UA Pharmacist by Day, Karate Instructor by Night

UA Pharmacist by Day, Karate Instructor by Night

By Rebecca WingateUA College of Pharmacy
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Rose Martin at the entrance to the Medication Management Center.
Rose Martin at the entrance to the Medication Management Center.
In her spare time, Martin trains athletes in karate.
In her spare time, Martin trains athletes in karate.
MMC founder Kevin Boesen still has a presence in Martin's office, thanks to a cardboard cut-out left behind.
MMC founder Kevin Boesen still has a presence in Martin's office, thanks to a cardboard cut-out left behind.

You don't have to be a second-degree black belt in karate to become the director of the UA College of Pharmacy's Medication Management Center, but then, Rose Martin is a bit of an overachiever.

Martin has been busy since she earned her PharmD from the college in 2007. She worked at Target pharmacy while she was attending pharmacy school and for a short time after graduation, but since then she has worked at the Medication Management Center, or MMC, a pharmacist-run call center that provides patients with medication therapy management support. Martin did a fourth-year Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation at the center and went on to become the senior medication management specialist-operations manager there.

Martin also runs Nihon Karate School with her husband, Patrick. Their school is part of a national organization recognized by the Olympic committee, and Martin and her husband have students who are on the Junior National U.S. Karate team. Martin always seems to be managing something important, whether she's at work or enjoying her spare time.

Martin replaced Kevin Boesen as director of the MMC in 2013, when the center's medication therapy management software and business model were licensed to SinfoníaRx and 15 MMC employees, including Boesen, left the college to join the UA spinoff. Martin feels that her education at the UA College of Pharmacy helped prepare her well for her jobs at the MMC.

"The didactic courses prepared me well for all my rotations, and that knowledge was reinforced and strengthened particularly at the MMC rotation. That rotation allowed me to develop my clinical skills, as well as my management and professional skills," Martin says.

At the MMC, pharmacists work directly with patients, their providers and community pharmacists to ensure optimal treatment while reducing the risk of adverse events and drug interactions. Pharmacists also look for opportunities to reduce the cost of medication treatment.

The center completes approximately 1,000 medication therapy management cases daily as the nation's largest provider of medication therapy management services. Since 2006, when it was founded by Boesen, the MMC has delivered services to more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.

Martin's responsibilities have grown from overseeing the operations of the MMC to also focusing on strategic planning, quality and performance improvement while fostering and developing leadership skills in her management team. She also is committed to recruiting and retaining individuals to support the growth of the center.

Boesen, who earned his PharmD at the UA College of Pharmacy in 1996, has been an important mentor to Martin.

"His management style has a large influence on how I continue to think about how I manage. He's truly had a large impact on how I manage today," says Martin.

Says Boesen: "Rose is an exceptional pharmacist and leader. She is the perfect person to lead the center. She is hard-working and dedicated, but most importantly she has a passion for improving the lives of patients with chronic illnesses."

Martin sees a bright future for the MMC. She expects to expand services to reach more patients, and to continue to collaborate with SinfoníaRx to support the expansion of potential centers nationwide.

When she's not working at the MMC or training future Olympic athletes, Martin's favorite things are spending time with her family and being a mom to her two children.

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