Erin Wei

Her Story

Dr. Wei received both her BS Pharmaceutical Sciences and PharmD degrees from the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She then went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at the University of Washington Medicine, where her longitudinal HIV clinic experience fueled an interest in both infectious diseases and primary care, and a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at Duke University Hospital shortly afterwards. Dr. Wei's first post-residency job is at Emory University Hospital Midtown as a clinical pharmacy specialist in the pulmonology clinics, where she provides pharmaceutical care to the adult cystic fibrosis team and pulmonary arterial hypertension program today. She finds her practice very rewarding, and loves working within multiple teams to advocate for her patients. She aims to always be a compassionate clinician, researcher, and educator in her career.

Describe the facility where you work (eg. Is it a teaching hospital? Health Center?

Emory Healthcare has multiple teaching and community hospitals within the healthcare system. Dr. Wei's practice site is based primarily out of The Emory Clinic, at both the Clifton and Executive Park campuses. The Emory Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program has about 350 consistent outpatients while the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Program has about 100 outpatients annually.

Recent Significant Projects

I am one of several team members involved in creating a protocol to address abnormal hepatic labs in patients taking CFTR modulators. This protocol is expected to standardize and optimize current practices between Emory/Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's pediatric cystic fibrosis clinic and Emory's adult cystic fibrosis clinic. Additionally, I am also collaborating with our specialty pharmacy team for other exciting new initiatives, such as starting a medication concierge service for cystic fibrosis patients.

Initial Involvement in ASHP

I am a member of the ASHP Ambulatory Care Practitioners' Section Advisory Group on Clinical Practice Advancement.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?

I first joined as a pharmacy student when I realized that I was interested in pursuing clinical pharmacy opportunities. ASHP has been valuable throughout my post-graduate residency years in providing professional development tools and networking opportunities, and I decided it was time for me to contribute back to ASHP as a full-time pharmacist.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area

Keep an open mind, and never take failure personally. Understand the value that you bring to your team, and know your limitations as well. Be willing to learn from everybody you meet, and don't ever give up on learning. To do well in this career, you should be adaptable to new situations, embrace stepping outside of your comfort zone from time to time, and make friends (not enemies!) wherever you go. Connections go a long way in a small world like pharmacy.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?

ASHP is famous not only for its many nifty tools and resources (i.e. drug shortage alerts, example CVs, residency directory), but also as a space for health-system pharmacists to connect and discuss important topics that affect us today. As a student, I was able to learn more about health-system pharmacy and residency as a whole through my school's ASHP chapter and from American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP). As a resident, I was able to find my current position through ASHP Midyear via personnel placement service (PPS). ASHP can really open up doors for new practitioners and aspiring students.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

ASHP acts as the voice and face for health-system pharmacists across the nation. If you want your profession to be represented well, now is the time to step up and get involved as early as possible.