SEASON 3

Mr. Driscoll has spent his career supporting physician specialty clinics, primary care practices, hospitals, and health systems in growth strategies, financial planning, diversification strategies, professional staff recruitment and contracting, and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Driscoll is an expert in market assessment and program development. He has great skills in analyzing market conditions, identifying opportunities for growth, and crafting strategies to improve market share in competitive healthcare markets. His focus is to identify options for clinical alignment, expansion, diversification, integration, partnerships, joint ventures and affiliations that create strong and sustainable impacts for patients and healthcare professionals. 

A former Washington State Representative, Mr. Driscoll served as Vice Chair of the House Healthcare and Wellness Committee, and sponsored key legislation including an appropriation to expand primary care medical residencies in Spokane, WA, elimination of pre-existing condition restrictions for organ transplants, and expanded protection for healthcare providers from unfair insurance company practices. He was named 2010 Washington State Medical Association Legislator of the Year and the 2010 Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Legislator of the Year.

Kristen Ray is the Senior program manager for NCODA and manages all NCODA programs. She has a love for fashion and shopping while always looking to stay on top of trending styles and find affordable options for not only herself but to share with her family, friends, and Instagram followers.

Elizabeth Heard, PharmD graduated from Mercer University College of Pharmacy this past May and now serves as the Oncology | Advocacy | Health Policy and Equity Fellow at NCODA. As a fellow Elizabeth oversees NCODA’s Mentorship Program, Patient Satisfaction Survey and Professional Student Organization Committees in addition to many other responsibilities. Her favorite hobby is shopping for both herself and others. She loves helping women of all body types find affordable clothing that makes them feel confident & beautiful. 

 The items Kristen and Elizabeth review in this episode include:

1. https://susansnaps.com
2. https://honeydrop.com/
3. https://www.beautydespitecancer.com
4. https://violetsareblueskincare.com/collections/all-products
5. https://littlewordsproject.com/pages/big-impact
6. https://curediva.com/collections/all
7. https://www.glassybaby.com
8. https://www.survivoreyes.com/about-survivoreyes-browstyle-kits/
9. https://thrivecausemetics.com
10. https://coilstolocs.com

Amy Hindman is the founder and designer behind Saint Virginia, a collection of artisan textiles using organic fabrics and botanical dyes. Saint Virginia’s hand-dyed scarves and home textiles have been featured in Southern Living,Garden & Gun, and Virginia Living magazines. She combines ancient natural dye practices with a fresh, modern aesthetic, often using locally sourced flora to make eco-friendly textiles that are as beautiful as they are sustainable. Are you looking for a perfect gift? You can find her beautiful products on Instagram @saintvirginiatextiles or on www.saintvirginia.com.

Jerrica and Abby discuss whether or not there should be hope for future legislation to impact patients, patients being their own advocates, the recent mid-term elections, looking forward to the 2024 election, the importance of NCODAs Legislative efforts and current legislation that is impacting oncology. 

A graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in 2012, Dr. Vachhani went on to complete his internal medicine residency at Virginia Commonwealth University, followed by a fellowship in hematology/oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY.                         

At UAB, he is involved in various clinical trials as a principal investigator.  He leads the Leukemia/BMT working group and serves as the Medical Director of the Clinical Research Unit (CRU). His primary research interest is in hematological malignancies, particularly myeloproliferative neoplasms and AML, where he focuses on experimental therapeutics. He also serves as a panelist helping create the AML and MPN Treatment Guidelines for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Amanda has worked as a certified pharmacy technician since 2009 and is currently the Oncology Purchasing Agent for the Cancer Center service line at Cone Health. She manages a multi-million-dollar pharmaceutical inventory, as well as leads their compliance initiatives and hazardous drug compounding robotics program.

For more information on the Oncology Pharmacy Technician Association (OPTA), please contact Taryn.Newsome@ncoda.org. 

April is the Oral Oncolytic Nurse Navigator at Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Cancer Center in Muncie, Indiana and is nationally certified in oncology. Along with a multidisciplinary team, she developed a nurse navigation program that patient-centered and focuses on appropriate monitoring and support for all patients while on an oral oncolytic. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ball State University, Muncie and has over 18 years of nursing experience.  

If you would like more information on joining NCODA’s nursing committee, please email Natasha.Olson@ncoda.org.

