This letter of intent is to confirm my interest in the PQA scholarship program and to propose a project on quality measure. The objective of this study is to describe the prevalence of drug-related problems in the elderly patients by the severity level and its impact on healthcare system. The research team will consist of myself, Bao Tran Luu and my mentor, Dr. Sharon Park. I believe that this research opportunity will facilitate both my short and long term career aspirations. My short term goal is to obtain a PGY-1 residency followed by a PGY2 residency in one of my interest areas in order to further develop my clinical and leadership skills. My interests include medication safety and infectious disease. I would like a wide variety of experiences in order to enhance my skills, and the opportunity to conduct my own research. My long term goal is to seek a position where I can teach and maintain a clinical practice especially for the underserve population.
I am passionate about pharmacy practice. In fact, I have had a number of exciting and rewarding experiences during my IPPE rotations and while working as a pharmacy intern at US Pharmacopeia last summer. During my time there, I delved into the USP Drug Classification project as part of Healthcare Quality and Safety. Not only that I was able to participate in expert committee meetings, stayed in the forefront of setting health care quality standards but also I have developed a strong passion for transformative care and quality improvement. Since then, I decided that this is an area that I wanted to contribute to, focusing especially on quality measure. These experiences have motivated me to apply for this research opportunity. I believe that I have the skills, motivation, and dedication necessary to achieve the objective of this project. By being an advocate for change and quality improvement I believe it will give me the ability to improve quality care, understand the health system better, and find ways to ultimately advance the health care system as a future pharmacist.
The health care system is currently experiencing a major shift from a volume-based, to a value-based payment system, making it more challenging to improve quality. In addition, there is now overwhelming evidence that significant numbers of patients are harmed from drug related problems either resulting in permanent injury, increased length of stay in hospitals and even death but many of these errors could be prevented through the pharmacist’s intervention. Furthermore, medication management and patient safety are also core duties of pharmacists who are well-equipped to fulfill the responsibilities. As quality measurement continues to grow in the health system, I realize pharmacists can play a key role in contributing to their practice and potentially receive reimbursement for their efforts. However, the financial burden of collecting data is a huge barrier for healthcare providers to integrate quality measurement into their practice. Some major expenses include the cost of data collection software, electronic health record technology, and employee salaries associated with analyzing the data. For that reason, I believe this project can provide valuable information for healthcare professional, hence improving service delivery to patients while decreasing costs.
I believe a good mentor will help me define my research goals and provide support in my journey to achieve them. Through my Clinical Research Design course at Notre Dame of Maryland University, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sharon Park. Dr. Park’s passion for our profession is truly inspiring. She has already accomplished a lot to help advance patient care and continues to go above and beyond to expand the role of pharmacists. She not only cares for her student but also provide constructive feedback to encourage discussion and allow future learning to take place. I knew I had a lot to learn from her. I highly value our mentoring relationship because not only do we share the same passion for our profession but we share a desire to always go beyond our limits to maximize our potential. As a Drug information and medication policy clinical specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Sharon Park is an expert in this filed, and I am confident she will be able to offer me excellent guidance and advice. In the midst of challenges, I know I can rely on my mentor for words of reassurance or advice. I want to contribute to our profession to the best of my ability and having a mentor like Dr. Park can definitely help me meet this goal.
