For most college students, summer break brings a long-awaited time to relax, but for Kareem Karara PharmD’11, summer means attending congressional hearings, meeting with federal regulatory agencies, and researching issues that affect pharmacists nationwide.
Karara, the Student Government Association’s VP of public safety, has been selected by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) to serve as a Paul G. Cano Legislative Intern. The internship offers pharmacy students experience and training in federal and state legislative and regulatory advocacy, a chance to see first-hand how politics shape pharmacists’ practice across the nation, and opportunities to participate in networking activities with fellow ASCP interns and staff.
The coveted position is normally offered to only one pharmacy student in the country, but this year, ASCP selected two interns. For the duration of the eight-week program Karara will work on Capitol Hill, where he’ll focus on pharmacy practice issues, Medicare Part D, long-term care, e-prescribing, medication therapy management, and other current health policy issues.
The ASCP explains that “with new federal and state regulations governing every aspect of pharmacy practice, it is more critical than ever for pharmacists to stay informed of policy developments in Washington, D.C., and around the country.” In memory of Paul G. Cano, ASCP’s former director of government affairs, ASCP has maintained a legislative internship position since 1993. For more information on the internship, please visit
http://ascp.com/student/canointernship.cfm.