Click here to nominate a pharmacy professional!
November Faces of Pharmacy:
Margery Davis, PharmD, RPh
Margery Davis has practiced as a pharmacist for 5 years. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy from The University of New Mexico in 2016. Margery manages a high volume pharmacy, whose staff has worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure patients have access to in person care. She is passionate about recognizing her team, creating a positive work environment, and increasing awareness about the value of pharmacy technicians. Outside of work , Margery enjoys time with her husband and children.
Sharita Howe, PharmD
Dr. Sharita Howe is the Pharmacist in Charge of Progressive Pharmacy Care in Richmond, Virginia. She received her PharmD from Hampton University in 2011, and has over 10 years of experience in community and specialty pharmacy. She started as a staff pharmacist at Walgreens and transitioned to a role as an HIV specialist within the Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy network. There she worked with various organizations within the community to promote HIV awareness and prevention education. She switched roles in 2018, from HIV to oncology, and currently serves as the Pharmacy Manager of a medically integrated dispensary (MID), a unique pharmacy model responsible for fulfilment of oral oncolytics to patients who receive care at Virginia Cancer Institute, an outpatient cancer treatment and infusion center located in Richmond, VA. The MID model is a blend of clinical and specialty pharmacy, consisting of both clinical and direct patient care roles for pharmacy staff.
During her time as PIC at Progressive Pharmacy Care, Sharita has spent time in both clinical and operational capacities. She created standard operating and workflow procedures, thus streamlining the medication fill process, while creating a robust system which mitigates financial toxicity, while promoting adherence and education for oncology patients. The program at Progressive Pharmacy Care implements clinical evaluation, education, adverse event monitoring, and monthly patient follow up to empower patients during the course of their oncolytic treatment. Sharita encourages her pharmacy staff to create safe spaces to allow patients to share their experiences with their cancer therapy, which allows the pharmacy to play a vital role, outside of dispensing, in the patient’s cancer care.
Sharita works closely with the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association ( NCODA) serving in a capacity promoting quality initiatives for patients and other healthcare providers. She also serves as a consultant for other pharmacist and oncology practices utilizing the MID model.
Shiddharth Patel, PharmD
I enjoy working in a local independent community pharmacy. For me it's about the compassion and empathy in simply listening and smiling. Take care of the patients like they're family. It's our community, so let's keep it healthy.
Whitney Work, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP
Whitney Work, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP is a clinical oncology pharmacy specialist currently working at SCL health St. Mary’s Cancer Center in Grand Junction, CO. She has been working in oncology over 9 years and is very passionate about the role that pharmacists can play in helping patients with cancer manage their treatment and side effects.
Whitney earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences at The Ohio State University and Doctor of Pharmacy degree at The University of Oklahoma – Tulsa campus. She completed a PGY1 residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri and PGY2 in oncology pharmacy at the University of Kansas Health System. Since completion of her residency training, she has worked in a wide variety of oncology care settings including inpatient hematology/oncology/BMT, outpatient oncology ambulatory clinics, and outpatient infusion/IV room.
Currently, she works as an oncology pharmacist within an outpatient oncology ambulatory clinic at St. Mary’s Cancer Center. Her primary role is managing patients on oral chemotherapy regimens through drug delivery, copay assistance, education and symptom management. Whitney works closely with patients, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and other members of a multidisciplinary team to monitor toxicities and adverse effects related to oral chemotherapy agents. As the role for oral chemotherapy agents are becoming more prevalent in the world of oncology treatment, it is important to have a member of the team who is knowledgeable of all aspects of oral chemotherapy. In addition to her role in the oral chemotherapy realm, Whitney has also created a collaborative practice at her practice site that will create a pharmacist led smoking cessation clinic. This smoking cessation clinic will involve visits with pharmacist to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy or other smoking cessation agents in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy with a social worker.
Outside of the clinic, Whitney enjoys baking, running, hiking with her golden retrievers, skiing with her husband and enjoying all the outdoor activities that the western slope of Colorado has to offer.