Robinson joins ETSU pharmacy practice faculty

ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy alumna Dr. Jessica Robinson (’17), PharmD, joins pharmacy practice faculty at the pharmacy school as assistant professor serving as community pharmacy practitioner.

After earning her PharmD, Robinson completed a Community Pharmacy Practice Research Fellowship (2017-2019) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Interprofessional Geriatrics Fellowship (2018-2019) at the School of Medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She returned to East Tennessee in June-July 2019 to work on a pilot grant with 15 local community pharmacies in the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN®USA) to provide coaching and training to transform community pharmacy workflow processes to accommodate enhanced services. The grant was funded through the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF) and was a pilot for the national Flip the Pharmacy initiative, also funded by CPF. 

Robinson is the lead coach for the Greater Appalachian Transformation Effort, one of 20 teams across the United States selected to receive grant funding through Flip the Pharmacy. At Gatton, she will be working closely with local community pharmacy networks and a team of coaches across East Tennessee, Virginia and Western North Carolina to oversee implementation of practice transformation training in more than 100 community pharmacies in Southern Appalachia. She will also be partnering with faculty to implement Gatton’s Community Pharmacy Initiative, a three-year strategic plan to support community pharmacy practice, teaching and research across the region. 

“Community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to expand the reach of clinical services, especially in rural and urban environments where access to primary care may be limited,” said Robinson. “East Tennessee has a rich community pharmacy heritage and I am excited to see momentum growing for patient-centered, interprofessional services that meet the needs of our region. By working together with other members of the health care team, community pharmacists can improve quality and coordination of patient care. I am thrilled to return to ETSU and begin working with our students, faculty and regional practitioners.”

Her professional and research interests include community pharmacy, interprofessional care, geriatrics and rural health. She and her husband, Andrae, live in Blountville, Tennessee.