SIUE Alum Stahnke to Chair AADE Community of Interest Leadership for Pharmacy
Current and former Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SIUE SOP) faculty will be making an impact for the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) during 2016.
Dr. Amanda Stahnke, an SIUE SOP alum and former faculty member, is a clinical assistant professor in the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy and will chair the 2016 AADE Community of Interest (COI) Leadership for pharmacy.
Dr. Jessica Kerr, associate professor of pharmacy practice in the SIUE SOP, is the 2016 COI chair-elect. They assume their roles in January 2016.
“We are so excited to share this time together as I have worked with Dr. Stahnke since she was a student at the SIUE School of Pharmacy,” Kerr said. “Since she joined UMKC, Dr. Stahnke and I have continued to collaborate on classroom experiences and other professional service in the diabetes arena.”
Kerr has been a certified diabetes educator since 2004. She has been involved with AADE since 2005 and served as an executive officer for the Pharmacy Specialty Practice Group (SPG) prior to the structure changing to the COI format. She served as the SPG past president in 2012.
According to Kerr, the AADE’s mission is to empower health care professionals with the knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional diabetes education, management and support. “The AADE has the vision to expand opportunities for optimal health and wellness for all people with diabetes and related chronic conditions,” Kerr said.
The Pharmacy COI is a lead focus group within the organization that provides expert opinion and evidence supported drug information to the organization’s entire membership body. The membership is interprofessional, which makes the AADE extremely progressive in the manner that health care professionals can and should function as a team.
“In our roles as chair and chair-elect, we hope to implement several professional development opportunities in the pharmacy COI as well as collaborate with other COIs to expand that knowledge to other health care professionals,” Kerr said.
Along with being an alum, Stahnke served the SIUE SOP as a clinical assistant professor until departing to join the UMKC faculty.
“I graduated in 2010 from SIUE and completed my PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville,” Stahnke said. “I have been involved with the pharmacy COI since 2012.
“I am also excited to work with Jess, who has been an amazing mentor since pharmacy school. She is an excellent example of a great pharmacist, faculty member and patient-care provider.”
Photo: Dr. Amanda Stahnke, clinical assistant professor in the UMKC School of Pharmacy.
