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Atlanta, GA | Posted: September 26, 2017
Summary Sentence:
Learn more about the Stamps Health Services Pharmacy Manager, Nina Thoman and why she loves working at Georgia Tech!
Full Summary:
Learn more about the Stamps Health Services Pharmacy Manager, Nina Thoman and why she loves working at Georgia Tech!
Nina ThomanWhere did you attend school?
I received my Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Mercer University College of Pharmacy in 2001.
How long have you been a staff member at Georgia Tech?
5 years
Why did you decide to pursue a career as a pharmacist?
My mother always stressed to my siblings and I how important it was for us to get a good education. In high school I worked at the local Kmart, and one summer the pharmacy manager approached my supervisor requesting to borrow someone to cover his pharmacy technician’s vacation. My Kmart supervisor suggested me, so I spent several weeks throughout the summer working in the pharmacy. I was very impressed with the pharmacist’s level of compassion he showed everyone who came to the pharmacy needing prescriptions or simply to ask a question, so I decided to get a job as a pharmacy technician while completing my undergraduate studies. It was then that I realized how rewarding a pharmacy career could be.
What do you love most about your job?
I love my interaction with patients. I thoroughly enjoyed my previous 12 years as a Publix pharmacist, but I have realized since coming to Stamps Health Services that patient education is one of the most important aspects of my job. I particularly enjoy working with this particular age group of patients as it is an education focused experience involving both their medications as well as personal responsibility. In the college healthcare setting, I am able to see the patients evolve from the time their parents drop them off to the time they graduate!
How have you seen SHS evolve throughout your time here?
The pharmacy has evolved quite significantly since I came to SHS in 2012. The SHS Pharmacy now processes over 1,000 insurance plans and administers vaccines! Initiating insurance billing was rather time consuming, but it has been very well received by students, parents, staff, and faculty. Our pharmacists are all Certified Immunizers, thus allowing us to vaccinate staff and faculty on campus as well. I think it is of utmost importance as healthcare evolves for all healthcare professionals to utilize the opportunities provided to us legally to provide superior patient care.
What have you learned from the people you work with at SHS?
Working at SHS has been a wonderful experience! I have learned how to educate our patient population in a positive manner in order to encourage them to be more responsible for their medical care.
With flu season here, what common misconceptions about the flu shot would you like to debunk?
The flu shot we administer at SHS is an inactivated, or dead, vaccine which means it is unable to cause the flu illness.
What do you like to do when you are not at SHS?
I enjoy relaxing on my porch swing which I built two summers ago!
