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At his
day job, Michael Wyant dispenses drugs. But to get away from the office
the 43-year-old pharmacist trades his white lab coat for coveralls and
works the cattle at his Finchville farm.
Both
Wyant and his wife, Mary Ann, are honored pharmacists with numerous
recog-nitions and awards. She works at the Veterans Administration
Hospital in Louisville and area CVS pharmacies; he spends some of his
time working at Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, but is also pharmacy
manager at Syncor in Louis-ville, where he practices his specialty:
nuclear pharmacy. Wyant was named 2001 Pharmacist of the Year by
the Jefferson County Academy of Pharmacy, which represents professionals
in a seven-county area.
"I'm the biggest fan of pharmacy," Wyant said. "I love the art of
pharmacy. My part ... is cutting edge. It's never the same thing every
day. It doesn't get boring." |
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Photos courtesy of James Mulcahy
Michael Wyant farms in Finchville, Ky.
but also is pharmacy manager at Syncor in Louisville where he is an
expert in nuclear pharmacy. |
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Farm life
For Wyant, spreading his time at two pharmaceutical jobs also means he
has some freedom to pursue other interests.
"It's
giving me the opportunity to do what I like most of all -- that's my
passion for my farm," he said.
Wyant grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan. Now he tends to 80 head of
Angus cattle on his 62 acres, has a tobacco base, leases land to grow
hay.
Literally and figuratively, his farm chores bring him back to earth.
"I'm at work and my job is pretty technical," he said. "At times I feel
kind of special. When I get home, fooling with my cattle and one of them
swats me with their tail, it puts you back down to reality."
On the farm, the Wyants raise Keeshond dogs. Their newest addition is
Keesha, an 11-week-old puppy.
"Our dogs are our children," he said. "They're really good with the ows.
They can herd. One time a cow was coming after me and my dog jumped out
of the truck and diverted her. She chased the dog instead of me."
Wyant's farm is named Keeshond Acres.
The nuclear drugstore
Wyant earned his bachelor's degree in pharmacy at Ferris State
University in Big Rapids, Mich.
He moved to Kentucky to work at a hospital in Madisonville, but quickly
concentrated on his specialty -- nuclear pharmacy.
"In less than a year, I came over to Louisville and started my work in
nuclear pharmacy."
Radio pharmaceuticals, he said, are "used for any organ in the body. It
shows the position, function of that organ and helps diagnose the
problem."
"X-ray is just a shadow," Wyant said. "In nuclear pharmacy, the drug
goes to the organ and it's a dynamic picture. They can (figuratively)
take your heart out of your body and dice it into a million pieces. It
enhances the doctor's ability to diagnose the problem. It's
fascinating." "There's no invasiveness of the body, and it's
relatively inexpensive."
Honored professional
Wyant taught nuclear pharmacy at the University of Kentucky and the
University of Louisville. He's been on the state Board of Pharmacy and
involved with professional organizations for five years.
In addition, he:
• has received the Distinguished Service Award for technician training
classes;
• has taught a radiopharmacy class for the U of L tech program;
• is a member of the Impaired Pharmacist Committee;
• helped pass pharmacy regulations to allow technicians certified by the
University of Tennessee take telephone orders;
• in 1997 was president of the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy;
• was Kentucky Pharmacist of the Year for 1988;
• has been the Kentucky Pharmacy Association speaker of the house and on
the board of directors;
• in 2001, was named to the Jefferson County Academy of Pharmacists
board of directors, Pharmacist of the year, is a member of the Kentucky
Society of Healthcare Pharmacists, and is on the U.K. advisory council
to help select pharmacy students.
Mary Ann, also on the KPA board of directors, has received the
Professional Promotion Award and the Innovative Practice Award.
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