Pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare providers. Community pharmacies offer extended hours and pharmacists rarely require appointments for their services compared to primary and specialist medical care providers. With the switch from BS Pharm to PharmD degree in the early 2000s came legislative changes that widened the pharmacist’s scope from more traditional dispensing tasks to more complex activities like immunization administration, contraceptive prescribing and most recently, COVID-19 testing and therapeutics under the Health and Human Services PREP Act. This presentation will highlight some of the novel and often overlooked elements of pharmacist scope of practice. We will use pharmacist contraceptive prescribing and the PREP Act to highlight some of the opportunities and challenges encompassing pharmacist scope of practice and its impact on the larger healthcare system.
Sarah Lynch, PharmD, BCACP
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Skills Education
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Sarah Lynch, PharmD, BCACP, is a clinical associate professor and the director of skills education at Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She completed a PGY-1 in Community Pharmacy with Albertsons Companies and Midwestern University and specializes in community practice. She practices at Wegmans Pharmacy in Johnson City, NY where she participates in immunizations, medication therapy management services and health screenings. Her research interests include women’s health, pharmacy policy and pharmacy education.
Food equity includes the right to food that is culturally appropriate. That right is challenged in immigrant neighborhoods where the participants and spaces of food production, distribution, and consumption are contested. Manhattan’s Chinatown is a prime example of a neighborhood where food is central to its commerce, cultural heritage, and reputation as a tourist destination, yet the number of food distributors, restaurants, and street vendors in this historically low-income community have been declining due to gentrification, xenophobia, and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. The grassroots response to this crisis is a reminder that people have the power to use food to assert the society that they desire, to shape a highly contested urban space, and to claim their right to the city.
Valerie Imbruce, Ph.D.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Director, External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center
Affiliated Faculty and Research Associate, Environmental Studies
Bio: Valerie Imbruce is the Director of the External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center and affiliated faculty of the Environmental Studies Program at Binghamton University. Her research focuses on the influence of immigration on food systems and food equity. Her educational initiatives include the development of research skills for undergraduate and underrepresented students through place-based education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and honors programs supported by the National Science Foundation, US Department of Education, and National Endowment of the Humanities.