Page 24 - RxBound Winter 2020

College of Pharmacy alumna returns

to lead the WesternU Pharmacy

By Rodney Tanaka

Western University of Health Sciences College of Kotha stepped into her role as Clinical Assistant Professor
and Director of Pharmacy Services and Operations of
Pharmacy (COP) alumna Preeti Kotha, PharmD ’07,
WesternU Pharmacy on Nov. 1, 2019. She is managing all
has returned to lead the WesternU Pharmacy. What aspects of pharmacy operations, working in collaboration
attracted her back to campus were the same with health services managers and administrators of
inspirations – caring for patients, mentoring future WesternU Health, providing clinical and cognitive services at
WesternU Health and WesternU Pharmacy, delivering
pharmacists, and collaborating with other experiential instruction for student pharmacists, and
disciplines – that prompted her to pursue mentoring pharmacy residents.
pharmacy in the first place. “Dr. Kotha has been a wonderful addition to our College
faculty,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Daniel Robinson,
Kotha earned a pharmacy degree from JNT University in
PharmD, FASHP. “She came to us with exceptional
India, but wanted to come to the U.S. to practice because
credentials and experience in travel health, immunization
pharmacists here focus more on patient care, she said.
services, cardiovascular disease risk management, patient-
She initially moved to New Jersey to further her education, centered diabetes care, and smoking cessation. Our students
but then heard about COP’s international post-baccalaureate are very fortunate to be working with Dr. Kotha as our
PharmD program and enrolled at WesternU. She received director of pharmacy at WesternU Health.”
credit for her education in India and graduated with her Kotha wants to provide students with hands-on experience in
Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2007.
working at a retail pharmacy.
Her COP education was very patient-centered and
emphasized collaborative practice, which interested her.
“(COP instructors) would be talking about training our
future pharmacists to talk with doctors instead of just taking “…I felt this was the perfect
their recommendation as set in stone,” Kotha said. “We’re
all on the same team. We’re all working to take care of the combination of practicing
patient. That’s something that was totally new to me. It was
an eye-opener.” pharmacy, staying close to

Kotha met her husband at WesternU -- COP alumnus the patient, and at the same
Sandeep Konda, MSPS ’05.

“The University has given me a lot,” she said. “I cherish time developing the next
those years. It was the most beautiful time of my life.”
generation of pharmacists.”
After graduation, Kotha worked at Rite Aid as a pharmacist,
pharmacy manager and district CPR trainer, and also worked
with on-boarding training for new pharmacists and graduate
interns. She then worked at Walmart as a clinical services
“Students will get a view of how patients can be helped, and
manager, supervising nine stores.
how well or how poorly a patient could be educated about
“When this position opened up with WesternU, it was like their health,” Kotha said. “I’d like to first gauge and see
coming back home, because training and teaching is what where our next generation is standing. I have a vision to
I’m very passionate about,” Kotha said. “Even as a develop leaders who can be initiators, be those proactive
pharmacist, that is what I always tilted toward. Once I saw people to do things instead of waiting for someone to give
the position, I felt this was the perfect combination of instructions.”
practicing pharmacy, staying close to the patient, and at the
same time developing the next generation of pharmacists.”

22 WesternU, College of Pharmacy