For VCU Alumni 10 Under 10 winner and 2020 VCU School of Pharmacy graduate Arzu F. Moosvi, Pharm.D., going abroad during pharmacy school made a profound impact on her career, her life and her view of the field of pharmacy in a global context.

Dr. Moosvi traveled to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress, once as a student and again after graduating, deepening an already strong resolve to pursue a career focused on global health. The experience moved her so much, she wanted to pass it on.

Starting this year, Dr. Moosvi has generously chosen to annually sponsor a student’s journey to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress – this year on Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 in Copenhagen, Denmark – by establishing the Arzu F. Moosvi Global Medicine Travel Award.

Dr. Moosvi recently spoke with Cait Gibson, Pharm.D., M.Ed., director of international programs, in a video interview about how her interests in global health and pharmacy have come together to pave her way forward – and how students can capitalize on the opportunities at hand to explore possible paths toward their future.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your pharmacy career and your connection to global health?

I earned my bachelor’s in psychology at VCU and took a year break after graduation before starting my Pharm.D. at VCU, where I graduated in 2020. Simultaneously, I completed a post-baccalaureate graduate certificate in nonprofit management while I was in the Pharm.D. program. And I am now completing my master’s in global medicine at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

That’s my journey in a nutshell, but my passion for global health, or global medicine, comes from my background. My family is from Pakistan, and we used to visit frequently growing up. There was a time right before pharmacy school, actually, that I went to Pakistan, and there was an incident with the use of a medication – an antibiotic – where I broke out into hives. I was laying down in a hospital bed and someone came in with Flagyl, and I looked at it – in the U.S., we’re not used to getting antibiotics over-the-counter. They brought it in and said I would take this, and that experience stood with me for a while.

As I was developing what it is I actually want out of pharmacy and my career goals, I realized culture means a lot to me and what I grew up on means a lot to me. How can I give back to the community? This is the motto that a lot of pharmacists live by: How can we give back to the community, whether it's national or international? A lot of my focus is on trying to provide that pharmacy experience back home.

Currently, I'm in the process of opening a nonprofit in Pakistan. Tying it all together, I started by going to Pakistan very frequently and realizing how much culture meant to me and how I can give back to the community and health care over there. My journey hasn’t been a straight line, but really, my passion stems from my family and my cultural background.

Throughout pharmacy school, I selectively went to different places: Pakistan in P1 year, the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF) exchange program in Turkey during P2 year where I made quite a bit of a network, and in my fourth year, during rotations, Dr. Sisson was kind enough to let me go to FIP World Congress during that time and network there.

You mentioned that you got to attend FIP World Congress as a P4 student, and I know you've been able to attend again since graduating. I was curious if you could tell us a little bit about what that meeting is like and what the students who plan to attend can expect to gain from it. What have you gained and what have you learned through your involvement with FIP?

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I decided to go to World Congress. David Holdford, Ph.D., first mentioned World Congress to me and sent me the link to apply, and he and Emily Peron, Pharm.D., helped me navigate things related to public health and global health.

I started looking into it and, as a student, I went during my rotations, which was a big deal and is why I recommend students go earlier in their pharmacy school journey if they can.

I did a little bit of research on fip.org to see what their goal is for the conference and what skills they want to help you enhance in the sessions. It was in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and I saw they had a leadership development workshop so I applied for that.

Leading up to it, I was very excited. I had no idea what to expect. The conference itself is more of what you make of it. When we’re going to APhA or ASHP, we are making use of the conference for our own insight and experience. Nationally, we look a lot more toward CEs and anything that will enhance clinical judgment of certain guidelines or practices, for example, a session on pharmacist-led hepatitis C interventions. They do have sessions like that at FIP – I sat in on one – but a lot of it, I would say, is networking.

You are meeting pharmacists from all around the globe. I met with pharmacists from Uganda, Rwanda, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt. People are welcoming and willing to get to know you. Everyone was so kind and generous because everyone is on the same platform there: You don’t necessarily know people unless you came with someone. Even if you came with someone, you’re still looking to network. The energy at a meeting like this is different from what I’ve experienced in the U.S.

Ultimately, what it helps you do is learn pharmacy abroad and how people are enhancing their level of pharmacy in their country, which is a really big deal for us as students, because we only know pharmacy from the U.S.

My second time going was in Spain, and I was working so I was in and out of the area, but I did a lot more exploration during that time. I met pharmacists from South Africa and sat in on a session with a group of Danish pharmacists, and we exchanged numbers. Another part of the networking at the conference is that you get to exchange numbers with people you may or may not see again, but you’ll have a friend and fellow professional abroad so if you travel, you know they’re there and perhaps you can grab coffee. It’s really nice just to connect with them.

You mentioned the value and importance of networking to get the most out of this conference. As we have students trying to decide whether they should attend FIP, I think this experience may be a bit out of some folks’ comfort zones, but we're always trying to do things outside of our comfort zone. What advice would you give to those students trying to decide whether they want to apply for this experience? What sorts of students do you think might have the most to gain from being able to attend FIP World Congress?

When I think of pharmacy, I think of it as a very all-encompassing career and field so each and every person will have their field of interest. And I would say that those who are interested in a more public health, global health, serving underserved communities type of approach – it would be good for them to apply. It’s not that you're actively participating in any kind of endeavors while you're at this Congress from a clinical perspective, but it will provide you an idea of how to interact with individuals from other cultures, and that can very well be applied over here.

Second, it’s always good to travel. It opens your mind; it expands your horizons in a very different scenario, and the way that I look at it in conference terms is – when you are traveling and your horizons are expanded – the community that you’re coming into in that conference has also provided you professional expansion, which is a big deal. If you look at it from that aspect, it’s definitely worth it.

The third point I would make to determine whether someone would want to do this is: You took a chance coming to pharmacy school. You had no idea what you were going into. It's the same concept. And, you know, if we’re talking travel anxiety, I'm here for that. I can certainly help on that scale.

I actually read something recently, and it really stuck with me: Turn your anxiety or your nervousness into excitement. And I thought that was really big because I realized I used to do that. As I would travel, I would feel this anxiety; I had no idea what to expect, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, I'm going to another country.’

If I look at it that way, I think anyone is encouraged to apply ultimately, but of course, preference does come down to: Where do you see yourself in your life and career – and in this field of play?

My advice for all VCU pharmacy students is this: Keep at your pharmacy school endeavors and never give up, give yourself priority and know that you’re all on the same playing field. It can be difficult, but it’ll be worth it in the end. Nevertheless, whether global-related or not: I hope your endeavors come out as successes.

Students interested in applying for the Arzu F. Moosvi Global Medicine Travel Award are encouraged to review these guidelines and submit an application by the Jan. 31 deadline to be eligible for the 2025 award.