May 2024 Diplomat Spotlight - Jennifer Harris, PharmD

How did you become involved in AMCP?
I became involved in AMCP as a PY3 when I wanted to learn more about managed care and had no real resources for doing it. We didn’t have a local chapter, so I attended a national meeting and went to as many educational sessions as I could.

What interested you the most about managed care and ultimately led you to pursue a career in managed care pharmacy?
I had a great interest in making an impact on populations and the unique opportunity to lean in and impact populations that have historically been underserved at a large scale. Also, the opportunity to understand the health care system from the health plan and PBM perspective has been integral in my foundational knowledge of health care as a whole.

What was your first job or position in managed care?
My first role was as a PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Resident and from there I had various roles with Provider Engagement and Value Based Care.

What does a typical day or week look like in your current role?
I am currently an Oncology Field Medical Director at Pfizer where I work with Payers in medical exchange around the entire Pfizer oncology portfolio of products and related disease states.

What type of interactions have you had with your AMCP student chapter or school of pharmacy?
I absolutely love seeing the future leaders of manage care running the chapters because I know they’re going to be driving health care for the future. I really operate as a support and guide—making sure the chapter leaders have the resources they need to see their vision through for the year.

Words of advice?
I know that at the end of pharmacy school a lot of students are transitioning to the full-time workforce for the very first time. I encourage everyone to really use your experiential rotations to understand what is important to you in a professional career and what you want every day to look like for you—what’s sustainable. It can be easy to be laser focused on exam scores from week to week, but also take some time to learn what you want your life after school to look like. That’s a very personal decision and shouldn’t be driven by what anyone else thinks you should be doing. Start early the exploration early and try to get a variety.