We bide by three pillars at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy APhA–ASP Chapter: advocate for the profession of pharmacy through policy efforts, serve patients across the state of Tennessee, and develop student pharmacists within our chapter to be the best pharmacists upon graduation. We try to base everything we do off these pillars and develop a chapter theme for the year to coincide with the APhA–ASP national theme. Our chapter’s theme for 2017–18 was “It Starts with One,” where we focused on developing individual members’ talents and on how each member could contribute to the Academy.

(Oregon State University) 1983–84 SAPhA Vice President

I am the Senior Vice President responsible for Moda Health’s (Portland, OR) major government accounts. I am Chair of the Board of the Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization and a member of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Business & Industry organization. Honored as an Alumni Fellow of Oregon State University, I was most recently named as an Icon of Pharmacy by the college of pharmacy. I recently completed a 3-year term of service to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as Vice Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair of the ADA National Board of Directors.

While at the 2018 APhA Institute on Substance Use Disorders in Salt Lake City, UT, I heard many reasons why people wanted to attend. Some expressed an interest in working within the field of substance use disorder, while others referenced personal experiences with addiction affecting family members, friends, or even themselves.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, there are 20.8 million people with a substance use disorder living in the United States. That means substance use disorder is 1.5 times more common than all cancers combined and has a prevalence similar to diabetes. During your pharmacy career, you will be expected to counsel patients with diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and many more; but you will be prepared for this because this knowledge is part of the PharmD curriculum. However, these patients may also be struggling with addiction, and you will need to consider complications that may arise due to an active substance use disorder or substance withdrawal.