Shanna Whitwell, PharmD (Shanna.Whitwell@gmail.com), is the Outpatient Pharmacy Operations Manager at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Auburn University's Harrison College of Pharmacy and has over 14 years of experience in community pharmacy. While in her role as outpatient pharmacy manager she has developed and implemented multiple outpatient pharmacy services including Meds to Beds, prescription delivery, clinic services, quality measure improvement and medication access programs. She is also the residency program director for the PGY1 Community-Based residency program at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center for which she helped to establish and achieve accreditation.
Whitwell’s involvement in ASHP includes serving as chair in 2024-2025 and vice chair in 2023-2024 of the Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners Advisory Group on Patient Care. During her time with the section, she has helped develop guides for the Community Pharmacy Resource Center on the ASHP website as well as an ASHP podcast on the ISMP Best Practices for Community Pharmacy. She is also an active member of the Mississippi Society of Health-System Pharmacists where she won the Innovative Health-Systems Pharmacy Practice award in 2022.
The landscape of community pharmacy is ever-changing and as a community pharmacy practitioner I have seen both the positive impact that we make on our patient’s healthcare as well as the challenges faced in staffing shortages and declining reimbursements. I have developed relationships with patients, and I have seen the struggles they face daily including the rising cost of medications, transportation concerns, and the need for medication education. This is why I believe we are in a unique position to provide innovative care models to advance our profession and meet our patients’ needs.
My experience with the Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners Advisory Group has been invaluable. I have met wonderful people who I have learned much from. Together, we have provided resources to help other community pharmacy practitioners implement new innovative initiatives. Sharing ideas and learning from one another within our SAG has provided me with both personal and professional growth opportunities.
I am honored to be nominated for the position of Director-at-Large and for the opportunity to continue serving this section. If elected I will promote continued growth for the section to provide a strong network of community pharmacists. I also hope to be a voice for the concerns and issues faced by community pharmacists so that together we can work to provide new ideas on how to address those issues. Again, I appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve our profession and the Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners.