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Patrick Kurunwune graduated from UNC with a dual MBA/PharmD, and has supported work aggregating spending and utilization data for high volume medications for large health systems. He was interviewed by Xiaorui Fu in September 30, 2020 when he was a Senior Consultant at Deloitte.

Why did you choose consulting?

I always knew I wanted to work on the business side of healthcare (i.e., pharmaceutical companies like Lily, Pfizer, etc.). However, while in business school I participated in a business case competition (sponsored by Deloitte) and this is what piqued my interest. Concurrently, I had the pleasure of meeting my now mentor Swati Patel, MBA, PharmD who is a Managing Director at Deloitte. She is the individual who explained to me the many different areas that pharmacists can provide value in the consulting space. The combination of the case competition coupled with the insights provided by Swati influenced me to apply for a summer internship at Deloitte.

What do you like about Deloitte?

I really enjoy the working culture and the people I have been exposed to. As a pharmacist, my diversity of experience is highly valued and I genuinely feel that my recommendations are not only heard, but also implemented. Even as an intern, I had opportunities to engage and share my insights with our senior level clients.

For students who only possess a PharmD, what are some of the hurdles they may face early on in their consulting careers?

The only disadvantage for PharmDs is the learning curve associated with working in a primarily business setting. While the PharmD will set you apart in terms of your knowledge surrounding medication related opportunities, there may be a deficit in some of the technical skills and business knowledge needed to perform at a high level. With that being said, most firms have resources in place that can aid their employees in any knowledge gaps that are present.

In your opinion, what are the top 5 skills consulting firms are looking for in a PharmD?

  1. Good Communication Skills: Most clients don’t have the bandwidth for extraneous information, so you are expected to present insights to clients that are clear and concise.
  2. Time Management: You will be asked to balance many different tasks (sometimes different workstreams) and being able to prioritize your time is paramount.
  3. Professionalism: Consulting is a people-facing position, so firms will not hire anybody they don’t feel comfortable placing in front of their clients.
  4. Adapting to Sudden Change: You move at the cadence set by the client. Therefore, you must be ready to make changes on the fly.
  5. Conceptual Thinkers: As pharmacists, we are taught to learn on a differential – guidelines are the basis of what we use to make our recommendations. As pharmacists in the consulting space, our value is amplified when we can think “outside of the box” and present recommendations that are novel and impactful for the client.

Thanks to Patrick for spending time with us to learn more about his experiences! The GBCC offers many resources to make it easier for graduate students to launch business-related careers like in consulting. You can also find Patrick on LinkedIn.

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