The Public Health Pharmacist, PLLC.

Can a testosterone test really measure military readiness?

The Department of Defense recently announced plans to begin screening service members age 30 years and older for low testosterone levels during annual health assessments.

The goal?
Improve readiness, resilience, and performance.

As a clinical pharmacist, here’s what I want people to understand:

🧬 A testosterone level is NOT a readiness score.

Testosterone naturally fluctuates throughout the day and can be affected by:
😴 Sleep
😫 Stress
🤒 Illness
🥗 Nutrition
💊 Medications
🏋🏽 Body composition and physical training

One laboratory value doesn’t tell us whether someone is physically or mentally prepared to serve.

Just as importantly…

A diagnosis of low testosterone shouldn’t be made based on a single blood test.

A diagnosis of low testosterone shouldn’t be made based on a single blood test.

Clinical guidelines generally recommend:
✔️ Symptoms consistent with testosterone deficiency
✔️ Two separate morning testosterone measurements
✔️ An evaluation for underlying medical conditions that may be causing the low testosterone level

And here’s something many people don’t realize…

Giving testosterone to someone who doesn’t actually need it can suppress the body’s own testosterone production.

It can also reduce s***m production and increase the risk of side effects such as:
• Elevated red blood cell counts
• High blood pressure
• Acne
• Worsening sleep apnea
• Fertility problems
• Testicular shrinkage

Testosterone is a Schedule III controlled substance for a reason.

It should be prescribed thoughtfully, monitored carefully, and used when the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

The question is whether routine screening and treatment based on a laboratory number alone is the best way to improve military readiness.

Evidence-based medicine tells us that people deserve individualized care, not one-size-fits-all solutions.

👇🏽What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments

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Second NABJ conference as a freelance journalist and this time, I’m on the panel. 🎙️

Weaponized Words: How Mis- and Disinformation at the Intersection of Politics and Health Harms Black Communities

For Black communities, disinformation isn’t a hypothetical. It’s vaccine myths rooted in generations of medical racism.

It’s political narratives built to suppress votes and erode trust.

It’s a pipeline, false stories move through the networks we trust, shape how we vote and how we care for our health, and widen gaps that were already too wide.

COVID made it impossible to ignore.

Decades of institutional betrayal (yes, including USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee) met a pandemic that got politicized overnight and Black communities got caught holding distrust that was both earned and exploited.

I’ll be sitting down with journalists, researchers, and public health experts to talk about:

✅ How health misinformation and political disinformation feed each other
✅ Why narratives rooted in real history are so hard to unwind
✅ How to report on this responsibly, without amplifying harm or false balance
✅ How we rebuild trust while still holding power accountable

This work matters because accurate, culturally competent reporting isn’t just good journalism, it’s community survival.

See you in August 13th 👀

PublicHealth MedicalRacism HealthCommunication Journalism

I’m at SEICon III Conference this week, right here in Vegas, joining my Chair of Joy colleagues

Bringing real conversations to the world of sports, entertainment & innovation.

As a pharmacist who’s spent 20+ years believing health communication is a CLINICAL skill (not just a “nice to have”)

I can’t wait to see what’s happening at the Health & Wellness Pavilion this year.

Performance, recovery, wellbeing , it’s all connected.

See you on the floor!!!!

📍AANP 2026 | Las Vegas

I’m excited to be at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center this Thursday through Saturday for the AANP National Conference!

I’ll be representing the Reproductive Health Consultation Line through my work with the National Clinician Consultation Center at UCSF

If you are attending, please stop by the booth to say hello, learn more about the reproductive health resources available to clinicians, and connect about how we can better support patients through evidence-based, patient-centered care.

Reproductive health care is changing quickly, and having trusted consultation resources can make all the difference in real-world clinical practice.

Are you attending AANP this year?