March 12, 2009
MRSA Among Topics at 2009 Katterman Lecture, April 1
By Maria Tran and Melinda Young
School of Pharmacy
This year, the UW School of Pharmacy will put a new spin on its annual Don B. Katterman Memorial Lecture. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the event will feature a full line-up of presenters rather than just one. And in honor of the life of Don Katterman, a man who helped make pharmacy education in Washington state what it is today, it will showcase the School of Pharmacy’s own vast reserve of knowledge.
“Keeping Up, Staying Ahead: Discussions in Pharmacy Practice” will take place Wednesday, April 1, with four professors from the Department of Pharmacy on the roster: Doug Black, John Horn, Michaelene “Micki” Kedzierski and Peggy Odegard. Each experts in their fields, they will discuss infectious diseases, drug interactions, therapeutic frame (a method of engaging patients and health care providers in intervention and assessment), and diabetes respectively.
One featured topic that has been in many headlines lately is infectious diseases. Specifically, the deadly staph-infection strain MRSA has bypassed AIDS in the number of Americans it kills each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more, six out of seven people infected with it contract it from a health care facility.
In Washington, some hospitals have recently come under attack for inadequate handling and reporting of MRSA cases. This has resulted in proposed legislation that could require hospitals to start screening vulnerable patients for MRSA.
Washington pharmacists stand to be significantly impacted by this and other developments relating to MRSA. Associate Professor Doug Black’s presentation on the pharmacists’ role in combating MRSA, then, will be especially timely.
Black and other well-known professors from the School of Pharmacy are headlining this year’s lecture as a way to pay tribute to Don Katterman’s impact on pharmacy education. Before passing away, Katterman, ’48 — as the owner of Katterman’s Sand Point Pharmacy, a mentor to many UW pharmacy students, and a former president and member of the Washington State Pharmacy Association — left an indelible mark on the practice of pharmacy and the instruction of pharmacy students.
“He helped the students he mentored become pharmacists who cared about people, not simply about giving out medications,” said Director of Continuing Pharmacy Education and Katterman Lecture co-organizer Karan Dawson. “He was a ‘possibility thinker’ who helped move the practice of pharmacy from one with a vendor mentality to one that focused on providing patient-centered care.”
So “Keeping Up, Staying Ahead” will showcase how Katterman’s spirit of innovation lives on within the school’s faculty. Further, it will give alumni of the School of Pharmacy the opportunity to learn from some of their favorite professors once again.
The 2009 Don B. Katterman Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Pharmacy Alumni Association (PAA), UW Alumni Association, Medco, QFC and Target, will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, at the Foege Auditorium in the William H. Foege Building. It costs $21 for PAA members and $26 for non-members. The event is free for students (RSVP required). To register, visit the UWAA Web site at http://www.washington.edu/alumni/learn/events.html]. For more information about the event, visit the Katterman Web site at http://www.pharmacy.washington.edu/katterman]
