Interview with Renu Lal, PharmD - Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
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Renu Lal, PharmD, is a Team Lead in the\\xa0Division of Drug Information (DDI)\\xa0within the Food and Drug Administration/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research/Office of Communications. Along with directly communicating with the public, the Division is responsible for many initiatives and outreach programs such as the\\xa0CDER Small Business and Industry Assistance (SBIA)\\xa0Program;\\xa0\\xa0FDA Drug Info Rounds video;\\xa0\\xa0Drug Safety podcasts;\\xa0\\xa0Drug Information Soundcast in Clinical Oncology (D.I.S.C.O.),\\xa0Webinars for healthcare professionals and students,\\xa0and more.\\xa0\\xa0Renu is an officer in the\\xa0Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (U.S. PHS), a uniformed service committed to protecting, promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the nation.
Mentioned in this episode
United States Public Health Service (U.S. PHS)
JRCOSTEP and SRCOSTEP Programs for students
Drug Information Soundcast in Clinical Oncology (D.I.S.C.O.)\\xa0
Small Business and Industry Assistance (SBIA) Chronicles Podcast
FDA Drug Info Rounds Video Series
Webinars for healthcare professionals and students
Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy \\xa0
The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy\\xa0
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons)
NIH (National Institutes of Health)
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
CDERLearn (CDER Learn Training and Education)
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Dr. Renu Lal\\u2019s path from pharmacy school to the U.S. Public Health Service was not a direct one.\\xa0 She earned her BS Degree in Pharmacy from UCONN in 1998.\\xa0 Then, she earned her Post-Bac PharmD from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in 2000.\\xa0 Renu did not know what she wanted to do with her PharmD when she graduated.\\xa0 According to Renu, \\u201cIt\\u2019s ok to not know and make it up as you go along.\\u201d\\xa0 She spent time in community practice as a floater, then entered the U.S. PHS.\\xa0 Her PHS service was interrupted briefly when she left PHS to join a clinical regulatory team at Genentech in San Francisco, CA.\\xa0 When that role ended, she rejoined PHS.\\xa0 As of October 2021, her total service time is approximately 10 years. \\xa0
While in her undergrad program at UCONN, Renu learned about PHS.\\xa0 A speaker from the Indian Health Service spoke to her class.\\xa0 After finishing her BS Degree in Pharmacy, Renu joined the U.S. PHS as a JRCOSTEP and completed a paid, 4-month rotation at a Psych Hospital in SE DC called St. Elizabeth\\u2019s Hospital. She loved the experience and thought it was amazing!\\xa0
Students can join either the JRCOSTEP Program or the SRCOSTEP Program.\\xa0 Both are paid positions with benefits.\\xa0 Visit https://www.usphs.gov/students/ to learn more. \\xa0
During our conversation, I talked about my experience with PHS at the Federal Bureau of Prisons.\\xa0 I did an 8-week rotation at FCI Milan during the last semester of my BS Pharm Degree program at The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy in 2001.\\xa0 My pharmacist in charge was creative and resourceful, and she did amazing things with a small formulary.\\xa0 I learned a lot from her and that experience.\\xa0 I wanted to join the Navy upon graduation, but I was medically disqualified due to asthma.
The United States Public Health Service (U.S. PHS) is led by the Surgeon General of the U.S. and is more than 200 years old.\\xa0 It is one of eight uniformed services and is the only one dedicated solely to protecting and advancing America\\u2019s Public Health.\\xa0 As a U.S. PHS Officer, Renu is first in line to defend America from public health threats, including deploying for public health emergencies.\\xa0 She has deployed many times and provided essential healthcare to underserved and vulnerable populations.\\xa0 The U.S. Public Health Service used to be \\u201cpharmacy\\u2019s best kept secret,\\u201d but that\\u2019s not true anymore because PHS has played a prominent role in response to COVID.\\xa0
As a PHS Officer, there is an opportunity to serve in many HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) agencies.\\xa0 Examples include IHS (Indian Health Service), BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons), NIH (National Institutes of Health), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), and others.\\xa0 Being an Officer makes it easy to transfer among agencies.
According to Renu, PHS Officer benefits are great!\\xa0 They are on the military pay scale with paid vacation, retirement benefits (with minimum of 20 years of service), medical benefits, the GI Bill and more.\\xa0 To learn more about age restrictions and eligibility requirements to serve, visit https://www.usphs.gov. \\xa0
Resources that DDI (Department of Drug Information) offers
Podcasts \\xa0
- FDA Drug Safety Podcasts
- Drug Information Soundcast in Clinical Oncology \\u201cD.I.S.C.O.\\u201d \\xa0
- SBIA Chronicles (trending regulatory topics)
Drug Info Rounds educational videos featuring DDI pharmacists \\xa0
CDER Learn - portal for all CE activities.\\xa0 Webinars and podcasts are there. \\xa0
We concluded the interview with Renu\\u2019s advice for currently-practicing or newly graduated pharmacists:\\xa0 Do and learn what interests you, and the rest will fall into place. \\xa0
Thank you for listening to The Pharmacist\\u2019s Voice \\xae Podcast Episode 123!
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