Saba Fatima Tahir
Student Pharmacist
Medical College of Wisconsin, School of Pharmacy
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My name is Saba Tahir and I am a P2 student at Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy Class of 2024. I acquired my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am interested in the areas of pharmaceutical drug development and research along with retail pharmacy. Previously, I worked as a Biochemist for a pharmaceutical company and conducted biopharmaceutical drug development research. I hope to use the research skills that I gained during my time as a Biochemist during my rotations when learning drug compounding techniques. As I begin my rotations, I am looking forward to gaining experience in the aforementioned pharmaceutical fields to further my educational and professional career as a pharmacist.
Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate (Anticipated 06/2024)
Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Bachelor of Science, Microbiology (09/2016- 05/2020)
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
Assistant Scientist, Biochemist 04/2021- 06/2021
PPD, Madison, Wisconsin
Supervisor: Pinray Huang, Group Lead
- Performed a variety of routine sample preparation and analysis procedure to quantitively measure pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical compounds for stability and analytical testing.
- Trained on routine operation, maintenance, and theory of analytical instrumentation, SOPs, and regulatory guidelines such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP).
- Maintained a laboratory notebook and completed all laboratory documentation according to SOP and GLPs.
Healthcare Office Manager 07/2020- 03/2021
Dr. Muhammad Y. Khan, M.D. S.C., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Supervisor: Dr. Muhammad Y. Khan, M.D. S.C.
Undergraduate Student Researcher 05/2018- 09/2019
UW-Madison, Department of Biochemistry, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Supervisor: Dr. Aseem Z. Ansari
I am interested in areas of hospital pharmacy along with pharmaceutical drug development and research. As someone who has a background in drug development and discovery with my previous employment, I am most looking forward to gaining pharmacy rotational experience in an in-patient clinical setting. I am looking forward to learning the ins and outs of a pharmacist's role regarding therapeutic drug monitoring and treating different disease states. I am excited to interact and work in conjuction with a team of healthcare providers to comprehensively assess and treat a patient.
A SMART Goal I have for my third overall rotation and second hospital rotation is to become more comfortable with completing patient work-ups. I hope to become more familiar with general disease states and the lab trends that are present in those disease states so I can better understand how to adequately treat the patient and adjust their medications. A way I plan to implement this goal is by following patient cases throughout my rotation and practicing writing workups so I can become more knowledgeable. Through exposure of different patient cases, I plan to gain confidence in completing patient workups for clinical drug monitoring.
A SMART Goal I have for my second rotation is to counsel patients on commonly prescribed medications so I am able to answer all their questions. A way I plan to implement this goal is by using the knowledge I have learned about the Top 200 Drug List to address any concerns the patient may have. I also hope to shadow my preceptor during counseling so that I can gain more experience interacting with patients.
A SMART Goal I have for my first rotation is becoming more familiar with commonly prescribed drugs so that I am more knowledgeable about them. A way I plan to implement this goal is by being thoroughly involved during my rotation and asking my preceptor many questions regarding these drugs. I also plan to research the drugs that I will encounter and use the Top 200 Drug List to assist me in becoming familiarized.
My second hospital pharmacy rotation experience introduced me to the many different roles of a hospital pharmacist. This included working at a thrombosis clinic to monitor patient INR levels, compounding in a lab to make medications, working in the oncology department with cancer patients, being a floor pharmacist and interacting with a diverse patient population, or being a central pharmacist and filling orders for different floors. These roles taught me the different ways a patient case can be followed, how to properly workup a patient, and how to monitor their medications based upon their diagnosis. I have learned that a pharmacist may interact with a team of healthcare providers to ensure proper care for a patient. In the future, I hope to use all my patient care experience in these different roles to better myself as a future pharmacist.
