SPHS 8 16 17 Ramanlal Leadership

Ramanlal Earns Leadership Role Heading Into Final Year of PharmD

Ashna Ramanlal moved from Florida to California in 2014 to enroll in the inaugural class of Keck Graduate Institute’s School of Pharmacy. This month, Ramanlal and her classmates are starting their final year of the PharmD program before the school’s first commencement ceremony in May 2018.

Through Ramanlal’s hard work and KGI’s unprecedented access to industry, she has accumulated experience in various fields of pharmacy. Ramanlal gained work experience in retail with Walgreens and also completed hospital rotations and industry experiences at CVS, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, and Amgen.

Earlier this summer, Ramanlal earned selection as the 2017-2018 Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) Regional Student Officer for the Western region. KGI’s IPhO chapter is steadily increasing its membership and currently includes 45 students.

“Ashna is committed to any responsibilities she takes on,” said Andrea Cooper, who serves as the KGI School of Pharmacy assistant dean and professor of practice. “As a founding officer of the KGI student chapter of IPhO, she demonstrated her commitment to the organization and is well deserving of a larger leadership role in IPhO.”

As a regional officer, Ramanlal will gain valuable skills and leadership experience that will help prepare her for an industry career. Her role involves a wide range of responsibilities, including building relationships with other regional officers and influencing IPhO policies, best practices, and collaboration at the regional and national level.

“I am inspired to succeed in the field of pharmacy because of the variety of opportunities and career options for pharmacists,” Ramanlal said. “I have the potential to personally impact and influence on many levels in whichever pharmacy route I choose.”

As part of her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotation, Ramanlal is part of Shire’s Medical Communications Team with a focus on ophthalmics in Lexington, MA. This marks her second stint with the company as she completed her Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) in Bannockburn, IL with a focus in Shire’s Medical Affairs Advertising and Promotion department.

“Ashna is a very driven student,” Cooper said. “As a future industry pharmacist, I think she has the potential to be a leader on whatever team she is a part of.  In particular, her strong communication skills and ability to execute on projects will be strong assets in her career in industry.”

While at KGI, Ramanlal chose to pursue the Healthcare Management certificate with a focus on the biopharmaceutical industry.

“KGI provides an enormous amount of opportunities because they expose students to the different fields of pharmacy in the first semester,” Ramanlal said. “The certificate of Healthcare Management correlates to my career aspirations since I am highly interested in pursuing a career in pharmaceutical industry.”