By: James Schurr, Stephen Argiro, & Michael Cronin, PharmD Candidates c/o 2014 – This October, we had the privilege of attending the New York State chapter of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) annual meeting held at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.  The purpose of this event was to orient members…

By: Marina Yermolayeva, PharmD Candidate c/o 2013 – “I’m allergic to the generic; I need the brand name medication,” is a common claim heard by many health care providers.  Managed care organizations get numerous calls from doctors and patients requesting prior authorizations to approve brand name medications whilst there are generic alternatives available on formulary.…

By: James W. Schurr, PharmD Candidate c/o 2014 – Nutrition Support Pharmacy is a specialized practice pertaining to the needs of patients receiving Parenteral (PN) or Enteral Nutrition (EN).  Nutrition Support Pharmacists (NSPs) are integral members of the nutritional support team and bring valuable skills and knowledge to the clinical practice setting.  The Board of…

By: Michael Cronin, Pharm.D.  Candidate c/o 2014 – The Drug Information Association (DIA) student chapter at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences began in March of 2012 to provide a local forum for cultivating awareness of opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry among doctor of pharmacy and allied health professions candidates.  Within two…

By: Ebey P. Soman, Editor-In-Chief – As a member of Amnesty International and a student pharmacist, I have an opportunity to be a force for social justice in this world. Remember the classes titled “Social and Behavioral Aspects of Pharmaceutical Care” or the “Moral Theology of Health Care” that you took as a first or…

By: Shannon Tellier, Associate Student Editor – The disease burden in children outweighs the number of pediatric clinical drug trials currently being conducted.  The lack of data in pediatrics leads to drugs being used off-label and without sufficient knowledge of doses, tolerability, and efficacy.  In 1975, only 22% of products in the electronic Physicians’ Desk…

By: Michael Maddalena, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2016 –       Michael is the upcoming president of the Phi Delta Chi Professional Pharmaceutical Fraternity Beta Alpha Chapter at St.  John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. The term sophomore comes from a compound of the Greek sophos, meaning “wise”, and moros, meaning “foolish”.  Hence, as…

By: Marie Huang –       Each month, the Rho Chi Post has the wonderful opportunity to sit down with an inspiring leader among the student pharmacists here at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences – someone who is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd and can be the change he…

By: Yufan (Frank) Liu, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – “This is the worst day of my life!” These words kept echoing in my head as I approached my rotation at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center clinic one hour late. Getting lost was not how I envisioned starting my first day and that…

By: Marie Huang – Each month, the Rho Chi Post has the wonderful opportunity to sit down with an inspiring leader among the student pharmacists here at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions – someone who is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd and can be the change he…

By: Simardeep Singh, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – In February I  had the opportunity of doing an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotation at an industry site that did not involve me commuting to New Jersey. American Regent Inc. is a subsidiary of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals and operates out of Shirley, Long Island located conveniently off…

By: Lunbao (Jerry) Huang, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Counterfeit prescription medications are becoming a great concern for us. They have increased worldwide costs and endangered our public safety. Activities related to counterfeit drugs cost our healthcare system an estimated $75 billion in 2010. Many patients were seriously injured and died due to counterfeit medications.…

By: Jessica Lee, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Dr. Hira Shafeeq received her PharmD in 2009 from St. John’s University.  After graduating, she went on to do her PGY-1 at the Brooklyn Hospital Center.  Upon finishing her first year of residency, she decided to complete her specialty residency in critical care at University of Chicago…

By: Ebey P. Soman – Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are medications commonly prescribed to treat heartburn, acid reflux disease, and ulcers.  Almost a vast majority of patients in the United States seem to be taking a PPI, either as a prescription or from over-the-counter (OTC).  Researchers recently discovered associations between the long-term use of PPIs…

By: Ebey P. Soman – New York State’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program (EPIC) is a secondary prescription insurance program for over 280,000 income-eligible seniors aged 65 and older.  The program supplements members’ out-of-pocket Medicare Part D drug plan costs.  To be eligible, the senior must be a state resident with an annual income of…

