RESPy Winner Kim Moody Embraces Pharmacy's Future

Kim Moody took a long road to pharmacy school, but now finds herself on the path to a thriving career in clinical pharmacy.

Kim Moody, the Walmart/Pharmacy Times RESPy winner for May, admits she took a “very long road to pharmacy school.”

Beginning work as a pharmacy clerk as a high school student, she was a technician in a pharmacy and in the biotechnology industry before entering the University of Washington (UW) School of Pharmacy. Moody says, “Since I started working in pharmacy very young, I wanted to try some other things before I went to pharmacy school, but I always thought this is where I would end up.”

Now in her fourth year at UW School of Pharmacy, Moody is a high achiever—she earned a place on the dean’s list 5 times. In May 2008, she was inducted into the Rho Chi Society in recognition of her outstanding academic achievement.

Balancing academics and volunteer opportunities can be a challenge, but for Moody, the transition was as effortless as it was beneficial. “Community service is a great complement to coursework; I could not have learned as much about communicating with patients in the classroom as I did at health fairs and brown bag sessions,” she said.

In part because she values the experience of volunteer work so greatly, Moody helped to found Bridges to Health—an organization to promote student involvement in community outreach.

Many of Moody’s own community service activities center around interacting with patients and providing preventive care. Moody has volunteered at numerous health fairs, diabetes clinics, and immunization fairs. She also coordinated student volunteers for the “Tackle Hypertension” program, which provided blood pressure screenings to fans at Seattle Seahawk football games.

Moody knows that community members are not the only ones who need assistance maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Moody codirected Wellness Challenge—a health-promoting program specifically for pharmacy students. Using a medication therapy management model, Wellness Challenge helps students make better choices in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and smoking cessation. Student participants improve their health and develop an understanding of how hard it can be for patients to change their lifestyles.

Of all her volunteer opportunities, Moody cites her work at the Salvation Army of King County Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) as her most rewarding service activity. Moody served as the student coordinator for the second annual Salvation Army ARC health fair and also volunteered to provide flu shots at their immunization clinic. “The people there are great,” she said, “and really appreciated us coming out to provide health information and flu vaccines for them.”

Reflecting on her experiences and the future of her chosen profession, Moody sees that the role of the pharmacist is really evolving. She believes that, in the coming years, “advancing clinical services in the community while still being able to provide distributive services is going to be a big deal.”

Moody will do her part—she accepted a position as associate director of clinical services for Strategic Pharmacy Innovations. She will also work part time as a clinical pharmacist at Highline Medical Center in Burien, Washington.

Coming to the end of one “very long road,” Moody finds herself on a career path full of possibilities. She said, “I love that pharmacy is so dynamic. There are so many areas to practice and opportunities to change pharmacists’ roles and advance the profession.” Young leaders like Moody—who appreciate the traditions of pharmacy and embrace the new role pharmacists will play—will certainly be at the forefront of those advances. â– 

About the School

The University of Washington (UW) School of Pharmacy was established in 1894 in Seattle, Washington, as the nation’s 51st pharmacy school. The UW School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education to confer the PharmD degree and also offers a PharmD/PhD option. The school is internationally recognized for work in drug metabolism and disposition, drug interactions, and outcomes research, and is a leader in Kim Moody geriatric and patient care practice programs.

The Walmart/Pharmacy Times Respy Award

The RESPy (Respect, Excellence, and Service in Pharmacy) award is presented to the student who has made a difference in his or her community by demonstrating excellence in pharmaceutical care. For more information, please visit www.PharmacyTimes.com.