Article written by Jack Poe.
For some people, the start of summer was set aside to plan for vacations and spend time with friends, but not for Belmont student Nadia Al Dahiri. Instead, she was preparing for her prestigious AMCP/Pfizer Managed Care Summer Internship at Independent Health.
Many were considered for this internship but only a few were selected.
Al Dahiri knew this summer was a golden opportunity to invest a substantial amount of time in a field in which she had significant interest. Wanting to pursue a non-traditional path, she searched far and wide and eventually found this incredible opportunity through the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO). Her interest in this internship began when she saw an opportunity to build connections and grow as a person.
The 10-week program exposes future leaders to managed care pharmacy principles, medication therapy management and much more. With an enthusiastic passion for managed care pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry, Al Dahiri said the AMCP/Pfizer and IH summer internship has taught her more than she could have imagined about nuanced concepts in managed care that she would have not been able to learn elsewhere.
Her journey at Belmont started because of the beautiful campus, the faculty and the excellent program. As time went on, her love for Belmont grew even larger, and if she had to do the college experience over again, she said, “I would choose Belmont time and time again.”
Belmont was not only a place that was close to her heart but also a pivotal factor that set her up for success in her internship. Many helped her throughout the journey, but she gave special thanks to Assistant Professor Dr. Genevieve Ness Engle, who taught her P1 Drug Information Class, which equipped her with the most beneficial skillset throughout this internship.
Al Dahiri said Belmont exposed her to a wide variety of pharmacy topics and assignments that mirrored her projects in the internship. Due to her Belmont education, she noticed she was able to engage more when attending Pfizer educational sessions in comparison to some of her peers. She credited Belmont for preparing for this internship, saying, “I would not have been this prepared if I was not a student at Belmont.”
Al Dahiri hopes to broaden her professional network at a national level with this internship. She would like to be exposed to all different pharmacy-related departments within IH, Pfizer and AMCP. She would love to represent Belmont University at a national level in the world of managed care and hopes this internship allows her to do so.
With what is already a successful start to her pharmacy career, Al Dahiri hopes to pursue post-graduate training. This internship is not the pinnacle of her career, it is only the beginning.
