Alumni Spotlight: Gene Borrelli '73
Gene Borrelli, Pharm BS '73, MBA is celebrating his 50th Class Reunion this year as part of the class of 1973. He took a moment to share some of the fond memories he had as a student, advice for students, and the biggest changes he has seen in pharmacy over the years.
Why pharmacy as a career?
My original intent was to become a dentist but honestly I couldn’t get the grades to get into a California dental school. I met a friend who was going into pharmacy and I decided it might be a good fit for me. We both decided to apply to the University of Arizona after two years of community college in southern California. We both entered the College of Pharmacy and became roommates from 1969-1973 at the university. His name is Jan Balthasar and I unfortunately have lost touch with him.
How did your time at our College shape your career path?
My education at the College of Pharmacy was outstanding and I had a great experience being exposed to both community and hospital perspectives. My original intent was to go into community pharmacy and do all my intern hours in that area. A year after graduation, I switched to a hospital focus and through a networking contact was able to get my foot in the door with a new hospital in the area I wanted to live in California. I learned networking skills at the college through my involvement in Kappa Psi. About three years later I decided I needed to get an advanced degree and opted for an MBA from Pepperdine University. It propelled me into Hospital Pharmacy Management, where I spent the rest of my career at two hospitals.
Can you share some memorable moments from your days as a pharmacy student?
In those days when you pledged a pharmacy fraternity, Kappa Psi in my case, they blindfolded you, asked pharmacy questions and made you drink a mystery concoction. (It turned out to be vodka and Mag Citrate and I spent the next day on the commode). I had a great time while in Kappa Psi. I met an upperclassman who eventually worked with me at Antelope Valley Hospital, Dan LeGrady ‘72. My friend Jan Balthasar, ‘73 was my best man in my wedding and I was in his wedding. I met my wife when I was
“hashing” at the Chi Omega Sorority. Pamela Maynard was a nursing student and she found out I was a pharmacy student. She would go through the food line and ask me drug questions. Eventually we dated and after two years of courting we married. We are happily married after 48 years and we have two kids and five grandchildren.
Who were your most influential professors or mentors?
Most influential professors, Dr. Winship (Hospital Pharmacy), His caring attitude and calm approach; Dr. Cole (Medicinal Chemistry) I had to know the structure of every new drug that came out; Dr. Simonian (Pharmacognosy) I used his teaching to decipher all the “natural” over-the-counter products.
What are the most significant changes in the field of pharmacy that you've witnessed over the past 50 years?
Changes in technology: typewriters to computers, manual profiles to computerized profiles to enormous software changes for a safer dispensing process.Automation from “Pyxis machines” to McKesson Robotic picking of drugs, to now robots to deliver drugs. The development of Pharmacy Technicians (from OJT to education and certificate programs). To PTs doing chemotherapy and medication Histories. The expansion of pharmacy technology was the reason I switched hospital organizations. My old hospital didn’t want to pursue the technology or let me hire technicians, so I switched to an organization that was more forward thinking and did both to further the effectiveness of pharmacists.
What advice would you offer to pharmacy students as they pursue their career in pharmacy?
Get involved in professional pharmacy organizations. Pursue pharmacy as a true professional commitment, not a job. Use your involvement in the professional organizations to expand your networking to find better standards of practice for your current practice site and possibly find opportunities to switch organizations, as I did.