Student Pharmacist
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Jessica Fairbanks, a 3rd year Student Pharmacist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, started her pharmacy journey in 2007 as a pharmacy technician at a community hospital in Burien, WA where she worked for 2 years. Through a family connection, she found a unique pharmacy technician opportunity helping to open a new hospital in her local city. This experience shaped her love of projects, optimizing workflow, and participating in patient care from a bigger-picture role. Jessica continued to work at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, WA until 2016, when she returned to school to complete her Bachelor's Degree. After completing her BS in Biology from the University of Puget Sound in May 2020, her partner and she moved to Madison, WI where she spent a year working as a Research Assistant in Dr. Michael Taylor's zebrafish lab.
Finding her passion for pharmacy re-ignited by working within the School of Pharmacy and her dialogues with Dr. Taylor about his pharmacology lectures, she decided to resume her pharmacy journey. Starting as a non-traditional student pharmacist in September 2021, her life experiences and education have helped her developed her passions and future goals. Jessica hopes to pursue a career in Specialty Pharmacy leadership, either finding ways to help save patients money or optimizing the pharmacy's formulary. This is her first APhA Annual Conference where she is excited to share her research into pharmacist retention and turnover.