Name: Yutong Yang
Pharmacy School: University of Washington
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m originally from Beijing, China, and finished my pre-pharmacy school courses in 2017 at the University of Pittsburgh before further completing my Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Washington, School of Pharmacy. I then followed my passion for clinical practice and graduated from a PGY1 program at Lutheran Medical Center in Colorado. I recently became a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist, and my passions in pharmacy now lay in evidence-based medicine, drug information, and innovative healthcare models.
Do you have a fellowship project? What is it about?
The Idaho Immunization Coalition (IIC), affiliated with Idaho State University (ISU), planned to implement a web-based vaccine information site (VIS) for Idaho residents, launched in October of 2021.
I created a VIS webpage and online form allowing individuals to submit vaccine-related inquiries. The webpage, called “ASK THE VAXPERTS,” was published on the ISU and IIC homepage for public access. Along with two ISU College of Pharmacy faculty members and trained students, me and the other “VAXPERTS” are responsible for conducting literature searches and formulating custom responses to inquiries. Inquirers will receive their answers from the “VAXPERTS” through emails, and, if interested, they will be contacted over the phone for follow-up. Data will be used to guide future utilization of VIS and its possible implementation in various clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utilization of this new VIS, which provides consistent and timely answers to layperson-generated, vaccine-related questions and develop a repository of the inquiries for future reference.
What factors did you consider when choosing a fellowship program?
The values and opportunities the program will bring to me regarding my pharmacy passions and future career pathway are essential to choosing a fellowship program that suits me the best. I considered whether a fellowship is solely industry-based or more involved/partnered with healthcare systems or academic centers.
Why did you choose InpharmD’s Fellowship?
My sense of adventure and the willingness to explore new areas made me attracted to InpharmD, a startup space, and innovative digital drug information center. I would love to explore my inner passions in evidence-based medicine. Particularly, InpharmD drew my attention with its partnership with different healthcare systems, providing me the opportunities to expose myself to different practice cultures and topics in pharmacy. I love every new journey and being a trailblazer.
What does a day in the life of an InpharmD Fellow look like?
The majority of my daily life at InpharmD as a Medical Communications fellow is focused on formulating evidence-based responses tailored to specific clinical questions submitted by healthcare providers. As we continue to grow as an organization, we recently received an increasing amount of P&T requests, such as drug monographs, class reviews, and policies. Topic discussions, inquiry defense, query discussions, and Journal Club are scheduled in between to enhance fellow’s knowledge on literature evaluation and medical writing. Another excellent piece is teaching APPE/IPPE as a secondary preceptor to engage them in the world of drug information consistently.
Any advice for future fellows and applicants?
Always keep open-minded to different areas in pharmacy and take ownership of self-growth, as you will never know where life will take you next!
And lastly, tell us a fun fact!
I have been living in four different cities in the United States for the past eight years!
