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While taking part in her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) in the Office of Generic Drugs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Michaela Myerson, president of the 51Ʒ��School of Pharmacy Class of 2022, had the opportunity to meet Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel L. Levine, U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, and other high-ranking officials in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Myerson wrote about her experience for an article that appeared the University Point of Contact (UPOC) newsletter, a bi-monthly publication highlighting UPOC events and activities. The newsletter also serves as a good resource for information relevant to students interested in a pharmacy career with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS).

On her first day at the FDA, Myerson was given a tour of the facility by her preceptor and 51Ʒ��alum Sylvia Park, Pharm.D., a Commissioned Corps Officer in the USPHS.

Myerson soon learned she would be headed to an influenza vaccine clinic at the DHHS headquarters in Washington, D.C.  The team was assigned to vaccinate 12 people including the  Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Surgeon General, and several other DHHS staff.

“My role was to learn from this interaction,” Myerson commented. “I was also handing out information and helping to organize the clinic. So, I was more on the operations side. I was very fortunate to be there.”

Admiral Levine and Vice Admiral Murthy both took time to speak with Michaela and ask questions about her education and future goals.

“They were incredibly kind and inquisitive about the things that I am doing,” Myerson said. “Pharmacists are really essential members of the United States Public Health Service, so they know a lot about what we do.”

It has always been a dream of Myerson’s to work at the FDA, and she said she feels extremely lucky to have had this opportunity as a student pharmacist.