Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) recently selected Dr. Angela Stewart to lead the Yakima Valley Interprofessional Practice and Education Collaborative (YVIPEC). Dr. Stewart plans to maintain her current roles of associate dean and associate professor of pharmacotherapy at the Yakima extension of Washington State University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program.
In her new role as YVIPEC’s executive director, Dr. Stewart will foster and expand relationships with community partners which help to inform the training of health professionals and catalyze change in how we provide care and promote wellness. Dr. Stewart will oversee the operations of the YVIPEC to include leading strategic planning, committee oversight including curriculum development and the relationships with each partner program, as well as fiscal planning and management in partnership with the YVIPEC Board of Directors. She succeeds previous YVIPEC executive director Dr. Keith Monosky, who retires in March. They will be working together on the transition starting in February.
“Dr. Stewart has been an integral part of the YVIPEC since its inception,” said Dr. Edward Bilsky, PNWU’s provost. “Her experience will help build on the excellent progress that Dr. Keith Monosky and the YVIPEC team has made over the past few years, and lead to expanded roles and impact as it begins its next strategic plan.”
Currently, Stewart is an associate professor in the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) and serves as the associate dean for the Yakima Extension. Dr. Stewart teaches throughout the PharmD curriculum in courses including politics, leadership, management, and medication safety. She has represented the CPPS on the leadership committees for the WSU Health Sciences and Yakima Valley Interprofessional Practice and Education collaboratives since their inception, including responsibility for the development and implementation of a core interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum. Her current research interests center around interprofessional education and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Mark Leid, the dean of WSU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences said, “As a Yakima native, we believe Dr. Stewart’s new role in YVIPEC will strengthen partnerships in the region. Her diverse background as a care provider and educator will help to open doors for additional collaboration to serve the region’s health care needs while enhancing the learning experience for all YVIPEC students.”
Prior to returning to WSU in 2013, Dr. Stewart served as residency director and clinical pharmacy supervisor at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) with more than 20 years of experience caring for patients, leading improvement efforts, and educating students. She is a two-time board member and past president of the Washington State Pharmacy Association and remains active in the association locally and on the state level.
“Dr. Stewart brings years of fruitful engagement with the YVIPEC as well as her energy, creativity, and leadership skills in higher education,” said Dr. Bilsky. “I look forward to the next few years of the YVIPEC under her leadership and all of the ambitious goals that she and the team will work towards in helping educate graduate health professional students and in addressing some of the challenges facing healthcare.”
“It has been a privilege to lead the efforts in interprofessional education and collaborative practice for the past few years,” said Dr. Monosky. “Interprofessional education and collaborative practice across multiple academic institutions can be both challenging and very rewarding. I can’t imagine a better-equipped person than Dr. Stewart to take on that leadership role. She brings valuable experience and unique insights into IPE, and I expect we’ll see amazing things come out of the YVIPEC in the months to come.”