Dr. Ntiri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  She serves as the Medical Director for the Baltimore City Cancer Program and the Senior Medical Advisor for Community Outreach and Engagement at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.   She divides her time between direct patient care, teaching, community-based cancer control efforts and research. Her research interests include health disparities—particularly in relation to cancer screening—and the impact of community and primary care-based cancer screening initiatives upon health outcomes for urban, under resourced patient populations. Dr. Ntiri is the current president of the Maryland Academy Family Physicians and serves as a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness in Family Medicine.

Sal received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy in 2008. He completed his pharmacy residency at The Moses Cone Health System in Greensboro, North Carolina and a Hematology/Oncology residency with The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. He currently serves as the Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator in Medical Oncology services at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Sal practices in multiple solid tumor clinics including the gastrointestinal, head & neck, and endocrine clinic. Some of his interests include clinical pharmacy patient education and virtual health experiences, oral chemotherapy management, and clinical pharmacy administration.

Wayne is the Pharmacy Director at Southern Oncology Specialists, a Medical Oncology/Hematology practice with five locations in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area, and he has over 20 years of service in the fields of community, retail, long-term care, oncology/hematology and specialty pharmacy.

Dr. Abraham is a professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Arizona. For the past decade Dr. Abraham’s research has focused mainly on clinical outcomes and effectiveness research, in particular how variability in (drug-centric) treatment regimens is associated with variability in patient outcomes. He has (co-)authored more than 260+ articles and more than 60+ chapters, and has (co-)edited 29 books, monographs, and journal issues.

 Access the article discussed in the podcast here.

 Access the Trilaciclib PQI here.

Dr. Gupta is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist, a symptom management enthusiast, and a health services researcher. His research specifically examines cancer care access and delivery, the costs of cancer care, and the hidden burdens imposed on and faced by people with cancer and their caregivers while receiving this care.

Dr. Mussallem has over 25 years of patient-centered clinical wellness experience with national recognition in the field of breast medicine, lifestyle medicine, integrative oncology, cancer prevention, and cancer survivorship, and a unique personal experience as a stage IV cancer patient diagnosed 3 months into medical school, as well as a heart transplant recipient. She shares that her journey as a patient cultivated her boundless energy and deep purpose to help guide patients toward renewed vitality. 

In 2015, she founded the Integrative Medicine and Breast Health Program at Mayo Clinic Florida, a patient-centered program that works with breast cancer patients during and after a breast cancer diagnosis, introducing them early on to the importance of lifestyle optimization and evidence-based mind-body practices alongside conventional cancer treatments with a goal to reframe the cancer diagnosis as a “teacher of life,” leading patients to discover renewed vitality through healthier living.

 If you are not yet an organ donor – please register. You can register on your iPhone Health app or go to www.registerme.org.

Dr. Mancini received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of California, San Diego and went on to complete a PGY1 residency at St. Luke’s Health System and PGY2 at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute. He was instrumental in the establishment and development of St. Luke’s Oral Chemotherapy Program, Supportive Care Clinics and Allogeneic Blood and Marrow Transplant Program with numerous publications and presentations within these areas of practice. 

The recommended subject matter books that Dr. Mancini mentions on the podcast can be found here.

Evelyn earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Ohio Northern University. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Oregon Health & Science University followed by a PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. She is currently serving as the vice-chair of the HOPA Patient Education Committee and has just recently started her two-year term as President of the ISOPP Secretariat.

Julianne previously worked as an outpatient oncology clinical pharmacist at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently, she serves as the Manager of Education for NCODA where she leads the patient education initiatives and helps develop quality continuing education for NCODA membership.

Derek and Julianne are joined by Audrey Simon, P4 Student University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Carter Friedt, P4 Student University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shaina Shah, P4 Student University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Elizabeth Engel, P4 Student University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Allison Burdick, PGY-1 Pharmacy Resident University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Findlay College of Pharmacy Graduate 2022.

Today we discuss oncology career paths for pharmacy students including residency and fellowship preparation. We also discuss mentorship and our students’ involvement with NCODA’s Professional Student Organization (PSO).

Dr. Klemp serves on several national boards, is a subject matter expert in cancer genetics and survivorship, has peer reviewed funding including an NCI R01, and has presented nationally focusing on cancer genetics, shared decision-making regarding options to manage cancer risk and survivorship issues, and the development and implementation of cancer genetics, survivorship, and navigation programming.  In addition to her roles at the University of Kansas Medical Center she has recently taken on a new national position at Caris Life Sciences as the Vice President of Global Biopharma Business Development Lead, Biopharma Trials and Networks

 Today we discuss cancer survivorship. You can find information that Dr. Klemp discusses in the podcast here and on the KANSURVIVE website.