Commencement spotlight: Melvin Vazquez

NEOMED’s 2023 Commencement Ceremony was held Saturday, May 6, at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. Among the graduating class was Melvin Vazquez, who received a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

In his early 20s, Melvin Vazquez, Pharm.D. (‘23), began receiving treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

The problem is, he doesn’t have Type 2 diabetes.

“I was very ignorant to any medication science,” he said. “I tried to do as best as I could with the knowledge that I had.”

But the misdiagnosis disrupted his life. He was too ill to continue working on his studies at John Carroll University, where he was pursuing a business degree. He was unable to drive himself anywhere, so he relied on family and friends to assist with that and other daily tasks.

“My sickness very literally had taken over my entire life for about two and a half years,” he said.

When an episode of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) landed him, once again, in the emergency department, Dr. Vazquez finally found some relief… and a new calling in life.

“It was something like my third episode at that point, and it was very severe,” he recalled. “A pharmacist visited me at bedside and noticed that I wasn't on the right medications. I told him I was a Type 2. He was like, ‘You're definitely not; you're Type 1.’ So this pharmacist came, saw me at bedside, advocated for me, made them switch my diagnosis and put me on the right medications.”

That experience inspired him to pursue a career in pharmacy. When he felt healthy again, he returned to college, this time to pursue a degree in the sciences at Cleveland State University and the Doctor of Pharmacy degree at NEOMED.

Close to Home

Dr. Vazquez is a first-generation college student and the first person in his family to pursue a career in the health professions.

“My parents grew up extremely poor in very rural, mountainous areas in Puerto Rico. When we went this past year as a family, my parents were like, ‘This is my son. He's a doctor.’ They're very supportive and proud,” he said.

When he enrolled in NEOMED’s College of Pharmacy, he opted to remain in his home in Brooklyn, Ohio, on Cleveland’s southwest side, despite the hour-long commute to stay close to his family, who had helped him get through his illness. He and wife, Keila, and daughter, Natalia, live five minutes away from his parents.

He’ll also be completing his PGY-1 residency close to home at UH St. John Medical Center in Westlake, Ohio. His goal is to be a clinical specialist in pediatrics.

"I feel like I thrive in that environment,” he said of working in pediatric pharmacy. “I don't know if it's from being a dad, but when I was in the pediatric intensive care unit for a month [during rotations], I feel like I didn't get scared for the children. I don't know if I just clicked into dad mode, but I was like, okay, we’ve got to see what we’ve got to do and make sure that these kids get the best care possible.”

The NEOMED Experience

Dr. Vazquez found a second support system at NEOMED that helped him get through his studies while staying engaged with his young family. His fellow students thought of his daughter, who was born less than two weeks before the White Coat Ceremony, as “their tiny sister,” he said. Faculty and staff frequently checked in to see how he was coping.

"That really stood out to me,” he said. "Because with the whole COVID situation and my wife working at the time and us trying to figure out daycare situations, like, is a COVID baby too young for daycare? It was a wild ride, and I feel like the teachers always stepped up to really make it happen for me.”

He gained several mentors in the College and during clinical rotations. The experience that had the most memorable impact for him took place while he was volunteering in the Student-Run Free Clinic.

“There were a lot of call outs one day and we didn't have all the support from our other areas. There is usually a very large team, and that day there were not that many people,” he said. “And because of that, I had to take point and be like the fake attending, which doesn't really ever fall on pharmacy.

Stephanie Zampino, Pharm.D. (’18), assistant professor of pharmacy practice, helped him gain the confidence he needed to get through the day.

“I feel like she gave me the courage and the autonomy to really take charge of that situation. That was the first time I actually felt like a fully functioning pharmacist. She wasn't really a mentor of mine at that point; she was assigned to me. And she took it upon herself to really put in me what I needed to bust out of it and trust my pharmacotherapy knowledge.

“When I saw her later, I told her thank you and she didn't even know the impact she had. I feel like that just speaks volume about her character. She knows the struggles of being in the field and how hard you really have to work through it. Sometimes you feel like you need to take a backseat. But she was like, ‘No, we don't take back seats. You're in charge right now.'"

Coming Full Circle

Dr. Vazquez worked on several projects while he was at NEOMED, including work with Petrea Cober, Pharm.D., professor of pharmacy practice, and Liz Frederickson, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences, though he claims he didn’t really pursue research. “It kind of just fell into my lap per se,” he said.

Nevertheless, he was recognized with Outstanding Researcher Award, presented to the student who demonstrates pursuit of research projects, presentations and publication of research results, during the College of Pharmacy Dean’s Reception in May 2023.

“I wouldn't say I’m the best researcher, but when I find a project that I really am passionate about, I will attack it.”

One project that fit the bill was an investigation at UH Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital to improve treatment protocols for DKA.
 
“Obviously I was very passionate about that,” he said, recalling his own experience with the condition. "It was trying to improve the protocol and to get it more streamlined, more precise and more efficient for children who are in a diabetic ketoacidosis state and trying to get them their medications as quickly as possible.”