February Recap 2023: In Case You Missed It! (Plus Important Updates)

For anyone who may have missed some of our February articles, below you'll find a quick summary with key takeaways from each post!

We'll be creating this monthly post for our paid subscribers, and we'll also be sharing a number of fun things that are more personal, interesting, and meant to create a closer community around RxTeach. We hope you enjoy it! If you're only interested in our free content, that's great! We will never put up a paywall for all of our posts. With that in mind, if you want to help fund some exciting research efforts, this is your chance! From this point forward, all profits will be donated to help fund efforts in Alzheimer's and cancer research. We're excited about this chance to contribute to some of the research efforts that we care about most and we genuinely hope you consider contributing! There will be much more paid subscriber content coming out for those that are particularly interested and we'll still be covering our standard topics as well.

Article Recaps

The Fountain of Youth:

• Many trials around NMN have supported the idea that it causes increased NAD+ levels in the blood, potential increases in aerobic muscular endurance, and maintenance of blood biologic age in study participants
• NMN is one of the most potent precursors to NAD+ in the body and it can be found in foods like broccoli, avocados, cabbage, edamame, and cucumbers
• In a recent study, participants aged 40-60 were given supplemental NMN in doses of 300 mg, 600 mg, and 900 mg daily and showed statistically significant improvement in a six-minute walking test by walking further than participants that took a placebo for 60 days
• Many supplement companies see NMN as a goldmine in terms of what it can offer to the market and their own pockets — News flash! They only want your money, so hold it tight!

Residency Application Timeline:

• A pharmacy residency is one path to take after graduation. The timeline for applying and interviewing is quite lengthy - 8 months - and it is recommended to start searching for programs sooner rather than later.
• ASHP provides guidance and a timeline to follow that is updated each year for candidates to use.
• Key steps include: program research, letters of intent, navigating the online application system (PhORCAS), interviews, and match day.

Transplant Pharmacy:

• Pharmacists are needed in many aspects of patient care, and especially in vulnerable patient populations such as solid organ transplantation.
• Care areas that pharmacists play a crucial role in: drug interactions, infections, protocol development, quality improvement, patient education, drug information questions, cost-saving initiatives, pharmacokinetics, and more!
• To best prepare for a career in transplant pharmacy (or if this career field interests you), find a practicing transplant pharmacist and ask for opportunities. There is always an opportunity to get your foot in the door and see if transplant pharmacy is where your interests lie.

Fellowship vs Residency:

• Fellow and resident salaries are comparable, though fellows tend to make slightly more than residents on average
• Residents tend to work more hours and more holidays than fellows and they do not work remotely
• There is a larger variety of fellowships compared to residencies, but there are more residency programs than fellowship programs
• Residents get to work directly with patients, and there's generally no patient care involved in a fellowship

Things we're thinking about, consuming, or find interesting:

Brentsen:

• Favorite podcast episode: During a whiskey-fueled conversation with my father-in-law in which all major topics were covered (causes of classism, how to smoke a brisket, and the philosophy behind zero-drop footwear) I was introduced to the podcast Hardcore History. If you're interested in hearing about some of the most significant and entertaining historical recountings available to your ears, I highly recommend it. Dan Carlin, who narrates the podcast, has a voice incredibly analogous to that of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. "Why so serious?" It's a fantastic combination.