ENTRY 3:
My first ever hospital rotation provided me with clinical pharmacy experience through direct patient care. During this rotation, I have participated in daily rounds with the resident physicians which involved evaluating patients and reviewing pharmaceutical therapy recommendations. I have followed a patient case throughout the day and practiced completing a patient workup for therapeutic drug monitoring. I have collected medication history's for newly admitted patients while using the Epic Systems software. Additionally, I have shadowed the pharmacist during medication counseling for discharged patients. Journal club topic presentations have taught me about common hospitalized disease states and their pharmaceutical treatments. Through exposure and practice, I have become more familiar with immunosuppressant, antimicrobial, and pain medications commonly prescribed in organ transplant patients. I am looking forward to applying the clinical skills I have gained this rotation for my next hospital rotation.
ENTRY 2:
After completing my first ever rotation at a pharmacy, I can say that I have gained many skills that have helped me improve as a student pharmacist. Under the supervision of the pharmacist, I have counseled and administered vaccines to patients daily. By working weekly in the pharmacy, I am more familiar with commonly prescribed medications. I have interacted with insurances for prior authorizations and other healthcare professionals to order/renew prescriptions. I have shadowed compounding medications and have filled and bubble packed prescriptions. I have collected a comprehensive patient medication history which included reviewing current and past prescriptions along with dosage changes made. I have also answered drug information questions and patient case studies which has taught me more about drug-drug interactions. Going into the future, I am looking forward to my next rotation and am eager to implement what I have been taught thus far.
ENTRY 1:
My first pharmacy rotation of my PY1 year will be my first time ever working in a pharmacy setting. I hope during this time to gain valuable experiences that I can use to further my educational and professional career as a pharmacist. One thing I am especially looking forward to is gaining experience when interacting with patients in the pharmacy. I am someone who is very social, outgoing, and empathetic. I hope to use the aforementioned qualities when interacting with patients. I also hope through these interactions to gain better soft-skills that I can take with me going into the future. Previously, before starting pharmacy school, I worked for a pharmaceutical company performing drug development and discovery. During this time, I learned many drug creation lab techniques. When starting rotations, I am looking forward to using the compounding skills I have acquired from my previous occupation along with the skills I will learn at school and implementing them in a pharmacy compounding lab setting. I also hope to become more familiarized with commonly prescribed drugs and learn common details about them to gain knowledge that I can use to better my knowledge as a pharmacist.
During my second rotation, I have independently collected medication history's for newly admitted patients on the floor to ensure their current medication list is up-to-date, allergies are noted, and there are no discrepancies regarding any prescriptions. I have participated in daily rounds with the medical team which included reviewing the patient's medications and ensuring the appropriate dosing regimen and pharmacotherapy is provided with lab updates. I have attended topic discussions which included discussing common disease states, therapeutic treatments, and other pharmacy-related education topics. I have shadowed the pharmacist during patient discharge counseling and have familiarized myself with common organ transplant patient pharmacotherapy regimens. Additionally, I have followed a patient case to complete a workup and have followed up on drug information questions such as the difference between different tacrolimus formulations.
During my first rotation, under the supervision of the pharmacist I counseled and administered Pfizer, Moderna, MMR, Shingrix, High Dose Flu, and Regular Flu vaccinations. I filled and bubble packed prescriptions. I took a comprehensive medication history collection for a patient which included reviewing past and current medications, going over the dosage change, checking medication adherence, and ensuring all medication were properly suited for the patients health conditions. I went over drug information questions and patient cases while also discussing alternative pharmacologic treatment options. Additonally, I learned how pharmacists interact with providers and insurances.
As an Undergraduate Student Research, I performed molecular and cellular biological research including but not limited to: polymerase chain reactions (PCR, ChIP-qPCR, and RT-qPCR) Western Blot assays, cell passaging, gel electrophoresis, restriction enzyme digestions, and Maxiprep/Miniprep plasmid preparations. I also practiced reprogramming Mouse Skin and Lung Fibroblast Cells to an induced state using the four Yamanaka Factors. Additionally, I worked with, maintained, and adapted protocols for: Pluripotent Stem Cells, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, (HEK293T cells), Bacterial Cells, GM15851/GM15850 cells, Lung Fibroblast Cells, and Mouse Fibroblast Cells.
I hope in the future to expand on my research skills and conduct pharmaceutical research that includes molecular research techniques which can be applied to study the effectiveness of drug therapeutics along with drug development and discovery.
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