Expert on Pharmacist Shortage Joins Western University Faculty

Pomona, CA – A nationally recognized expert on workforce issues for the

pharmacy profession has joined Western University of Health Sciences as

director of the University’s Center for Pharmacy Practice Research and

Development.

Katherine K. Knapp, PhD, also will be a professor of social and

administrative sciences in Western University’s College of Pharmacy.

“”The United States is facing an unprecedented and acute shortage of

pharmacists in the coming years,”” she said. “”I chose to come to Western

University because – with its outstanding leadership and energetic

faculty – it’s poised to take a lead in finding solutions to health

problems that could affect all of us personally.””

Dr. Knapp is a co-author of a U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services’ study on the pharmacist shortage titled “”A Study of the Supply

and Demand for Pharmacists.”” The shortage could result in the closure or

decreased operating hours for pharmacies and an increase in the potential

for medication errors, the study reported.

Western University’s College of Pharmacy is one of the most innovative of

the nation’s 82 pharmacy schools and colleges, graduating its charter

class in June 2000. So great was demand for their services, that the

College’s graduates received “”about 10 job offers each,”” with salaries

starting at around $80,000 a year, said Dean Max Ray, PharmD, MS.

Dr. Knapp comes to Western University from the University of the Pacific

(UOP) School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where she was a professor

and associate dean.

She has been a consultant on pharmacy workforce issues for the Bureau of

Health Professions, the Pharmacy Manpower Project and numerous

professional associations for pharmacy. Her expertise on the issue has

been sought by national news outlets such as the Cable News Network and

National Public Radio.

Dr. Knapp has published extensively on pharmacy workforce issues,

including supply modeling analysis, the educational differentiation of the

workforce, geographic mapping studies, placing economic value on pharmacy

services and shifts in supply and demand over time.

She has received numerous awards and honors, such as the Scholar in

Residence for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in 1996,

the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and

Education Foundation’s “”Paper of the Year”” Award for Achievement in the

Professional Practice of Pharmacy in Health Systems in 1995 and the UOP

School of Pharmacy’s “”Teacher of the Year”” in 1994.

Dr. Knapp received her doctorate in human anatomy from the University of

California, Davis’ School of Medicine. Dr. Knapp earned her bachelor’s and

a master of arts degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

She also received a master of science degree from that university’s School

of Medicine.