Pharmacy Alum Directs Students 'at the Corner of Happy and Healthy'

There’s an old adage that if you do what you love then success will come running after you.

Registered pharmacist Dan Hein, University of Cincinnati alum and an area healthcare supervisor with the Walgreen Company, is a shining example of that adage.

"Every day I am excited to go to work. I love my job and the people I work with, and I’m never in one place so every day is an adventure,” says Hein, who joined Walgreens in 1987 after graduating that same year from UC’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

Over a nearly 29-year career at Walgreens, Hein worked his way up to management. He started as an intern just after graduation, then as a relief pharmacist covering vacations, a full-time pharmacist, then as a pharmacy manager, and as his career progressed so did his involvement with the college: For about 20 years he’s served as a preceptor on first- and fourth-year advanced rotations and he also currently sits on the Dean’s Board of Advisors.

 "My experience at the college was incredible, especially meeting my wife, Amy, (BS, ’87, PharmD, ’03) who works at Mercy Hospital as a clinical pharmacist. While I was in school a lot of the faculty and preceptors did a lot for me, so when I graduated I went back pretty quickly to help students in the dispensing and counseling lab.”

The fourth-year rotation in Community Pharmacy at Walgreens was established about 20 years ago, he says, to give students some insight into the business aspect of retail pharmacy. "It’s exciting to show the students why Walgreens is such a great company to work for. It is a pharmacy-led company with tremendous focus on quality patient care.”

Once a month, for 10 months out of the year, a student works side-by-side with Hein, whether it is on the road in Cincinnati, Kentucky and Indiana or in his office in West Chester. By working together, he says, students are exposed to a lot of behind the scenes management that gives them a better understanding of why the company does things the way it does.

"Students really appreciate the personalization he provides to the rotation. He constantly relates information to the pharmacy where the student works, so they can see the full application of decisions and interventions that are made,” says Mike Doherty, the college's director of experiential learning.

Hein says the career path to management at Walgreens is to "come up through the ranks” just as he did.

 "The company does a great job developing their pharmacists for various positions and I think this rotation helps them to become a better community pharmacist,” he says, adding that during the rotation students are introduced to areas of the company such as loss prevention, scheduling and attending project meetings and store visits.

But Hein’s connection to the college and the students doesn’t stop there. Hein also volunteers his time at Cincinnati’s Shelter House, where the pharmacy college has a strong history of volunteerism and Hein oversees the dispensing of medicines. He also assists with admission interviews and serves on various committees.

"I just really love getting involved with the students. That’s probably my favorite part of giving back to the college.”

Of Note: Two of Hein’s children, Matthew and Mark are pursuing a career in pharmacy. Matthew starts at UC’s Winkle College in Fall 2016 and Mark is in the application process. Hein’s son David is a graduate student of physiology at UC.