Nicole Omecene

Her Story

Dr. Omecene received her PharmD from Temple University School of Pharmacy located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2015. She went on to complete a PGY-1 in Pharmacy Practice at the University of Maryland Medical Center followed by a PGY-2 in Pediatric Pharmacy at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, Maryland. She achieved board certification in pediatric pharmacy in 2017. She currently practices in pediatric ambulatory care in the Pediatric Pulmonology Division of the Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHOR), specializing in pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) and pediatric asthma. She is currently an assistant professor of pediatric pharmacy in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Sciences at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy.

Overview of Facility/Health System

The VCU School of Pharmacy is part of the VCU Health System (VCUHS) Health Sciences Campus and among the top-ranked pharmacy schools in the country. The CHOR at VCU is a teaching hospital within VCUHS. The outpatient Children's Pavilion treats children across that state of Virginia in a variety of disease states and all levels of care. The Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center offers a well-established interdisciplinary care team that cares for approximately 80 children and their families in Central Virginia. The Pediatric Pulmonology Division was ranked nationally by the 2020-2021 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals.

Significant Projects

Within her clinical practice, Dr. Omecene established a novel practice site in the pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center in 2017 followed by a novel practice in the pediatric pulmonology division in 2020. She received a grant to extend pharmacy services to include a pharmacy technician as part of the CF care team in 2019. She is involved in improving patient care through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cystic Fibrosis Learning Network and the Success With Therapies Research Consortium. She is involved in various quality improvement initiatives and clinical research within pediatric cystic fibrosis and pediatric pharmacy, as well as scholarly work through her faculty position at the VCU School of Pharmacy.

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area

My advice to someone new to pediatric cystic fibrosis is to take the time to learn the disease state and patient population. It is also very important to spend ample time developing relationships with patients and caregivers. CF is a very complex disease with exciting and rapidly expanding pharmacotherapy. Evidence is frequently limited, especially in pediatrics, so having a network of pharmacists to share experiences with is crucial to being successful and providing optimal care to these patients.

What is your current involvement with ASHP?

Dr. Omecene is currently serving a second term as a member of the Pediatric Section Advisory Group. She often serves as a field tester for Pediatric Pharmacy recertification activities as well as a reviewer of student and resident CVs in the CV review program.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?

In the past, I was an active member of one of the Pharmacy Student Forum Advisory Groups and began networking with our students across the country. This translated into building upon and establishing new relationships with colleagues across the country with similar interests as mine. ASHP consistently provides me with opportunities to act as a leader in the profession as well as provides important tools to continue my professional development. I firmly believe that my involvement with ASHP over the years has helped me to achieve my career goals and I enjoy the opportunity to give back to my profession through service to ASHP.

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

ASHP is an extensive network of leaders in the profession who hope to continue to advance and improve patient care through pharmacy-centric solutions and services.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

ASHP provides a multitude of educational, leadership, professional development, and advocacy opportunities and efforts that help to advance our profession in a myriad of ways. As a residency-trained pharmacist, I believe they have single-handedly increased not only the number of residency programs and positions available but also the quality of those programs. It also provides networking and resource sharing that is unmatched within the pharmacy profession.