PQA provides healthcare quality experience to students from a wide variety of disciplines. This summer, we are hosting two students through our internship and MPH practicum programs.
They are adding medication safety, adherence and appropriate use experience to their professional training. We recently invited them to answer five questions about the work they are doing, where they’re going in their careers and how they hope to apply their PQA knowledge to their professional advancement.
Name: Lakeisha Laguerre
School: Florida A&M University – College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health
Major/Degree Program: PharmD
Anticipated Year of Graduation: May 2028
What drew you to PQA and our work to improve medication use safety, adherence, and appropriate use? PQA immediately caught my attention because it was unlike anything I had heard of before, and its unique focus on healthcare quality stood out to me. After attending a webinar hosted by the fellows, I quickly realized that PQA’s work was deeply purpose-driven and closely aligned with the core values instilled in us throughout pharmacy school. Learning about the organization’s impact made me eager to be part of work that extends beyond individual patient encounters and helps improve healthcare on a broader scale.
What are your goals for your time at PQA? My main goal is to expand my knowledge in non-traditional career paths in pharmacy, such as association management. I also hope to build upon my verbal communication and data analysis skills.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years? In five years, I hope to be practicing as an ambulatory care pharmacist, where I can optimize health outcomes by ensuring patients receive high-quality medication therapies while improving access to care and supporting quality improvement initiatives.
What do you hope to learn this summer at PQA to take back with you to school this fall?
I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how quality measurement, medication use, and healthcare policy influence patient outcomes on a broader scale. While pharmacy school has provided me with a strong clinical foundation, I am eager to learn how quality measures are developed, implemented, and translated into meaningful improvements in patient care.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that’s not work related.
One of my most memorable travel experiences is walking over 6 miles in nearly 100°F weather through Portugal, before camping outdoors overnight alongside 1.5 million people.
Name: Hassan Saeed
School: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Major/Degree Program: Master of Public Health (MPH)
Anticipated Year of Graduation: 2027
What drew you to PQA and our work to improve medication use safety, adherence, and appropriate use?
My background in medicine and clinical research has shown me how medication use can directly affect individual patient outcomes and has motivated me to learn how healthcare quality can be improved at the population level. I was drawn to PQA because I wanted to understand how quality measures are developed and applied to support better care, particularly the role of medication-use quality measurement across the healthcare system.
What are your goals for your time at PQA?
My goals are to improve my understanding of quality measurement and strengthen my skills in logic model development. Through my practicum project, I hope to create clear and practical logic models for different audiences that demonstrate how quality measures can support improvements in care. I also want to learn from PQA staff across the organization and better understand how different teams contribute to medication-use quality.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
In five years, I hope to be in a role that brings together my background in medicine, clinical research, and public health. I am interested in healthcare quality improvement or medical affairs, where I can use clinical evidence to support better care across patient populations.
What do you hope to learn this summer at PQA to take back with you to school this fall?
I hope to take back a better understanding of how quality measures are used in practice to support improvements in care. I also hope to strengthen my skills in logic model development and communicating complex information clearly to different audiences. I plan to apply these lessons to my MPH coursework and future projects.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that’s not work related.
Outside of work and school, I enjoy trying new foods, exploring new places, and learning about different cultures.