Nimit Jindal has been named the American College of Clinical Pharmacy–American Society of Health-System Pharmacists–Virginia Commonwealth University Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow for 2020–2021.

Jindal is currently completing a PGY1 community-based pharmacy residency at Moose Pharmacy in Concord, North Carolina, through the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s program. He earned his Pharm.D. degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers.

Launched in 2006 under the guidance of ACCP’s C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, the fellow program comprises unique health care policy learning experiences in the U.S. Congress and the government affairs offices of ACCP and ASHP. Pharmacists who participate in the program gain real-world insight into health care policy analysis and development through immersion in the congressional environment. Fellows are actively mentored in legislative evaluation, policy development, research, and writing while integrating practical experience with theory.

Jindal decided to attend pharmacy school because his dad was an independent pharmacy owner. He grew up working in the pharmacy as a cashier and interacting with an underserved patient population.

I would see a lot of patients decline certain medications simply because they couldn’t afford them, even with insurance. I saw community practice as a way of making a difference on the ground, in the communities, and serving the patients I felt compelled to help when I was a cashier in that environment. In pharmacy school, I heard a lot about payment models and delivery models. I was interested in getting engaged in policy, but I knew that before I could do that, I needed to understand how those models work, so that’s why I pursued a community pharmacy residency.

For the past 2 years, Jindal has served as the Piscataway Township Ward 4 Elected Committeeman, where he has engaged with elected members of local and state governments to develop policy solutions to infrastructure and educational funding concerns. This and other opportunities to influence policy changes fueled his decision to pursue this fellowship.

I’m really excited about this program because I feel like I have a good idea of how patients access care in our communities. There’s really no other program in the country that allows you to develop such a strong foundation to go out and make meaningful changes in the health care policy environment.

After completing the fellowship, Jindal hopes to continue to be engaged in health policy development, whether at the state or federal level: “I think keeping pharmacists and other health care providers involved in the policy conversation is how we really push the envelope forward.”

Alumni Fellows

The 2019–2020 fellow, Kyle Robb, Pharm.D., currently serves on the minority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). After serving in the program, past fellows have gone on to engage in a variety of other important roles in health care policy and government:

• Nilofar Jafari, Pharm.D., MPH, currently serves as a senior health consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in its military health division.
• Rita A. Habib, Pharm.D., MPH, is currently a full-time staff member in the office of Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO).
• Tracy Rupp, Pharm.D., MPH, is currently a consumer safety officer, CDER Office of Compliance, at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Daniel Nam, RPh, JD, the 2013–2014 fellow, is now an associate principal, pharmacy policy at Avalere Health.

Applications for the 2020–2021 Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program

Interested candidates should visit the pharmacy Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program website for more information and instruction on submitting an application. For more information, click here.