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Washington State University
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Pharmacy

Graduating PharmDs achieve record 2022 residency matches

WSU PharmD students topped previous year’s accredited residency match rate at 71 percent up from 67 percent the previous year, according to the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP), which coordinates the official match process for pharmacy schools nationwide. This year, 34 WSU PharmD students out of 48 matched.

Residencies are post-graduate training programs which allow new pharmacists to perform as a licensed practitioner to train under the supervision of an experienced preceptor. Residencies are highly sought-after positions to help pharmacists gain experience, leadership skills, advance their growth of clinical judgement, and hone their skills as a practicing pharmacist.

Following graduation this May, Shannon … » More …

Pharmacy students training to fill rural health care gap

WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has accepted five students into the rural health track. These first-year students will be the inaugural class in the track and will undergo specialized training and education in rural health care. Upon their graduation in 2025, they will be equipped with the skills, tools, and network needed to work in a rural setting.

“We look forward to working with this small group of talented students. Health care providers in rural areas face a unique set of challenges. This includes advising patients on how to access care if they don’t have phone or internet services, or if the nearest … » More …

Prosser resident hopes to provide pharmacy services in her community

First-year student pharmacist Catalina Yepez, age 29, is one of five students in the inaugural class in the rural health track. The track is part of the college’s Rural Health Initiative to recruit, educate, and embed pharmacists in rural communities across Washington state.

I was born and raised in Prosser, Washington a town of roughly 6,000 people nestled in central Washington where access to medical services are limited. Most of the people in Prosser work in agriculture and my family was no different. My mother worked in a cherry factory for 28 years and my father at a potato packaging plant. In 2011, … » More …

Seattle transplant aspires to provide rural patient care

First-year student pharmacist Chase King, age 21, is one of five students in the inaugural class in the rural health track. The track is part of the college’s Rural Health Initiative to recruit, educate, and embed pharmacists in rural communities across Washington state.

I believe that pharmacists can bring about the change needed to bridge the rural health care gap. Many rural residents struggle with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, addiction, obesity, and a myriad of heart conditions, but have little to no access to health care facilities. As a future pharmacist, I hope to provide care in isolated towns, traveling door-to-door, counseling … » More …

Love of chemistry transforms to career in rural health

First-year student pharmacist Bradley Brown, age 22, is one of five students in the inaugural class in the rural health track. The track is part of the college’s Rural Health Initiative to recruit, educate, and embed pharmacists in rural communities across Washington state.

I was raised in Rochester, Washington the youngest of 13 children, where I grew up in a 100-year-old farm house. Rochester is a rural agricultural community with a population of about 2,500 situated between Seattle and Portland. Like many rural communities, everyone in Rochester willingly lends a hand to help a neighbor. This town has raised me as much as … » More …

Veteran pursues PharmD to help rural communities

First-year student pharmacist Michael Sauseda, age 40, is one of five students in the inaugural class in the rural health track. The track is part of the college’s Rural Health Initiative to recruit, educate, and embed pharmacists in rural communities across Washington state.

I applied for the rural health track because I want to help underserved communities, which has been a consistent driving motivation throughout my life. Our motto as a US Special Forces Operator was De Oppresso Liber which translates to, “To Free the Oppressed.” In my 20-plus year military career, I spent 11 years as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant stationed … » More …

Former firefighter finds passion for pharmacy

First-year student pharmacist Amanda Whitehead, age 33, is one of five students in the inaugural class in the rural health track. The track is part of the college’s Rural Health Initiative to recruit, educate, and embed pharmacists in rural communities across Washington state.

As someone who has always lived and worked in rural areas throughout my life, I am truly passionate about bringing much needed health care resources to underserved populations. Living in a close-knit, small town has always been a great comfort to me and I want to support the people in my community in my future pharmacy career in a rural … » More …

From farm to pharmacy

Tyler Young grew up in Oakesdale, Washington, a town of about 400 people, and a 45-minute drive south of Spokane. He graduated from high school with only 11 other students in his class and his first job was on the wheat farm where he spent summers from ages 14 to 20 spraying weeds in 90-degree heat, driving a tractor, and harvesting the crop. » More ...

Personalized Medicine and the Future of Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics, a budding field of personalized medicine, is the study of how genes influence an individual’s response to treatment with medications. Drug-related morbidity and mortality due to unoptimized medication therapy is estimated to cost the United States $528 billion annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adverse drug events (ADEs) have been categorized as a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. » More ...

From Doctor of Pharmacy to Doctor of Love

As the associate dean of external relations, Julie Akers has helped to connect people in more ways than one. When she is not advocating for the pharmacy profession or teaching a class on pharmacy law and management, she officiates weddings. Most of the weddings have been of student pharmacists who meet their life partners while in the WSU doctor of pharmacy program.

“In pharmacy school, you get to meet people more intensely than you would in undergrad. Our students spend three didactic years together where they have every class together, meet with the same people, every day, every year, for three years. It pushes you … » More …