A new collaboration between the the School’s Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy student organization and Navitus Health Solutions offers PharmD students a chance to make connections and explore new fields
By Logan Underwood
“I recall the impacts that mentors had on me and consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to be a mentor,” says Marnie Wickizer (PharmD ‘03), clinical services director at Navitus Health Solutions.
Jay Eickman (PharmD ’16), Wickizer, and their colleagues — and fellow University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni at Navitus — have helped build a new collaboration to pair the School’s PharmD students with Navitus mentors in various fields.
These pharmacy students are a part of the School’s Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter, an association focused on connecting students interested in managed care pharmacy to new opportunities and experiences.
“Once I experienced managed care pharmacy on a clinical rotation in pharmacy school, it was a paradigm shift for me.”
—Jay Eickman
While many mentorship opportunities are available for School of Pharmacy students, Eickman, clinical prior authorizations manager at Navitus, saw an opportunity for a specific concentration on managed care pharmacy mentorship. He recognized the value his colleagues from Navitus could bring to students interested in this particular area of pharmacy.
“Once I experienced managed care pharmacy on a clinical rotation in pharmacy school, it was a paradigm shift for me,” says Eickman. “It had everything I was looking for in a career.”
As an AMCP state delegate and School of Pharmacy alum, Eickman decided to reach out to the UW–Madison AMCP student chapter, led by faculty advisor Kevin Look, associate professor in the Social and Administrative Sciences Division. After mutual interest from the association, Eickman worked with then-AMCP chapter president Austin Stark (PharmD ’23) to pair Navitus mentors with eager student pharmacist mentees. Most recently, Eickman worked with fourth-year PharmD student Alan Albrecht, 2023–24 president.
Along with organizing fundraisers and networking with pharmacists across the country, Albrecht serves as the student organizer for the AMCP mentorship program. Although the program was initially created in 2022, Albrecht has worked to expose more students to the program’s benefits in 2024.
When a student signs up, the prospective mentee can rank their interests in specific fields. Then, Eickman matches them to mentors who have experience in that area of their interest. The mentors are then able to connect students with internships, interview skill practice, and general career guidance.
“The most important aspect of this program to me is getting advice on how to make myself a well-rounded pharmacist and a competitive applicant for residencies,” says fourth-year PharmD student Michael Milani, AMCP chapter senator.
Flexible, customized guidance
Third-year PharmD student Jacob Whitbeck, 2024–25 AMCP chapter president and one of the AMCP mentees, has been participating in the program for a year, and he’s gained an internship position with Navitus’ Formulary Operations Team and a meaningful relationship with mentor Hanna Henschel (PharmD ‘17), senior manager of formulary operations.
“It has been nothing short of beneficial for me on my journey into the managed care realm,” says Whitbeck, who plans to practice as a managed care pharmacist after graduation. “I am enjoying how much of a learning experience it has been.”
Through his work with the Navitus team, Whitbeck has gotten hands-on experience while working on Henschel’s formulary operations projects. Additionally, he has been able to explore different departments that interest him.
Likewise, Milani, who is weighing a future career in either ambulatory care or managed care, was able to shadow Wickizer and gain direct experience to learn what being a managed care pharmacist is like.
While the mentors are focused on managed care, the program is structured to support the students throughout their future careers, wherever that takes them.
“Marnie was very interested in me as a person and a student, and how she could help me in my future, even if that did not include working in the same field she currently works in,” says fourth-year PharmD student Evan Slonac, who plans to pursue a residency or practice in administration or managed care.
Wickizer also serves as a mentor to fourth-year PharmD student Steven Do, who says the guidance has been pivotal to his career trajectory.
“Marnie has been a remarkable mentor in supporting my goals by encouraging me to critically reflect on my experiences, providing strategies to explore future opportunities, and facilitating networking opportunities with professionals in the field,” Do says. “This experience has solidified my interest in pursuing postgraduate opportunities in pharmacy administration and Health Economics and Outcomes Research, with the goal of developing and evaluating pharmacy services that affect patient health at a population level.”
“The most important aspect of this program to me is getting advice on how to make myself a well-rounded pharmacist and a competitive applicant for residencies.”
—Michael Milani
While designing the mentorship program, Eickman wanted to emphasize flexibility that allows students to dip their toes into many different aspects of managed care, such as formulary management, medication therapy management, and more. Once mentees and mentors are matched, they are encouraged to have an initial meeting to discuss overall career goals and interests.
From there, mentees are able to communicate freely with the mentors in order to ask questions, receive advice, and practice their skills. In turn, mentors can reach out with new opportunities. Throughout, the mentees are encouraged to dive into new opportunities and specialties. The program’s adaptable nature allows the mentees to gain the specific support they’re interested in.
“We give them resources and some engaging discussion topics to be sort of a guideline for them,” says Eickman. “But I think the most successful relationships kind of grow off into their own direction.”
A two-way street
While most people associate pharmacy with clinical settings, community practice, and white coats, managed care pharmacy occupies an entirely different space within the field.
“We’re not working with patients; we’re not working with actual tangible drugs. We are really more of a business,” says Henschel. “We are in office settings with business hours and a more back-end role in the pharmacy world.”
The AMCP mentorship program helps PharmD students to explore this sphere of pharmacy, which can feel worlds apart from ambulatory care or community pharmacy, while providing a mentor who can guide them throughout their early career.
Although most of the AMCP mentors have been paired with their mentees within the past year, many have already forged meaningful connections and hope to stay in contact after the PharmD students graduate. The mentors have also found this teaching opportunity as a chance to learn.
“I think that the best way to learn is often by teaching,” says mentor and senior clinical account executive Kate Smat (PharmD ‘20). “They ask really insightful questions; it’s definitely a two-way street.”
Helping guide the AMCP students has given the mentors at Navitus a chance to reflect on their own career paths and appreciate their own mentors.
Brett Gadow (PharmD ’12), clinical program manager in Navitus’ clinical engagement center and Albrecht’s mentor, remembers the winding road of his own career. While starting out in community pharmacy, Gadow discovered his passion for managed care pharmacy after working in several different pharmacy positions. He is glad to be able to guide intelligent and hardworking students, like Albrecht, through the constantly evolving world of pharmacy.
“I think it’s really important to continue helping develop the next generation of pharmacists,” says Gadow.