Jonathan White

His Story

Dr. White received his PharmD from Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy in Downers Grove, Illinois in 2008. Dr. White moved west to complete a PGY1 residency at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Following conclusion of PGY1, Dr. White completed a PGY2 residency in academia and family medicine at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy in 2010. Dr. White is currently board certified in ambulatory care and was previously board certified in pharmacotherapy (2010-2018).

After residency, Dr. White took a position of clinical pharmacy specialist in primary care at Providence Medical Group in Portland, Oregon. Dr. White held this position for 8 years, during this time he added a practice in endocrinology, with a focus on type 1 diabetes and he took over as residency program director of the PGY2 in ambulatory care program. In 2015, Providence PGY1 and PGY2 programs were awarded the ASHP Foundation Residency Excellence Award.

In 2018, Dr. White moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and now is employed as a clinical pharmacist in endocrinology at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Facility

The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network is a partnership between Freodtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin. This health network includes five hospitals and nearly 40 health centers and clinics. Dr. White is situated within the endocrinology department within the system's specialty clinics building. The endocrinology department is also home to an endocrine fellowship and the diabetes education service. Dr. White sees patients both independently through collaborative practice agreements or as part of a shared medical visit with physicians and advanced practice practitioners. The endocrinology center accepts referrals for a variety of conditions and also works in conjunction with bariatric surgery and metabolic clinic to support this patient population through the continuum of care.

Recent Significant Projects

 Dr. White developed and then took the role of co-editor for a primary literature-focused newsletter with a target audience of primary care practitioners. This newsletter goes out to all primary care clinics every 4-6 weeks and is comprised of timely and clinically relevant literature reviews, new medication approvals, and safety alerts.

Initial Involvement in ASHP

This is Dr. White’s first year serving in the Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners as a member of the clinical practice advancement section advisory group.

Why did you become involved in ASHP? 

Prior to moving to Wisconsin, Dr. White was involved as an active volunteer and board member within the ASHP state affiliate in Oregon (OSHP). Dr. White found professional and personal fulfillment through the relationships he developed and programs he assisted in delivering at the state level. Dr. White hopes to build new relationships with members in other systems as a way to share ideas for practice improvement and expansion.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area

As new clinicians go through their early professional development and learning, it is important to note what value a clinical pharmacist adds to their respective team, but it is equally important for the new practitioner to know the value that they, specifically, add to this role. Gaining a better understanding of their specific value will allow them to participate in areas that they can positively impact and do so confidently. New practitioners that understand their value are able to showcase this in a way that allows practice growth (or earlier on in obtaining employment). By identifying our value, we can also see areas for growth and how we can work with others to improve outcomes and ourselves.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?

ASHP is a voice, a resource, and a forum. ASHP provides professional and legislative influence across the country in a way that gives the profession a unified voice with an agreed upon message. ASHP represents pharmacy practice in a way that allows pharmacists to lean on the organization as a resource of support for professional advancement. A forum exists when members across the country come together to share ideas and recognize practices - ASHP provides this forum.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

Pharmacy practice is diverse and many systems across the country view their pharmacists and their role as unique to their system. This is a result of the profession showing value at the local level; however, ASHP helps demonstrate the profession's unified voice across the country through advocacy, legislative actions, and creating a forum for sharing and recognizing innovative practice models. Through this work, ASHP can assist practicing pharmacists in improving visibility of appropriate pharmacotherapy practice in a way that can be applied across systems and by demonstrating our role as indispensable in the practice of safe and effective healthcare.