Your Path
To Industry
Starts Here

The 2022-23 student leadership term has been incredibly productive and exciting for our IPhO National Student Officers (NSOs) and Regional Student Officers (RSOs). We want to take a moment to thank them for their numerous accomplishments. These leaders worked tirelessly to ensure that all IPhO student pharmacists were well informed about the resources and tools available to them.

Dr. Obi Okafor, PharmD
IQVIA Consultant
IQVIA
LinkedIn Profile

What was your motivation to pursue the pharmaceutical industry as a career path?

My motivation is to help bring new medicines to patients. The pharmaceutical industry provides an ecosystem to learn and discover new things and is dynamic, fast-moving, and at the cutting edge of technology.

Talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the pharmaceutical industry; what should companies be doing to continue making progress?

Develop initiatives that will bring new ideas in. Create workforce pipeline programs with colleges and high schools to directly engage equitable and diverse talent. Encourage on-site visits and gap-year alternatives. Recruit and hire regionally and provide opportunities for students to apply for internships or experiential rotations at all times during the year. These initiatives will help the pharmaceutical sector remain competitive and grow stronger.

In a single weekend, IPhO chapters from across the country gathered for three collaborative events:

• IPhO Philly Chapter Conference, March 31
• IPhO Northeast Regional Meeting (NERM), April 1
• IPhO Purdue Chapter Industry Pharmacist Symposium, April 1

Students worked incredibly hard to plan events offering insightful takeaways and networking opportunities for all industry-minded attendees. And we're pleased to report that all three events achieved their goals! Congratulations to everyone involved.