Alex Evans, PharmD, MBA

I am a pharmacist and medical writer currently living in Hiroshima, Japan. I write a wide range of articles targeting pharmacists, other healthcare professionals, and consumers, and am especially interested in health policy, drug pricing, and regulatory systems.

General Media

Barton Healthcare Staffing •

Things to Think About Before Starting a Side Hustle

It seems like everyone these days is talking about side hustling, or earning money outside of a regular job. It has been the subject of numerous articles, and for good reason; as of last year, almost half of all American workers had a side hustle.

It is also a topic of fierce debate, with some seeing a side hustle as others see it as a way to set their own schedule, make their own income, and grow their business.

In all honesty, they are both right — to some extent.
Barton Healthcare Staffing •

Tips to Optimize Your Resume for Your Next Opportunity

I have experienced being on both ends of the hiring process: as an applicant, I have seen the frustrations of applying to numerous jobs and putting up to an hour into each application only to never hear back, or to make it to the interview and then get ghosted.

As a hiring manager, I have seen first-hand the piles of resumes I received for just one position, then have had to begin the process of sorting through all of them to determine who would be the best candidate for the role.
Barton Healthcare Staffing •

Working in Hawaii: Top Dive Sites on Maui

I lived and worked as a pharmacy manager for two years on the island of Maui, in a town called Kihei. I am addicted to diving and have logged about 250 dives in the approximately ten years I’ve been diving, and one of the primary reasons I moved to Hawaii was to dive. About 80 of those dives have been on Maui, and I can confidently say after diving close to all of the shore diving sites (and a handful of the boat diving sites) on that island that these below stand out as my favorites.
Barton Healthcare Staffing •

A Reflection on My Unique Experiences Practicing in Hawaii

My dream in pharmacy school was to move to Hawaii after graduation, and about seven months after getting a license (and saving a little money working on the mainland) I did just that. I managed a long-term care pharmacy for three years on the Big Island, and then returned to community pharmacy on Maui for two years. I went for the scuba diving, hiking, and participated in various other outdoor activities, but in the process found a lot of unexpected opportunities for professional growth.
UNC-Greensboro Alumni Spotlight •

UNCG Biology Department Alumni Spotlight: Alex Evans

I graduated from UNC-Greensboro in 2006 and from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2010 with a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree. Afterwards, I fulfilled a long-time dream of mine – I moved to Hawaii, accepting a job working in long-term care pharmacy in Hilo, on the Big Island. I have always enjoyed nature and took up diving in pharmacy school, so the Big Island was a good fit for me. After three years on the Big Island, I accepted a job to go back into community practice in Kihei, Hawaii, on the island of Maui. When
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Evaluating the sustainability of seafood

In this group exercise, students will use consumer seafood guides to make informed decisions about seafood choices at restaurants. They will, in the process, learn about commercial fishing, sustainability, and consumer-driven social change.

The download includes a lesson plan and student worksheet. The lesson plan includes relevant classes, duration (based on my experience), description of the lesson, materials list, key vocabulary, and objectives.
Teachers Pay Teachers •

Medicine in Science: How do drugs that treat infections work?

In this lesson, we combine concepts from general biology, cell biology, microbiology, and chemistry and tie it all together to discover how anti-infectives work. In it, we discuss antibiotic selectivity, transcription/translation, reverse transcription, Gram staining, and antibiotic resistance. We also introduce multiple antibiotics and antivirals, including fluoroquinolones, macrolides, penicillin, and NNRTI/NRTIs.

At the end of the lesson, there is an activity where students must design their