In July 2021, ACCP’s Washington, D.C., team welcomed Tatiana Bujnoch, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, to its office as the 2021–2022 American College of Clinical Pharmacy-American Society of Health-System Pharmacists-Virginia Commonwealth University Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow.

Launched in 2006 under the guidance of ACCP Past President Gary R. Matzke, Pharm.D., FCCP, FCP, the fellow program offers a unique, year-long health care policy learning experience in the U.S. Congress and the government affairs offices of ACCP and ASHP. Pharmacists are given the opportunity to gain insight into health care policy analysis and development through immersion in the congressional environment. Fellows are mentored in legislative evaluation, policy development, research, and writing.

Bujnoch earned her Pharm.D. degree at Northeastern University in Boston and her M.S. degree in pharmacy administration and leadership at the University of Houston. Her postgraduate training was in health system pharmacy administration and leadership at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston.

Working as a pharmacist during the pandemic underscored to her the importance of health policy: “I spoke many times with patients who couldn’t afford medications or who were afraid they couldn’t afford treatment for COVID.”

Bujnoch traces her passion for health care policy to her family. She hails from a small town in South Central Texas and is the granddaughter of working-class grandparents without college degrees. Their sacrifices for her family led her to want to make the most of the opportunities she had been given, she said.

After the death of her father by suicide during her first year of college, Bujnoch decided to focus on bettering the lives of others. She took on new challenges, including working for 3 months in Jamaica as an assistant in clinics.

As she wrote in her application: “Now, I feel the urge to continue to think broader and understand the larger picture, leading me to pursue this fellow program to engage in policy at the national level.”

The fellowship, which began in July, consists of 1 week at the Brookings Institution and 3 weeks each with ACCP’s and ASHP’s government affairs offices. Afterward, Bujnoch will begin her placement within a congressional office or on the staff of a congressional committee in Washington, D.C.

Bujnoch (center) in Washington, D.C. with ACCP Government and
Professional Affairs staff members Kathy Pham (left) and Marcia Buck (right).

After completing the fellowship, Bujnoch hopes to continue to be engaged in health policy development: "Health issues are important. A devastating health issue can ruin lives. It’s a cliche, I know, but it’s true: I really just want to help people."

Alumni Fellows
The 2020–2021 fellow, Nimit Jindal, Pharm.D., serves in the U.S. House of Representatives as health and labor legislative assistant in the office of Congressman Joseph Morelle (D-NY).

After serving in the program, past fellows have gone on to engage in a variety of important roles in health care policy and government:

• Rita A. Habib, Pharm.D., MPH, is currently a full-time staff member in the office of Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO).
• Nilofar Jafari, Pharm.D., MPH, currently serves as a pharmacy benefits management clinical informatics pharmacist program specialist, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Daniel Nam, RPh, J.D., is now the ‎associate principal, pharmacy policy at Avalere Health.
• Tracy Rupp, Pharm.D., MPH, is currently a consumer safety officer, CDER Office of Compliance at the FDA.

Applications for the 2022–2023 Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program
Interested candidates should visit the Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program website for more information and instruction on submitting an application. For more information, click here.