeting Committee meeting this week was very exciting as the agenda is almost finalized and details should be out shortly. After attending a few other miscellaneous meetings with MPhA and the college, as well as completing some last minute projects, the week ended with attending the Women Impacting Healthcare conference on Friday. This was an amazing meeting and I hope that it continues for years to come. The conference was held through the Center for Leading Healthcare Change and focused on leadership specifically targeted toward women in healthcare.  My rotation with MPhA may be over but I’m confident that my involvement with them is not! I met so many wonderful people that work hard for the practice of pharmacy in MN. I want to thank everyone at MPhA, Ewald Consulting, and especially Julie Johnson for a fantastic experience! 

Alyssa Ferrie, Week 4

Week four has come to an end. Again I can’t believe how quickly the weeks have gone. I attended my first ever Board of Pharmacy meeting on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see so many students! Batool Dawood gave a fantastic presentation about the results of her survey which assessed the community pharmacist’s ability to counsel in a typical retail setting. We all are aware of the demands placed on pharmacists, technicians, and students in busy community pharmacies. Batool’s project has provided real data about patient counseling in current practice. Her results have shown us that we have some work to do to enable pharmacists to deliver optimal counseling in all settings. I am confident that you will be hearing more about this soon! On Thursday I attended the Public Affairs and Policy Committee and Community Pharmacy Business Coalition meetings. Most of the agenda focused on reviewing the Board of Pharmacy’s proposed legislative changes which were initially presented on Wednesday. I was able to witness firsthand how MPhA works with the board on important policy issues. I was amazed at our MPhA members’ ability to critically evaluate the proposed changes and their affect on pharmacists, pharmacy staff, the practice, and most importantly patients. There was a lot of good discussion and I am confident that MPhA and the Board of Pharmacy will continue to work hard together on reviewing the proposed changes and collaborating on language that both protects the public and the profession. My fun event for the week was presenting with Julie at the Minnesota Pharmacy Student Alliance meeting at the college. We did a quick overview of MPhA and ways that students can get involved. I encourage everyone to look into the many volunteer opportunities available or simply attend an upcoming event! I decided to take my own advice and volunteer to be a member of the steering committee which will be focusing on proposed practice act changes.  I’m excited about this opportunity to stay involved with MPhA after my rotation is over! I better get back to work on my journal article…