Sharks Rx Spring 2018 | NSU College of Pharmacy

important, but there are so many other things that will affect your patients, like payment and reimbursement and changing technology,” he said. One of the many ways pharmacists can serve is in an accountable care organization (ACO), which works with physicians to improve patient health and save money. The ACO focuses medical groups’ efforts on patients with hypertension, asthma, diabetes, and other conditions that improve when patients are shown how to care for themselves. “If you can lower their spending by 2 or 3 percent, they give you a bonus,” O’Brien said. He also told them about his own lessons in humility, quoting one of the Kappa Psi rules “There is no duty too large or too small.” “Don’t think you’re too big to answer a telephone or make copies,” O’Brien added. He confessed that he learned this lesson the hard way. When someone asked him the difference between an intern and a fellow, he shot back, “I’m a fellow. I don’t make copies.” His manager overheard the flip remark and informed him the next day that he did indeed make copies. Working in Washington, D.C., provided unique experi- ences. One day, another boss wanted him to get off the phone and run an errand. O’Brien refused to hang up. Later, defending his apparently rude behavior in the boss’s office, he explained that he couldn’t hang up in the middle of briefing the surgeon general of the United States on a sterile syringe program for drug users. “That was an experience most students don’t have, an experience beyond anything I would have expected,” he said. Even at the top of the heap in his field, O’Brien remains just a little starstruck. Besides having photos of himself with Jeb Bush, former vice president Joe Biden, and former secretary of health and human services Tom Price, he admitted to being thrilled just bumping into another former secretary of health and human services, Donna Shalala, in the hall at work. Later, he got his photo taken with her, too. Pharmacy is changing rapidly, and pharmacists need to concentrate on the big picture for the sake of their own professional futures, O’Brien said. “I don’t want you to be in the place where your livelihood goes away because of technological innovation. I want you to create the new opportunity or ride the wave of that opportunity,” he explained.After his speech, O’Brien good-naturedly remained for 30 minutes of posing with the students for group photos, including making the NSU Shark fin sign with raised arms. Because he was president of NSU’s inaugural chapter of Kappa Psi, he sported what he called an “old-school” Kappa Psi pin on his lapel. “He gave us a different perspective on the pharmacy profession,” said Raju Rajan, a third-year pharmacy student and a member of the dean’s ambassador student group, which represents the dean at events and networks with alumni. “He showed us the business and financial aspect. He also showed us how much innovation there is and how any of us can do it,” he added. John Michael O’Brien chats with Tom Price, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the Capitol. “Hard work, perseverance, and time- management skills are key ingredients for success.” —Yesenia Prados, Pharm.D.