He Trumpets Joy of Italy
Written By: Gwen Fariss Newman
On Friday nights, you might find him playing trumpet with a local band. On Saturdays, woodworking. On Sundays, biking up the Sibillini Mountains and — three times weekly — hitting the gym.
These are the personal pursuits of Carlo Polidori, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Camerino (UNICAM) School of Pharmacy in Italy and one of nearly 900 University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) preceptors, who generously give of their time and expertise to help train “the next generation.”
Of the many hats that Polidori wears professionally — scientist, researcher, published author, associate editor for the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, invited speaker at prestigious events like the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy, and member of numerous committees — Polidori says it’s his role as teacher and mentor that he relishes most.
“I love to be a professor, in touch with the students,” he says. “That’s my first love.”
On the UNICAM campus, Polidori serves as a preceptor in its International Pharmacy Practice Administration course. Since 2018 he’s enjoyed a partnership with UMSOP where its preceptors — practicing pharmacists and other professionals who oversee students on offsite rotations — provide more than 30 percent of the School’s PharmD curriculum.
“Since 2018, UMSOP has sent 10 students for five-week advanced practice rotations to hospitals all over Italy, including Rome at Agostino Gemelli, where the Pope is cared for,” says Agnes Ann Feemster, PharmD, BCPS, assistant dean for experiential learning at UMSOP and associate professor of practice, sciences, and health outcomes research. UMSOP also has hosted a student from UNICAM.
“Not surprisingly,” says Feemster, “we often receive more interest in the Italian training experiences than we have availability. Each time, Dr. Polidori has arranged for additional opportunities to accommodate our students. He is an extraordinary host, often taking the students out for dinners and sightseeing, always having their best interests at heart and looking for opportunities for them to grow professionally and personally.
“Because he has connections all over Italy, Europe, and the world and through his work with the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists,” Feemster adds, “Dr. Polidori has been instrumental in making connections for the School of Pharmacy that, hopefully, will result in additional training sites across Europe and perhaps expand our partnership with UNICAM beyond the School of Pharmacy to the University of Maryland, Baltimore at large.”
Polidori insists that the partnership benefits his Italian-based students as much as their Maryland-based peers. “They each learn from the other.”
UMSOP students have nothing but praise for their experiences in Italy.
Rose Prizzi, a student pharmacist who visited Polidori before graduating in May, saw operations of the famed Loccioni facility, a large manufacturer with a health care arm that focuses on intravenous medication compounding technology. “It’s technology that’s delivered robotically and used by the University of Maryland Medical System as well as hospitals around the world.”
Adds 2023 graduate Amanda Summers: “Apart from experiencing the amazing clinical aspect of this rotation, we experienced Italian culture, traveled to Rome, saw ancient architecture, and ate authentic Italian cuisine. I am extremely grateful to everyone I met in Italy,” she says, “especially Dr. Polidori. This rotation was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I highly recommend it to all student pharmacists who want to gain insight into international health practices.”
For now, Polidori awaits his next cohort of UMSOP students in October.
Meanwhile, he plays his trumpet daily, in the past 15 years has crafted 40 custom windows and 15 doors for his “country house,” and will — most likely — break a sweat often.
“I always push my students,” he says, “and myself.”