�ձ�av��Ƶ

The �ձ�av��Ƶ pharmacy student organization Student Collaboration for the Advancement and Promotion of Pharmacy hosted a talk by Nicholas Bitz ’15, Pharm.D. alum. Bitz currently is an oncology clinical pharmacy specialist at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bitz spoke about his somewhat unexpected and winding journey from student at �ձ�av��Ƶ to retail pharmacy to oncology pharmacy.

“�ձ�av��Ƶ really set me up very, very well,” he said. “The skills that I learned as a student served me very well. I wouldn't have had those skills had I not gone here.”

Bitz noted that his �ձ�av��Ƶ education was “doubly meaningful now” as the training he received here helped him take the necessary steps to find his professional home after a time of working in a retail pharmacy practice that was not the right fit for him.

One critical component of his journey, Bitz noted, was working directly with patients. While he had experienced some of that working in retail pharmacy, its importance — and his connection with it — became clear early in his oncology pharmacy path.

“I went out, and I started talking with patients. I would sit with them, and you realize that when patients are first getting chemo, they have a lot less questions about the inner workings of the drugs. They just want somebody to talk to. But then, as you form that relationship, they start wanting to know (more) about their drugs,” he said.

Bitz said that oncology pharmacy specialists are “integrated and indispensable” members of oncology care teams, and that having the ability to offer face-to-face support for patients allows “us to be their advocate and to work side by side with physicians to deliver optimal care in oncology for our patients.”

And that’s a major — and critically important — role for pharmacists.

“People trust pharmacists,” Bitz said. “They trust nurses, and they trust doctors, but they can't get ahold of nurses, and they're afraid to ask doctors questions. But pharmacists have been out in the community for 150 years, giving advice and answering questions.”

For Bitz, it took time to learn where he belonged. He urged students to explore and take those chances now. “You’re still learning. You can change paths. You can alter what you want to do. You can change your perspective,” he said.

“It all comes together in the end, I promise you.”