Interested in the faculty members behind our programs? Get to know them through our faculty spotlight.
Get to know associate professor Sarah Ray
Sarah Ray PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA has been at Concordia in the School of Pharmacy since 2012. Ray also serves as the chair of pharmacy practice and director of the PGY1 pharmacy residency program at Concordia. Throughout her time here, Ray has impacted her students and the Concordia community in her role as an associate professor as well. Learn more about Sarah Ray by reading her responses below.
What field within pharmacy interests you the most?
The first time I learned about pharmacy was in high school when I started working in an independent community pharmacy. I really enjoyed connecting with patients and following their care over time. During my 25 years in the field, I have found I like all aspects of ambulatory care. The biggest reason is that I get to follow and help patients as they manage their chronic conditions. I have a special interest in helping patients who have Type 2 diabetes.
Finish this sentence. I became a pharmacist because…
I wanted to help people. Never have I imagined I could help so many different patients over the years, sometimes by simply listening to them or congratulating them when they reached their goals.
What keeps you engaged in pharmacy?
Because our knowledge of medical conditions and treatments advances over time, there’s always something new to learn or update myself on. Knowing I need to teach my students about this new material helps keep me engaged. Also, seeing their enthusiasm and excitement for caring for patients keeps me energized.
Outside of classes, I am the CUW pharmacist champion on the ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, which is a collaboration between schools of pharmacy and local pharmacies. In 2021 CUW SOP was invited to participate in the 2021 ACT 50 Stories from 50 States Challenge. The purpose of this challenge was to capture examples of the positive impact of pharmacists in the community setting.
I partnered with Amy Mahlum, PharmD, BCACP from Advocate Aurora Health, and provided support to her as she created the story narrative and video. We ended up being a featured team in the challenge! Check out the story here.
What advice do you have for current pharmacy students?
Take advantage of opportunities to learn about the many different settings and areas where pharmacists are helping patients. Get outside your comfort zone and try something new. Whether it’s participating in a student organization or choosing an elective or rotation that you don’t know as much about. And always keep patients at the center. We are here to help patients.
What do you love about working with pharmacy students?
I enjoy working on special projects with individual students. This is where they help me with a research study or project. As a result, they get to learn so much about how to manage a project and then create a poster, presentation, or journal article that describes what they did. I love seeing them progress over time by learning new skills and becoming more comfortable with the skill.
Looking for a student’s perspective? Check out what a recent grad enjoyed about the program.
Do you want to know more?
If you’re interested in learning more about the pharmacy program at Concordia University Wisconsin, visit us here.
— This story is written by Maddie Schueller, content marketing lead for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at madison.schueller@cuw.edu.
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