United States Representative Buddy Carter Comes to UMES

Written by Blair Yesko, Student Pharmacist and President of the ASCP Student Chapter

On September 15th, 2020, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) student chapters of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) and the American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA) held a joint virtual meeting inviting U.S. Representative Earl “Buddy” Carter to speak to students and faculty. Buddy Carter, the United States Representative from the 1st district in Georgia, at the time of the meeting, held the title of, “the only pharmacist in Congress”. However, after the most recent election he is now joined by Diana Harshbarger from Tennessee and Jerry Carl from Alabama, who are both pharmacists or independent pharmacy owners.

Representative Carter spoke of his time before Congress, where he owned Carter’s Pharmacy for over 30 years. He detailed his passions for pharmacy and why he decided to join this profession. Now, as a U.S. Representative, he explained his continued push for pharmacists to receive provider status and his involvement in Operation Warp Speed legislation. Using his voice as a “drug expert”, Representative Carter helped other Congress members understand the vaccine clinical trial phases and how pharmacists would play an integral role in vaccine distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, Representative Carter represented a different path of pharmacy that is not the most common. This meeting allowed for the school of pharmacy to celebrate the diversity of pharmacy pathways during American Pharmacist’s Month, as well as learn about the connection between pharmacy and legislation. On behalf of ASCP and APhA, we would like to thank Representative Carter for sharing his wisdom and experiences as both a pharmacist and a U.S. Representative.