U.S. Assistant Surgeon General to Speak at Pharmacy Commencement

photo of scott gibersonSPOKANE, Wash. – A U.S. assistant surgeon general and licensed pharmacist will be the keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy on May 2.

Rear Admiral Scott F. Giberson is the director of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and its more than 6,500 public health professionals of all disciplines. This includes responsibility for recruitment, retention, career management, training, readiness, deployment, policy development, comprehensive force management, and retirement.

Giberson also is the chief professional officer for the pharmacy category of the Corps and advises the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the operational and professional affairs of pharmacy and the Corps’ more than 1,150 Public Health Services pharmacists.

He also has experience as a response team leader for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

Giberson maintains dual licensure as a pharmacist and pharmacist clinician and has worked as a member of an Indian Health Service family practice medical staff for over 15 years. He is the primary author of the 2011 Pharmacy Report to the U.S. Surgeon General that facilitated a nationwide effort to recognize pharmacists as providers. He has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Temple University, a master’s in public health from University of Massachusetts, and an honorary Doctor of Science from LECOM School of Osteopathic Medicine. Giberson was featured on the cover of the December 2012 issue of Pharmacy Today, the magazine published by the American Pharmacists Association.

Giberson is based in the Surgeon General’s Office in Washington, D.C. He will speak shortly after the commencement ceremony begins at 2 p.m. at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spokane.

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