Reflecting on AMCP Nexus from a scholarship recipient

Zachary Martin, a fourth-year student in the College of Pharmacy, received a scholarship to attend the AMCP Nexus Conference. The award recognizes his active participation in pharmacy school activities and the community to demonstrate extracurricular involvement and leadership skills. He shared his reflections on the conference with The Pulse.

This October, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2024 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. AMCP is a national organization with the mission of improving patient health by ensuring access to efficacious and cost-effective therapies to all patients. Managed care pharmacists fulfill this mission by leveraging their clinical expertise to provide evidence-based, safe and effective care, while ensuring optimal use of health care resources.

At the conference, I was exposed to many trending topics such as high-cost gene and stem cell therapies, GLP-1 utilization, and evolving legal issues. What makes the Nexus conference unique is the emphasis on student pharmacists. This is achieved through a variety of programming including a conference mentorship program, student buddy system, student specific education and a residency showcase.

I became interested in managed care through a series of both planned and unplanned experiences including a health plan internship, research with a managed care organization, an elective course and involvement in developing an AMCP chapter at NEOMED. These experiences have shaped my current career plans of seeking a managed care residency and I believe that attending Nexus may help advance this goal.

During the conference, I networked with many experienced professionals who have found great success in managed care. Everyone I met shared great tips or advice toward navigating the field of managed care and were very supportive towards my journey. Also, attending the residency showcase was a great experience because it allowed me to get to know more about the programs and allowed the programs to get to know a little about me before applications begin. Seats in managed care residencies are limited so it is important to be proactive in seeking opportunities to put yourself out there.

I believe conference attendance is an important part of student’s educational journey and can have a large impact on future careers. Professional conferences are the perfect place to stay up to date with trending topics, recent advances in evidence-based practices, and to work on soft skills such as networking. Pharmacy is a small world, so it pays off to establish a large network with pharmacists and other students. Pharmacists take great pride in their careers and are eager to share their experiences and insight with students. However, conference attendance can be quite pricey. Luckily, most organizations provide travel scholarships at both the national and local levels to help students. For AMCP Nexus, I was awarded a travel scholarship from the local AMCP affiliate, which I was very honored to receive. The award helped to cover a lot of the cost of attendance and made it much more affordable, even on a student budget. Overall, AMCP Nexus was an invaluable experience, furthering my understanding of managed care and supporting my career aspirations in this field.