KU News Release

LAWRENCE — The Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists has chosen as its first Student of the Year a sixth-year University of Kansas doctor of pharmacy student who made a mid-life career switch from basic science research to patient-care clinician.

Sandy Vigil-Cruz Bartlett, of Lawrence, earned her award in October in Wichita. The award honors her outstanding academic achievements, service and contributions to health-system pharmacy studies and practice.

Bartlett expects to earn her pharmacy degree in spring 2010. Before she entered KU’s doctor of pharmacy program in fall 2006, she earned a doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry from Oregon State University, then taught university-level classes and conducted research for more than 10 years.

“My interest was always patient-focused. As much as I enjoyed basic science research, I felt something was missing,” Bartlett said, especially when she heard stories of pharmacists’ direct interactions with patients and realized that’s what she wanted to do.

Bartlett said the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists award meant to her that “one is never too old to have a dream, to have a mid-life epiphany and make sacrifices to achieve those goals, to have your world turned upside down, to change career directions from a basic science researcher and pharmacy faculty member.”

She also said she never imagined that her pharmacy classmates would become her close friends in spite of vast differences in age and life circumstances.

“She’s an excellent student and has been pivotal in developing and involving the students and the school in the new health-system pharmacist organization,” said Ron Ragan, associate dean for academic affairs at the School of Pharmacy.

In addition to her academic and organization involvement, Bartlett is a clinical pharmacy intern at Olathe Medical Center.

As president of the KU chapter of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Bartlett increased chapter membership and involvement in statewide association activities. She helped organize events that solidified affiliation with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a national professional association that represents pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, home care and other components of health care systems.

Bartlett led the chapter in its inaugural “brown bag” prescription identification service project in March 2008 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The students identified prescriptions, verified they were current, screened for prescription or therapeutic duplicates and answered questions volunteers had about their medications. In addition, the KU students provided an up-to-date personal medication record reference for each volunteer who consulted them, listing all medications and directions for use.

To meet other American Society of Health-System Pharmacists affiliation criteria, KU chapter members took part in the national standardized clinical skills student competition. Two-person teams competed at the local level to formulate the best answers for a complicated patient care case dealing with medication therapy management. Winners, chosen by three Kansas health-system pharmacists, participate in nationals with other schools at the society’s Mid-year Clinical Meeting.

For the past two years, Bartlett and her teammate Brooke Bitner, of Frontenac, also a sixth-year doctor of pharmacy student, have won the local contest, qualifying them for nationals. They will compete in the 44th annual clinical skills national competition Dec. 6-10 in Las Vegas.

From July 2001 to May 2007, Bartlett was a research assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at KU and, since June 2007, she has been a senior research associate at Higuchi Biosciences Center. She also has taught natural sciences at Haskell Indian Nations University. As an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Connecticut, she taught medicinal chemistry courses for four years. She earned a bachelor’s from the University of Kentucky in Lexington and graduated from Saint Mary High School in Paducah, Ky.

Her goals include pursuing a postgraduate training residency to prepare for a career as a critical-care pharmacist, possibly linking her clinical practice to an academic role in the School of Pharmacy. She’s also interested in working at a community hospital practice site such as Lawrence Memorial Hospital or Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center in Topeka.