Captain Elizabeth A. Nolan, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy
MBA, RPh
Pharmacy Consultant/Specialty Leader to the Navy Surgeon General Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Her role is truly multi-faceted. As Pharmacy Consultant/Specialty Leader to the Navy Surgeon General, Elizabeth serves as the pharmacy subject matter expert and consultant for readiness (homeland security and overseas combat), managed care issues, staffing, business modeling, clinical activities, JCAHO, medication safety and quality improvement initiatives. The top priorities in these areas are manpower, current and future readiness and quality of services. She also provides expert advice to commanding officers on ships, in marine forces and on military facilities that number 97 bases around the world and offers career advice and professional guidance to approximately 300 military and civilian pharmacists and 965 military and civilian pharmacy technicians. Elizabeth provides Joint Federal Pharmacy Collaboration with Air Force and Army, VA, Public Health, and Coast Guard Pharmacy Consultants as well as professional organizations such as USP, ASHP APhA and AMCP and also serves as a member of the Department of Defense Pharmacy Board of Directors where she coordinates and directs pharmacy program management and business process improvements at the DoD component level on behalf of the TMA Executive Director and the Service Surgeon Generals.

How They Got There

After graduation from Duquesne University, she worked two years as a staff pharmacist in local hospitals and neighborhood drug stores. Looking for adventure, career progression and job opportunities, she pursued a career in the military. She was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy in June 1979 and was sent to the Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, PA to begin her career. Since then, she has been stationed at the Navy Branch Clinic, Treasure Island, Naval Hospital Pensacola, FL, the Naval School of Health Sciences, Portsmouth, VA, the Naval Hospital Portsmouth, VA, PCS Health Systems, Scottsdale, AZ , the TRICARE Lead Agent’s Office Norfolk, VA and currently, the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, DC. Prior to entering the service, Betsy compared her private sector options with her military ones. The Navy’s career package topped the list. Advantages to being a Navy Pharmacist include:

Service to your country as a Naval Officer
Immediate supervisory experience
Professional training opportunities (Pharm D, Masters, PhD, training with industry, Residencies)
Pay increases with rank and time in service
Eligibility for retirement after 20 years of service (50% base pay starts immediately)
Tax free housing and subsistence allowance
Thirty days annual paid vacation. Overseas assignment opportunities
Comprehensive medical care for family
“Change jobs” without losing seniority
Seventy five percent (75%) tuition assistance provided for graduate courses

Other Professional Activities

Throughout her career, she has authored many articles and made many presentations at various military and professional meetings. She has chaired and served on several committees within Navy and DoD to include work on the next generation of pharmacy IM/IT systems, automation and manage care contracts.

Advanced Training

To become the Consultant to the Navy Surgeon General, you need to be a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, possess a Pharmacy and a Post Graduate Degree and have a resume that demonstrates a diverse background and experience in a variety of clinical, administrative and operational assignments throughout the Navy. Betsy has an additional credential as she spent one year working with a private sector PBM to gain insight into the PBM industry.
Advice: “Believe in yourself and never take no for an answer. Look for the opportunity in any job. There is nothing you can’t accomplish. There is no such thing as failure…..only a temporary setback. Empower your staff and trust in them. They will live up to your level of expectation.Keep the patient at the center of your decisions.