Pharmacy Graduate Receives Premier Partner Scholarship

Pharmacy school graduate Emily Blum, PharmD, recently received a Premier Partner Scholarship for her academic achievement and accomplishments at an Ohio clinic.

Now a post-graduate year (PGY) 1 pharmacy resident at Henry Ford Hospital in the PGY1/PGY 2 pharmacotherapy program, Blum received $1000 and a plaque for her previous work at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

To be eligible for the award, Blum had to have at least a 3.7 cumulative GPA and an A on the rotation from her preceptor, according to her alma mater, Ohio Northern University.

Blum told Pharmacy Times that she believes she was selected because she showed interest and commitment during her 4 months at the clinic.

“I knew I was working with excellent pharmacists who could teach me clinical pearls and skills that I could use throughout my career,” she said.

Blum said her love for math and science, as well as her desire to make a difference in people’s lives, inspired her to become a pharmacist.

“When I heard pharmacists being described as ‘drug experts,’ I realized I would love to be someone others came to and relied on for a vital part of patient care,” she said.

During her time at the Cleveland Clinic, Blum’s rotations were based in internal medicine, emergency medicine, oncology, and hospital pharmacy. In addition to her monthly rotations, she also attended educational sessions on a weekly basis. She helped several pharmacists with data collection for their research projects.

She said the most rewarding experiences took place in the emergency department.

“I was able to participate firsthand in a code blue, interact with physicians during rapid sequence intubations, and attend multiple stroke alerts in which I was able to participate in tissue plasminogen activator dosing,” Blum said.

She also had in-depth discussions with emergency room pharmacists, who improved her thought process for problem solving in the acute setting, she added.

Blum plans to build a strong foundation in all areas of clinical pharmacy in the next 2 years so that she can decide whether she wants to specialize in an area or remain generalized in internal medicine.

“I hope to work as a clinical pharmacist at a teaching hospital and become a preceptor for both pharmacy students and residents in order to instill in them the same passion for pharmacy and love of learning that my former preceptors, including those at Cleveland Clinic, instilled in me,” Blum told Pharmacy Times.