Editor’s Note: This October, we will celebrate our 30th class of 40 Under Forty honorees. Each week in 2022, The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia will highlight one of our 2021 40 Under Forty honorees leading up to the announcement of our milestone class this fall.
Known for his kind heart and dedication to service, Dr. Cameron Lanier is quietly making a positive impact in the lives of patients and future pharmacists alike.
Lanier, a clinical specialist pharmacist at the Johnson City Medical Center, singled out helping others as the biggest driving force in his career.
“I think it is the desire and want to try and help people,” Lanier said. “I think that’s what kind of drove me into pharmacy in the first place is to be able to help people get better, people that are in need of care, just try to help bridge that gap and help them get better.”
Lanier’s rapid rise came about by going the extra mile. Lanier completed two years of residency to gain extra training, and once he was employed at JCMC, he immediately volunteered to work any shift in any position and took all the training he could get his hands on.
While Lanier has certainly risen through the ranks quickly, he said it required patience at first as he learned everything he needed to know in order to assume a larger role at JCMC.
“I think some of the best advice I’ve been given is to not give up, to persevere and to not give up on your dreams,” he said. “If it’s something you want to do, just keep at it.”
Lanier’s role at JCMC involves improving patient safety through medical reconciliation and discharges. Luckily for those following in Lanier’s footsteps, he is equally as passionate about those who have chosen pharmacy as their profession.
Lanier volunteers as a non-paid adjunct faculty member at the Bill GattonCollege of Pharmacy. Dr. David W. Stewart, vice-chair of the school, said in a letter of recommendation on Lanier’s behalf that if Lanier had not stepped up to assist during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there would have been student pharmacists that would have either been delayed in graduation or had much less significant learning experiences during their final year.
Lanier said his thirst for knowledge drives him to be a prolific researchers, and his students and patients both benefit from that research on a daily basis. Stewart said he expects a research project Lanier has volunteered his time to work on for the past two years will help equip prescribers across the region with the data they need to battle the opioid epidemic.
As he moves forward, Lanier said he hopes to continue finding ways to give pharmacy students real-world insights through residency programs. He also wants to be a champion for student research projects and find more ways to strengthen the bond between his place of employment and the students at the pharmacy school.
“I want to make my rotation and educational and powerful rotation for them in terms of patient work-up and communicating with patients and providers,” Lanier said.
Next week we will profile Megan Meador of Brown Edwards. If you would like to nominate someone for inclusion in the 2022 class of 40 Under Forty, visit www.40under.com/nominate.asp and follow the instructions.