By: Aleena Chacko, Long Island University Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Established in 1996, Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland.  On January 8, 2012, Novartis issued a recall on some popular over the counter (OTC) medications in the United States (U.S.) over concerns about broken or incorrect tablets ending up…

By: Kate Croegaert, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Kate Croegaert is a PharmD Candidate (Class of 2013) and the current President of the Rho Chi Delta Chapter at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.   She believes in the importance of advancing the profession of pharmacy and promoting innovative practices…

By: Alisha Kumar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2012 – Express Scripts proposed a $29 billion acquisition of Medco Health back in July 2011, and Medco’s shareholders almost unanimously accepted the offer.  According to Medco’s press release, the plan was approved by a margin of 99% to 1%, with approximately 72% of its shareholders voting. The two…

By: Gokul Kalla, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Hypertension is a chronic disease that affects one out of every three Americans.  Leaving the condition untreated could increase the risk of serious health consequences such as a stroke or a heart attack.  On December 21, the FDA approved Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ Edarbyclor® (azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone) for…

By: Ruby Lin, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o 2013 – Rotation selection begins around mid-October for fifth year pharmacy students.  You may begin to panic about what sites you should choose from the huge selection that St. John’s University offers.  Your upperclassmen may try to help you by sharing their rotation experiences.  Alas, what do you do…

By: Marie Huang – Each month, Rho Chi Post editors have the wonderful opportunity to sit down with an inspiring leader among the student pharmacists here at St. John’s University – someone who is not afraid to stand apart from the crowd and can be the change he or she wants to see in the…

By: Nandini Puranprashad – As primary advocators of patient care, student pharmacists and pharmacists are well on their way in changing the public’s impression of us staying behind the counter at the corner drugstore doing nothing but “counting, licking, and sticking.” It is time to step out of the classroom and from behind the counters…

By: Neal Shah – Dr. Ashby is a well-known Pharmacology professor for student pharmacists studying in their professional years. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a BA in Biology and Psychology in 1983. After obtaining his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Louisville in 1987, he continued his education by obtaining a…

By: Mahdieh Danesh Yazdi – On October 21st, St. John‘s University hosted the annual pharmacy residency and fellowship showcase, where representatives from various institutions provided information about their post-graduate programs. A total of 36 programs from the New York / metropolitan area, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut were in attendance. Many of these were represented…

By: Neal Shah – The focus of pharmacy is rapidly shifting from simple filling and dispensing of prescriptions to preventative medicine and efficient clinical practice. The field of genetics has been incorporated in many defining therapies and will continue to shape how we treat our patients. Examples discussed here are the roles of human leukocyte…

By: Dr. Olga Hilas – Foreword: Dr. Olga Hilas is an Associate Clinical Professor at Saint John’s University and a Clinical Pharmacy Manager in internal medicine and geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Hilas agreed to provide feedback to in response to Ebey’s article entitled, “Big Pharma vs. Developing Countries: Debating Generic Drugs and…

By: Ebey P. Soman – Dr. Abu Serajuddin is a true inspiration for student pharmacists who wish to enter the pharmaceutical industry setting. He attained his Bachelors of Pharmacy with honors at Dhaka University in Bangladesh and majored in Pharmaceutics to get his Master of Sciences degree at Columbia University in New York. He obtained…

By: Ebey P. Soman – Meet Dr. Parnali Chatterjee, a new faculty member in our St. John’s University family. I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Chatterjee at the doctoral seminar hosted by Dr. Lin Mantell entitled, “Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics in Drug Discovery and Development.” I was introduced to Dr. Chatterjee through Dr. Frank…

By: Ebey P. Soman – The World Trade Organization (WTO) and its member nations met in Uruguay in 1994 to establish international norms for trade, economy, and development. They developed the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which provided patent protection for pharmaceutical companies to make brand name medications and market those…