The Nontraditional Pharmacist

Early Life

Chris Baldini, 53, has been a pharmacist for most of his life. He was born on September 12th, 1966 to Anthony and Lola Baldini, and has a brother, Mark Baldini. Born and raised in Monessen, Pennsylvania he attended Mon Valley Catholic High School.

Education

After receiving his high school diploma in 1984 Chris attended the University of Pittsburgh and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy.

“Choosing pharmacy as a major seemed like a pretty natural choice for me. I was interested in some sort of a career in healthcare, and at that time there was a really huge demand for pharmacists. The pay was very good and the field was growing rapidly” said Chris.

Chris talks about why he decided to major in pharmacy and what it was like

Post Graduation

After several years of having his bachelors degree, Chris decided go back to school for his PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) at the University of Washington. Chris made the decision to continue his education because there was a change in the profession and students now graduate from pharmacy school with a PharmD instead of a bachelors degree. Since he knew he’d be a pharmacist for several more decades he also wanted to get his PharmD so he would have the same education as the new graduates. While going back to school Chris faced some challenges like working full time and having an infant. Despite those obstacles Chris graduated with his PharmD in 2004.

Chris talks about why he decided to go back to school

Once Chris graduated from the University of Washington in 2004 his PharmD led him to many more job opportunities. Having years of experience as a pharmacist as well as having a PharmD helped Chris not only get job interviews, but also gave him the advantage in getting the types of jobs that interested him.

Above is an interactive map showing Chris's education

Nontraditional Career Path

One of the many interesting things about Chris's career is that he spent a lot of time doing jobs that wouldn't be considered a "traditional" pharmacists job. For example, while working at JC Blair Hospital, Chris began a smoking cessation program for smokers who had respiratory issues. Since Chris had an array of nontraditional jobs at Shadyside Hospital, he was able to become very knowledgeable in all aspects of the hospital. The video below shows former coworker and current wife, Adrienne Baldini, talk about her experiences with Chris while at Shadyside Hospital together.

Adrienne Baldini talks about her experience working with Chris

Current Job

Currently, Chris has been a pharmacist for a national insurance company for nine years. When asked about what he does Chris said "My current job involves supporting our patient safety and appropriate drug use programs by reviewing patient medications and making outreach calls to doctors and pharmacies". During his nine years at the company, Chris as been able to develop drug coverage policies, help create patient safety initiatives, identify fraud, and much more. One of the perks of his job is getting to work from home. To keep the privacy of each patient safe, Chris has his own personal office with a work laptop and private phone. Although it might seem like working from home could get boring at times, Chris has a French Bulldog named Gizmo who keeps him company while working.

Pictured above is Chris and his work set up

Pictured to the left is Gizmo. Gizmo keeps Chris company during long work days

Chris talks about nontraditional jobs he's had as well as his current job

Staying Involved

Despite graduating, Chris still likes to stay involved with the school of pharmacy at Pitt. One way he does this is by being a member of the alumni board. He currently holds the position of "past president". The main goal of the board is to increase engagement with alumni as well as help current pharmacy students. During his time there Chris has set up an alumni event at Top Golf, been involved in career roundtable events for current students, writes articles for the alumni magazine, and much more. Another way Chris was able to stay involved with the pharmacy community outside of Pitt was by writing an article that was published in an academic journal while working at Highmark. The article, which can be accessed HERE was a summary of a cost savings program that was started at Highmark.

Pictured above is Chris holding up the Pitt Pharmacy Alumni magazine which he is featured in

“I’ve had the opportunity to explore a lot of different professional pathways as a pharmacist. I have worked as a clinical staff pharmacist at UPMC Shadyside from 1990-1994, I was the Assistant Director of Pharmacy at a small rural hospital from 1994-2004, and I’ve worked in the heath insurance field as a clinical pharmacy specialist for the past 14 years. I’ve been the director of a pharmacy residency program, worked in an operating room pharmacy, contributed to a reference manual for hospice pharmacy, and run a smoking cessation service. I think my background serves as a good example of the many possible professional paths that are available for pharmacists.