Jessica Geiger-Hayes, PharmD, BCPS, CP

I rather enjoy flying by the seat of my pants.

GPS Columbus, Ohio Typical Day There really is no such thing as a typical day for me, and I rather enjoy flying by the seat of my pants. In general I’ll go see patients as needed and talk to them about symptoms, new medications, side effects, etc. I also work through drug information questions for my team and precept students, and participate in research projects. My favorite part of the day is when I
walk in my front door and say hi to my kids. I have three: Olivia (12), Ailee (8), and Ian (5). They are amazing little humans and it is so fun to watch them each come into their own. I unwind by reading or watching a series on Netflix if I’m home, but I am an extrovert at heart so my favorite thing for unwinding is being with people, be it my kids or my friends.

Persona I’m passionate about what I do and not afraid to speak up when needed. These are probably the characteristics that will help me on my journey within pain management and palliative care.

Social Media Habits I don’t follow anything specific on social media, but I like to scroll through Facebook to see what my friends from out of town are up to. I have tried really hard to use Twitter but I just can’t get the hang of it. I will occasionally share some pictures on Instagram.

Contribution I really enjoy talking to people and like to think my patients feel comfortable opening up to me, which allows for much better symptom and medication management. When I go into a patient’s room, I immediately find a place to sit so I’m not standing over the person in the bed. I can remember a patient from a couple years ago. From the chart it looked like everything was fine. The nurse said he wasn’t reporting increased pain and had minimal medication. I walked into the room to follow-up on his symptoms, and he was asleep. I didn’t want to wake him because he looked so comfortable. As I was walking away he asked who was there and where I was going. We started talking and I did a symptom reassessment. I was getting up to leave and he said, “Please don’t go.” He then told me he was afraid to be alone. This wasn’t documented anywhere in the chart and the physician on my team had not heard that at all. It turns out, the medication he was taking wasn’t for pain, but to try to not experience the loneliness of being in the hospital.

People They’re not public figures, but super big deals to me: my parents. They have always encouraged me to pursue what fuels my passion, showed me what hard work looks like, and taught me a good work ethic. If I had to choose a public figure, I would say Betty White... she seems unstoppable.

Words The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, is the most recent book I read and I would highly recommend it. It’s the life story of a dog, told from the dog’s perspective. I also love anything by Brené Brown.

Popcorn I really love the Mamma Mia! movies. I watched the second one, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in the theater 3 or 4 times. My kids also love them and we have marathons at the house. We all know all the songs and quote dialog as it fits into our conversation. I was a musician before I became a pharmacist (I sing and play electric bass and saxophone) and I love movies that also have a great soundtrack.

PAINWeek I absolutely love getting to interact with everyone and learn about aspects of pain management
that are different from where I currently practice. It’s great that there is such a diverse schedule offered.