BREMERTON, Wash.
(NNS) - For his behind-the-scene daily contributions, steady influence and hard
work, Naval Hospital Bremerton’s (NHB) Lt. Sean R. Szad (left) was recently
recognized as the 2017 Navy Junior Pharmacist of the Year.
“His specific accomplishments
and contributions to NHB and Navy Pharmacy in Fiscal Year 2017 are significant,”
said Lt. Cmdr. Dean Kang, NHB Pharmacy Department head. “His outstanding
motivation and commitment to excel are most deserving.”
Szad, a Richmond Hill, Georgia native and University of Georgia 2015 graduate, was acknowledged from a field of 65 nominees for the annual Navy Pharmacy Member/Team of the Year Awards and was presented with the citation during a command awards ceremony on November 3, 2017, from Capt. Jeffrey Bitterman, NHB Commanding Officer.
“It was an honor to be nominated and a very nice compliment from immediate leadership,” said Szad. “I know there are a lot of hard chargers in Navy pharmacy. I feel very lucky to have been selected amongst what must have been a very competitive group.”
According to Kang, Szad has excelled as the Outpatient Pharmacy division officer. He led a team of 41 civilian, military and contractor staff members in the accurate dispensing of over 420,000 prescriptions to approximately 108,000 beneficiaries on an annual basis.
“His greatest attribute has been his compassion and care for patients and his ability to communicate with the patients and the hospital staff to ensure that patient safety and customer service are at the top priority for the pharmacy,” explained Kang.
Szad was quick to note that being recognized by this award is more a reflection of the entire NHB Pharmacy staff than himself.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have worked with the team here, both within the pharmacy and beyond. I could name everyone in the command here as compelling support cast and still forget someone who has played a big role along the way. By name though, I have to specifically thank Cmdr. Eric Parsons and Lt. Cmdr. Dean Kang for the guidance they have given as department heads in my time here,” added Szad, who has been in the Navy four years and assigned to NHB for approximately half that time.
Szad’s specific duties read like a ‘who’s who’ of Navy pharmacist responsibilities handling a host of duties such as inpatient and outpatient pharmacist needs, providing Coumadin Clinic support and managing various official pharmacological requirements.
As part of the Navy Pharmacy Patient Experience working group, Szad became a prime contributor in developing a method for tracking customer experience data that minimized labor-intensive processes. He also provided significant input to the new standardized Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) questionnaire system, a web-based program that allows NHB Pharmacy customers to provide feedback. The questionnaire has now been implemented to all Navy Medicine pharmacies.
Kang attests that Szad’s primary achievements have been directly related to enhancing services to beneficiaries such as being a member of the Pharmacy Management Analytics Program. The program is charged with researching ways to improve pharmacy layout, design and workflow through all stages of prescription processing, all with the twin goals of improving patient satisfaction and staff production.
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