From Belmont's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Sara Thompson's career is a testament to the transformative power of education and dedication in the field of pharmacy. Thompson is a 2016 graduate of Belmont’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. After graduating with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, she completed a first-year residency at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by a second-year residency in Pharmacotherapy at the University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy.
Leadership and Lifelong Learning
Thompson is the Director of Pharmacy Education and Academic Affairs at Mayo Clinic, one of the top-ranked hospitals in the nation. On top of her work as an educator, she is currently continuing her own education at North Dakota State University’s School of Education, where she is both an assistant professor of practice in the School of Pharmacy and a part-time PhD candidate.
Before pursuing her PharmD, Thompson was a teacher. Having always been drawn to education, it was a pleasant surprise when several Belmont faculty members opened her up to the idea of academic pharmacy, something that she hadn’t yet realized was possible.
Belmont’s Influence: Preparing for a Career in Pharmacy Education
When asked about her time as a student at Belmont, Thompson spoke on the many ways in which Belmont helped prepare her for her career as a pharmacy educator. She reflected on being able to learn about the many roles which a pharmacist takes on through both the curriculum — emphasizing the impactful role of the pharmacist on the patient care team and opportunities for learning and exploration outside of the classroom — both of which Belmont provides. “A particular example of this that positively impacted my experience as a student was the opportunity to have an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotation in Academia with Dr. Leigh Ann Bynum serving as my preceptor. My P4 year was the inaugural year that students could elect to have an APPE in Academia, offering unique elective opportunities for student pharmacists to engage with and learn about academia. With my career goals, this was a fantastic experience to learn more of the behind-the-scenes of academia and education administration,” Thompson said.
In addition to the education she received at Belmont, Thompson spoke highly of its faculty members. "They encouraged us to embrace our capabilities as contributing healthcare professionals and even continued to provide support after graduating,” she said. Dr. Edgar Díaz-Cruz was highly impactful both during her time as a student and after she graduated. “While I was at Belmont, he made a concentrated effort to help me find a path forward towards my goals, even if his efforts had no guarantee of ever benefiting him directly. After graduating, he regularly helped me navigate various career transitions that many new graduates encounter. Dr. Edgar Díaz-Cruz lives the Belmont mission as a servant leader. I believe a primary reason why I am so invested in personal values such as integrity and excellence is because I saw a real-life example of what that looks like in a person at Belmont,” she explained.
Matching Personal and Organizational Values
Speaking on the whole of Belmont’s pharmacy faculty, Thompson further stated, “It is great for an institution to espouse values and try to teach those values to students, but it is a whole other level when you can see those values manifested in your faculty, staff and administration.”
Through her hard work and dedication as a pharmacy educator, Thompson sets an incredible example of how Belmont’s values and education can aid one in their pursuit of a fulfilling career. “Mayo Clinic as an organization has an incredible history anchored in fantastic values. Because these organizational values, such as integrity and stewardship, match my personal values so well, I feel a sense of gratitude for what I get to do,” she shared.