Assistant Professor and Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist Julia Lees, PharmD, BCACP, who serves Philadelphia-area patients at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine's Joseph M. Hassman, DO '65 Family Medicine Center, describes what inspired her to pursue a career in pharmacy and her unique position at PCOM.
I always knew I wanted to be a pharmacist, even as early as when I was in high school. Chemistry was always my favorite subject, and I loved the idea of being able to help people, especially how medications work in the body, what side effects to look out for, or how to help lower the costs that patients face, so becoming a pharmacist felt like the perfect combination of my interests.
As a Philly native, PCOM had a prestigious reputation growing up, and I had even wanted to apply, but I was unable to relocate to Georgia to attend the pharmacy school. I pursued my degree at Temple University, where I received my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. I earned my postgraduate residency at the University of Pittsburgh and completed rotations in internal medicine, intensive care treatment for general medicine, as well as trauma, emergency medicine, solid organ transplantation, a global health ambulatory care rotation serving patients without health insurance, and inpatient pharmacy administration and operations.
After my residency I relocated back to the Philadelphia area and accepted a position at Jefferson Health within the Population Health department. When I started at Jefferson, I was the first ambulatory care pharmacist within my assigned campus. In my role, I was the only pharmacist assigned to 17 offices, 50 physicians and approximately 70,000 patients. While the work at Jefferson was incredibly rewarding in many ways, I was ready for a change, and when I saw PCOM was offering an opportunity to start a pharmacy service at the Philadelphia campus, I knew it was a sign from the universe and a full circle moment in my career.
Pharmacy practice is a complex, and unfortunately, underrepresented industry. Many people hear the word “pharmacist” and immediately think of the people who work at their local CVS or Walgreens and believe that pharmacists only dispense medication or give vaccines. While retail pharmacists provide these services in addition to other responsibilities, it's not the only career path for a student pharmacist. A lot of prospective students don't know that, which I think has resulted in the pharmacist shortage we're seeing today, as well as declining enrollment in pharmacy schools across the country.
Expanding education and opportunities in advanced roles can help solve these challenges. There are many, many career settings students can pursue as a pharmacist: pharmacists perform inpatient rounds when caring for patients in the intensive care units or general medical floors. Pharmacists also practice in the emergency rooms or trauma departments to recognize life-threatening situations and immediately prepare or administer medication to save lives when time is crucial.
Pharmacists also study and identify novel drugs to treat newly identified disease or target specific receptors in new ways of drug delivery. Being the expert on medications, pharmacists serve in the pharmaceutical industry as medical science liaisons as well as other regulatory roles. Pharmacists also serve as consultants in many areas, including skilled nursing facilities, home infusion services, mental health services, as well as experts in legal cases of medical malpractice, wrongful death or toxicology interpretation. There is a growing need for pharmacists, especially in the medical cannabis industry, as we identify drug interactions through emerging research in that field. Pharmacists are crucial to make sure the medication is not only safe, but also effective for the patient.
As an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist, my role is to provide patient care, first and foremost. Our patients have been coming to PCOM for years and have established relationships with their physicians. The physicians will introduce me to their patients to work together to achieve clinical outcomes. I am very passionate about diabetes management so I provide comprehensive care to lower glucose to normal levels, monitor for kidney disease and prevent cardiovascular complications. I see patients one-on-one to show them how to administer medications, use medical devices to enhance their ability to self-care and engage patients in their optimal health. I explain the purpose and why patients should take the medication, and I also do the opposite where I recommend to stop or remove medications that may not work for the patient. I also help patients reduce their prescription costs. My patients know that they can depend on me, and it is phenomenal to make a difference in the lives of patients.
I would like to create a team of pharmacists that offer a variety of services to care for our patients. I hope to lead by example and demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. I hope that my students, whom I teach in their third year and fourth years of pharmacy school, feel inspired to pursue their dream careers and find my personal journey enlightening and motivational for their own. I’d love to create a pathway program in Philadelphia so that PCOM graduates from all campuses are able to get more postgraduate experience and opportunities on the Philadelphia campus.
I also hope to continue to support and advocate regarding the importance of including pharmacists within the interdisciplinary care team. As of today, Pennsylvania is one of the select states that recognizes pharmacists as healthcare providers, so I hope to be a voice and example of leadership for our profession.
There is so much support at PCOM. Whether it be with the physicians, fellow professors, students, administration or other campus staff, there is such a strong sense of community, culture, and connection here that I haven't seen anywhere else. I love that we promote individual expression and always encourage and empower each other to show our strengths.
I am one of the first (if not the first) pharmacist to be credentialed with Medicaid insurance payors in the state. What this means is that I was one of the first pharmacists in Pennsylvania to be able to bill for my services as a pharmacist, which is a big deal. Physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physical therapists all submit bills for the services they provide for patients to insurance companies. Now that pharmacists are recognized as providers, we are eligible to bill for our patient care services as well.
A personal surprise some people might not know about me is that I met my now fiance while on vacation in Ireland. He is from the Netherlands and was also vacationing in Ireland so it was a crazy way to meet. He's relocating to the United States soon so we can get married and reside here.
It would have to be anyone at the cafeteria, especially Albert or Heather. They not only get to interact with everyone on campus, but they are also greeted with great energy and smiles from everyone because it's usually their favorite time of the day—lunch! They are such a critical part of our campus so I'd love to get to experience that feeling for a day.
For the past 125 years, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
Gabrielle DePietro
Associate Director, News and Media Relations
Email: gabrielde2@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6304
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