Finding Her Passion: Autumn Walkerly

Autumn Walkerly had her life planned. She was going to be a physician, and she was progressing through college on the pre-med track. Then during her junior year, she shadowed a couple of physicians and came to a realization: Medicine wasn’t for her.  A job as a pharmacy technician opened her up to the world of pharmacy, and she decided to apply to pharmacy school, following a year as a lead pharmacy technician at CVS.

“As a technician I couldn’t counsel patients, but figuring something out with their insurance or letting them know about a cheaper medication—that gratification and their appreciation for whatever I did was really rewarding,’’ says Walkerly.

During Walkerly’s first two years in the College of Pharmacy, she experienced unique academic programming―interprofessional education―that meshes with that of the College of Medicine to improve collaboration, practice and the quality of health care. As a third-year student, Walkerly has been spending the 2017-18 academic year studying her way through all the body systems: pulmonary, for COPD and asthma; endocrine, for diabetes or gastrointestinal, learning about nutrition and things like Crohn’s disease. “It’s nice we get these little modules and go through each disease state to study what causes it, non-medication remedies to recommend and of course, the medications—when to use them and all of the evidence behind them,” Walkerly says.

From her perspective, the good foundation NEOMED provides in patient education and counseling is nearly as important as knowing which drugs to use and when to use them.

Receiving a Blue Fund scholarship has made it all possible, whether with financial aid or the academic support she has found in mentors like Sara Dugan, Pharm. D., and Chris Paxos, Pharm. D., both of whom are associate professors of pharmacy practice and of psychiatry.  The two serve as advisors for NEOMED’s student chapter of a national organization called the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP). Doctors Dugan and Paxos are ‘’endlessly supportive,’’ says Walkerly.

With student Charlie Dorflinger, Walkerly co-founded the student chapter of CPNP during her second year. This year, the student organization hosted a consortium of regional organizations that visit nearby communities to educate them on coping with the opioid epidemic.

“It’s really nice to have a mentor, especially someone you can connect with, whether it is based on interest or a genuinely good relationship,’’ Walkerly adds.

At NEOMED she has found her career path to pharmacy—and mentors to guide her along the way.