April Member of the Month - Steve Erickson

Steve Erickson was selected as Member of the Month for April because of his contributions to UPPOW over the school year. Most notably Steve put together a submission for APhA's Project CHANCE on very short notice and won a $10,000 award to implement the project. Way to go Steve!

Here's what Steve had to say about himself.
"My name is Steve Erickson, and I’m proud to be a member of the class of 2014! I was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, which is where my family has lived since my great-great grandparents established a farm there in 1898. I grew up working on my family’s farm, where I helped customers in the market store, hand-picked strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries during the summers, and got to do many assorted tasks like laying out irrigation pipes and cleaning barns. Prior to coming to UW, I graduated from WSU Vancouver with a B.S. in Biology. While I was an undergraduate, I volunteered weekly for three and a half years at Southwest Medical Center, where I got my first introduction to pharmacy practice in the anticoagulation clinic and central pharmacy. I want to become a pharmacist because I enjoy helping everybody in need, especially those who are living with chronic medical conditions, and I also like all of the pharmacology and physiology knowledge that pharmacists get to learn and translate into easy-to-understand language for patients. Out of all the different healthcare professionals, pharmacists are able to focus the most on treatments, and this is my favorite aspect of healthcare because it’s what helps patients to get better. I currently volunteer weekly in the pharmacy at the Pioneer Square Clinic, where I enjoy helping patients at the front window and learning more and more each day about how to provide the best care for them. I would be really, really happy to specialize in ambulatory care. In my free time, I like to party it up whenever possible and explore this amazing city called Seattle! I have a pet kitty cat named Jasmine, and she makes my life even more enjoyable with her extraordinary fluffiness, incredible cuteness, and soul-soothing purring."

March Member of the Month - Catlin Tolzmann

Catlin was selected as member of the month for her contributions in helping plan events for UPPOW over the last year. She has been involved from the start of the school year and we think she should be recognized for all the great work she has been doing!

Hi, I'm Catlin Tolzmann. I am a first-year pharmacy student and have lived in Seattle for four and a half years. I grew up in Baltimore and then spent eight years in Chicago, where I met my fiancé. In my previous life, I was a molecular microbiology researcher, so I may pursue a residency in infectious disease pharmacotherapy -- which seems to be a trend among this year's Members of the Month! I am also interested in chronic disease management. Ancient Greek was my major in college, so I'm pretty good at trivia games (as long as it's not about history). In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, singing in a choir, and watching terrible movies.

Legislative Day 2011

Pharmacy legislative day was held on February 25th. The event included a speaker series in the morning, followed by meetings with legislators. Each student met with 1-2 legislators/aides. In total we met with 23 legislators and discussed 4 issues: pharmacy audit, robbery, MTM and funding for higher education.

 

February Member of the Month - Blaze Paracuelles

Blaze was chosen as February's Member of the Month because of the fabulous work he put into making Winter Mingle a success. As a member of the social committee, Blaze's enthusiasm stood out. He came to all of the Social Committee meetings, promptly answered all email communications, and was willing to go above and beyond in helping out. Read the profile he submitted to learn more about him!

"My name is Blaze Paracuelles and I am a first year student pharmacist. I received my bachelor’s degree here at the UW in Microbiology. My love of science and teaching is what help led me to the profession of pharmacy. Every summer break, I would go back home to Hawaii and teach middle and high school students about music. I feel that this experience will help me tremendously as a pharmacist because we are teachers too. As for my future plans after graduation, I currently plan on pursuing a residency and specializing in infectious disease pharmacotherapy."

January Member of the Month - Andrew Heinz

Andrew has been very involved in UPPOW, supporting NCPA and WSPA with events as well as being an integral member on other UPPOW related activities like the upcoming auction

Information about me, Andrew Heinz

Where were you born? - Puyallup, WA

Do you have siblings? - A younger sister, Amy, in her first year as a
nursing student at PLU

Are you married, do you have kids, pets? - 6 months married to my
high school sweetheart, Lacey

Do you have any other degrees or certifications? If so, in what?
Nope, if I fail out of pharmacy school I will be out in the cold.

What is your previous work experience, if any? - I have done a little
bit of everything in my life: I started out bucking hay bails for
farmers running my own hay crew in Eatonville, then I worked for my
dad for a couple summers as a Pharmacy Assistant, the summer after I
graduated from high school I sold knives for 8 weeks, then I worked
the next summer at Seatac Airport at the Alaska Airlines ticket
counter as a Customer Service Agent, then I went to work for the UWMC
as a Patient Service Specialist in the Main PACU for a year and a half
before I got accepted into the UW pharmacy program and became a
Pharmacy Intern.

Are you involved in community service activities? - Not unless I am
doing something that someone else has planned in the school.

Are you active in a church or spiritual group? - Mostly now only on holidays

What are your hobbies or favorite foods? - Hobbies include: puzzling,
movies, card games, athletics, napping, snowboarding, collecting
Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey collectibles. Favorite Foods: Seafood
Fettuccine, Rib-eye steak, rice, lobster, crab, fresh-baked bread,
homemade clam chowder.

Do you have a hero? Who is it and why? - My dad, he is all that I
hope to be when I am his age.

Pharmacy Related

What year in pharmacy school are you? - 2nd year

Do you intern somewhere? - Yes, Rxtra Care Pharmacy in Bellevue, an
independent pharmacy owned by Holly Henry

How did you get interested in pharmacy? - My family has owned
pharmacies since I was 5 years old, my father is a pharmacist and I
strive to be my own boss one day.

Are there any pharmacists or pharmacy technicians in your family or
extended family? - yes father

What has been your favorite UPPOW event so far and why? - The Annual
Auction, it was a ton of fun and helped get me paid :)

Why is involvement in your profession important to you? - Because if
we don't fight for our profession and continue to improve our
profession we will become obsolete pill counters. My involvement has
spurred from a desire to learn about the profession of pharmacy
outside of the classroom and library. To get real life knowledge and
experience from practicing pharmacists and pharmacists who are
fighting to make a difference for our future is so rewarding and
enlightening and something you will never find in the classroom or
library.

What do you want to do when you finish at UWSOP? - Go to work for my
father, take over the family business, expand to 5-6 pharamcies,
become WSPA President, serve on various NCPA steering committees,
retire on a yacht on Lake Washington and go to every UW home football
and basketball game

What type of pharmacy practice setting do you think you want to work
in? - Independent Pharmacy, it is like car toys, the only way to go

65 UWSOP Students Attend Course on Emergency Contraception

To receive the Emergency Contraception Certificate, students completed a didactic study portion, consisting of reading an article and completing a quiz, and attended the practical taught by Jenny Arnold, WSPA Director of Pharmacy Practice and UWSOP alumnus. Student pharmacists asked many great questions and were very engaged with the material presented.

December Member of the Month - Misty Sullivan

UPPOW's Member of the Month for December is Misty Sullivan. Misty did an awesome job as part of the UW team that submitted a video titled "Pharm Walking" for the APhA-ASP PharmFlix competition. Following is some info written by Misty so we can all learn more about her!

I am a 2nd year pharmacy student. I’ve worked as a pharmacy technician since 1997. The majority of my pharmacy experience is from the 8 years I worked at Salem Hospital in Salem, Oregon. Previously, I was a visual communications/graphic arts major and attended the Art Institute for a short time. In 2004, I decided to pursue my PharmD as part-time student. I feel fortunate to have so many years of pharmacy experience to draw on; it has been very beneficial to my learning. After graduation, I would like to do a residency that will prepare me to work in an inpatient hospital setting. I am completely fascinated by infectious diseases and hope to work on an infectious disease clinical team.