ASHP Intersections Summer 2010 - 16

Not Your Average
Members Practice in All Kinds of Environments

Pharmacy Job

racticing pharmacy in a hospital or health system is a challenging and exciting field with abundant career opportunities. But have you ever wondered what it would be like to pursue a nontraditional career path? Although most ASHP members practice in hospitals and health systems, some clinical pharmacists work in unexpected places. “There are so many things pharmacists have the skill sets to do,” said Vernie R. Coleman Daniels, M.S., a research pharmacist employed by a contractor who does pharmaceutical research at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I never would have imagined when I was in pharmacy school that I’d be doing what I’m doing today,” Daniels said, adding that opportunities for pharmacists exist in a broad range of alternative environments.

Vernie R. Coleman Daniels, M.S.

Out of This World For Daniels, working with NASA is a path of discovery. “Medications and drug delivery systems work differently in a weightless environment,” she said. “The information in the literature about standard forms and doses may or may not be applicable. The setting is harsh.” Zero gravity is the most obvious difference between earth and space, Daniels said, but temperature, humidity, radiation, vibration, and storage logistics are also variables that can influence a medication’s performance in space. “We have to become creative when considering dosage forms and dosage delivery systems, which may not work the same way in the space environment as they do on earth,” Daniels said. “The blessing is that our patient population is healthy, requiring little or no pharmacotherapeutic intervention. However, should the need arise, our job is to ensure that safe and effective medication is available.”

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

ASHP Intersections Summer 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHP Intersections Summer 2010