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Resident Melissa Durham and Preceptor Kari Trotter Wall at the USC University Park Campus Pharmacy.
look to him for drug information and they trust him so much,” says Nguyen. This broad experience has led him to consider future options that before were not very familiar to him. One of these is the time he has spent at the Norris Cancer Center’s clinic that serves patients on an outpatient basis. “My oncology experience has really stood out. Working at Norris and seeing the severity of disease in some cases has really made me realize how profoundly the pharmacist can help these patients cope with their disease by providing them the rights meds,” he says. “I’ve been able to build relationships with many of these patients and it has been very satisfying. I admire so many of them.” COMMUNITY PHARMACY RESIDENT: MELISSA J. DURHAM, PHARM.D. (’07) USC PHARMACIES
Melissa Durham looks out at a future where the pharmacist plays the role on the health care team that best fits the education and experience of the profession while meeting the pressing needs of today’s patients. She
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SUMMER 2008 | USC PHARMACY MAGAZINE
knows that the pharmacist role, especially in the community setting, is evolving and she is committed to being part of that evolution. “I want to be part of the change in community pharmacy. I want to help figure out how we can best care for our patients in new and better ways in the community setting,” says Durham. In earlier decades, most pharmacy residents were those seeking careers in places like hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. Pharmacists who practiced in the community, whether in retail, independent or specialty pharmacies, usually did not pursue residency training. Today, community pharmacy is a popular residency focus throughout the country. “USC was the first community practice residency program in California,” says Jeff Goad, Pharm.D. (’04), MPH, who directs the USC community practice residency. “In the future, residency training will be necessary for all community pharmacists to meet the ever growing complexity of patient care in the community setting.” Goad completed his residency at USC in 1995.
opposite page: Resident Emmanuelle Mirsakov and Preceptor Linh Lee at Ralphs Corporate Headquarters in Compton.